Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd.

Toru Otsuka

Hitoshi Habuka

Shoji Akiyama

Masatake Katayama

Koichi Kanaya

Takao Kanno

In a vapor phase growth apparatus for performing a vapor phase growth of a silicon epitaxial layer on a main surface of a silicon single crystal substrate while heating the silicon single crystal substrate placed on a pocket formed on a susceptor, from both sides, the pocket has an outer peripheral side part which supports a rear surface of the silicon single crystal substrate and an inner peripheral side part which is kept in a state of being more recessed than the outer peripheral side part in the inside of the outer peripheral side part, and the susceptor has a warped inverted U-shaped longitudinal sectional shape.

Vapor deposition apparatus and vapor deposition method

A silicon epitaxial wafer manufacturing method, in which a vapor phase growth of a silicon epitaxial layer is performed on a front surface of a silicon single crystal substrate (W) arranged in the reaction chamber (). A silicon deposit deposited in the reaction chamber () is removed by etching an inside of the reaction chamber () with a hydrogen chloride gas in a state that a silicon crystal substrate (W) is not introduced, and thereafter, a primary cooling is performed in the reaction chamber (). Subsequently, a secondary cooling is performed after heating an inside of the reaction chamber (), and thereafter, the vapor phase growth is performed to manufacture a silicon epitaxial wafer.

Method for manufacturing silicon epitaxial wafer

Method for fabricating silicon thin film

The invention provides a method for forming a thin film uniform in resistivity distribution on a semiconductor substrate. The temperature of the inside wall (,) of the reaction vessel (,) of vapor phase growth equipment is controlled to below the thermal decomposition temperature of a dopant gas such as diborane, for example, to within a range of room temperature to 250&deg; C. The region of this temperature range is defined so as to range from the upstream-side end of the semiconductor substrate (,) to at least an upstream-side {fraction (1/3 )} point of the substrate diameter along the direction of flow of the dopant gas supplied from one end of the reaction vessel (,), desirably, over the entire region just above the semiconductor substrate (,).

Method for fabrication of thin film

An object of the invention is to remove organic materials and metal impurities on a silicon-based semiconductor substrate while preventing regrowth of a natural oxide film and thermal diffusion of the metal impurities from occurring. In order to achieve the object, H,gas that can maintain a reductive atmosphere is consistently used, as a carrier gas, through a whole process, the organic materials in attachment is decomposed by HF gas and the metal impurities are transformed into metal chlorides by HCl gas. In any of treatments, since products whose vapor pressures are higher than those of respective starting materials are obtained, the products are respectively vaporized in a H,gas atmosphere at higher temperatures than those at which the decomposition and the transformation are performed. The whole process can be performed in a low temperature range whose upper limit is 1000&deg; C. or lower. In a case where the impurities attach to an oxide film, the oxide film can be removed by HF gas treatment, in a preceding step of a process described above, in the temperature range of lower than 100&deg; C. in which water adsorbed on or occluded in the oxide film can be retained, and in the case, if the HF treatment or the HCl treatment is performed from the initial stage of a process at a temperature of 100&deg; C. or higher with no preceding step, the oxide film can be retained.

Process for cleaning silicon semiconductor substrates

This invention provides a method of manufacturing a wafer heating furnace having a desired heating distribution with less trials and errors by predicting heating distributions in the process of designing the heating furnace. In manufacturing a heating furnace for use of wafer heating having a light source and a lamp house surrounding the light source, on a presumption that a light flux emitted from the light source is mirror reflected by a wall surface of the lamp house while the light flux is mirror reflected also by a surface of a wafer, a path of the light flux attributable to the reflection on the wall surface of the lamp house as well as the reflection on the surface of the wafer is traced, a calculation of converting an absorption of the light flux occurring together with the reflection at least on the surface of the wafer into thermal energy is performed with respect to a plurality of light fluxes emitted from the light source to thereby arithmetically determine heating distributions on the wafer, and based on results of the calculation, a structure of the light source and the lamp house is determined.

Heating furnace and manufacturing method therefor

The surface of a silicon single crystal substrate 2 is exposed to a mixed gas of hydrogen fluoride gas and hydrogen gas at 0.degree. C.-100.degree. C. to remove a natural oxide film 3 formed on the surface of silicon single crystal substrate 2. The method, as a pre-treatment to the formation of a silicon single crystal thin film, gives a smooth surface with a low temperature treatment and without causing the out-diffusion of the dopants or the auto-doping phenomenon.

Method for treating a surface of a silicon single crystal and a method

A method for microscopically smoothing a surface of a wafer made of silicon single crystal having a low resistivity. In the method, a native oxide film grown on a surface of a wafer having polished by an ordinary mirror polishing process is removed at a temperature of less than 100.degree. C. with use of a mixture gas of HF and H.sub.2, and then an organic substance deposited thereon is removed at a temperature of less than 800.degree. C. with use of a mixture gas of HCl and H.sub.2. Re-growth of an oxide film is suppressed in a consistent H.sub.2 atmosphere, during which the wafer is substantially not varied in its surface roughness. Then the wafer is thermally treated in an H.sub.2 gas atmosphere at a temperature of not less than 800.degree. C. and less than 1000.degree. C. A process of etching the silicon single crystal substrate and a process of depositing silicon atoms caused by decomposition of a silane compound generated are competitively carried out to thereby soften the microscopic rough surface of the wafer and to improve a smoothness over the smoothness of the mirror-polished surface. Since all process temperatures are set to be less than 1000.degree. C., vaporization of impurities in the wafer can be suppressed and its low resistivity can be secured.

Method for smoothing surface of silicon single crystal substrate

Organic protective film 4 is directly adhered on the surface of silicon semiconductor crystal 1. Silicon semiconductor crystal 1 with organic protective film 4 is prepared by adhering organic protective film 4 on the surface of silicon semiconductor crystal substrate 1 on which oxide film 8 is formed, removing oxide film 8 to directly adhere organic protective film 4 on the surface of silicon semiconductor crystal 1, removing organic protective film 4 and then treating silicon semiconductor crystal 1.

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Annaka, Japan

Toru Otsuka