Silicon Surface Cleaning after Spacer Dry Etching

摘要

The objective of this study was silicon surface cleaning after high-density plasma dry etching. The cleaning after oxide spacer etching was investigated. XPS and ellipsometry analysis were together used to estimate surface cleanness after various cleaning procedures. It was found that silicon surface is seriously damaged during the plasma etching and can be restored by Ar~+ beam treatment. A model was developed to describe different cleaning steps needed for full clean after plasma etching.