A method of forming a high-K dielectric cap layer on a semiconductor structure formed on a substrate includes depositing the high-K dielectric cap layer on the semiconductor structure, depositing a sacrificial silicon cap layer on the high-K dielectric cap layer, performing a post cap anneal process to harden and densify the as-deposited high-K dielectric cap layer, and removing the sacrificial silicon cap layer.

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for treating the surface of a microelectronic substrate, and in particular, relate to an apparatus and method for scanning the microelectronic substrate through a cryogenic fluid mixture used to treat an exposed surface of the microelectronic substrate. The fluid mixture may be expanded through a nozzle to form an aerosol spray or gas cluster jet (GCJ) spray may impinge the microelectronic substrate and remove particles from the microelectronic substrate's surface. In one embodiment, the fluid mixture may be maintained to prevent liquid formation within the fluid mixture prior to passing the fluid mixture through the nozzle. The fluid mixture may include nitrogen, argon, helium, neon, xenon, krypton, carbon dioxide, or any combination thereof.

An InP substrate, being a group III-V compound semiconductor substrate, that includes, on a main surface thereof, 0.22 particles/cm.sup.2 that have a particle diameter of at least 0.19 m or 20 particles/cm.sup.2 that have a particle diameter of 0.079 m. An InP substrate with an epitaxial layer, being a group III-V compound semiconductor substrate with an epitaxial layer, includes: the InP substrate and an epitaxial layer arranged upon the main surface of the InP substrate; and, upon the main surface thereof when the thickness of the epitaxial layer is 0.3 m, no more than 10 LPD that have a circle-equivalent diameter of at least 0.24 m, per cm.sup.2, or no more than 30 LPD that have a circle-equivalent diameter of at least 0.136 m, per cm.sup.2. As a result, a group III-V compound semiconductor substrate capable of reducing defects in an epitaxial layer grown upon a main surface thereof and a group III-V compound semiconductor substrate with an epitaxial layer are provided.

An InP substrate that is a group III-V compound semiconductor substrate includes particles of greater than or equal to 0.19 m in particle size at less than or equal to 0.22 particles/cm.sup.2 or particles of greater than or equal to 0.079 m in particle size at less than or equal to 20 particles/cm.sup.2 on the main surface. An epilayer-attached InP substrate that is an epilayer-attached group III-V compound semiconductor substrate includes the InP substrate mentioned above and an epitaxial layer disposed on the main surface of the InP substrate, and includes LPDs of greater than or equal to 0.24 m in circle-equivalent diameter at less than or equal to 10 defects/cm.sup.2 or LPDs of greater than or equal to 0.136 m in circle-equivalent diameter at less than or equal to 30 defects/cm.sup.2 on the main surface in a case where the epitaxial layer has a thickness of 0.3 m.

A cutting apparatus includes a cutting unit that cuts a workpiece included in a frame unit, an ultraviolet ray irradiation unit that irradiates the frame unit with ultraviolet rays, and a control unit. The control unit includes a processing mode registration section in which commands to be output to components. The processing mode registration section registers therein a command in a cutting apparatus mode that causes the cutting unit to cut the workpiece and a command in an ultraviolet ray irradiation apparatus mode that causes the ultraviolet ray irradiation unit to irradiate the frame unit with ultraviolet rays.

There is provided a method of cleaning a substrate processing apparatus in which a drying process of drying a substrate whose surface is wet with a liquid is performed by bring the substrate into contact with a supercritical fluid, the method including: diffusing a first cleaning fluid in an interior of the substrate processing apparatus, the first cleaning fluid being obtained by mixing the supercritical fluid with a solvent containing polar molecules and having a lower boiling point than a boiling point of the liquid; and discharging the first cleaning fluid from the interior of the substrate processing apparatus, that occurs after the diffusing the first cleaning fluid.

Describes are shutter disks comprising one or more of titanium (Ti), barium (Ba), or cerium (Ce) for physical vapor deposition (PVD) that allows pasting to minimize outgassing and control defects during etching of a substrate. The shutter disks incorporate getter materials that are highly selective to reactive gas molecules, including O.sub.2, CO, CO.sub.2, and water.

Describes are shutter disks comprising one or more of titanium (Ti), barium (Ba), or cerium (Ce) for physical vapor deposition (PVD) that allows pasting to minimize outgassing and control defects during etching of a substrate. The shutter disks incorporate getter materials that are highly selective to reactive gas molecules, including O.sub.2, CO, CO.sub.2, and water.

A method for manufacturing a SiC epitaxial wafer is provided. The method includes an observation step of observing a principal surface of a SiC substrate and identifying the presence or absence of a scratch having a depth of a predetermined value or more, a protrusion having a height of a predetermined value or more, or a foreign object having a height of a predetermined value or more, a polishing step of polishing the principal surface of the SiC substrate when it is identified that there is a scratch, the protrusion, or a foreign object and a layer forming step of forming a SiC epitaxial layer on the principal surface of the SiC substrate.

A method includes receiving a carrier with a plurality of wafers inside; supplying a purge gas to an inlet of the carrier; extracting an exhaust gas from an outlet of the carrier; and generating a health indicator of the carrier while performing the supplying of the purge gas and the extracting of the exhaust gas.