Cleaning method
Implementations of the present disclosure generally relate to methods and apparatuses for epitaxial deposition on substrate surfaces. More particularly, implementations of the present disclosure generally relate to methods and apparatuses for surface preparation prior to epitaxial deposition. In one implementation, a method of processing a substrate is provided. The method comprises etching a surface of a silicon-containing substrate by use of a plasma etch process, where at least one etching process gas comprising chlorine gas and an inert gas is used during the plasma etch process and forming an epitaxial layer on the surface of the silicon-containing substrate.
1. A method of processing a substrate, comprising:
etching a surface of a silicon-containing substrate positioned in a substrate-processing region by use of a plasma etch process, wherein at least one etching process gas comprising chlorine gas, hydrogen gas, and an inert gas is used during the plasma etch process; and
forming an epitaxial layer on the surface of the silicon-containing substrate, wherein the inert gas is selected from argon, helium, or both.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plasma etch process utilizes an inductively coupled plasma etch process.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the inductively coupled plasma etch process includes forming an inductively coupled plasma by applying alternating current (AC) power to one or more inductive coils.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the etching a surface of a silicon-containing substrate and the forming an epitaxial layer on the surface of the silicon-containing substrate are performed without exposing the silicon-containing substrate to atmosphere.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein a volumetric concentration of the chlorine gas is between about 1% and about 10% of a total volume of the at least one etching process gas.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the chlorine gas and the hydrogen gas are introduced separately into the substrate-processing region.
7. A method of processing a substrate, comprising:
removing oxides from a surface of a silicon-containing substrate positioned in a first substrate-processing region by a cleaning process, wherein the cleaning process is selected from a wet etch process, a first plasma etch process, and a sputter etch process;
etching the surface of the silicon-containing substrate positioned in a second substrate-processing region by use of a second plasma etch process, wherein at least one etching process gas comprising chlorine gas, hydrogen gas, and an inert gas is used during the second plasma etch process; and
forming an epitaxial layer on the surface of the silicon-containing substrate, wherein the inert gas is selected from argon, helium, or both.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the cleaning process is the first plasma etch process and the first plasma etch process comprises simultaneous exposure of the surface of the silicon-containing substrate to NF 3 and NH 3 plasma by-products.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first plasma etch process is a remote capacitively coupled plasma etch process.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first plasma etch process is an inductively coupled plasma etch process.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the inductively coupled plasma etch process includes forming an inductively coupled plasma by applying alternating current (AC) power to one or more inductive coils.
12. The method of claim 7 , wherein the etching the surface of the silicon-containing substrate and the forming an epitaxial layer on the surface of the silicon-containing substrate are performed without exposing the silicon-containing substrate to atmosphere.
13. The method of claim 7 , wherein a volumetric concentration of the chlorine gas is between about 1% and about 10% a total volume of the at least one etching process gas.
14. The method of claim 7 , wherein the chlorine gas and the hydrogen gas are introduced separately into the second substrate-processing region.
15. A method of processing a substrate, comprising:
etching a surface of a silicon-containing substrate positioned in a substrate-processing region of a first processing chamber by use of a plasma etch process, wherein at least one etching process gas comprising chlorine gas, hydrogen gas, and an inert gas is used during the plasma etch process;
transferring the silicon-containing substrate from the first processing chamber to a second processing chamber after the plasma etch process without exposing the silicon-containing substrate to atmosphere; and
forming an epitaxial layer on the surface of the silicon-containing substrate in the second processing chamber, wherein the inert gas is selected from argon, helium, or both.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the plasma etch process utilizes an inductively coupled plasma etch process.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the inductively coupled plasma etch process includes forming an inductively coupled plasma by applying alternating current (AC) power to one or more inductive coils.
18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising removing oxides from the surface of the silicon-containing substrate in a third processing chamber prior to the etching a surface of a silicon-containing substrate, by a cleaning process, wherein the cleaning process is selected from a wet etch process, a first plasma etch process, and a sputter etch process.
19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising transferring the silicon-containing substrate from the third processing chamber to the first processing chamber after the cleaning process without exposing the silicon-containing substrate to atmosphere between the cleaning process and the etching a surface of a silicon-containing substrate.
20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the chlorine gas and the hydrogen gas are introduced separately into the substrate-processing region.