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US 8,889,563 B2Granted
Method and apparatus for etching the silicon oxide layer of a semiconductor substrate
AssigneePukyong National University Industry-University Cooperation Foundation
InventorKwon-Taek Lim
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Abstract
An aspect of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for etching the silicon oxide layer of a semiconductor substrate, whereby the processing time for cleaning or rinsing, as well as any undesired aftereffects by residual hydrofluoric acid, may be reduced, in using the dry etching method involving the use of dense carbon dioxide that contains hydrofluoric acid, during the manufacturing process of a micro-electronic device.
Claims8
A method for etching a silicon oxide layer of a semiconductor substrate, the method comprising:
- placing a semiconductor substrate having a structure formed thereon onto a platform of a reaction chamber;
- etching a silicon oxide layer of the semiconductor substrate by supplying dense carbon dioxide into the reaction chamber and injecting an etchant;
- discharging fluid inside the reaction chamber from a lower part of the reaction chamber by injecting supercritical helium to an upper part of the reaction chamber, after etching the silicon oxide layer of the semiconductor substrate;
- discharging the supercritical helium from an upper part of the reaction chamber by injecting dense carbon dioxide to a lower part of the reaction chamber;
- and
- drying the semiconductor substrate by decompressing an inside of the reaction chamber;
- wherein the dense carbon dioxide is within a temperature range of 20° C. to 100° C. and within a pressure range of 5.52 MPa to 34.5 MPa.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.