Abstract:
This invention relates to a method for reducing halogen gasses and byproducts in post-etch applications. The method consists of exposing the substrate to O 2 /N 2  plasma and water vapor in a process chamber.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/304,905 filed Jul. 11, 2001. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the manufacture of semiconductor devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to the reduction of post etch gasses or byproducts with the use of an O2/N2 stripping plasma immediately before the wafer is transferred to a wafer carrier, cassette, SMIF pod, Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) or other pod. 
     Semiconductor process tools often stage post-etched wafers with pre-etched wafers in a wafer carrier, cassette, FOUP or other pod. These wafers are not under vacuum, but in the case of containment in a pod are isolated from certain conditions present in the wafer-fab providing enhanced protection against airborne particulates. Typical main chamber processing chemistry involves the use of hydrogen bromide (HBr), chlorine (Cl2) and other gases. Bromides absorbed on the surface of the processed wafers tend to give off gas (outgas) inside the pod at atmospheric conditions and condense as a brominated haze on the unetched wafer surface. These brominated condensates may become an etch defect due to micromasking and may result in yield reduction. A microwave post-etch treatment can eliminate brominated cross contamination caused by the outgas of bromide etched wafers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The objective of this invention is to reduce the concentration of post-etch gasses and byproducts in the FOUP. To accomplish this objective, the invention applies a post etch plasma to the substrate. The preferred method of application involves the use of a high temperature ashing process using O 2 /N 2  for a short time (approximately 15 seconds). Alternatively a lower temperature and longer process may be used to obtain similar dehalogenation. The ashing process could be done in any manner of asher, but would typically be done in a microwave or RF powered reactor. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying figures. 
     FIG. 1 is a cross section SEM showing the baseline polysilicon etch process. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates test results comparing a variety of strip combinations. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross section SEM showing the polymer stripability results for an O 2 /N 2  strip at the processing temperature extreme. 
     FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating chloride concentration relative to various strip process parameters. 
     FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating bromide concentration relative to various strip process parameters. 
     FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating particle addition to the FOUP for several test parameters. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FOUP condensation has been previously shown to be the result of residue on post etched wafers. O 2 /N 2  microwave processing of post polysilicon etched wafers under the proper condition can dramatically reduce the bromide and chloride anion concentration as determined by ion chromatography. Using the microwave to fully remove the photoresist after polysilicon etch produced these favorable conditions. However, if the photoresist is not completely stripped then the bromide concentration will not be suitably reduced. An optimized microwave plasma treatment consisting of an O 2 /N 2  process at 280 degrees celcius for 15 seconds offers the best compromise between bromide/chloride reduction and minimal throughput reduction. Microwave processing does not alter the post polysilicon etch polymer stripablity. Particle tests conducted with the optimized microwave process show a substantial reduction in condensation particle counts as compared to the baseline condition. These particle condensation results were verified with a polysilicon wafer haze test that showed none of the typical signs of FOUP condensation hazing. 
     Cluster tools stage post-etched wafers with pre-etched wafers in the FOUP. These wafers are not under vacuum, but are exposed to fab ambient atmospheric conditions. Typical main chamber processing chemistry involves the use of hydrogen bromide (HBr), chlorine (Cl2) and other gases. Bromides absorbed on the surface of the processed wafers tend to outgas inside the FOUP and condense as a brominated haze on the unetched wafer surface. These brominated condensates may become an etch defect due to micromasking and may result in a yield reduction. 
     200 mm patterned polysilicon (see Table 1) and bare silicon wafers were individually processed with a polysilicon etch process (see Table 2) and bare silicon wafers were individually processed with a polysilicon etch process (see Table 2) and Waferless Auto Clean process (“WAC”, see Table 3). These wafers were then subjected to a variety of microwave processing conditions. Upon exiting the microwave wafers were automatically placed on the Alliance cool station and subjected to the baseline cool procedure (see Table 4). 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 200 mm Patterned Polysilicon Test Wafer Structure 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Film 
                 Thickness 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Shipley photoresist 
                 12,000 Å  
               
               
                   
                 Undoped 
                 5,000 Å 
               
               
                   
                 polysilicon 
               
               
                   
