Low Temperature Silicon Surface Cleaning by HF Etching/Ultraviolet Ozone Cleaning (HF/UVOC) Method (I) –Optimization of the HF Treatment–

Several variations of fluoric acid (HF) treatments of silicon substrates were examined for their adaptability as a pretreatment method for a silicon epitaxy process. Treatments with and without distilled, deionized (DI) water rinse, of different HF concentrations, and of different methods of HF supply were tested and their residual carbonic impurity contents were measured using RHEED. As a result, HF treatments by themselves were found to be insufficient in passivating the surface dangling bonds irrespective of the method of HF supply: dipping into the solution or exposure to the vapor. The optimum procedure of HF treatment thus proposed is a succession of (a) HF dipping, (b) DI-water rinsing, (c) nitrogen-gas blowing, and (d) UV-ozone cleaning.