Patent · US Expired

Cleaning composition containing tetraalkylammonium salt and use thereof in semiconductor fabrication

US6468951B1 · kind B1 · utility

18Cited by
28References
61Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 1, 2000
Grant dateOct 22, 2002
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 1, 2020

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S438/906
  • WIPO fieldSemiconductors
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A composition prepared from water, hydrofluoric acid (HF) and tetraalkylammonium hydroxide (TAAH, preferably tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH)) or tetraalkylammonium fluoride and solvent with or without HF or TAAH is used to clean residue from a semiconductor wafer, where the residue is formed as a result of a planarization process, such as chemical mechanical polishing. Incorporation of TMAH into an aqueous HF composition retards the rate at which the composition dissolves borophosphosilicate (BPSG) without effecting the rate at which silica is dissolved. Thus, the aqueous HF/TMAH composition may be used to completely remove silica-containing residue from a BPSG surface, with a tolerable level of BPSG removal.

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