Patent ID: 8652266

Claim:
A method for preparing a surface of a substrate by removing post etch polymer residue from etched surfaces that define gate structure formed from at least one layer of tungsten metal, comprising: applying a first cleaning chemistry of an ammonium peroxide mixture (APM) as a first meniscus to the surface of the substrate for a first pre-defined exposure time so as to etch an amount of post etch polymer residue that includes tungsten metal at an etch rate ranging between about 1 Å/sec to about 10 Å/sec, the first pre-defined exposure time determined by a linear speed of the substrate moving under the first meniscus and a first width of the first meniscus that is less than a diameter of the substrate; applying a second cleaning chemistry of diluted Hydrofluoric acid (dHF) as a second meniscus to the surface of the substrate sequentially after the first meniscus so as to substantially remove post etch polymer residue that includes silicon metal residues left behind by one or more fabrication operations, the second cleaning chemistry being applied for a second pre-defined exposure time determined by the linear speed of the substrate moving under the second meniscus and a second width of the second meniscus that is less than the diameter of the substrate, the application of dHF used to substantially remove the post etch polymer residue that includes silicon oxide, wherein the first and second menisci are applied in a controlled manner using one or more proximity heads that cover a portion of the substrate, the first meniscus and the second meniscus each have a length that extends to at least a diameter of the substrate, the first meniscus and the second meniscus each define a chemical region wherein portions of the surface of the substrate covered by the first meniscus and the second meniscus are exposed to the respective first and second cleaning chemistries and the second meniscus moves together with the first meniscus at the linear speed of the first meniscus.