Process for cleaning surface of semiconductor substrate

Claim 2

A process for treating a surface of a semiconductor substrate, said process comprising the steps of: etching a surface of the semiconductor substrate by placing the semiconductor substrate in an atmosphere containing a free halogen or a halogen compound and irradiating at least one of the atmosphere above the semiconductor substrate and the surface of the semiconductor substrate with ultraviolet rays; and then wet cleaning the surface of the semiconductor substrate with a cleaning solution.

Claim 3

A process according to claim 1, wherein said atmosphere contains at least one of the group consisting of Cl₂ , F₂ , Br₂ , HCl, HF, HBr, BCl₃ , BF₃ , BBr₃ , ClF, BrF, NF₃ , N₂F₂ , XeF₂ , KrF ₂ , CCl₄ and XeCl₂.

Claim 4

A process according to claim 1, or 2, wherein said wet cleaning step comprises wet cleaning the surface of the semiconductor substrate first with a fluoric acid solution and then with a solution containing hydrogen peroxide and ammonia.

Claim 5

A process according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said semiconductor substrate is made of silicon.

Claim 6

A process for treating a surface of a silicon semiconductor substrate, said process comprising the steps of: etching a surface of the silicon semiconductor substrate by placing the substrate in an atmosphere containing a free halogen or a halogen compound and irradiating at least one of the atmosphere above the substrate and the surface of the semiconductor substrate with ultraviolet rays; rinsing the substrate; wet cleaning the surface of the substrate with an aqueous fluoric acid solution; rinsing the the substrate; wet cleaning the surface of the substrate with an aqueous solution containing hydrogen peroxide and ammonia; and rinsing the substrate.

Claim 7

A process for treating a surface of a silicon semiconductor substrate, said process comprising the steps of: etching a surface of the silicon semiconductor substrate by placing the substrate in an atmosphere containing a free halogen or a halogen compound and irradiating at least one of the atmosphere above the substrate and the surface of the semiconductor substrate with ultraviolet rays; rinsing the substrate; wet cleaning the surface of the substrate with an aqueous fluoric acid solution; rinsing the the substrate; wet cleaning the surface of the substrate with an aqueous solution containing hydrogen peroxide and ammonia; and rinsing the substrate.

Claim 8

A process according to claim 5, wherein said rinsing steps are all conducted by first cleaning the surface of the substrate with running deionized water and then immersing the substrate in boiling deionized water.