Wafer surface pre-treatment with hydrogen for gate oxide formation

1 . A method of pre-treating a wafer surface for a gate oxide layer, the method comprising:

loading the wafer into a furnace;

purging the furnace by supplying nitrogen gas into the furnace to discharge oxygen gas from the furnace; and

baking the wafer by supplying hydrogen gas into the furnace at a defined temperature and for a defined time to remove oxide layers remaining on the surface of the wafer.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the baking includes baking at a defined temperature of about 900° C.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the baking includes baking for a defined time of about 20 minutes.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein baking includes supplying the hydrogen gas into the furnace at a flow rate of about 10˜20 liters/minute

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

before loading the wafer, removing a sacrificial oxide layer from the surface of the wafer by using a first chemical solution containing hydrofluoric acid.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

after the removing of the sacrificial oxide layer, cleaning the surface of the wafer by using a second chemical solution containing hydrogen peroxide.

7 . A method of forming a gate oxide layer on a surface of a silicon substrate, the method comprising:

removing a sacrificial oxide layer from the surface of the silicon substrate by using a first chemical solution containing hydrofluoric acid;

cleaning the surface of the silicon substrate by using a second chemical solution containing hydrogen peroxide;

loading the silicon substrate into a furnace;

purging the furnace by supplying nitrogen gas into the furnace to discharge oxygen gas from the furnace;

baking the silicon substrate by supplying hydrogen gas into the furnace at a defined temperature and for a defined time to remove oxide layers remaining on the surface of the silicon substrate; and

thermally growing the gate oxide layer on the surface of the silicon substrate.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the baking includes baking at a defined temperature of about 900° C.

9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the baking includes baking for a defined time of about 20 minutes.

10 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the baking includes supplying the hydrogen gas into the furnace at a flow rate of about 10˜20 liters/minute.

11 . An apparatus for pre-treating a wafer surface for a gate oxide layer comprising:

means for loading the wafer into a furnace;

means for purging the furnace by supplying nitrogen gas into the furnace to discharge oxygen gas from the furnace; and

means for baking the wafer by supplying hydrogen gas into the furnace at a defined temperature and for a defined time to remove oxide layers remaining on the surface of the wafer.

12 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the means for baking includes means for baking at a defined temperature of about 900° C.

13 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the means for baking includes means for baking for a defined time of about 20 minutes.

14 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein means for baking includes means for supplying the hydrogen gas into the furnace at a flow rate of about 10˜20 liters/minute

15 . The apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising:

means for removing a sacrificial oxide layer from the surface of the wafer by using a first chemical solution containing hydrofluoric acid.

16 . The apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising:

means for cleaning the surface of the wafer by using a second chemical solution containing hydrogen peroxide.