Patent ID: 6995077

Claim:
A process for producing a semiconductor wafer with a front surface and a back surface and an epitaxial layer of semiconducting material deposited on the front surface, wherein the process comprises the following process steps: a) a stock removal polishing step as the only polishing step: b) cleaning and drying of the semiconductor wafer; c) pretreating of the front surface of the semiconductor wafer in a first step in a hydrogen atmosphere at a temperature of 950° C. to 1250° C. to remove oxide from the front surface of the wafer, and then, in a second step, with a mixture of hydrogen and HCl at a temperature of from 950° C. to 1250° C. to selectively etch said front surface and remove from 0.01 to 0.2 μm of material from the front surface of the semiconductor wafer at an etching rate of 0.01 to 0.1 μm/min; and d) depositing an epitaxial layer on the front surface of the pretreated semiconductor wafer.