METHOD OF FORMING EPITAXIAL LAYER

• US 20090017603A1
• Filed: 07/10/2008
• Published: 01/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jusung Engineering Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Jusung Engineering Company Limited
• Inventors: Yang, Cheol-Hoon
• Granted Patent: US 8,097,527 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 438/503
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0206 during, before or after processing of insulating layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02381 Silicon, silicon germanium, germanium
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02529 Silicon carbide
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02532 Silicon, silicon germanium, germanium
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02658 Pretreatments cleaning in general H01L21/02041
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02661 In-situ cleaning

Abstract

A method of forming an epitaxial layer on a silicon substrate includes (a) providing a silicon substrate; (b) performing a wet-cleaning process onto the silicon substrate; (c) performing a first plasma cleaning process onto the wet-cleaned silicon substrate by providing a chlorine (Cl₂) gas and an argon (Ar) gas; and (d) forming an epitaxial growth film on the silicon substrate after the (c) step.

Claims

1. A method of forming an epitaxial layer on a silicon substrate, comprising:

(a) providing a silicon substrate;

(b) performing a wet-cleaning process onto the silicon substrate;

(c) performing a first plasma cleaning process onto the wet-cleaned silicon substrate by providing a chlorine (Cl₂) gas and an argon (Ar) gas; and

(d) forming an epitaxial growth film on the silicon substrate after the (c) step.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising (e) performing a second plasma cleaning process onto the silicon substrate by providing a sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) gas and one of the argon gas (Ar) and a hydrogen (H₂) gas between the (b) step and the (c) step.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the (e) step is performed in a first process chamber, and the (c) and (d) steps are performed in a second process chamber different from the first process chamber.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the first process chamber has a process temperature of about 150 to 300 centigrade, and the second process chamber has a process temperature of about 400 to about 700 centigrade.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the (c) and (e) steps are performed in a first process chamber, and the (d) step is performed in a second process chamber different from the first process chamber.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the first process chamber has a process temperature of about 150 to 300 centigrade, and the second process chamber has a process temperature of about 400 to about 700 centigrade.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the (c) step, a ratio of the chlorine (Cl₂) gas to the argon gas (Ar) is 1:

1 to 20;

1, and an applied power is about 20 to about 500 watts.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the (c) and (d) steps are performed in a single process chamber having a process temperature of about 400 to about 700 centigrade.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the (c) and (d) steps are performed in first and second process chamber, respectively, and wherein the first process chamber has a process temperature of about 150 to about 300 centigrade, and the second process chamber has a process temperature of about 400 to about 700 centigrade.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the epitaxial growth film includes one of silicon (Si), silicon-germanium (SiGe) and silicon-carbon (SiC).