ISSN:
1662-9752
Source:
Scientific.Net: Materials Science & Technology / Trans Tech Publications Archiv 1984-2008
Topics:
Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
Notes:
We report a damage-free and efficient planarization process for silicon carbide (SiC) usingplatinum as a catalyst in hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution. In previous studies, 4H-SiC (0001) on-axiswafers were planarized by this process and an extremely flat surface was obtained. However,electronic device substrates require off-axis wafers. In the present study, 4H-SiC (0001) 8° off-axisSi-face wafers were planarized using a Pt catalyst plate and HF solution. In the first trial using thesewafers, the surface roughness worsened and a diagonal pattern was observed by phase-shiftinterference microscopy. The pattern seemed to have been formed when the Pt plate morphology wastranscribed onto the wafer. The removal rate of the 8° off-axis Si-face wafer is much greater than thatof the on-axis Si-face wafer. Thus, we concluded that the use of a smoother catalyst plate would benecessary to obtain a smooth 8° off-axis Si-face wafer surface. Improving the Pt plate morphology byhand lapping also improved the surface roughness of the processed wafer as compared with thepreprocessed surface. The maximum height of the surface irregularity (peak-to-valley, P-V) androot-mean-square roughness were improved to 0.513 nm and 0.044 nm, respectively, as determinedby atomic force microscopy (2×2 μm2)
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://www.tib-hannover.de/fulltexts/2011/0528/02/20/transtech_doi~10.4028%252Fwww.scientific.net%252FMSF.600-603.835.pdf
