Effect of HCl and chemical clean on thin oxide growth

The effect of pre-oxidation clean on the resultant silicon dioxide thickness has been observed and documented. Wafers which are cleaned in an SC1 last solution will grow a thicker oxide than wafers that are SC2 last cleaned for oxide thicknesses of 500 Å or less. It has been determined that the oxide thickness is also dependent on the pre-oxidation clean of a neighboring wafer. A wafer processed adjacent to an SC1 last cleaned wafer will grow a thicker oxide than a wafer processed adjacent to an SC2 wafer. This effect is greatly enhanced when HCl is used in the oxidation. The effect of the preoxidation clean, the effect of HCl, and the neighbor effect on the oxide growth offset is presented