The influence of surface damage removal on the performance of silicon diode

The presence of a damaged layer in silicon wafers has a significant effect on Schottky diodes. Chemical mechanical polishing cannot completely remove the damaged layer. In this paper, we first explore the optimal conditions to remove the damaged layer of silicon. KOH solution is used for polishing due to its environmental friendliness and low cost. Excellent polishing results are obtained by adding our own prepared auxiliary etching additives. The results indicate that the most effective method for removing the damaged layer is chemical polishing + texturing + chemical polishing. The surface-treated and untreated silicon wafers are then used to fabricate Schottky diodes, and the Schottky diodes made from the surface-treated silicon wafers achieved a lower ideality factor and density of states compared to those made from untreated wafers. Therefore, removing the silicon substrate’s damaged layer contributes to improving Schottky diode performance.