Patent · US Expired

Method for cleaning semiconductor devices

US5474615A · kind A · utility

15Cited by
1References
10Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 17, 1992
Grant dateDec 12, 1995
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 17, 2012

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S438/963
  • WIPO fieldSemiconductors
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method of cleaning semiconductor devices which removes or transmutes the contaminants sticking on sidewalls of a pattern or a trench is formed is disclosed. A substrate to be treated on which a pattern or a trench is formed is located in a processing container. A reactive gas which reacts with the contaminants sticking on the sidewall of the pattern or the trench to produce reactive ions which remove or transmute the contaminants is introduced into the processing container. Plasma of the reactive gas is produced by electronic cyclotron resonance in order to produce reactive ions from the reactive gas introduced into the processing container. According to the method, the temperature of the reactive ions in the plasma becomes high, with the result that the motion of the reactive ions in the plasma becomes more active. Accordingly, a velocity vector in a horizontal direction of the reactive ions becomes larger, which enables efficient removal or change in quality of the contaminants sticking on the sidewalls of the pattern or the trench.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.