Shin-etsu Handotai Co., Ltd.

Kiichiro Asako

Yoshinori Hayamizu

Ken Sunakawa

Toko Yagi

The present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for detecting heavy metals within the bulk of a silicon wafer with high sensitivity. An electric field is applied to a surface of the silicon wafer in order to aggregate heavy metals existing within the bulk of the silicon wafer to the surface of the wafer or the vicinity thereof, and the heavy metals aggregated to the surface of the wafer or the vicinity of the surface are analyzed. The application of an electric field is performed through corona-discharge treatment of the surface of the wafer, or through application of voltage to the surface of the wafer via a contact or non-contact electrode. Alternatively, an x-ray beam is radiated onto the surface of the silicon wafer in order to aggregate heavy metals existing within the bulk of the silicon wafer to the surface of the wafer or the vicinity thereof, and the heavy metals aggregated to the surface of the wafer or the vicinity thereof are analyzed. The method and apparatus for detecting heavy metals are simple and do not require a pre-treatment such as heat treatment which would cause secondary contamination.

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Annaka, Japan

Kiichiro Asako