This Practice covers an inspection procedure for determining the surface quality of silicon wafers that have been polished on one side.
 

This Practice is intended as a large-volume acceptance method and does not require use of a microscope or other optical instruments. The inspection relies heavily on the visual acuity of the operator; therefore, test results may be very operator-sensitive.
 

Defects visible to the unaided eye on polished wafer surfaces are categorized in three groups by the illumination geometry that best delineates them: front-surface high-intensity light, front-surface diffuse light and back-surface diffuse light. These defects originate from two sources: (1) imperfections in the silicon crystal, and (2) damage from the manufacturing process, including handling and packaging.
 

The inspection described generally takes place after polishing and post-polish cleaning but before packaging. Although cleaning and packaging procedures are not a part of this Practice, the inspection may be performed on a packaged product to determine the effect of such procedures on the quality of the polished wafers.
 

The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for information only.

Referenced SEMI Standards (purchase separately)
SEMI C41 — Specification and Guide for 2-Propanol
SEMI M59 — Terminology for Silicon Technology
SEMI MF154 — Guide for Identification of Structures and Contaminants Seen on Specular Silicon Surfaces

Revision History
SEMI MF523-1107 (Reapproved 1023)
SEMI MF523-1107 (Reapproved 0718)
SEMI MF523-1107 (Reapproved 1012)
SEMI MF523-1107 (technical revision)
SEMI MF523-0706 (technical revision)
SEMI MF523-02 (first SEMI publication)