Method for preparing a semiconductor substrate surface for semiconductor device fabrication

A method for preparing a semiconductor substrate surface for semiconductor device fabrication, includes providing a semiconductor substrate having a pure Ge surface layer or a Ge-containing surface layer, such as SiGe. The semiconductor substrate is cleaned using a first oxygen plasma process to rem...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors Smith, Steven M, Convey, Diana J, Hooper, Andy E, Wei, Yi
Format Patent
LanguageEnglish
Published 07.11.2006
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Summary:A method for preparing a semiconductor substrate surface for semiconductor device fabrication, includes providing a semiconductor substrate having a pure Ge surface layer or a Ge-containing surface layer, such as SiGe. The semiconductor substrate is cleaned using a first oxygen plasma process to remove foreign matter from the surface of the substrate. The substrate surface is next immersed in a hydrochloric acid solution to remove additional foreign matter from the surface of the substrate. The immersion step is followed by a second oxygen plasma etch process, passivate the surface with a passivation layer, and provide for an atomically smooth surface for subsequent epitaxial or gate dielectric growth.