Method and apparatus for treating a substrate with dense fluid and plasma
US8197603B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 18, 2006 |
| Grant date | Jun 12, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 11, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/02274
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention is a method, process and apparatus for selective cleaning, drying, and modifying substrate surfaces and depositing thin films thereon using a dense phase gas solvent and admixtures within a first created supercritical fluid anti-solvent. Dense fluids are used in combination with sub-atmospheric, atmospheric and super-atmospheric plasma adjuncts (cold and thermal plasmas) to enhance substrate surface cleaning, modification, precision drying and deposition processes herein. Moreover, conventional wet cleaning agents such as hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride may be used with the present invention to perform substrate pre-treatments prior to precision drying and cleaning treatments described herein. Finally, dense fluid such as solid phase carbon dioxide and argon may be used as a follow-on treatment or in combination with plasmas to further treat a substrate surface.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.