Patent ID: 7851365

Claim:
A method for depositing an ultra-thin epitaxial interfacial phase having at least either a tetragonal distortion up to 100% or a surface atomic step greater than or equal to 100 Å or both on a cleaned semiconductor substrate, the method comprising the steps of: cleaning a sealable container according to a semiconductor-grade cleaning process comprising a peroxide solution, to provide a cleaned sealable container; cleaning the surface of a semiconductor substrate to provide an initially cleaned semiconductor substrate, wherein the cleaning of the surface of the semiconductor substrate comprises a Herbots-Atluri clean, and a Herbots-Atluri clean is the final cleaning performed prior to maintaining the initially cleaned semiconductor substrate in a static and inert atmosphere; maintaining the initially cleaned semiconductor substrate in a static and inert atmosphere inside of the cleaned sealable container to provide a cleaned semiconductor substrate having decreased surface carbon contamination with respect to the initially cleaned semiconductor substrate; and oxidizing the cleaned semiconductor substrate, wherein the initially cleaned semiconductor substrate is maintained in the static and inert atmosphere from the conclusion of the cleaning step until the beginning of the oxidization step; and wherein the oxidizing results in deposition of the ultra-thin epitaxial interfacial phase having at least either a tetragonal distortion up to 100% or a surface atomic step greater than or equal to 100 Å or both on the cleaned semiconductor substrate.