Method of cleaning of a polymer containing aluminum on a silicon wafer

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of cleaning of a semiconductor wafer covered with silicon oxide, topped with an aluminum layer in which patterns are formed by plasma etching of the aluminum, this etching causing the formation of a polymer containing, in particular, aluminum and carbon on the substantially vertical walls of the patterns, including rotating the wafer in its plane around its axis, in an enclosure under a controlled atmosphere, at ambient temperature, including the following steps rotating the wafer at a speed between 500 and 2000 rpm in an enclosure filled with nitrogen; sprinkling the wafer with water, substantially at the center of the wafer; introducing hydrofluoric acid during a determined cleaning time, while maintaining the sprinkling; and rinsing the wafer by continuing the sprinkling to remove any trace of hydrofluoric acid from the wafer, at the end of the cleaning time.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.