Surface damage and the optical reflectance of single-crystal silicon

The reflectance of silicon measured at 4.3 eV can be used to determine the surface quality of silicon. Crystallographic damage, which occurs with abrasive polishing, and texture, which occurs with epitaxial film growth, can be detected. The effect of surface damage on the optical reflectance of silicon measured at 4.3 eV is reported. The reflectance measurement is nondestructive, simple, fast (on the order of seconds), and sensitive. The technique is readily adaptable to quality control inspection in silicon device manufacturing facilities.