# US 9,437,448 B2 · Substrate treatment method and substrate treating apparatus

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- Number: US 9,437,448 B2
- Document ID: US9437448B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/417,698
- Filed: 2013-06-07
- Published: 2015-07-16
- Granted: 2016-09-06
- Earliest claimed: 2012-08-27
- Assignees: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Hiroki Kiyama
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9437448B2

## CPC

- H10P 50/283: {by chemical means}
- H10P 14/6342: {Liquid deposition, e.g. spin-coating, sol-gel techniques or spray coating}
- H10P 32/1404: {using predeposition followed by drive-in of impurities into the semiconductor surface, e.g. predeposition from a gaseous phase}
- H10P 32/1408: {from or through or into an external applied layer, e.g. photoresist or nitride layers}
- H10P 32/171: {being group IV material}
- H10P 70/15: {by wet cleaning only (H10P70/52 takes precedence)}
- H10P 70/23: {during, before or after processing of insulating materials}
- H10P 72/0406: {for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like}
- H10P 72/0411: {for wet cleaning or washing}
- H10P 72/0414: {using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles}
- H10P 72/0422: {for wet etching}
- H10P 72/0426: {with the semiconductor substrates being dipped in baths or vessels}
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

A hydrofluoric acid is supplied to a surface of a substrate, and a native oxide film formed on the surface is corroded to be removed, exposing silicon in the surface of the substrate. Then, a rinse solution such as alcohols is supplied to the surface of the substrate, and then, the hydrofluoric acid is washed off from the surface. After that, a dopant solution, which is a dopant-containing chemical solution, is supplied to the surface of the substrate. The dopant solution comes into contact with the surface of the substrate, which is not hydrogen-terminated and has silicon exposed, thereby forming a dopant-containing monolayer thin film on the surface in a short period of time.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A substrate treatment method for forming a dopant-containing thin film on a surface of a substrate, the method comprising:
providing a substrate that is without an oxide film; and
supplying a dopant solution to the surface of said substrate that is without an oxide film to form a dopant-containing thin film thereon; and
performing said supplying step without performing hydrogen-termination to the surface of said substrate.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The substrate treatment method according to claim 1, comprising:
an oxide film removing step of supplying a hydrofluoric acid to a surface of said substrate to remove an oxide film formed on the surface thereof, to form said substrate that is without an oxide film;
a rinse step of supplying a rinse solution to said surface to wash off the hydrofluoric acid after said oxide film removing step; and
a thin film forming step of supplying said dopant solution to said surface to form said thin film after said rinse step.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The substrate treatment method according to claim 2, wherein said oxide film removing step, said rinse step, and said thin film forming step are performed sequentially.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The substrate treatment method according to claim 2, wherein said oxide film removing step, said rinse step, and said thin film forming step are performed in a non-atmospheric environment.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The substrate treatment method according to claim 1, wherein the supplying step comprises supplying a mixture of a hydrofluoric acid and a dopant solution to the surface of said substrate to form a dopant-containing thin film on said surface.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The substrate treatment method according to claim 1, comprising:
an oxide film removing step of supplying a hydrofluoric acid to a surface of said substrate to remove an oxide film formed on the surface thereof, to form said substrate that is without an oxide film; and
a thin film forming step of supplying the dopant solution to said surface to form said thin film,
wherein said thin film forming step is started during said oxide film removing step.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The substrate treatment method according to claim 1, including
forming the thin film on the surface of the substrate with a dopant solution as a monolayer.