CLEANING METHOD

摘要

A method for removing carbon-containing contaminants and other materials from a wafer surface. The method can be practiced to minimize the loss of a desired film on the wafer surface. The method is carried out in a hermetically sealed reactor. A gas mixture containing oxygen and a fluorine-containing gas is passed over the wafer during simultaneous exposure to ultraviolet radiation. The gas mixture is free of added water, hydrogen, hydrogen fluoride or hydrogen containing organics, thereby avoiding the production of water as a reaction product. At high oxygen levels, for instance greater than 92 % by volume of the mixture of fluorine-containing gas and oxygen, silicon is negligibly etched and a thin passivating layer is produced which resists hydrocarbon recontamination.