                 Thermal oxide 
                 1,000 Å 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;100&gt; silicon 
                 Substrate 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 1.2.0 mask - 0.5 μm line/space pattern  
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 200 mm Level One Polysilicon Etch Process 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 DARC 
                 30mT/250W TCP/-185V b /100 sccm CF 4 /8 Torr He 
               
               
                   
                 backside/15″ 
               
               
                 Main Etch 
                 20mT/250W TCP/-250V b 238 sccm HBr/24 sccm Cl 2 /3 O 2   
               
               
                   
                 sccm/8 Torr He backside/EP @88% 405 nm (˜166″) 
               
               
                 Overetch 
                 80mT/250W TCP/-200Vb/75 sccm HBr/2 O 2 /425 sccm He/8 
               
               
                   
                 Torr He backside/80″ 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Temperatures: 60° C. chamber/60° C. electrode  
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 3 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Polysilicon Etch Process WAC 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Step 1 
                 80 mT/800W TCP/100 sccm SF 6 /20 sccm O 2 /8 Torr He/33″ 
               
               
                 Step 2 
                 20 mT/800W TCP/20 sccm O 2 /8 Torr He/10″ 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Temperatures: 60° C. chamber/60° C. electrode  
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 4 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Baseline Alliance Cool Station Process 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Step 1 
                 5 Torr He/2,000 Watts/20″ 
               
               
                   
                 Step 2 
                 0 Torr He/0 Watts/10″ 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Temperatures: 60° C. chamber/60° C. electrode  
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Immediately after processing, the wafers were individually placed in virgin single-wafer carriers. They were then tested for leachable anion constituents by means of ion chromatography (IC). Optimization of the microwave treatment consisted of determining the lowest bromide ion (Br—) and other anion concentrations found from the experiments in Phase 1 and then devising a series of experiments to further refine the processing conditions. 
     Once an optimal process was determined a series of FOUP emulation tests were conducted. Atmospheric wafer box tests were designed to emulate conditions encountered in the FOUP. These tests consisted of placing a full cassette of bare silicon wafers processed with the polysilicon etch process+WAC+optimal microwave in both a sealed wafer box as well as a wafer box with its lid ajar. Particle tests were then conducted on these wafers at times: initial, +2 hours, +6 hours, and +24 hours. Additionally, another batch of wafers was processed without the microwave process and placed in an open box (lid ajar) as a FOUP reference standard. A successful microwave process would be judged based upon the completeness of halogen removal, minimal particle adders, and minimal wafer throughput impact. 
     Initial experimentation began with the verification of the baseline polysilicon etch process. One patterned polysilicon wafer was etched with the polysilicon etch process and then examined with a cross section SEM (FIG.  1 ). There was approximately 8,900 Å remaining photoresist both center and edge with relatively vertical sidewalls with no etch residue in the field. It was determined that these process results were acceptable to use for tests involving the microwave chamber. 
     Tests using a variety of strip formulas showed that the most successful post etch treatment for eliminating bromide atoms was obtained with an O 2 /N 2  strip (FIG.  2 ). Thus, the first series of experiments was designed to baseline the standard polysilicon etch results and identify the first order significance of various microwave processing sequences. Table 5 below provides an overview of the test plans. Each wafer was individually loaded into the vacuum cassette elevator (VCE) and individually processed according to the test plan in Table 5. After processing, the VCE was vented and the wafer was immediately placed in a virgin single wafer carrier. The wafers were tested for ion chromatograhpy for extractable anions: (F − ), (Cl − ), (Br − ),(NO 2− ),(NO 3   − ),(SO 4   2− ) &amp; (PO 4   3− ). The results of these tests are listed in Table 6 below. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 5 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Phase One General Test Plans 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                  1. Baseline Poly Etch (BPE - Table 2) without Microwave processing 
               
               
                  2. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2  process - 2Torr/1.25 KW/3.6 L O 2 /0.4 L N 2 /160° C./30″ 
               
               
                  3. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2  process - 2Torr/1.25 KW/3.6 L O 2 /0.4 L N 2 /220° C./30″ 
               
