Strength characterization of laser diced silicon for application in solar industry

Laser technologies are used in a wide range of process steps in solar industry. In this paper novel laser dicing technologies like LaserMicroJet® and Laser Chemical Etching (LCE) are investigated and compared to standard dry laser and sawin g process. It is shown that standard laser technology causes large flaws in the samples reducing the strength drastically. Different strength of front and back side of samples of LaserMicroJet® and Laser Chemical Etching are investigated by Raman spectroscopy and EBSD (Electron Backscattering Diffraction). It is shown that a layer of molten and solidified material induces stress in the sample surface reducing the strength of samples. In a second investigation different laser techniques are used for edge isolation on wafer samples. The evaluation of strength shows, that there is a significant influence of used grooving technology on the scattering of samples resulting in different strength behavior.