Study on the Influence of Variation of Contact Arc Zone on the Single-Pass Sawing of Sapphire Wafer

Single-pass sawing (SPS), a significant cutting process widely used in the manufacturing of optical components in optoelectronic fields, which can greatly improve the quality of products by reducing the proportion of edge chipping. In this paper, the mechanism of SPS was introduced by a novel approach of deep analysis of the variation of the contact arc zone. Setting sapphire wafers as the workpiece, this study performed the comparative experiments in three specific arc zones, which would further make a thorough inquiry on the related machining mechanism. The difficulty degree of machining and the topography of surface quality during SPS process were also analyzed. The difficulty degree of machining was reflected by the sawing force ratio, and the machining surfaces of sapphire wafers were compared by SEM and Digital Microscope. The results indicate that the lower the arc is, the easier it can be machined during SPS. And the best surface quality appears in Arc 2 (arc angle = 20 degrees), which can be set as an excellent reference for the machining of other materials during SPS. The single-pass sawing mechanism is also derived on the basis of the traditional cutting mechanism model, which will further serve as useful references to both the industrial machining and the academia.