               
                  4. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2  process - 2Torr/1.25 KW/3.6 L O 2 /0.4 L N 2 /280° C./30″ 
               
               
                  5. BPE + Microwave outgas (no processing) - 0Torr/120° C./30″ 
               
               
                  6. BPE + Microwave H 2 O flow (no plasma) - 9.9Torr/1 L H 2 O/120° C./30″ 
               
               
                  7. BPE + Microwave H 2 O process - 9.9Torr/1.25 KW/1 L H 2 O/160° C./30″ 
               
               
                  8. BPE + Microwave H 2 O, then O 2 /N 2 process - 9.9Torr/1.25 KW/1 L H 2 O/30″ + 2Torr/1.25 KW/3.6 L O 2 /0.4 L N 2 /30″- 160° C. 
               
               
                  9. BPE + Microwave O 2 /N 2  then H 2 O process - 2Torr/1.25 KW/3.6 L O 2 /0.4 L N 2 /30″ + 9.9Torr/1 L H 2 O/120° C./30″ - 160° C. 
               
               
                 10. BPE + Microwave O 2 /N 2 /H 2 O process - 2Torr/1.25 KW/3.6 L O 2 /0.4 L N 2 /1.0 L H 2 O 160° C./30″ 
               
               
                 11. Harmeet Singh&#39;s Baseline Poly Etch (very similar Table 2) on bare silicon without Microwave 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 6 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Phase 1 General Test Plans and Results 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 F —   
                 Cl —   
                 Br —   
                 NO 2   —   
                 PO 3   2—   
                 SO 4   2—   
               
               
                 Tests *,**,*** 
                 x10 10   
                 x10 10   
                 x10 10   
                 x10 10   
                 x10 10   
                 x10 10   
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                  1. Baseline Poly Etch (BPE) without Microwave processing 
                 &lt;25 
                 88 
                 25,000 
                 1800 
                 &lt;10 
                 260 
               
               
                  2. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2  process - 160° C./30″ 
                 &lt;25 
                 670 
                 7,500 
                 600 
                 160 
                 40,000 
               
               
                  3. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2  process - 220° C./ 
                 1,100 
                 37 
                 200 
                 750 
                 97 
                 22,000 
               
               
                 30″‡ 
               
               
                  4. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2  process - 280° C./ 
                 &lt;25 
                 58 
                 100 
                 950 
                 60 
                 6,500 
               
               
                 30″‡ 
               
               
                  5. BPE + Microwave outgas (no processing) - 120° C./30″ 
                 &lt;25 
                 98 
                 25,000 
                 2,100 
                 &lt;10 
                 410 
               
               
                  6. BPE + Microwave H 2 O flow (no plasma) - 1 L/120° C./30″ 
                 &lt;25 
                 100 
                 20,000 
                 1,700 
                 &lt;10 
                 210 
               
               
                  7. BPE + Microwave H 2 O process - 160° C./30″ 
                 &lt;25 
                 41 
                 18,000 
                 1,200 
                 &lt;10 
                 1,100 
               
               
                  8. BPE + Microwave H 2 O process followed by O 2 /N 2  process - 
                 &lt;25 
                 97 
                 1,800 
                 1,200 
                 17 
                 49,000 
               
               
                 160° C./30″ + 30″ 
               
               
                  9. BPE + Microwave O 2 /N 2  process followed by H 2 O process - 
                 &lt;25 
                 440 
                 2,500 
                 1,100 
                 67 
                 16,000 
               
               
                 160° C./30″ + 30″ 
               
               
                 10. BPE + Microwave O 2 /N 2 /H 2 O process - 160° C./30″ 
                 &lt;25 
                 20 
                 5,000 
                 1,200 
                 21 
                 9,200 
               
               
                 11. Harmeet Singh&#39;s Baseline Poly Etch on bare silicon w/o 
                 &lt;25 
                 350 
                 14,000 
                 5,400 
                 &lt;10 
                 53,000 
               
               
                 Microwave 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Detection Limits:  
               
