A substrate processing method is implemented in a substrate processing apparatus including a substrate holding and rotating unit having a spin base rotatable about a predetermined vertical axis, and a processing cup surrounding the substrate holding and rotating unit and arranged to receive processing liquid splattering from the substrate rotated by the substrate holding and rotating unit, the substrate processing method including a substrate rotating step of rotating the spin base to rotate the substrate about the vertical axis at a predetermined liquid processing speed and, in parallel with the substrate rotating step, a processing liquid supplying step of supplying processing liquid onto the lower surface of the substrate at a predetermined first flow rate and supplying processing liquid onto the upper surface of the substrate at a second flow rate that is higher than the first flow rate.

A method for effectively removing minute impurities of 1 μm or less in size that are present on a surface of an aluminum nitride single-crystal substrate without etching the surface includes scrubbing a surface of an aluminum nitride single-crystal substrate using a polymer compound material having lower hardness than an aluminum nitride single crystal, and an alkali aqueous solution having 0.01-1 mass % concentration of potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide, the alkali aqueous solution being absorbed in the polymer compound material.

A diluted solution production method of the present invention is a diluted solution production method of producing a diluted solution of a second liquid by adding the second liquid to a first liquid, the method including feeding the first liquid to a first pipe; and controlling pressure in a tank that stores the second liquid to add, through the second pipe that connects the tank to the first pipe, the second liquid to the first liquid in the first pipe. Adding the second liquid includes measuring a flow rate of the first liquid or the diluted solution that flows through the first pipe; measuring a component concentration of the diluted solution; and controlling the pressure in the tank, based on the measured values of the flow rate and the component concentration, so as to adjust the component concentration of the diluted solution to a specified value.

The present disclosure provides a semiconductor structure in accordance with some embodiments. The semiconductor structure includes a semiconductor feature, a passivation layer that includes indium sulfide formed over a surface of the semiconductor feature. More particularly, the surface of the semiconductor feature comprises indium-based III-V compound semiconductor material.

Compositions including one or more fluorochemical surfactants of the formula: (I) where R.sub.f is a perfluoroalkyl group, each of R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are C.sub.1-C.sub.20 alkyl, alkoxy, or aryl; and R.sup.4 is alkylene, arylene of a combination thereof. R.sup.4 is preferably an alkylene of 1-20 carbons that may be cyclic or acyclic, may optionally contain catenated or terminal heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O, and S. Most preferably R.sup.4 is an alkylene of 2-10 carbon atoms. Described are anionic N-substituted fluorinated amine oxide surfactants, and use thereof in cleaning and in acid etch solutions. The cleaning and etch solutions are used with a wide variety of substrates, for example, in the cleaning and etching of silicon oxide-containing substrates.

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This invention provides a silicon wafer polishing composition used in the presence of an abrasive. The composition comprises a silicon wafer polishing accelerator, an amide group-containing polymer, and water. The amide group-containing polymer has a building unit A in its main chain. The building unit A comprises a main chain carbon atom constituting the main chain of the amide group-containing polymer and a secondary amide group or a tertiary amide group. The carbonyl carbon atom constituting the secondary amide group or tertiary amide group is directly coupled to the main chain carbon atom.

Embodiments of a methods and cleaning systems for cleaning components for use in substrate processing equipment are provided herein. In some embodiments, a cleaning system includes a boiler having a heater configured to heat a fluid; a clean chamber fluidly coupled to the boiler via at least one of a gas line and a liquid line, wherein the clean chamber includes one or more fixtures in an interior volume therein for holding at least one component to be cleaned, and wherein the clean chamber includes a heater for heating the interior volume; and an expansion chamber fluidly coupled to the clean chamber via a release line for evacuating the clean chamber, wherein the release line includes a release valve to selectively open or close a flow path between the expansion chamber and the clean chamber, and wherein the expansion chamber includes a chiller and a vacuum port.

A system for controlling damages in cleaning a semiconductor wafer comprising features of patterned structures, the system comprising: a wafer holder for temporary restraining a semiconductor wafer during a cleaning process; an inlet for delivering a cleaning liquid over a surface of the semiconductor wafer; a sonic generator configured to alternately operate at a first frequency and a first power level for a first predetermined period of time and at a second frequency and a second power level for a second predetermined period of time, to impart sonic energy to the cleaning liquid, the first predetermined period of time and the second predetermined period of time consecutively following one another; and a controller programmed to provide the cleaning parameters, wherein at least one of the cleaning parameters is determined such that a percentage of damaged features as a result of the imparting sonic energy is lower than a predetermined threshold.

A semiconductor cleaning agent containing a sulfonic acid group-containing polymer, wherein a content of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Na, Al, K, Ca and Fe is 0.7 ppm or less.

A temperature adjustment device includes: a pair of flow path plates, each of the pair of flow path plates including a flow path groove provided on a front surface of the each of the pair of flow path plates and at least a part of the front surface; a spacer member that includes a support surface projecting from the front surface, and connects the pair of flow path plates such that a back surface of one of the pair of flow path plates and a back surface of the other of the pair of flow path plate face each other; and a heat transfer plate that faces the flow path groove, and is supported by the support surface.