Methods of drying a semiconductor substrate may include applying a drying agent to a semiconductor substrate, where the drying agent wets the semiconductor substrate. The methods may include heating a chamber housing the semiconductor substrate to a temperature above an atmospheric pressure boiling point of the drying agent until a vapor-liquid equilibrium of the drying agent within the chamber has been reached. The methods may further include venting the chamber, where the venting vaporizes the liquid phase of the drying agent from the semiconductor substrate.

An apparatus and methods for selectively etching a particular layer are disclosed. The apparatus and methods are directed towards maintaining the etch rate of the particular layer, while keeping intact a non-etched layer. The etching process may be accomplished by co-flowing a hydrogen precursor gas and a fluorine precursor gas into a remote plasma unit. A resulting gas mixture may then be flowed onto the substrate having a silicon oxide layer as an etch layer and a silicon nitride layer as a non-etched layer, for example. A reaction between the resulting gas mixture and the particular layer takes place, resulting in etching of the silicon oxide layer while maintaining the silicon nitride layer in the above example.

A pre-processing method, a method for forming a metal silicide and a semiconductor processing apparatus are disclosed by the present invention. In the pre-processing method, a plasma etching process is performed on a semiconductor structure including a substrate. A first conductive portion and an isolation spacer covering a side surface of the first conductive portion are formed on a surface of an active area in the substrate. In the plasma etching process, a bias voltage applied to a surface of the semiconductor structure is adjusted by adjusting power outputs of two RF sources and is not lower than 150 V. In the metal silicide formation method, after a semiconductor structure including a first conductive portion and a second conductive portion is pre-processed in the manner as described above, a metal film is deposited thereon and annealed to result in the formation of the metal silicide.

A method for treating a substrate includes receiving a substrate in a vacuum process chamber. The substrate includes a III-V film layer disposed on the substrate. The III-V film layer includes an exposed surface, an interior portion underlying the exposed surface, and one or more of the following: Al, Ga, In, N, P, As, Sb, Si, or Ge. The method further includes altering the chemical composition of the exposed surface and a fraction of the interior portion of the III-V film layer to form an altered portion of the III-V film layer using a hydrogen-based plasma treatment, removing the altered portion of the III-V film layer using a chlorine-based plasma treatment, and repeating the altering and removing of the III-V film layer until a predetermined amount of the III-V film layer is removed from the substrate.

A method for processing a substrate includes positioning a silicon substrate in a deposition chamber. One or more intermediate layers are deposited on a surface of the silicon. The one or more intermediate layers can include strontium, which combines with the silicon to form strontium silicide. Alternatively, the one or more intermediate layers comprise germanium. A layer of amorphous strontium titanate is deposited on the one or more intermediate layers in a transient environment in which oxygen pressure is reduced while temperature is increased. The substrate is then exposed to an oxidizing and annealing atmosphere that oxidizes the one or more intermediate layers and converts the layer of amorphous strontium titanate to crystalline strontium titanate.

A method for removing a native oxide film from a semiconductor substrate includes repetitively depositing layers of germanium on the native oxide and heating the substrate causing the layer of germanium to form germanium oxide, desorbing a portion of the native oxide film. The process is repeated until the oxide film is removed. A subsequent layer of strontium titanate can be deposited on the semiconductor substrate, over either residual germanium or a deposited germanium layer. The germanium can be converted to silicon germanium oxide by exposing the strontium titanate to oxygen.

A pre-processing method, a method for forming a metal silicide and a semiconductor processing apparatus are disclosed by the present invention. In the pre-processing method, a plasma etching process is performed on a semiconductor structure including a substrate. A first conductive portion and an isolation spacer covering a side surface of the first conductive portion are formed on a surface of an active area in the substrate. In the plasma etching process, a bias voltage applied to a surface of the semiconductor structure is adjusted by adjusting power outputs of two RF sources and is not lower than 150 V. In the metal silicide formation method, after a semiconductor structure including a first conductive portion and a second conductive portion is pre-processed in the manner as described above, a metal film is deposited thereon and annealed to result in the formation of the metal silicide.

A beamline architecture including a wafer handling chamber, a load-lock coupled to the wafer handling chamber for facilitating transfer of workpieces between an atmospheric environment and the wafer handling chamber, a plasma chamber coupled to the wafer handling chamber and containing a plasma source for performing at least one of a plasma pre-clean process, a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process, a plasma annealing process, a pre-heating process, and an etching process on workpieces, a process chamber coupled to the wafer handling chamber and adapted to perform an ion implantation process on workpieces, and a valve disposed between the wafer handling chamber and the plasma chamber for sealing the plasma chamber from the wafer handling chamber and the process chamber, wherein a pressure within the plasma chamber and a pressure within the process chamber can be varied independently of one another.

A method for the surface treatment of a substrate surface of a substrate includes arranging the substrate surface in a process chamber, bombarding the substrate surface with an ion beam, generated by an ion beam source and aimed at the substrate surface, to remove impurities from the substrate surface, whereby the ion beam has a first component, and introducing a second component into the process chamber to bind the removed impurities. A device for the surface treatment of a substrate surface of a substrate includes a process chamber for receiving the substrate, an ion beam source for generating an ion beam that has a first component and is aimed at the substrate surface to remove impurities from the substrate surface, and means to introduce a second component into the process chamber to bind the removed impurities.

Provided are a wafer cleaning apparatus based on light irradiation capable of effectively cleaning residue on a wafer without damaging the wafer, and a wafer cleaning system including the cleaning apparatus. The wafer cleaning apparatus is configured to clean residue on the wafer by light irradiation and includes: a light irradiation unit configured to irradiate light onto the wafer during the light irradiation; a wafer processing unit configured accommodate the wafer and to control a position of the wafer such that the light is irradiated onto the wafer during the light irradiation; and a cooling unit configured to cool the wafer after the light irradiation has been completed. The light irradiation unit, the wafer processing unit, and the cooling unit are sequentially arranged in a vertical structure with the light irradiation unit above the wafer processing unit and the wafer processing unit above the cooling unit.