BROMINE METHANOL POLISHING OF LESS-THAN-100-GREATER-THAN INP .2. DEPENDENCE ON BROMINE CONCENTRATION

The polishing of <100> InP wafers with bromine/methanol solutions has been studied as a function of bromine concentration. Under our experimental conditions, as the concentration is reduced from 1 to 0.05 volume percent, the polishing rate decreases in a strictly linear fashion from 1.3 to 0.05 µm/min; at the same time, the surface finish improves only by a factor of two. With proper attention to pad conditioning and substrate cleaning, no subsurface damage is found on wafers polished with solutions as dilute as 0.05 volume percent. © 1990, The Electrochemical Society, Inc. All rights reserved.