Patent · US Expired

Isotropic dry cleaning process for noble metal integrated circuit structures

US6254792A · kind A · utility

60Cited by
4References
44Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 8, 1998
Grant dateJul 3, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 8, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S438/906
  • WIPO fieldSurface technology, coating
  • WIPO sectorChemistry

Abstract

A method for removing from a microelectronic device structure a noble metal residue including at least one metal selected from the group consisting of platinum, palladium, iridium and rhodium, by contacting the microelectronic device structure with a cleaning gas including a reactive halide composition, e.g., XeF.sub.2, SF.sub.6, SiF.sub.4, Si.sub.2 F.sub.6 or SiF.sub.3 and SiF.sub.2 radicals. The method may be carried out in a batch-cleaning mode, in which fresh charges of cleaning gas are successively introduced to a chamber containing the residue-bearing microelectronic device structure. Each charge is purged from the chamber after reaction with the residue, and the charging/purging is continued until the residue has been at least partially removed to a desired extent. Alternatively, the cleaning gas may be continuously flowed through the chamber containing the microelectronic device structure, until the noble metal residue has been sufficiently removed.

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