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Hot Water Etching of Silicon Surfaces: New Insights of Mechanistic understanding and Implications to Device Fabrication

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

J. M. Rosamilia ,
T. Boone ,
J. Sapjeta ,
K. Raghavachari ,
G. S. Higashi  and
Q. Liu
J. M. Rosamilia
Affiliation:
Lucent Technologies 700 Mountain Avenue Murray Hill, NJ 07974
T. Boone
Affiliation:
Lucent Technologies 700 Mountain Avenue Murray Hill, NJ 07974
J. Sapjeta
Affiliation:
Lucent Technologies 700 Mountain Avenue Murray Hill, NJ 07974
K. Raghavachari
Affiliation:
Lucent Technologies 700 Mountain Avenue Murray Hill, NJ 07974
G. S. Higashi
Affiliation:
Lucent Technologies 9333 S. John Young Parkway, Orlando, FL
Q. Liu
Affiliation:
Lucent Technologies 9333 S. John Young Parkway, Orlando, FL
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Abstract

Over the recent years, many new approaches in wafer cleaning have utilized hot water rinsing. Benefits of hot water rinsing are (1) it aids the removal of residual chemicals and (2) it improves the performance of the dry, e.g. TREBOR hydrodry. However, there have been a number of significant disadvantages documented with regard to device performance. Earlier work done at this laboratory showed that the use of DI rinse water at elevated temperatures can cause etching of the Si surface producing unwanted surface topography and microroughness. The surface erosion created under these conditions had a negative device impact which led to product yield loss. In this paper, we provide a fundamental understanding of the mechanism by which Si is etched during hot water rinsing. To this end, we have explored the interaction of dissolved oxygen concentration, water temperature, and rinse time as it relates to the attack/dissolution of H-terminated silicon. Contact angle measurements, surface roughness measurements, and etch rate data from TEM measurements as a function of water temperature, rinse time, and dissolved oxygen concentration have been made. The etch rate data strongly correlates with the rinse water temperature, however little dependence was observed with dissolved oxygen concentration. A mechanism to explain the etching will be discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 477 , 1997 , 181
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1997

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References

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