Method of polishing silicon wafer

Abstract

Mirror-polishing of a silicon wafer is conducted using an abrasive agent which contains silica as a principal ingredient, and either one of the ingredients set forth at (1) and (2): (1) an ingredient which is selected from alkali sulfide, alkali hydrogensulfide, and the mixture thereof; and (2) a chelate agent which contains at least alpha-benzoinoxime, diethyldithiocarbamic acid, cupferron, xanthogenic acid, neocupferron, beryllon II, beta-quinolinol, 1,1,1-trifluoro-3(2-thenoyl)acetone, dimethylglyoxime, and 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol.

Description

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention[0002] The present invention relates generally to a method of polishing silicon wafer. More specifically, it relates to a method of polishing a silicon wafer, by which contamination by a metal, such as copper, nickel, or the like, is prevented while the silicon wafer is being subjected to a mirror-polishing process.[0003] 2. Description of Related Art[0004] Usually, a silicon wafer is manufactured by slicing a single-crystal ingot into a wafer, and thereafter applying to the wafer the predetermined steps of chamfering, lapping, etching, mirror-polishing, and cleaning.[0005] At the mirror-polishing step (hereinafter, the mirror-polishing step is occasionally referred to simply as "polishing step"), in general, a silica-containing abrasive agent, which is alkaline aqueous solution containing fine (i.e., very small) silica (i.e., SiO.sub.2) abrasive grains dispersed therein, (referred to as "alkaline silica-containing abrasive agent") is used. In case of...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Accordingly, when the silicon wafer is polished by such a commercially available alkaline silica-containing abrasive agent in which the metallic impurities are present, among the metallic impurities, metal ions, such as copper ion, nickel ion, chromium ion, iron ion, diffuse in a deep interior of the wafer in the course of polishing step, and cannot be easily removed even at the next cleaning step, thereby deteriorating a performance of the semiconductor device manufactured from the wafer, as is known in the art.

However, a commercially available high-purity silica-containing abrasive agent is so expensive as to increase the manufacturing cost, so that it cannot be employed for the actual production.

Further, even when the high-purity silica-containing abrasive agent is used, contamination caused by the apparatus cannot be avoided, so that the high-purity silica-containing agent, in some cases, fails to exhibit its sufficient effect.

In case of the amine-added silica-containing abrasive agent, it is known that, although the polishing speed is increased, the metallic contamination to the silicon wafer is rather accelerated, so that it is difficult to obtain a high-purity silicon wafer.

However, according to the inventors' study, employing the oxoacid compound-added silica-containing abrasive agent in polishing the silicon wafer neither increases the polishing speed nor produces a sufficient effect in reducing the metallic contamination.

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