Morphology of Si(100) surfaces exposed to a remote H plasma

This study addresses the formation of roughness and near surface defects on Si(100) surfaces that are exposed to a remotely excited H plasma. The remote H plasma processing can be employed for in situ wafer cleaning. Atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and residual gas analysis are used to measure the surface roughness, the near surface defects, and the etching, respectively. For remote H plasma exposures at substrate temperatures ≤300 °C, etching is observed along with a significant increase in the surface roughness and the formation of platelet defects in the near surface region. As the substrate temperature is increased to above 450 °C, etching is significantly reduced and no subsurface defects or increases in surface roughness are observed.