Slicing and Polishing

Once the growth process is complete, the boule must be sliced into wafers and polished in preparation for epitaxial growth.

Steps involved in the slicing process include:

• Carefully mounting the boule according to its orientation
• Grinding the boule to the specified diameter on a mechanical lathe
• Slicing the boule into wafers using a diamond-coated wire saw

We have strived to reduce expense from all facets of the silicon carbide manufacturing process.  As is the case with our crystal growth process, we have designed and built our own slicing and grinding technology.  Based on decades of cumulative experience of our engineering and scientific staff, we have incorporated design improvements which both improve output (e.g., decreased TTV, bow, thickness, and cutting time) and dramatically reduce costs.  A representative example is the methodology we have developed to fabricate diamond wire, one of the most significant expense items in the slicing process.  Caracal engineers have developed a unique methodology for manufacturing the wire in-house which reduces this cost by almost 40%.

Finally, polishing the wafer gives it the mirrored, super-flat surface needed for the fabrication of today’s advanced semiconductor devices.  The wafer is now ready for the epitaxial growth process.