The perfect cut

The ability to cut onions into thin slices isn't just a matter of practice - choosing the right implement also helps make good onion rings. The same principle applies when cutting silicon blocks to make wafers for solar cells. You need a special slicing tool to produce paper-thin wafers from silicon blocks ('ingots'): reminiscent of an egg slicer, a filigree wire is used to cut through the ingot at a speed of up to 60 km/h. This wire is several hundred kilometres long and arranged in such a way that the ingot is sliced into hundreds of wafers simultaneously. The process takes around six hours and the resultant slices are approximately 180 micrometres thick...

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