Femtosecond Laser Stealth Slicing of 4H-SiC Wafers with Static Aspheric Aberration Correction

Silicon carbide (SiC), owing to its excellent physical and chemical properties, has emerged as a leading third-generation semiconductor material. Conventional diamond wire cutting faces challenges in producing ultra-large, ultra-thin wafers. In contrast, the femtosecond laser has attracted significant attention in recent years due to its low kerf loss and high slicing speed. However, during femtosecond laser stealth slicing, spherical aberration induced by the refractive index mismatch between air and the SiC crystal severely degrades the slicing quality. Based on the analysis and calculation of wavefront aberration at a specific focal depth of 175 μm, we designed and implemented a static aberration correction method to reduce the thickness of the modified layer and improve the slicing quality. This method effectively mitigates focus elongation caused by refractive index mismatch, thereby reducing the modified layer thickness and the tensile stress required for wafer separation, while improving the surface quality of the separated wafers. Furthermore, this method eliminates the need for active optical components in aberration correction, simplifying the system and avoiding errors associated with the limited response speed of active optics. The technique demonstrates potential for practical application in industrial wafer slicing.