Controlled damage of semiconductor surface - uses tungsten balls and acoustic vibration of wafer to cause damage for experimental testing

摘要

A method is described of inducing known and controlled damage on semiconductor wafer surfaces to enhance the study of damage characteristics both before and after semiconductor device processing. A number of tungsten balls (32) are placed on the surface to be damaged and the wafer (26) is subjected to acoustic vibration. The wafer is bolted (30) to the end of a P.V.C. tube having a loudspeaker driver at its other end. Ideally the loudspeaker emits noise tuned to the resonant frequency of the wafer. By placing two wafers in the tube, faces almost touching and with the balls between the surfaces, both surfaces can be damaged by the vibrating balls. Two loudspeakers may be used, one at each end of the tube and operating in antiphase. The damaged wafers may be used in device manufacture, employing the stress relieving property of the damaged surface during high temperature processes.