| dc.description.abstract | This study investigates the effect of a proposed surface treatment, named Photon-assisted Chemical Processing (PACP), on the surface properties of semiconductors, mainly silicon and silicon carbide wafers. Among them, the silicon carbide wafer is the key component for third-generation semiconductor manufacturing because its high stability, high hardness, wide energy gap, and low thermal expansion coefficient are required for high-power and high-frequency devices. Commercial silicon carbide wafers go through a tedious and time-consuming process of wire saw slicing, grinding, and polishing after the crystals are grown into columns. However, due to its extremely high hardness and extremely high chemical stability, using the existing grinding and polishing technology, the processing speed is slow, the time-consuming consumables are many, and the cost is extremely high, resulting in the high wafer price. However, due to its extremely high hardness and high chemical stability, using the existing grinding and polishing technology, the processing speed is slow, the time-consuming consumables are many, and resulting in the high wafer price. This study investigated the surface properties of silicon carbide after the PACP. Experimental results show that this treatment could generate a uniform and softened modified layer, with thickness up to several tens of micrometer, on the wafer surface. Compared to the untreated surface, the hardness was reduced by 40%. In terms of grinding characteristics, we used sandpaper for mechanical grinding, which could reach nanometer-level surface roughness within several tens of minutes. For silicon carbide wafer grinding, this method should be efficient and cost-effective. | en_US |