Nitride semiconductor wafers which are produced by epitaxially grown
nitride films on a foreign undersubstrate in vapor phase have strong
inner stress due to misfit between the nitride and the undersubstrate
material. A GaN wafer which has made by piling GaN films upon a GaAs
undersubstrate in vapor phase and eliminating the GaAs undersubstrate
bends upward due to the inner stress owing to the misfit of lattice
constants between GaN and GaAs. Ordinary one-surface polishing having the
steps of gluing a wafer with a surface on a flat disc, bringing another
surface in contact with a lower turntable, pressing the disc, rotating
the disc, revolving the turntable and whetting the lower surface, cannot
remedy the inherent distortion. The Distortion worsens morphology of
epitaxial wafers, lowers yield of via-mask exposure and invites cracks on
surfaces. Nitride crystals are rigid but fragile. Chemical/mechanical
polishing has been requested in vain. Current GaN wafers have roughened
bottom surfaces, which induce contamination of particles and fluctuation
of thickness.