An etching method according to the present invention includes a step of creating a reduced pressure state inside of a processing chamber accommodating a substrate, after the step of creating the reduced pressure state, a step of supplying vapor into the processing chamber, after the step of creating the reduced pressure state, a step of supplying an etching gas containing hydrogen fluoride into the processing chamber and etching the coating film formed on the substrate, and in the step of supplying the vapor, a step of detecting OH stretching vibration in the substrate by infrared spectroscopy, in which the step of etching the coating film is performed when the OH stretching vibration of a predetermined threshold value or higher is detected in the substrate. Therefore, the efficiency of the etching process is enhanced.

A dry non-plasma treatment system for removing material is described. The treatment system is configured to provide chemical treatment of one or more substrates, wherein each substrate is exposed to a gaseous chemistry under controlled conditions including surface temperature and gas pressure. Furthermore, the treatment system is configured to provide thermal treatment of each substrate, wherein each substrate is thermally treated to remove the chemically treated surfaces on each substrate.

Methods and apparatuses for the production of HF in an electron-beam generated plasma. A gas containing fluorine, hydrogen, and an inert gas such as argon, e.g., Ar/SF.sub.6/H.sub.2O or Ar/SF.sub.6/NH.sub.3 flows into a plasma treatment chamber to produce a low pressure gas in the chamber. An electron beam directed into the gas forms a plasma from the gas, with energy from the electron beam dissociating the F-containing molecules, which react with H-containing gas to produce HF in the plasma. Although the concentration of the gas phase HF in the plasma is a very small fraction of the total gas in the chamber, due to its highly reactive nature, the low concentration of HF produced by the method of the present invention is enough to modify the surfaces of materials, performing the same function as aqueous HF solutions to remove oxygen from an exposed material.

Methods and apparatuses for the production of HF in an electron-beam generated plasma. A gas containing fluorine, hydrogen, and an inert gas such as argon, e.g., Ar/SF.sub.6/H.sub.2O or Ar/SF.sub.6/NH.sub.3 flows into a plasma treatment chamber to produce a low pressure gas in the chamber. An electron beam directed into the gas forms a plasma from the gas, with energy from the electron beam dissociating the F-containing molecules, which react with H-containing gas to produce HF in the plasma. Although the concentration of the gas phase HF in the plasma is a very small fraction of the total gas in the chamber, due to its highly reactive nature, the low concentration of HF produced by the method of the present invention is enough to modify the surfaces of materials, performing the same function as aqueous HF solutions to remove oxygen from an exposed material.

A method of precleaning a substrate includes supporting a substrate with silicon oxide on its surface within a reaction chamber of a semiconductor processing system and flowing a halogen-containing reactant and a hydrogen-containing reactant into the reaction chamber. A first preclean material is formed from the halogen-containing reactant, the hydrogen-containing reactant, and a first portion of the silicon oxide on the surface of the substrate. Additional halogen-containing reactant is flowed into the reaction chamber without flowing additional hydrogen-containing reactant into the reaction chamber, and a second preclean material is formed from the additional halogen-containing reactant and a second portion of the silicon oxide on the surface of the substrate. Methods of forming structures on substrates and semiconductor processing systems are also described.

In some embodiments, a method for semiconductor processing preclean includes removing an oxide layer from a substrate using anhydrous hydrogen fluoride in combination with water vapor. A system for the preclean may be configured to separate the anhydrous hydrogen fluoride and the water vapor until they are delivered to a common volume near the substrate. Corrosion within components of the system may be limited by purification of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, passivation of components, changing component materials, and heating components. Passivation may be achieved by filling a gas delivery component with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride and allowing the anhydrous hydrogen fluoride to remain in the gas delivery component to form a passivation layer. Consistent water vapor delivery may be achieved in part by heating components using heaters.

There is provided a gas treatment apparatus for performing gas treatment on a substrate. The gas treatment apparatus includes: a chamber in which the substrate is accommodated; a gas supply mechanism configured to individually supply a fluorine-containing gas and an alkaline gas; and a gas introduction member configured to cause the fluorine-containing gas and the alkaline gas supplied from the gas supply mechanism to merge with each other and introduce a mixed gas in which the fluorine-containing gas and the alkaline gas are mixed into the chamber. A portion of the gas introduction member including a merging point of the fluorine-containing gas and the alkaline gas is made of an aluminum-based material. A resin coating is formed on at least the portion including the merging point.

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to methods and systems for cleaning a surface of a substrate. In an embodiment, a method of processing a substrate is provided. The method includes introducing a substrate to a processing volume of a processing chamber by positioning the substrate on a substrate support. The method further includes flowing a first process gas into the processing volume, the first process gas comprising HF, flowing a second process gas into the processing volume, the second process gas comprising pyridine, pyrrole, aniline, or a combination thereof, and exposing the substrate to the first process gas and the second process gas to remove oxide from the substrate under oxide removal conditions. In another embodiment, a system is provided that includes a processing chamber to process a substrate, and a controller to cause a processing method to be performed in the processing chamber.

A method of manufacturing a display apparatus, the method includes removing an oxide layer formed on a surface of a substrate by utilizing a hydrofluoric acid gas and an ammonia gas, and thermally treating the substrate from which the oxide layer has been removed. A flow ratio between the hydrofluoric acid gas and the ammonia gas is about 0.8:1 to about 1:1.

A hydrogen fluoride vapor phase corrosion apparatus comprises a reaction chamber, a vapor phase hydrogen fluoride source, and a hydrogen fluoride vapor phase gain device. The reaction chamber is provided with a first gas inlet that is connected to the vapor phase hydrogen fluoride source, and a second gas inlet being connected to the hydrogen fluoride vapor phase gain device. The hydrogen fluoride vapor phase gain device is configured to perform a gas-liquid mixing and vaporizing of a prescribed organic liquid and introduce it into the reaction chamber through the second gas inlet after a wafer placed in the reaction chamber reacts with a vapor phase hydrogen fluoride admitted from the first gas inlet, so that the vaporized organic liquid and residual water in the reaction chamber form an azeotropic mixture that evaporates or volatilizes more readily than water.