Energy consumption analysis of different scratching methods in GaAs mechanical cleavage processing

Abstract

High performance and low energy consumption are major priorities for modern manufacturing techniques. In order to improve the quality of cleavage planes while reducing energy consumption, this paper presents an experimental investigation of energy savings during the mechanical cleavage process using different scratching methods. According to the simulation results, an improved scratching method, dot scratching, gave a scratching length of approximately 0.6 mm. The scratching energies of the traditional scratching method and the dot scratching method along the <100> and <110> directions were calculated and analysed from the perspective of energy consumption. A series of scratching and cleavage experiments were carried out to investigate the features on scratch and cleavage surfaces. The experimental results for the scratching procedure showed that scratching along the <110> direction using the dot scratching method is beneficial for reducing the maximum damage width of gallium arsenide (GaAs). The dot scratching method can significantly reduce energy consumption during the cleavage of GaAs, and the energy saving ratios exceed 70%. A flat cleavage plane can be obtained by cleavage using the dot scratching method under a lower scratching load. Adoption of the dot scratching method thus has the potential to improve the efficiency and quality of cleavage processes and offers a practical solution for the greener manufacturing of semiconductor cleavage planes.