Digital microscope observation of the initial stage of cutting monocrystalline silicon

Digital microscope (DM) for local zooming of finite element solutions has been proposed and applied to cutting simulation of monocrystalline silicon with no preexisting defect. The DM has revealed that cutting performance is strongly dependent on the size of a workpiece. The DM has also revealed that a microcrack appears instantaneously for any depth of cut around a cutting edge but its evolution to a macrocrack depends on the depth of cut. A critical depth of cut for macrocrack evolution can be estimated on the basis of data obtained using the DM.