Cleaning by brush-scrubbing of chemical mechanical polished silicon surfaces using ozonized water and diluted HF

A new process for scrubbing chemical-mechanical-polished silicon wafer surfaces with a brush (brush-scrubbing process) was developed. The scrubbing is performed in two stages; the first stage involves a wet treatment using ozonized water and dilute HF. The second stage involves scrubbing with a Poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA) brush. After scrubbing, the number of residual particles, metal and carbonaceous contamination, and surface roughness of the silicon wafer surface were evaluated. It was determined that this new brush-scrubbing process efficiently removed particles from chemical mechanical polished silicon surfaces. Finally, a model explaining the new brush-scrubbing process is constructed.