Methods, wires, and apparatus for use in cutting (e.g., slicing) hard, brittle materials is provided. The wire can be a super-abrasive wire that includes a wire core and super-abrasive particles bonded to the wire core via a metal bonding layer. This wire, or another type of wire, can be used to slice workpieces useful for producing wafers. The workpieces can be aligned within a holder to produce wafers using the device and methods presently provided. The holder rotates about its central axis, which translates to workpieces moving in orbit around this axis. A single abrasive wire, or multiple turns of wire stretched tightly between wire guides, is then contacted with the rotating holder to slice the workpieces.

A method is disclosed for slicing an ingot by which wire rows are formed by using a wire that is spirally wound between a plurality of wire guides and travels in an axial direction. An ingot is pressed against the wire rows while supplying a working fluid to a contact portion of the ingot and the wire, thereby slicing the ingot into wafers, and a ratio of a wire new line feed amount per unit time in slicing of a slicing start portion of a first ingot to that in slicing of a centration portion of the same at the time of slicing the ingot after replacement of the wire is controlled to be ½ or less of the ratio at the time of slicing second and subsequent ingots after the replacement of the wire.

A saw wire to cut hard and brittle materials is disclosed that comprises a steel wire that is provided with bends with segments in between. The average degree of bending of the bends is between 0.5% and 5%. Such a saw wire has a higher breaking load compared to saw wires having a conventional, higher average degree of bending. A method to measure the curvature is described as well as a process to make the inventive saw wire. The invention is applicable to any shaped saw wire for example a single crimped saw wire, a saw wire with at least two crimps in different planes, a saw wire with crimps rotating in a plane.

A roller module is used for driving a sawing wire to slice an ingot into multiple wafers, and includes two spaced apart main rollers and an auxiliary roller. Each main roller has a rotating axis and a diameter. An imaginary horizontal plane is defined to pass through the rotating axes of the main rollers. Two imaginary vertical planes are defined to be perpendicular to the imaginary horizontal plane and respectively pass through the rotating axes of the main rollers. The auxiliary roller is disposed above the imaginary horizontal plane and between the imaginary vertical planes. An uppermost side of the auxiliary roller is not lower than an uppermost side of each main roller. The auxiliary roller has a diameter smaller than one half of that of each main roller.

Provided is an indium phosphide substrate, a semiconductor epitaxial wafer, and a method for producing an indium phosphide substrate, which can satisfactorily suppress warpage of the back surface of the substrate. The indium phosphide substrate includes a main surface for forming an epitaxial crystal layer and a back surface opposite to the main surface, wherein the back surface has a WARP value of 3.5 μm or less, as measured with the back surface of the indium phosphide substrate facing upward.

Provided is an indium phosphide substrate, a semiconductor epitaxial wafer, and a method for producing an indium phosphide substrate, which can satisfactorily suppress warpage of the back surface of the substrate. The indium phosphide substrate includes a main surface for forming an epitaxial crystal layer and a back surface opposite to the main surface, wherein the back surface has a BOW value of −2.0 to 2.0 μm, as measured with the back surface of the indium phosphide substrate facing upward.

Examples of gemstone verification are described herein. In one example, for processing a gemstone, pre-stored marking coordinates associated with a gemstone ID are obtained, the pre-stored marking coordinates generated during planning phase of the processing. Further, real-time marking coordinates for the gemstone to be processed are also obtained. An identity of the gemstone is verified based on a comparison of the pre-stored marking coordinates with the real-time marking coordinates. Further, information, including cutting parameters, associated with the gemstone ID of the gemstone is retrieved in response to a valid verification of the identity of the gemstone, for processing the gemstone.

Examples of gemstone verification are described herein. In one example, for processing a gemstone, pre-stored marking coordinates associated with a gemstone ID are obtained, the pre-stored marking coordinates generated during planning phase of the processing. Further, real-time marking coordinates for the gemstone to be processed are also obtained. An identity of the gemstone is verified based on a comparison of the pre-stored marking coordinates with the real-time marking coordinates. Further, information, including cutting parameters, associated with the gemstone ID of the gemstone is retrieved in response to a valid verification of the identity of the gemstone, for processing the gemstone.

The invention relates to a method, a tool receptacle (13), and an apparatus for turning a face of a workpiece (2, 102) with a tool (3), wherein the workpiece (2, 102) is held in a workpiece receptacle (12) rotating about an axis of rotation (100) of a workpiece spindle, wherein, for producing and/or machining a workpiece contour having convex and/or concave portions on the face (20) that extend over defined angles of rotation, the tool (3) and the workpiece (2, 102) are moved back and forth relative to one another in an axial movement along the axis of rotation (100) of the workpiece spindle, said axis being synchronized with the rotational movement of the workpiece (2, 102), and wherein a blade (30) of the tool (3) is aligned at least in the cutting direction and/or transverse to the cutting direction opposite to the surface normals (N) of the workpiece contour to be produced and/or machined, in such a way that an effective clearance angle (α) and an effective cutting angle (γ) remain at least virtually constant opposite to the surface normals (N). The invention relates to a workpiece (2, 102) having a turned face.

A method and apparatus for use in surface delayering for fault isolation and defect localization of a sample work piece is provided. More particularly, a method and apparatus for mechanically peeling of one or more layers from the sample in a rapid, controlled, and accurate manner is provided. A programmable actuator includes a delayering probe tip with a cutting edge that is shaped to quickly and accurately peel away a layer of material from a sample. The cutting face of the delayering probe tip is configured so that each peeling step peels away an area of material having a linear dimension substantially equal to the linear dimension of the delayering probe tip cutting face. The surface delayering may take place inside a vacuum chamber so that the target area of the sample can be observed in-situ with FIB/SEM imaging.