There are many different ways to polish a wafer; however, the preferred method is through chemical mechanical polishing or CMP. For you electrical engineers in the audience, you know how essential a double side polish wafer is in semiconductors, MEMS, and other places where the flatness is particularly important.Polishing wafers is important because it gets rid of damaging material and thins out the wafer for more effective use. CMP is the preferred method of polishing double side polish wafers. Specifically, it creates an exceedingly thinner result than others. In this article, we will talk about the different reasons CMP is the preferred method of polishing wafers:
Compared to backgrinding, chemical mechanical polishing creates thinner wafers by removing about 5-10 microns of silicon from the backside. It also removes any extra stresses on the wafer's surface so you don’t have to worry about warping.
To rid your wafers of all impurities and thin them out, CMP is simply the best. The chemical activity weakens the atomic bonding of the wafer surface. The spinning motion during being polished process also helps in the removal of any extra contaminant.
The visual process of polishing surfaces using CMP is with a polishing pad and abrasive chemical slurry. The wafer and pad are pressed together by a rotating polishing head and held in place by a retaining ring. As the polishing head spins, the wafer is cleaned and polished. This produces a double side polish wafer that is free of contaminants and shiny enough to reflect your smiling face!
If your wafer is covered in micro-damages, it will likely become defective. Therefore, polishing will reduce the micro-sized peaks and valleys created by impurities.
Are your wafers in need of some polishing? Don’t let impurities and dirt build up on your surfaces. Instead, have a double side polish wafer you can see your face in. At Wafer World, we offer a wide range of high-quality wafers at a reasonable price, all polished to perfection. Contact us for inquires!