               
                 (F) 25 × 10 10 ,(Cl — ) 15 × 10 10 ,(NO 2— ) 20 × 10 10 , (Br — ) 5 × 10 10 ,(SO 4   2— ) 10 × 10 10 ,(PO 4   3— ) 10 × 10 10   
               
               
                 ‡Photoresist cleared  
               
               
                 *Note All samples showed nitrates below detection limit (NO 3— ) 15 × 10 10   
               
               
                 **Note Sample readings from right side of wafer where particle measure showed significant haze, NO 3 :3,700  
               
               
                 ***Note Wafer samples 1-7 were extracted 3 days after vendor receipt, 8-11 were extracted 4 days after vendor receipt  
               
             
          
         
       
     
     All microwave recipes were run without a heat-up step typically used in microwave processing. This was done to maximize throughput. A stability step was used before each microwave power on step. 
     Inspection of the data shows that there was a marked and favorable reduction in the bromide concentration for the tests with 220° C. and 280° C. of O 2 /N 2  plasma treatment for 30 seconds. There is also a pronounced reduction with the 160° C./30 seconds process as well, but not nearly to the extent of the higher temperature tests. Also, placing the water vapor plasma before or after the O 2 /N 2  process (@ 160° C./30 seconds, tests 8 and 9) reduced the bromide concentration considerably, but not to the extent seen at the higher temperature processing. 
     The use of the microwave without plasma at 120° C. for 30 seconds (test 5) did nothing to reduce the bromide concentration. A higher temperature and longer time period may promote desorption of the brominated by-products, but these conditions may cause the photoresist mask to flow (i.e., T microwave &gt;T g-photoresist ) and/or the photoresist to harden. 
     Flowing 1 liter of water vapor at 9.9 Torr using the same temperature and time conditions in the foregoing paragraph slightly improved the bromide concentration, but not to a large enough extent to be viable. It is of note that the pressure conditions used during this test result in a nearly identical water vapor flux as what would be found at atmospheric pressure and 40% relative humidity (typical fab environment). 
     The use of a three gas microwave process —O 2 /N 2 /H 2 O at 160° C. was moderately more effective than the dual gas process —O 2 /N 2  at 160° in reducing the bromide concentration, but it was not as effective as sequencing the microwave process first with the H 2 O plasma followed by the O 2 /N 2  plasma. Additions of H 2 O to O 2 /N 2  plasmas result in photoresist strip rate reductions. It is interesting to note that this sample had the lowest chloride concentration. Test #7 also had a very low chloride concentration despite the high bromide concentration. This underscores the viability of H 2 O plasmas for their role in reducing chloride concentrations (e.g., post metal etch passivation processing). 
     One principal concern associated with dry stripping of photoresist is the ability to remove the sidewall polymer. Thus, the sidewall polymer for the O 2 /N 2  plasma treatment extremes was verified with SEM analysis. Samples 2 (160° C.) and sample 4 (280° C.) were treated with a standard 100:1 post polysilicon strip dip, spin-rinse-dry, and then were cross section SEM analyzed, these results are given in FIG.  3 . Due to the remaining resist on sample 2, it received an additional 120 second microwave strip, identical to its previous test conditions, to insure complete resist removal. FIG. 3 shows that in either processing temperature, there is no visible polymer remaining after the standard post photoresist strip treatment. Thus, it appears that the microwave does not complicate the photoresist removal process associated with polysilicon etching. 
     After reviewing the previous data, it was decided that additional tests would be conducted to determine the optimal O 2 /N 2  processing conditions. Thus, the standard polysilicon etch/WAC was used to process the baseline polysilicon wafers and the microwave post etch treatment was varied in the following method shown in Table 7. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 7 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Phase 2 General Test Plans 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 12. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2 process - 160° C./60″ 
               
               
                   
                 13. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2 process - 220° C./15″ 
               
               
                   
                 14. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2 process - 220° C./60″ 
               
               
                   
                 15. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2 process - 280° C./15″ 
               
               
                   
                 16. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2 process - 280° C./60″ 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Fixed Microwave Conditions: 2 Torr/3.6 liters O 2 /0.4 liters N 2 /pins down  
               
             
          
         
       
