A Review on Precision Polishing Technology of Single-Crystal SiC

Single-crystal SiC is a typical third-generation semiconductor power-device material because of its excellent electronic and thermal properties. An ultrasmooth surface with atomic surface roughness that is scratch free and subsurface damage (SSD) free is indispensable before its application. As the last process to reduce the surface roughness and remove surface defects, precision polishing of single-crystal SiC is essential. In this paper, precision polishing technologies for 4H-SiC and 6H-SiC, which are the most commonly used polytypes of single-crystal SiC, such as chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), photocatalytic chemical mechanical polishing (PCMP), plasma-assisted polishing (PAP), electrochemical mechanical polishing (ECMP), and catalyst-referred etching (CARE), were reviewed and compared with emphasis on the experimental setup, polishing mechanism, material removal rate (MRR), and surface roughness. An atomically smooth surface without SSD can be obtained by CMP, PCMP, PAP, and CARE for single-crystal SiC. However, their MRRs are meager, and the waste treatment after CMP is difficult and expensive. Moreover, PAP’s operation is poor due to the complex polishing system, plasma generation, and irradiation devices. A high MRR can be achieved by ECMP. In addition, it is an environmentally friendly precision polishing process for single-crystal SiC since the neutral salt solution is generally used as the electrolyte in ECMP. However, the formation of the egglike protrusions at the oxide/SiC interface during anodic oxidation would lead to a bigger surface roughness after ECMP than that after PAP is processed. The HF solution used in CARE was toxic, and Pt was particularly expensive. Ultrasonic vibration-assisted single-crystal SiC polishing and electrolyte plasma polishing (EPP) were discussed; furthermore, the research direction of further improving the surface quality and MRR of single-crystal SiC was prospected.

Numerical Simulation of a Novel Method for PVT Growth of SiC by Adding a Graphite Block

SiC crystal is an excellent substrate material for high power electronic devices and high-frequency electronic devices. Being cost-effective and defect-free are the two biggest challenges at present. For the physical vapor transport (PVT) growth of a SiC single crystal, SiC powder is used as the source material, which determines the cost and the quality of the crystal. In this paper, we propose a new design in which graphite blocks are substituted for the non-sublimated SiC powder. Temperature distribution in the SiC powder, the evolution of the SiC powder, and the vapor transport are investigated by using finite element calculations. With the addition of graphite blocks, the utilization and sublimation rate of SiC powder is higher. In addition, the reverse vapor transport above the SiC powder is eliminated. This design provides a new idea to reduce the cost of SiC crystals in industrialization.

Study on Improving the Precise Machinability of Single Crystal SiC by an Ultrasonic-Assisted Hybrid Process

Silicon carbide (SiC) devices have become one of the key research directions in the field of power electronics. However, due to the limitation of the SiC wafer growth process and processing capacity, SiC devices, such as SiC MOSFET (Metal-oxide-semiconductor Field-effect Transistor), are facing the problems of high cost and unsatisfied performance. To improve the precise machinability of single-crystal SiC wafer, this paper proposed a new hybrid process. Firstly, we developed an ultrasonic vibration-assisted device, by which ultrasonic-assisted lapping and ultrasonic-assisted CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) for SiC wafer were fulfilled. Secondly, a novel three-step ultrasonic-assisted precise machining route was proposed. In the first step, ultrasonic lapping using a cast iron disc was conducted, which quickly removed large surface damages with a high MRR (material removal rate) of 10.93 μm/min. In the second step, ultrasonic lapping using a copper disc was conducted, which reduced the residual surface defects with a high MRR of 6.11 μm/min. In the third step, ultrasonic CMP using a polyurethane pad was conducted, which achieved a smooth and less damaged surface with an MRR of 1.44 μm/h. These results suggest that the ultrasonic-assisted hybrid process can improve the precise machinability of SiC, which will hopefully achieve high-efficiency and ultra-precision machining.

Preparation and polishing properties of water-based magnetorheological chemical finishing fluid with high catalytic activity for single-crystal SiC

A water-based high catalytic activity magnetorheological chemical finishing fluid (HCAMRCFF) was prepared and modified to enhance the chemical action strength in magnetorheological chemical finishing (MRCF) for single-crystal SiC. The fluid consisted of ferroferric oxide (Fe3O4) and chromium (Cr), deionized water (DW), polyethylene glycol (PEG) and oleic acid, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as the composite catalyst particles, base carrier liquid, surfactants, and oxidant, respectively. HCAMRCFFs with different component concentrations were used to modify via evaluating their catalytic activity. Moreover, the MRCF experiments on SiC were conducted using the prepared HCAMRCFFs. The results show that the catalytic activity increases with an increase in the oxidant concentration. Furthermore, composite catalysts and composite surfactants can significantly improve their catalytic activity. The catalytic activity also increases with an increase in the concentration of composite catalysts. In the composite catalysts, increasing the Cr concentration can significantly enhance the catalytic performance. Composite surfactants can exert the relative superiority to enhance the catalytic activity. Compared with the unmodified finishing fluid, the catalytic activity of modified HCAMRCFF increases by 65.4%; the material removal rate (MRR) of SiC increases by 72.5% up to 635.621 nmh−1, and a surface with a roughness of 0.33 nm is obtained.