Fast, Low Kerf-loss Wafering of Silicon Ingots for Low-cost Solar

Decreasing the kerf loss during the wafering process has the potential to reducing the wafer cost used in the production of photovoltaic cells. In this work optical illumination is used to increase the cutting rate of wire electric discharge machining. The illumination is attained using an array of optical fiber coupled laser diodes with a wavelength of 960 nm. The cutting rate increased by 1.9X and 2.8X with optical illumination.