Investigation of stress-induced birefringence in large semiconductor wafers by imaging polarimetry

Andrzej L. Bajor

doi:10.1117/12.186695

14 September 1994 Investigation of stress-induced birefringence in large semiconductor wafers by imaging polarimetry

Andrzej L. Bajor

Proceedings Volume 2265, Polarization Analysis and Measurement II; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.186695
Event: SPIE's 1994 International Symposium on Optics, Imaging, and Instrumentation, 1994, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

A computer-controlled polarimeter has been constructed. A wafer up to 6' in dia. is placed in a parallel beam of light between two sheet linear polarizers, whose transmission axes are set at 45 degree(s) and are simultaneously rotated by a stepper motor versus the immobile wafer. Four images of the wafer grabbed in the video frame grabber's memory at four incremented angles of the polarizer' transmission axes are then analyzed by a suitable procedure to yield tree maps: birefringence, the principal azimuth and transmission. The retardation error is usually smaller than 4 X 10^-3 radians, whereas that of the principal azimuth and transmission of a degree and of a percent, respectively. The four images are grabbed within 3 - 4 seconds (10 such averaging cycles--if necessary--consumes less than 50 seconds), and the maps are calculated within 6 - 7 seconds including corrections for background birefringence and transmission. The polarimeter is suitable for quick investigation of large-area wafers, since the data are acquired from a dense (256 X 256) network of points giving a reasonable spatial resolution. In this work some results of investigations of birefringence induced by residual stresses in GaAs, GaP and Si are presented.

Citation Download Citation

Andrzej L. Bajor "Investigation of stress-induced birefringence in large semiconductor wafers by imaging polarimetry", Proc. SPIE 2265, Polarization Analysis and Measurement II, (14 September 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.186695

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