     
     As before, each wafer was individually loaded into the vacuum cassette elevator (VCE) and individually processed according to the test plan in Table 7, after processing, the VCE was vented and the wafer was immediately placed in a virgin single wafer carrier. These wafers were then tested for ion chromatography for extractable anions: (F—),(Cl—),(Br—), (NO 2 —),(NO 3 —),(SO 4   2 —), &amp; (PO 4   3 —). The results of these tests are given below in Table 8. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 8 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Phase 2 General Test Plans and Results 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 F —   
                 Cl —   
                 Br —   
                 NO 2   —   
                 NO 3   2—   
                 SO 4   2—   
               
               
                 Test* 
                 x10 10   
                 x10 10   
                 x10 10   
                 x10 10   
                 x10 10   
                 x10 10   
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 12. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2  process - 160° C./ 
                 6,300 
                 61 
                 570 
                 1,000 
                 34 
                 39,000 
               
               
                 60″‡ 
               
               
                 13. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2  process - 220° C./ 
                 13,000 
                 790 
                 4,000 
                 1,500 
                 &lt;15 
                 16,000 
               
               
                 15″‡ 
               
               
                 14. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2  process - 220° C./ 
                 7,400 
                 54 
                 130 
                 530 
                 50 
                 1,200 
               
               
                 60″‡ 
               
               
                 15. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2  process - 280° C./ 
                 7,200 
                 22 
                 240 
                 610 
                 &lt;15 
                 8,500 
               
               
                 15″‡ 
               
               
                 16. BPE + Baseline LRJ Microwave O 2 /N 2  process - 280° C./ 
                 7,800 
                 16 
                 67 
                 570 
                 &lt;15 
                 7,700 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Detection Limits:  
               
               
                 (F) 25 × 10 10 ,(Cl — ) 15 × 10 10 ,(No 2   — ) 20 × 10 10 ,(NO 3   — ) 15 × 10 10 (Br — ) 5 × 10 10 , (SO 4   2— ) 10 × 10 10 ,  
               
               
                 ‡Photoresist cleared  
               
               
                 *Note All samples showed phosphate below detection limit (PO 4   3— ) 15 × 10 10   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Review of the Phase 2 tests results reveal several items of interest. First, the level of fluoride increased dramatically over the Phase 1 test results. This was due to the 3-4 day extraction queue during the Phase 1 ion chromatography analysis versus the same day extraction for the Phase 2 analysis. This is apparently due to fluoride desorping off the wafer surface (as HF vapor) within a relatively short 0-3 day timeframe. Secondly, the chloride value results for the higher temperature processing is just at the detection limit for the 60 second strip and approximately the same value as the best Phase 1 test results. 
     Third, and most importantly, the bromide concentration for the wafers where the photoresist was completely stripped was desirably low; especially for the high temperature processing. The best bromide concentration was found with the 280° C./60 second strip with a Br— of 67×10 10  atoms/cm 2 ; however with 280° C./15 second strip the bromide concentration was measured at [Br—] of 240×10 10  atoms/cm 2 . A graphical representation of the chloride and bromide concentration as a function of time and temperature is given in FIGS. 4 and 5. 
     In light of the overall excellent bromide and chloride concentrations associated with 280° C. microwave processing and the need to maintain high throughput, the optimal processing conditions for the post polysilicon etch microwave treatment was determined to be 280° C. for 15 seconds. 
     Using the 280° C./15 seconds O 2 /N 2  microwave process as the optimal process, wafer box tests were run to emulate those conditions encountered in the FOUP. Three types of tests were performed. The first two tests consisted of processing 22 bare silicon wafers (wafers  2  through  23 ) with the polysilicon etch process &amp; WAC with the optimal microwave process. Wafers  1  and  24  were particle monitor wafers and wafer  25  was a cassette cover wafer. After processing the first test, the wafer batch was placed in a sealed wafer box, whereas, the second test wafer batch was placed in a wafer box with its lid ajar. The third test was a baseline test where the wafers were processed as above, but without the microwave post polysilicon etch treatment. This test wafer batch was placed in a wafer box with its lid ajar. 
     Particle measurements were taken during these tests at time intervals: pre-test, 2 hours, 6 hours, and 24 hours. Particle counts consisted of particles measured over a range of 0.16 μm to 5.0 μm and haze defects. Table 9 displays the results of these particle tests: 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 9 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 FOUP Emulation Particle Test Results 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Test 
                 Time 
                 Wafer 01 
                   
