Patent ID: 6715497
Filing Date: 2004-04-06
Classification: B08B,H01L

Abstract:
A method of cleaning a semiconductor substrate comprising:providing a mainframe; providing a semiconductor substrate having a sacrificial oxide layer thereon into said mainframe, said semiconductor substrate having contaminants over said sacrificial oxide layer; heating said semiconductor substrate to an elevated temperature ranging from about 500Â° C. to about 700Â° C. within said mainframe wherein said mainframe has a pressure ranging from about 50 mTorr to about 400 mTorr; while heating said semiconductor substrate, purging said sacrificial oxide layer over said semiconductor substrate with a chlorine-containing gas to form volatile chlorides between said contaminants over said sacrificial oxide layer and dissociated molecules of said chlorine-containing gas within said mainframe without affecting said semiconductor substrate; and removing said volatile chlorides from said mainframe to provide said semiconductor substrate with a clean substrate surface prior to removal of said sacrificial oxide layer, thereby providing said clean substrate surface for a subsequent uniform gate formation step.