Patent ID: 7253081

Claim:
A dry method for finishing SOI substrates, said method comprising: providing an SOI substrate comprising a cleaved surface, said cleaved surface having a first surface roughness value; performing a hydrogen treatment to increase a concentration of hydrogen of said cleaved surface; and performing an etchant and thermal treatment after the hydrogen treatment, the etchant and thermal treatment comprising: increasing a temperature of an environment associated with said cleaved surface to greater than about 1,000° Celsius; and contacting said cleaved surface with a hydrogen bearing environment at least when said temperature of said environment is greater than about 1,000° Celsius to reduce said first surface roughness value by at least about eighty percent to a second surface roughness value, said hydrogen bearing environment including at least an HCl gas and a hydrogen gas; whereupon the cleaved surface having the second roughness value is substantially planarized.