Method comprising evaluating substrate by polarized parallel light

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10119920-B2
Application number	US-201815867345-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 10, 2018
Priority date	Nov 5, 2015
Publication date	Nov 6, 2018
Grant date	Nov 6, 2018

Abstract

There is provided a method that makes it possible to observe fine crystal defects using light of a visible region. The method includes illuminating a substrate with polarized parallel light and evaluating a crystal quality of at least a part of the substrate from an image obtained by light transmitted through or reflected by the substrate. The half width HW, the divergence angle DA, and the center wavelength CWL of the parallel light satisfy conditions given below

3≤HW≤100

0.1≤DA≤5

250≤CWL≤1600
where the center wavelength CWL and the half width HW are expressed in units of nm and the divergence angle DA is expressed in units of mrad.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
illuminating a substrate with polarized parallel light: and
evaluating a crystal quality of at least a part of the substrate from an image obtained by light transmitted through or reflected by the substrate,
wherein a half width HW, a divergence angle DA, and a center wavelength CWL of the parallel light satisfy conditions given below
3≤HW≤100

0.1≤DA≤5

250≤CWL≤1600

where the center wavelength CWL and the half width HW are expressed in units of nm and the divergence angle DA is expressed in units of mrad.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the half width HW satisfies a condition given below
3<HW<60.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the divergence angle DA satisfies a condition given below
0.1<DA<3.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the center wavelength CWL satisfies a condition given below
300<CWL<500.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the center wavelength CWL satisfies a condition given below
1100<CWL<1600.

6. The method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the evaluating includes evaluation with a crossed Nicol and an extinction ratio ER of a polarizer and an analyzer that face one another with the substrate in between satisfies a condition given below
10 −4 <ER<10 −2 .

7. The method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the evaluating includes changing a focal depth.

8. The method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the evaluating includes evaluating lattice distortions based on displacements in an atomic arrangement.

9. The method according to claim 8 ,
wherein the lattice distortions based on the displacements in the atomic arrangement include threading screw dislocations, threading edge dislocations, basal plane dislocations, stacking faults, inclusions, and processing damages.

10. The method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the evaluating includes evaluating photoelasticity.

11. The method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the substrate is any of a semiconductor substrate, a monocrystalline semiconductor substrate and monocrystalline semiconductor substrate with epitaxial growth, a mineral substrate, a glass substrate, a plastic substrate, or a plastic film substrate.

12. The method according to claim 11 ,
wherein the monocrystalline semiconductor substrate includes at least one of:
a uniaxially polarity crystalline substrate including a monocrystalline 4H—SiC substrate or a monocrystalline 6H—SiC substrate;
a wide bandgap semiconductor substrate including at least one of monocrystalline GaN, monocrystalline Ga 2 O 3 , monocrystalline AlN and monocrystalline diamond;
a monocrystalline substrate of a transparent oxide such as monocrystalline sapphire;
a monocrystalline silicon substrate; and
a monocrystalline silicon substrate with epitaxial growth.

13. The method according to claim 11 ,
wherein the monocrystalline semiconductor substrate is a uniaxially polarized crystalline substrate that includes a monocrystalline 4H—SiC substrate or a monocrystalline 6H—SiC substrate and a thickness t thereof satisfies a condition given below
50≤t≤600

where the thickness t is expressed in units of μm.

14. The method according to claim 1 ,
wherein a surface roughness Ra 1 of a front surface side of the substrate satisfies a condition given below
0.001≤Ra1≤30

where the surface roughness Ra 1 is expressed in units of nm.

15. The method according to claim 14 ,
wherein the surface roughness Ra 1 of the front surface side of the substrate satisfies a condition given below
0.001≤Ra1≤1.

16. The method according to claim 1 ,
wherein a surface roughness Ra 2 of a rear surface side of the substrate satisfies a condition given below
0.001≤Ra2≤30

where the surface roughness Ra 2 is expressed in units of nm.

17. The method according to claim 16 ,
wherein the surface roughness Ra 2 of the rear surface side of the substrate satisfies a condition given below
0.001≤Ra2≤1.

18. The method according to claim 1 ,
further comprising manufacturing a product that uses a substrate selected by the evaluating.

19. The method according to claim 1 ,
further comprising subjecting a region of the substrate determined by the evaluating to a treatment.

Assignees

• Vision Psytec Co Ltd
• Mipox Corp
• Aist
• Fuji Electric Co Ltd

Inventors

• Mizutani Seiji
• Nakagawa Kenji
• Kato Tomohisa
• Takenaka Kensuke

Classifications

• G01N21/892

  characterised by the flaw, defect or object feature examined · CPC title

• G01N2021/8848

  Polarisation of light · CPC title

• G01N2021/8477

  Investigating crystals, e.g. liquid crystals · CPC title

• G01N2021/8925

  Inclusions · CPC title

• G01N21/9505

  Wafer internal defects, e.g. microcracks · CPC title