Patent ID: 9412628
Filing Date: 2016-08-09
CPC Classification: H01L

Claim Text:
1. A method of treating one or more wafers, comprising the steps of: a) providing at least one wafer in a process chamber, wherein said wafer includes first and second opposed major faces and at least one feature sensitive to a neutralizing chemistry included on the first major face, and wherein said process chamber includes process chamber surfaces that are on, above and below the wafer; b) causing an acidic chemistry to contact the first major face of the wafer while the wafer is spinning, wherein said contact with the acid chemistry causes acid and acid by-product material to be present on the wafer and on other process chamber surfaces; c) after causing the acidic chemistry to contact the first major surface of the wafer, treating the first and second major surfaces of the wafer with one or more oxidizing reagents; d) after step (c), causing a non-etching rinsing fluid to contact the first major face while the wafer is spinning; and e) after step (d), causing a non-etching rinsing fluid to contact the first major face of the spinning wafer to rinse the first major surface and other process chamber surfaces such that acid and acid by-product material from the first major surface and other chamber surfaces above the wafer are transported to lower process chamber surfaces, and during at least a portion of the time that the non-etching rinsing fluid is caused to contact the first major face of the spinning wafer, co-dispensing and causing a neutralizing liquid to contact the second major face of the spinning wafer in a manner such that the neutralizing liquid sheets outward and rinses the second major surface of the wafer and is slung off the second major surface to neutralize and rinse off process chamber surfaces at and below the wafer while the non-etching rinsing fluid on the first major surface protects the first major surface against contact with the neutralizing liquid.