4H-SiC wafer slicing by using femtosecond laser double-pulses

Abstract

Silicon carbide (SiC) is promising as a key material for power electronics devices owing to its wide bandgap property. Meanwhile, by the convention wire-saw technique, it is difficult to slice off a thin wafer from bulk SiC crystal without reserving space for cutting. In this study, we have achieved exfoliation of 4H-SiC single crystal by the femtosecond laser induced slicing method. By using this technique, the exfoliated surface with the root-mean-square roughness of 5 μm and the cutting-loss thickness smaller than 24 μm was successfully achieved. We have also observed the nanostructure on the exfoliated surface in SiC crystal.