Effects of cutting angles on deformation of single crystal silicon in plunge cutting along direction

Abstract Understanding the formation of cleavage fracture is meaningful for cutting silicon in ductile mode. In this study, the (001) single crystal silicon was cut along direction with plunging angles of 0.07°, 0.12° and 0.17°. Three regions with characteristics of ductile removal, cleavage and random fractures were observed on the cutting grooves. Increase in the plunging angles not only contributes to the large critical depth of cut, but also reduces the cleavage length due to the enhancement of hydrostatic pressures. Besides, the {111} plane is the potential plane for the initiation and propagation of cleavage fractures during plunge cutting the silicon along direction the silicon.