The polishing methods for large area CVD diamond wafer

Figures & data

Figure 1. Mechanical polishing (MP): (a) Schematic diagram of the setup for MP experiments; (b) Optical images of MP [56]; (c) Typical AFM roughness image of MP [49]; (d) Scanning electron microscope images of MP [19].

Table 1. Evaluation of different polishing methods for polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer.

Polishing method		MP	CMP	TCP	DFP	LP	IBP	PAP
Maximum MRR	Value(µm/hr)	70.32	120.20	Over 400	1260	10	8.60	120
	Crystal orientation					(111)*, (220),(311)		(220)*,(111), (311),(400)
	Reference	[57]	[30]	[23]	[38]	[58]	[59]	[60]
Maximum PR	Value(nm/min)	32.00	92.20	69.30	1166.70	3592	24.90	8.24
	Crystal orientation			(111)				(111)
	Measurement area	4000,1250 µm	10000 µm^2	2500 µm		80 ∼ 1500 µm
	Reference	[56]	[43]	[61]	[62]	[63]	[64]	[65]
Finest Ra	Value(nm)	0.278	0.187	1.3	0.1	22	1.9	1.79
	Crystal orientation	(111)*, (331),(220), (311),(400)			(220)*, (111),(311)			(111)*, (331),(220), (311),(400)
	Measurement area	25 µm^2	100 µm^2	2500 µm^2	25 µm^2		1 µm^2	25 µm^2
	Reference	[49]	[41]	[66]	[67]	[68]	[69]	[49]
Maximum wafer size	Value(mm^2)	2827	7853	225	126.6	225	100	100
	Crystal orientation			(111)*, (220),(311)		(111)*, (220),(311)
	Reference	[57]	[70]	[58]	[38]	[58]	[64]	[71]

Note: *The crystal orientation with the highest strength of polycrystalline CVD diamond.

Figure 2. Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP): (a) Schematic diagram of the setup for CMP experiments (Adapted from ref. [43]); (b) Typical AFM roughness image of CMP [41]; (c) Surface optical images of CMP [41].

Figure 3. Thermo-chemical polishing (TCP): (a) Schematic diagram of the setup for TCP experiments. (Adapted from ref. [58]); (b) Typical AFM roughness image of TCP [85]; (c) Surface optical images of TCP [85].

Figure 4. Dynamic friction polishing (DFP): (a) Schematic diagram of the setup for DFP. (Adapted from ref. [86]); (b) Typical AFM roughness image of DFP [67]; (c) Scanning electron microscope images of DFP [87].

Figure 5. Laser polishing (LP): (a) Schematic diagram of the setup for LP (Adapted from ref. [89]); (b) Typical AFM roughness image of LP [88]; (c) Scanning electron microscope images of LP [90].

Figure 6. Ion beam polishing (IBP): (a) An ion beam machining apparatus equipped with a high-voltage discharge-type ion source (Adapted from ref. [92]); (b) Typical AFM roughness image of IBP [93]; (c) Scanning electron microscope images of IBP [91].

Figure 7. Plasma assisted polishing (PAP): (a) Plasma polishing system with parallel stainless steel rods (Adapted from ref. [26]); (b) Optical images of PAP [9]; (c) Typical AFM roughness image of PAP [49]; (d) Scanning electron microscope images of PAP [9].

Table 2. Comparison of various methods for polishing diamond materials.

Polishing method	MP	CMP	TCP	DFP	LP	IBP	PAP
Nature of processing	Contact	Contact	Contact	Contact	Non-contact	Non-contact	Non-contact
Polishing mechanisms	Micro-chipping	Micro-chipping, Chemical reaction	Graphitization, Diffusion	Micro-chipping, Graphitization, Diffusion	Evaporation	Sputtering	Etching
Polishing environment	Room	Room	Vacuum or reduction gas	Room	Room	High vacuum Gas flow	Vacuum or reduction gas
Equipment cost	Low	Medium	Medium	Low	High	High	Medium
Anisotropy	High	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low
Large area processing cost	Medium	Medium	Low	Low	Medium	High	High
Time cost of polishing PCD	A few hours to a few dozen hours	A few hours	A few minutes to a few hours	A few minutes	A few minutes	A few hours to a few dozen hours	A few minutes to a few hours
MRR of polishing PCD	Low	Medium	High	High	Medium	Low	Low
Potential of polishing large area PCD	Medium	Medium	High	High	High	Medium	Medium

Figure 8. K values depending on polishing parameters in DFP: (a) K vs polishing time; (b) K vs polishing load; (c) K vs polishing plate linear velocity [86].

Figure 9. (a) Polishing load vs. K; (b) Polishing plate linear velocity vs. K. (MP: [80, 95], CMP: [43], DFP: [86], TCP: [23, 32, 72]).

Figure 10. (a) K of each polishing method calculated based on data in references; (b) CI of each polishing method calculated based on data in references. (MP: [19, 56, 80–82], CMP: [41, 43, 84], TCP: [23, 32, 58, 72], DFP: [38, 42], LP: [58, 63], IBP: [59, 69, 91], PAP: [94]).

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