Cost-effective cleaning for advanced Si-processing

The effect of various metal contaminants on the thin gate oxide integrity is investigated and a classification is made according to their final position in the structure. A simplified cleaning strategy is presented which is highly performant and at the same time cost-effective and has less environmental impact than the traditional cleaning sequences. Finally, a novel environmentally friendly ozone/DI-water process for the removal of photoresist and organic post-etch residues is proposed.