Method for cleaning silicon wafer, and method for producing epitaxial wafer using the cleaning method

• US 8,664,092 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2010
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sumco Corporation
• Original Assignee: Sumco Corporation
• Inventors: Kawasaki, Tomonori
• Primary Examiner(s): Garber, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): POMPEY, RON EVERETT
• Application Number:
  US13/378,065
• Publication Number:
  US 20120100701A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,349 Days
• Field of Search: 438/478, 438/704, 438/706, 438/906, 257/E21.09
• US Class Current: 438/478
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02052 Wet cleaning only H01L21/02085 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02381 Silicon, silicon germanium, germanium
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02658 Pretreatments cleaning in general H01L21/02041

Abstract

A silicon wafer after being subjected to mirror polishing but before being subjected to form an epitaxial layer thereon is subjected to an ozone gas treatment that oxidizes a surface of the silicon wafer by use of ozone gas, a hydrofluoric acid gas treatment that dissolves and removes the oxidized surface of the silicon wafer by use of hydrofluoric acid gas, and a washing treatment that removes foreign substances remaining on the surface of the silicon wafer, whereby PIDs (Polishing Induced Defects) generated by the mirror polishing are forcedly oxidized, dissolved and removed. By performing epitaxial treatment thereafter, PID-induced convex defects can be prevented from generating on the surface of the epitaxial wafer.

Claims

1. A method for cleaning a surface of a silicon wafer after being subjected to mirror polishing but before being subjected to form an epitaxial layer thereon, comprising:

an ozone gas treatment step that oxidizes convex defects that have been transformed into amorphous oxide on the surface of the silicon wafer by use of ozone gas; and

a hydrofluoric acid gas treatment step that dissolves and removes convex defects on the oxidized surface of the silicon wafer by use of hydrofluoric acid gas,

wherein the O₃ concentration of the ozone gas in the ozone gas treatment is 105 g/m³ or more, while the hydrofluoric acid gas is generated by causing a stock solution of the hydrofluoric acid gas to be bubbled with nitrogen gas, the stock solution having a HF concentration of 48 wt % or more,

the silicon wafer is subjected, after the hydrofluoric acid gas treatment step, to a washing step by performing an ozone treatment and a diluted hydrofluoric acid treatment to removes foreign substances remaining on the surface of the silicon wafer, and

the silicon wafer is held inside a tightly sealed container and in an atmosphere of ozone gas for 60 seconds or more in the ozone gas treatment step, and the silicon wafer is held inside the tightly sealed container and in an atmosphere of hydrofluoric acid gas for 120 seconds or more in the hydrofluoric acid gas treatment step.

2. The method for cleaning a surface of a silicon wafer according to claim 1, in the ozone gas treatment, the ozone gas is sprayed to the surface of the silicon wafer disposed inside the tightly sealed container, and in the hydrofluoric acid gas treatment, the hydrofluoric acid gas is sprayed onto the surface of the silicon wafer disposed inside the tightly sealed container.

3. A method for producing an epitaxial wafer, comprising:

vapor-depositing an epitaxial layer on a surface of a silicon wafer which has been cleaned by the method for cleaning a surface of a silicon wafer according to claim 1.

4. A method for producing an epitaxial wafer, comprising:

vapor-depositing an epitaxial layer on a surface of a silicon wafer which has been cleaned by the method for cleaning a surface of a silicon wafer according to claim 2.