US-12628582-B2 - Method of removing a by-product from a component of a semiconductor apparatus

US12628582B2US 12628582 B2US12628582 B2US 12628582B2US-12628582-B2

Abstract

A method of removing a nitride-containing by-product from a component of a semiconductor apparatus includes heating the component to a predetermined temperature for a predetermined duration, wherein the nitride-containing by-product is transformed into an oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product by the heating; and removing the oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product with an acid solution. Another method of removing a by-product from a component of a semiconductor apparatus includes heating the component to a predetermined temperature; cooling the component from the predetermined temperature to a room temperature; rinsing the component with an acid solution including and HNO 3 after the component is cooled; and washing the by-product and the acid solution off the component.

Inventors

Ren-Guan Duan
Chen-Hsiang LU
Chin-Feng Lin
Tung-Hsiung Liu

Assignees

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220707

Claims (20)

1 . A method of removing a nitride-containing by-product from a component of a semiconductor apparatus, comprising: heating the component to a predetermined temperature for a predetermined duration, wherein the nitride-containing by-product is transformed into an oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product by the heating; cooling the component from the predetermined temperature to a temperature below 50° C.; and removing the oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product by an acid solution at the temperature below 50° C.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the component includes aluminum; and wherein the predetermined temperature is between 100° C. and 400° C.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the acid solution includes HF and HNO 3 .
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the acid solution includes 0.1 to 20 wt % HF and 0.1 to 40 wt % HNO 3 .
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the component includes stainless steel, nickel, ceramic, quartz, or combinations thereof.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the heating includes oxidizing the nitride-containing by-product to form the oxide-containing or oxynitride- containing product, and the predetermined duration is between 2 and 36 hours.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: washing the component after the removal of the oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product.
8 . A method of removing a nitride-containing by-product from a component of a semiconductor apparatus, comprising: heating the component to a predetermined temperature for a predetermined duration between 2 and 36 hours, wherein the nitride-containing by-product is transformed into an oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product by the heating; cooling the component from the predetermined temperature to a room temperature; rinsing the component with an acid solution including HF and HNO 3 at the room temperature after the cooling of the component; and washing the oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product and the acid solution off the component.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the component is heated in a chamber including air or nitrogen.
10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the acid solution further includes a compound selected from a group consisting of H 2 O 2 , H 2 SO 4 , H 3 PO 4 , HCl, and combinations thereof.
11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product and the acid solution are washed off by deionized water having a temperature between 35° C. and 60° C.
12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising: applying an ultrasonic power to the deionized water.
13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the component is a showerhead, an RF housing, or an electrode plate of an atomic layer deposition (ALD) tool.
14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the predetermined temperature ranges between 100° C. and 1,000°° C.
15 . The method of claim 8 , wherein a heating rate of the heating of the component is between 0.5° C./min and 100° C./min.
16 . The method of claim 8 , wherein a cooling rate of the cooling of the component is between 0.5° C./min and 100° C./min.
17 . A method of removing a nitride-containing by-product from a component of a semiconductor apparatus, comprising: providing the component in a chamber, wherein a surface of the component is at least partially covered by the nitride-containing by-product and at least one through hole of the component extends through the component and is at least partially contained with the nitride-containing by-product; injecting a gas into the chamber; heating the component to cause the nitride-containing by-product to react with the gas to form an oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product on the component; cooling the component from the predetermined temperature to a temperature below 50° C.; rinsing the oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product with an acid solution at the temperature below 50° C., wherein the acid solution includes HF and HNO 3 ; and removing the acid solution and the oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product from the component to expose the surface and the through hole of the component.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product is rinsed with the acid solution at the temperature below 50° C. for less than 3 minutes.
19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the at least one through hole has a diameter less than 0.1 cm, and wherein the acid solution is injected into the at least one through hole to react with the oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product disposed in the at least one through hole.
20 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the acid solution including the oxide-containing or oxynitride-containing product is removed out of the through hole by applying a positive pressure or a negative pressure.

Description

BACKGROUND Fabrication of a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) typically involves a complicated process sequence requiring hundreds of individual steps performed on a semiconductor substrate in a variety of processing chambers. For example, a processing chamber is configured to form a thin film on the semiconductor substrate by deposition or reaction. Over time, by-products formed on components of the chamber significantly increase a chance of particle contamination of the semiconductor substrate in the processing chamber. Replacing chamber components significantly increases costs and consumes time. Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved effect and efficiency of the method of removing the by-products on the chamber components. Improvements in these areas are desired. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It should be noted that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various structures are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various structures may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing various steps of a method of removing a nitride-containing by-product from a component of a semiconductor apparatus in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing various steps of a method of removing a by-product from a component of a semiconductor apparatus in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing various steps of a method of removing a by-product from a component of a semiconductor apparatus in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 4 to 12 are schematic diagrams illustrating exemplary operations in a method of removing a by-product from a component of a semiconductor apparatus, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 13A and 13B are photographs illustrating components before and after treatment, respectively, by the method in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 14A to 14D are photomicrographs and element maps illustrating components before and after treatment by a method in accordance with some comparative embodiments. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a wafer processed by a component treated in accordance with some comparative embodiments. FIGS. 16A to 16D are photomicrographs and element maps illustrating components before and after treatment by a method in accordance with some comparative embodiments. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a wafer processed by a component treated in accordance with some comparative embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the provided subject matter. Specific examples of elements and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed between the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed. Further, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “over,” “upper,” “on” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. The spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. The apparatus may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein may likewise be interpreted accordingly. As used herein, although the terms such as “first,” “second” and “third” describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another. The terms such as “first,” “second” and “third” when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the disclosure are a