                 Average added 
               
               
                 Description 
                 (hours) 
                 particles 
                 Wafer 24 particles 
                 particles 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Baseline - 
                 0 
                 56 
                 37 
                 0 
               
               
                 wafer box lid 
                 2 
                 396 
                 39 
                 171 
               
               
                 ajar 
                 6 
                 488 
                 40 
                 217.5 
               
               
                   
                 24 
                 449 
                 101 
                 228.5 
               
               
                 Microwave 
                 0 
                 51 
                 44 
                 0 
               
               
                 treatment - 
                 2 
                 48 
                 35 
                 −6 
               
               
                 wafer box lid 
                 6 
                 48 
                 36 
                 −5.5 
               
               
                 closed 
                 24 
                 49 
                 36 
                 −5 
               
               
                 Microwave 
                 0 
                 49 
                 40 
                 0 
               
               
                 treatment - 
                 2 
                 55 
                 39 
                 2.5 
               
               
                 wafer box lid 
                 6 
                 55 
                 43 
                 4.5 
               
               
                 ajar 
                 24 
                 52 
                 50 
                 6.5 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The results obtained in Table 9 demonstrate that the particle issues associated with halogen condensation (most likely in the form of bromine hyrdrate —Br 2 .10H 2 O) have been essentially eliminated with the use of the microwave. This is seen for both static ambient air and for nominal ambient air circulation (i.e., closed box and lid ajar test conditions). This data is illustrated graphically in FIG.  6 . 
     The microwave post polysilicon etch treatment virtually eliminates particle condensation that is typically seen on wafers that have not been treated and are exposed to ambient circulating air as in the FOUP. One final test was conducted to verify the effectiveness of the microwave treatment. A patterned polysilicon wafer was etched as before with the Level 1 process and WAC and then processed in the microwave with the optimized 280° C./15 second process. It was then removed from the tool and inspected for signs of hazing. This hazing is typical of the FOUP condensation mechanism. The wafer was then regularly inspected using a high numerical aperature confocal microscope over the same intervals at the particle measurements mentioned above, namely at 2, 6, and 24 hours. During this inspection period, the wafer was not found to have any form of hazing. 
     Based on the data analysis above, it is apparent that O 2 /N 2  microwave processing under the proper conditions can dramatically reduce the bromide and chloride anions concentration as determined by ion chromatography. Using the microwave to fully remove the photoresist after polysilicon etch resulted in these favorable conditions. However, if the photoresist is not completely stripped, then the bromide concentration will not be suitably reduced. It was found that an optimized microwave plasma treatment consisting of an O 2 /N 2  process @ 280° C. for 15 seconds offered the best compromise between bromide/chloride reduction and minimal throughput reduction. 
     Particle tests conducted with the optimized microwave process showed a very substantial reduction (&gt;97%) in condensation particle counts as compared to the baseline condition. These particle condensation results were verified with a wafer haze test that showed none of the typical signs of FOUP condensation hazing. 
     In closing, its has been shown that the microwave stripper, when used with an optimized O 2 /N 2  process @ 280° C. for 15 seconds is the best compromise between bromide/chloride reduction and has minimal throughput reduction. 
     Particle tests conducted with the optimized microwave process showed a very substantial reduction (&gt;97%) in condensation particle counts as compared to the baseline condition. These particle condensation results were verified with a wafer haze test that showed none of the typical signs of FOUP condensation hazing. It has been shown that the microwave stripper, when used with an optimized O 2 /N 2  process at 280° C. for 15 seconds, has successfully eliminated FOUP condensation. Due to the relatively short processing time, the microwave and associated cool station process should have only a slight impact on throughput. Thus, the microwave is offered as one of the solutions to the FOUP condensation issue. 
     While this invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment, there are alterations, permutations, and equivalents which fall within the scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the present invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations, permutations, and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.