PRE-CLEANING OF SUBSTRATES IN EPITAXY CHAMBERS

摘要

A method for processing a substrate including a pre-cleaning etch and reduced pressure process is disclosed. The pre-cleaning process involves introducing a substrate into a processing chamber; flowing an etching gas into the processing chamber; processing at least a portion of the substrate with the etching gas to remove a contaminated or damaged layer from a substrate surface; stopping flow of the etching gas; evacuating the processing chamber to achieve a reduced pressure in the chamber; and processing the substrate surface at the reduced pressure. Epitaxial deposition is then used to form an epitaxial layer on the substrate surface.