Apparatus and system for eliminating contaminants on a substrate surface

A system for cleaning a semiconductor substrate comprising:

• an integrated closed mainframe having therein interior heating and cooling chambers and a semiconductor substrate with a sacrificial oxide layer fully covering a surface thereof, said sacrificial oxide layer having contaminants thereon;
• a workpiece holder within said integrated closed mainframe holding said semiconductor substrate;
• a transfer mechanism within said mainframe holding said workpiece holder in position;
• a mainframe door sealing said mainframe, said transfer mechanism being in contact with said mainframe door whereby said mainframe door moves said workpiece holder and said contaminated semiconductor substrate from said cooling chamber to said heating chamber, and vice versa;
• a heating element within said heating chamber for heating said heating chamber to an elevated temperature;
• an input line within said heating chamber for providing a chlorine-containing gas into said heated heating chamber for forming volatile chloride byproducts between said chlorine-containing gas and said contaminants on said sacrificial oxide layer without etching the underlying semiconductor substrate;
• an output line within said heating chamber for removing said volatile chloride byproducts from said heating chamber such that said integrated closed mainframe removes said contaminants from said sacrificial oxide layer for cleaning said semiconductor substrate;
• and
• at least one input line within said cooling chamber for providing an oxygen-free gas into said cooling chamber for cooling said cleaned semiconductor substrate.

A system for cleaning a semiconductor substrate comprising:

• an integrated closed mainframe having a heating chamber and a cooling chamber;
• a workpiece holder within said integrated closed mainframe holding a semiconductor substrate, said semiconductor substrate having a sacrificial oxide surface layer fully covering said semiconductor substrate with contaminants thereon;
• a heating element within said heating chamber for heating said heating chamber to an elevated temperature such that said heating chamber is at said elevated temperature;
• an input line said heating chamber for providing a chlorine-containing gas into said heating chamber for forming volatile chloride byproducts between said chlorine-containing gas and said contaminants on said sacrificial oxide layer without etching the underlying semiconductor substrate;
• an output line within said heating chamber for removing said volatile chloride byproducts from said heating chamber such that said contaminants are removed from said sacrificial oxide layer for cleaning said semiconductor substrate;
• an input line within said cooling chamber for providing an oxygen-free gas into said cooling chamber for cooling said cleaned semiconductor substrate;
• a mainframe door sealing said mainframe;
• and
• a pedestal within said integrated closed mainframe holding said workpiece holder in position, said pedestal being connected to said mainframe door for transferring said semiconductor substrate held within said workpiece holder from said heating chamber to said cooling chamber, and vice versa, via said mainframe door.