Methods, systems, and apparatus for radical treatment operations prior to annealing operations

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods, systems, and apparatus for performing a radical treatment operation on a substrate prior to performing an annealing operation on the substrate. In one embodiment, a method of processing a semiconductor substrate includes preheating the substrate, and exposing the substrate to species radicals. Exposing the substrate to the species radicals includes a processing temperature of less than 300 DEG C, a processing pressure of less than 1.0 torr, and a processing time in the range of 8.0 minutes to 12.0 minutes. The method includes annealing the substrate after exposing the substrate to species radicals. The annealing includes exposing the substrate to molecules, an annealing temperature of 300 DEG C or greater, an annealing pressure in the range of 500 Torr to 550 Torr, and an annealing time of less than 4.0 minutes. 本公开内容的方面关于在基板上进行退火操作之前在基板上进行自由基处理操作的方法、系统、及设备。在一个实施方式中，处理半导体基板的方法包括预加热基板，及将基板暴露至物种自由基。将基板暴露至物种自由基包括小于300℃的处理温度、小于1.0托的处理压力、及在8.0分钟至12.0分钟的范围内的处理时间。