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Method of removing inorganic contamination by chemical alteration and extraction in a supercritical fluid media
| Details |
Inventors: Douglas, Monte A.; Templeton, Allen C.;
Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated (Dallas, TX)
Primary Examiner: Warden; Jill
Assistant Examiner: Carrillo; S.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Valetti; Mark A., Hoel; Carl H., Donaldson; Richard L.
A method of removing inorganic contamination (contamination 104 of FIGS. 2a-2b) from a layer (layer 102) overlying a substrate (substrate 100), the method comprising the steps of: removing the layer overlying the substrate with at least one removal agent; reacting the inorganic contamination with at least one conversion agent, thereby converting the inorganic contamination; removing the converted inorganic contamination by subjecting it to at least one solvent agent, the solvent agent included in a first supercritical fluid; and wherein the converted inorganic contamination is more highly soluble in the solvent agent than the inorganic contamination. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION In summary, one embodiment of the instant invention is a method which overcomes the problems involved with chemical modification of the ionic and neutral, light and heavy inorganic (metal) species and which renders these ionic and neutral, light and heavy inorganic (metal) species soluble upon exposure to conventional, inexpensive, high purity, nontoxic solvents.
The method of the instant invention includes the steps of: removing the native oxide in which overlies the inorganic contamination (and/or that is situated between the inorganic contamination and the substrate and/or that surrounds the inorganic contamination), thereby exposing the inorganic contamination (that is contained within the native oxide or that underlies the native oxide); chemically altering the inorganic contamination; exposing the chemically-altered inorganic contaminant to a conventional solvent which is included in a supercritical fluid (preferably supercritical CO.
sub.
2); and removing the conventionally-solvated, chemically-altered inorganic contaminant in a supercritical fluid (SCF).
The chemical altering of the inorganic contaminant may occur prior to or during the exposure to the SCF.
Key aspects of this invention are: inorganic contamination within a native oxide is exposed for subsequent modification and removal; the inorganic contaminant is not soluble in the supercritical CO.
sub.
2 fluid without prior chemical alteration; and the chemically-altered inorganic contaminant may be removed by the solvent simultaneously with the chemical alteration step.
An embodiment of the instant invention is a method of removing inorganic contamination from a layer overlying a substrate, the method comprising the steps of: removing the layer overlying the substrate with at least one removal agent; reacting the inorganic contamination with at least one conversion agent, thereby converting the inorganic contamination; removing the converted inorganic contamination by subjecting it to at least one solvent agent, the solvent agent included in a first supercritical fluid; and wherein the converted inorganic contamination is more highly soluble in the solvent agent than the inorganic contamination
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MEMS 
