The removal of nanoparticles from sub-micron trenches using megasonics

The removal of nanoparticles form patterned wafers is one of the main challenges facing the semiconductor industry. In this paper, the removal of 100 and 200 nm polystyrene latex (PSL) particles from silicon trenches was investigated. Red fluorescent PSL particles were utilized in the cleaning experiments and were counted using fluorescent microscopy. All the experiments were conducted in a single wafer megasonic tank using deionized water (DI). Trenches were fabricated with widths varying from 200 nm to 2 pm and with an aspect ratio of one. Results show that removal of particles from larger trenches is faster compared to smaller trenches and that megasonics power is more important in the removal process than cleaning time. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.