Nanoscratching Experiments of Si Wafer by AFM

Abstract

Applications of diamond abrasives wheels have been spreading in the field of planarization of Si wafers. Under such circumstances, this study aims to clarify the removal mechanism of Si wafer surface by a diamond abrasive in an atomic level. This paper reports on the results obtained through the nano–scratching simulations by using the molecular dynamics method and the experiments in atmosphere by an atomic force microscope (AFM), respectively. From the simulation results, the formation of amorphous phase around the scratched groove was observed. On the contrary, according to the experimental results, the formation of the embossment on the scratched area was observed.