초록 ▼

A commercially available solvent, such as a stripping chemical and/or an organic solvent, is supported by supercritical CO.sub.2 to remove a resist, its residue, and/or an organic contaminant off the surface of a semiconductor wafer. Supercritical CO.sub.2 has a high solvency which increases with pr

A commercially available solvent, such as a stripping chemical and/or an organic solvent, is supported by supercritical CO.sub.2 to remove a resist, its residue, and/or an organic contaminant off the surface of a semiconductor wafer. Supercritical CO.sub.2 has a high solvency which increases with pressure. The supercritical CO.sub.2 permits a tremendous reduction in reaction time and amount of chemical utilized for the resist removal process. In a preferred embodiment, the wafer is exposed to the CO.sub.2 and chemical mixture in a process chamber heated to a temperature of 20 to 80.degree. C. at a pressure of 1050 to 6000 psig for a period of 10 seconds to 15 minutes.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. A method of processing a semiconductor wafer having a surface supporting resist comprising the steps of:exposing the resist to supercritical CO.sub.2 in combination with a first solvent, the first solvent being selected from the group consisting of n-methyl pyrrolidone,

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. A method of processing a semiconductor wafer having a surface supporting resist comprising the steps of:exposing the resist to supercritical CO.sub.2 in combination with a first solvent, the first solvent being selected from the group consisting of n-methyl pyrrolidone, di-isopropyl amine, tri-isopropyl amine, diglycol amine, hydroxyl amine, and a mixture thereof; andmaintaining the supercritical carbon dioxide and the first solvent in contact with the resist until substantially all of the resist has been removed from the surface of the wafer.