THE REMOVAL OF SUBMICRON PARTICLES IN LIQUID-BASED CLEANING

Megasonic cleaning is one of the most widely used wet-cleaning process es in the semiconductor, hard disk and flat panel display industries. Presented results involve different and new techniques for introducing the high frequency ultrasonic energy in the cleaning bath. The effect s of power, temperature and time on the removal efficiency of Si3N4 pa rticles in the size range from 0.1 mu m to 1.0 mu m from silicon wafer s are presented. Results show that removal efficiencies near 100% for silicon nitride particles using deionized water could be achieved unde r the right conditions. The megasonic input power has a greater effect on the removal efficiency than does temperature.