Influence of the thermal treatment during the saw damage etching process on the mechanical stability of multicrystalline silicon wafers

The influence of the thermal treatment during the saw damage etching process on the mechanical stability of multicrystalline silicon wafers has been investigated for four different alkaline saw damage etching procedures. After the different etching procedures the mechanical stabilities of the multicrystalline wafers have been measured using the concentric ring test and the four-point-bending test. The experimental results are compared to those obtained by numerical simulations.