METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING SEMICONDUCTOR SUBSTRATES AFTER POLISHING OF COPPER FILM

• Main Authors: HYMES, DIANE J, ZHAO, YUEXING, ZHANG, LIMING, KRUSELL, WILBUR C
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 24.02.2009
• Subjects: ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES AND WAXES; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CANDLES; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; CLEANING OR DEGREASING OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY CHEMICALMETHODS OTHER THAN ELECTROLYSIS; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATIONOR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; DETERGENTS; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION INGENERAL; METALLURGY; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL; RESIN SOAPS; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS

A cleaning solution, method, and apparatus for clean-ing semiconductor substrates after chemical mechanical pol-ishing of copper films is described. The present invention in-cludes a cleaning solution which combines deionized water, an organic compound, and a fluoride compound in an acidic pH environment for cleaning the surface of a semiconductor substrate after polishing a copper layer. Such methods of cleaning semiconductor substrates after copper CMP allevi-ate the problems associated with brush loading and surface and subsurface contamination.