Time-of-Flight Scattering and Recoiling Spectrometry Study of Plasma-Cleaned Silicon Surface

Abstract

The cleaning process of a Si(100) surface using electron cyclotron resonance hydrogen plasmas was observed by time-of-flight scattering and recoiling spectrometry (TOF-SARS). The effects of substrate temperature and plasma density on the cleanliness and the damage including roughness of the surface were clarified by the observation, because both impurities and damage of the surface were detected by TOF-SARS. The substrate temperature had effects on reduction of the damage and the exposure time to obtain a clean surface. The hydrogen-terminated clean surface with nominal damage was obtained by exposure to the plasma with the electron density on the order of 109 cm-3 at 300° C for 1–5 min.