Shin-etsu Handotai Co., Ltd.

Kaneyoshi Aramaki

Kohei Toyama

Shoichi Takamizawa

Shigetoshi Shimoyama

There is disclosed a method of manufacturing a semiconductor wafer which includes at least a slicing process for slicing a semiconductor monocrystalline ingot in order to obtain a disc-shaped semiconductor wafer. In the method, the sliced semiconductor wafer is etched before being transported to a subsequent process. Even when a monocrystalline ingot having a large diameter is sliced through use of a wire saw, the method prevents generation of breakage, cracks, chips, or the like in processes subsequent to the slicing process, thereby enabling production of large-diameter wafers with high productivity and high yield through utilization of the advantage of the wire saw in slicing a large-diameter monocrystalline ingot; i.e., high cutting speed and a small amount of slicing stock removal.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor wafers

An apparatus capable of concurrently measuring the depth and angle of a notch in the peripheral edge of a wafer includes: a unit for rotating the wafer; a wafer edge detector, including a light-emitting unit and a photo-detecting unit arranged to read the shape of the peripheral edge of the wafer, for outputting a wafer edge detecting signal corresponding to the shape of the peripheral edge of the wafer; a wafer rotational angular position detector for detecting the rotational angular position of the wafer being rotated and outputting a wafer rotational angular position detecting signal; and an arithmetical unit for computing the dimensions of the notch from the wafer edge detecting signal and the wafer rotational angular position detecting signal.

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Fukushima-ken, Japan

Kaneyoshi Aramaki