Method of transferring semiconductor wafer to polishing apparatus and method of producing semiconductor wafer

A method of transferring a semiconductor wafer to be polished to a single-side polishing apparatus by placing the semiconductor wafer on a temporary cradle, and then, transferring the semiconductor wafer to a polishing head of the single-side polishing apparatus,

• the temporary cradle comprising:
• a retainer portion that holds a peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer;
• a tray that is configured to be liftable and has a plurality of ring-shaped protrusions on a surface of the tray, with each protrusion having an inner wall provided with a spray hole through which a liquid is sprayed along the inner wall, such that the semiconductor wafer is held by suction without contact by spraying the liquid from each spray hole;
• and
• a guide portion that is placed around the semiconductor wafer and aligns the semiconductor wafer when the semiconductor wafer is raised by raising the tray,
• the method comprising:
• starting to splay the liquid from each spray hole at a first flow rate;
• placing the semiconductor wafer on the retainer portion to hold a surface to be polished of the semiconductor wafer by suction without contact with the tray, and
• raising the tray to attach the semiconductor wafer to the polishing head after that,
• wherein a period of time from a point at which the semiconductor wafer is held by the retainer portion to a point at which the attaching of the semiconductor wafer to the polishing head is completed is 5 s or more.