Single Step Lapping and Polishing Process for Achieving Surfaces of Compound Semiconductors with Atomic Flatness using a Sub-micron Agglomerate-free Alumina Slurry

摘要

A novel approach for a single step lapping and final polishing of III-V and II-VI compounds using agglomerate-free alumina slurries has been developed. The agglomerate-free nature of the sub-micron slurry leads to removal rates comparable to conventional slurries (with larger particles of tens of microns) used for semiconductor lapping. Surfaces with minimal surface damage and extremely low surface roughness have been obtained using the sub-micron slurries and a soft pad. Strategies for post polishing surface cleaning have been discussed. The new methodology has been experimented on GaSb, InAs, GaAs, InP, InSb, CdTe, GaInSb, GaInAs, AlGaAsSb, GaInAsSb and HgCdTe. Selected results of surface analyses of GaSb and GaInSb using atomic force microscopy will be presented.