Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Single-side polished silicon carbide wafers could exhibit large bow and warp due to the presence of mechanical damage on the unpolished surface. In this study, we investigated the effect of thermal annealing on the wafer bow. Two commercial-grade, double-side polished 3¡¨ 6H SiC wafers with the bow less than 5 μm were lapped using 12 μm diamond grit. One wafer was lapped on the C-face and another on the Si-face. The lapped wafers were subjected to annealing in vacuum at temperatures between 500¢XC and 2040¢XC. The wafer bow and x-ray rocking curves were measured prior to annealing and after each annealing step in order to evaluate the extent of the surface damage and degree of healing. Thermal annealing led to a decrease in the wafer bow and sharpening of the x-ray rocking curves. However, the wafer bow generated by lapping was not completely removed until annealing temperature reached ∼2000°C.