PRECISION CLEANING OF SEMICONDUCTOR SURFACES USING CARBON DIOXIDE-BASED FLUIDS

The Los Alamos National Laboratory, on behalf of the Hewlett-Packard Company, is conducting tests of a closed-loop CO{sub 2}-based supercritical fluid process, known as Supercritical CO{sub 2} Resist Remover (SCORR). We have shown that this treatment process is effective in removing hard-baked, ion-implanted photoresists, and appears to be fully compatible with metallization systems. We are now performing experiments on production wafers to assess not only photoresist removal, but also residual surface contamination due to particulate and trace metals. Dense-phase (liquid or supercritical) CO{sub 2}, since it is non-polar, acts like an organic solvent and therefore has an inherently high volubility for organic compounds such as oils and greases. Also, dense CO{sub 2} has a low-viscosity and a low dielectric constant. Finally, CO{sub 2} in the liquid and supercritical fluid states can solubilize metal completing agents and surfactants. This combination of properties has interesting implications for the removal not only of organic films, but also trace metals and inorganic particulate. In this paper we discuss the possibility of using CO{sub 2} as a precision-cleaning solvent, with particular emphasis on semiconductor surfaces