Gas residue removal
In an example, a method may include removing a material from a structure to form an opening in the structure, exposing a residue, resulting from removing the material, to an alcohol gas to form a volatile compound, and removing the volatile compound by vaporization. The structure may be used in semiconductor devices, such as memory devices.
1. A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising:
removing a material from a structure to form an opening in the structure;
exposing a residue, resulting from removing the material, to an alcohol gas to form a volatile compound, wherein the volatile compound is aluminum trimethoxide and is formed at a temperature and pressure at which the volatile compound vaporizes and the alcohol gas produces methoxy terminated surfaces on the structure; and
removing the volatile compound by vaporization.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the volatile compound comprises a volatile solid which vaporizes as it is forms and the vaporization comprises sublimation.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the volatile compound by vaporization comprises reacting the residue with the alcohol gas.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the volatile compound by vaporization comprises reacting the residue with the alcohol gas at a temperature and pressure so that the volatile compound vaporizes as the volatile compound is forming.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the material from the structure comprises a dry removal process.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the alcohol gas is anhydrous alcohol.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the alcohol gas is methanol.
8. A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising:
forming an opening in a material by removing a portion of the material using a dry process;
forming a volatile metallic material by exposing a residue, resulting from forming the opening, to alcohol gas, wherein the volatile metallic material is aluminum trimethoxide and is formed at a temperature and pressure at which the volatile metallic material vaporizes and the alcohol gas produces methoxy terminated surfaces on the material;
removing the volatile metallic material by vaporizing the volatile metallic material; and
forming a dielectric material in the opening after removing the volatile metallic material.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein forming the dielectric material in the opening forms an isolation region.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein forming the opening forms a memory cell on either side of the opening.