Nitride semiconductor wafer and method of processing nitride semiconductor wafer

Abstract

Nitride semiconductor wafers which are produced by epitaxially grown nitride films on a foreign undersubstrate in vapor phase have strong inner stress due to misfit between the nitride and the undersubstrate material. A GaN wafer which has made by piling GaN films upon a GaAs undersubstrate in vapor phase and eliminating the GaAs undersubstrate bends upward due to the inner stress owing to the misfit of lattice constants between GaN and GaAs. Ordinary one-surface polishing having the steps of gluing a wafer with a surface on a flat disc, bringing another surface in contact with a lower turntable, pressing the disc, rotating the disc, revolving the turntable and whetting the lower surface, cannot remedy the inherent distortion. The Distortion worsens morphology of epitaxial wafers, lowers yield of via-mask exposure and invites cracks on surfaces. Nitride crystals are rigid but fragile. Chemical/mechanical polishing has been requested in vain. Current GaN wafers have roughened bottom surfaces, which induce contamination of particles and fluctuation of thickness. Circular nitride wafers having a diameter larger than 45 mm are made and polished. Gross-polishing polishes the nitride wafers in a pressureless state with pressure less than 60 g/cmby lifting up the upper turntable for remedying distortion. Distortion height H at a center is reduced to H≦12 μm. Minute-polishing is a newly-contrived CMP which polishes the nitride wafers with a liquid including potassium hydroxide, potassium peroxodisulfate and powder, irradiates the potassium peroxodisulfate with ultraviolet rays. The CMP-polished top surface has roughness RMS of 0.1 nm≦RMS≦5 nm or more favorably 0.1 nm≦RMS≦0.5 nm. The CMP-polished bottom surface has roughness RMS of 0.1 nm≦RMS≦5000 nm or more favorably 0.1 nm≦RMS≦2 nm. TTV is less than 10 μm.