Numerical study on thermal stress cutting of silicon wafers using two-line laser beams

We propose a method of cleaving silicon wafers using two-line laser beams. The base principle is separating the silicon wafer using crack propagation caused by laser-induced thermal stress. Specifically, this method uses two-line laser beams parallel to the cutting line such that the movements of the laser beam along the cutting line can be omitted, which is necessary when using a point beam. To demonstrate the proposed method, 3D numerical analysis of a heat transfer and thermo-elasticity model was performed. Crack propagation was evaluated by comparing the stress intensity factor (SIF) at the crack tip with the fracture toughness of silicon, where crack propagation is assumed begin when the SIF exceeds the fracture toughness. The influences of laser power, line beam width, and distance between two laser beams were also investigated. The simulation results showed that the proposed method is appropriate for cleaving silicon wafers without any thermal damage.