Patent ID: 7390755

Claim:
A method of cleaning a semiconductor wafer, wherein said wafer-has photoresist and residue remaining from an etching process, comprising: stripping the bulk of the photoresist from the wafer; and after stripping the bulk of the photoresist from the wafer; performing a process to remove at least some of the remaining residue from the wafer, said process comprising: i) removing at least a first portion of said residue by performing a first plasma clean; ii) exposing said wafer to a first material comprising a first constituent comprising hydrogen and a second constituent comprising oxygen to remove at least a second portion of said residue from said wafer; iii) removing at least a third portion of said residue by performing a second plasma clean; and iv) exposing said wafer to a second material comprising a third constituent comprising hydrogen and a fourth constituent comprising oxygen to remove a fourth portion of said residue from said wafer.