Achieving a Damage-Free Polishing of Mono-Crystalline Silicon

This paper experimentally investigates the micro-structural changes in mono-crystalline silicon induced by abrasive polishing with abrasive grain size and applied pressure. It was found that while the large abrasives of about 15 μm and 300 nm in diameter induce both residual amorphous phase and various residual crystalline structures and dislocations, the finer abrasives of about 50 nm in diameter only produce residual amorphous phase in the top subsurface of polished silicon. With the fine abrasives, reducing applied pressure reduces the amorphous layer thickness, and a damage-free polishing can be achieved at the pressure of 20 kPa.