TY - JOUR
T1 - Recovery of microstructure and surface topography of grinding-damaged silicon wafers by nanosecond-pulsed laser irradiation
AU - Yan, Jiwang
AU - Sakai, Shin
AU - Isogai, Hiromichi
AU - Izunome, Koji
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Single crystalline silicon wafers whose surfaces were machined by diamond grinding were irradiated by a nanosecond-pulsed Nd:YAG laser. Changes in the subsurface crystallinity and surface topography were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. It was found that the grinding process gave rise to amorphous layers, dislocations and micro cracks. However, all of this damage could be eliminated by a single laser pulse of suitable energy density, which also led to a remarkable amount of smoothing of the wafer surface. When excessively high energy densities were used, tiny particles were found to form on the wafer surface. It is speculated that these particles are produced by the recondensation of silicon boiled away from the wafer surface during the laser pulse. The temperature rise during laser irradiation was estimated using a simplified model. The results obtained in this study suggest that nanosecond-pulsed laser irradiation may be an effective approach for processing grinding-damaged silicon wafers.
AB - Single crystalline silicon wafers whose surfaces were machined by diamond grinding were irradiated by a nanosecond-pulsed Nd:YAG laser. Changes in the subsurface crystallinity and surface topography were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. It was found that the grinding process gave rise to amorphous layers, dislocations and micro cracks. However, all of this damage could be eliminated by a single laser pulse of suitable energy density, which also led to a remarkable amount of smoothing of the wafer surface. When excessively high energy densities were used, tiny particles were found to form on the wafer surface. It is speculated that these particles are produced by the recondensation of silicon boiled away from the wafer surface during the laser pulse. The temperature rise during laser irradiation was estimated using a simplified model. The results obtained in this study suggest that nanosecond-pulsed laser irradiation may be an effective approach for processing grinding-damaged silicon wafers.
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U2 - 10.1088/0268-1242/24/10/105018
DO - 10.1088/0268-1242/24/10/105018
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:70350680820
VL - 24
JO - Semiconductor Science and Technology
JF - Semiconductor Science and Technology
SN - 0268-1242
IS - 10
M1 - 105018
ER -