What is claimed is:
1. A method of removing an oxide layer from at least one surface feature on an article, comprising the steps of:
locating the article having at least one surface feature in a reaction chamber;
introducing an interhalogen compound reactive with the oxide layer into the reaction chamber, the interhalogen compound forming volatile by-product gases upon reaction with the oxide layer; and
removing unreacted interhalogen compound and volatile by-product gases from the reaction chamber.
2. The method of claim 1 further including the step of increasing the temperature in the reaction chamber during introduction of the interhalogen compound.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the temperature is within a range of about 20 C. to about 700 C.
4. The method of claim 1 further including the step of increasing the temperature of the interhalogen compound prior to introduction into the reaction chamber.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein a pressure in the reaction chamber is within a range of about 0.0133 Pa to about 101,325 Pa.
6. The method of claim 1 further including the step of coating at least a portion of the article with a photoresistive layer impervious to the interhalogen compound.
7. The method of claim 1 further including the step of depositing in-situ a metal layer on a portion of the article within the reaction chamber.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the reaction chamber comprises a chemical vapor deposition reaction chamber.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the article comprises a silicon wafer.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the article comprises a non-silicon metal substrate.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the interhalogen compound is selected from a group consisting of ClF3, BrF3, ClF5, IF5, IF7, ClF, BrCl, IBr, ICl and BrF.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the interhalogen compound comprises an interhalogen gas.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the interhalogen gas comprises a complex interhalogen gas.
14. The method of claim 1 wherein the interhalogen compound comprises a non-fluorine-containing interhalogen compound.
15. The method of claim 1 wherein the interhalogen compound comprises a high vapor pressure liquid at room temperature.
16. The method of claim 1 wherein the interhalogen compound comprises a solid at room temperature that sublimes upon heating to generate an interhalogen vapor.
17. The method of claim 1 further including the step of introducing a reducing gas into the reaction chamber in combination with the interhalogen compound.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein the reducing gas is selected from a group consisting of hydrogen, ammonia, amines, phosphine, silanes and higher silanes.
19. The method of claim 1 wherein the oxide layer comprises a native oxide layer.
20. The method of claim 1 wherein the surface feature comprises a depression with one or more lateral dimensions of less than about 2 micrometers.
21. The method of claim 1 wherein the surface feature comprises a depression with one or more lateral dimensions of less than about 0.5 micrometer.
22. The method of claim 1 wherein the surface feature has an aspect ratio comprising at least about 1:1.
23. The method of claim 1 wherein the surface feature has an aspect ratio comprising at least about 5:1.
24. A method of in-situ removal of an oxide layer from a silicon wafer in a chemical vapor deposition chamber prior to metal deposition, comprising the steps of:
locating the silicon wafer in a reaction chamber;
introducing an interhalogen compound reactive with the oxide layer into the reaction chamber, the interhalogen compound forming volatile by-product gases upon reaction with the oxide layer;
evacuating unreacted interhalogen compound and volatile by-product gases from the reaction chamber; and
depositing a metal layer on a portion of the article within the reaction chamber.
25. A method of removing an oxide layer from an article, comprising the steps of:
locating the article in a reaction chamber;
introducing a non-fluorine-containing interhalogen compound reactive with the oxide layer into the reaction chamber, the non-fluorine-containing interhalogen compound forming volatile by-product gases upon reaction with the oxide layer; and
evacuating unreacted interhalogen compound and volatile by-product gases from the reaction chamber.
26. A method of removing an oxide layer from an article having a non-silicon surface, comprising the steps of:
locating the article having the non-silicon surface in a reaction chamber;
introducing an interhalogen compound reactive with the oxide layer into the reaction chamber, the interhalogen compound forming volatile by-product gases upon reaction with the oxide layer; and
evacuating unreacted interhalogen compound and volatile by-product gases from the reaction chamber.
27. The method of claim 26 wherein the interhalogen compound comprises a non-fluorine-containing interhalogen compound.
28. A method of removing an oxide layer from an article, comprising the steps of:
locating the article in a reaction chamber;
introducing an interhalogen compound and a reducing gas into the reaction chamber, the interhalogen compound and the reducing gas forming volatile by-product gases upon reaction with the oxide layer; and
evacuating unreacted interhalogen compound, reducing gas and volatile by-product gases from the reaction chamber.
29. The method of claim 28 wherein the reducing gas comprises hydrogen.
30. The method of claim 28 wherein the reducing gas is selected from a group consisting of ammonia, amines, phosphine, silanes and higher silanes.
31. The method of claim 28 wherein the step of introducing the reducing gas comprises introducing the reducing gas simultaneously with the interhalogen compound.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A signal processing system comprising:
a transmitter component that transmits a predetermined detection signal, using one or other of a plurality of signal lines of a transmitter path;
a receiver component that receives an interference signal, occurring in a different signal line from the signal line the transmitter component used for transmitting the detection signal, the interference signal occurring from interference due to the detection signal transmitted from the transmitter component;
a storage component that stores a correspondence relationship between length of signal line and a predetermined reference voltage value according to signal line length;
a determining component that determines signal line length;
a comparison component that derives the reference voltage value that accords with the signal line length determined by the determining component from the correspondence relationship and that compares a voltage value of the interference signal received by the receiver component with the derived reference voltage value; and
an execution component that, based on a comparison result of comparison by the comparison component, executes predetermined processing according to the comparison result.
2. The signal processing system of claim 1, wherein, when the comparison result, from the comparison component comparing the voltage value of the interference signal and the derived reference voltage value, is that the voltage value of the interference signal is greater than the derived reference voltage value, the execution component executes predetermined processing to provide notification that the transmitter path is inappropriate as the comparison result.
3. The signal processing system of claim 1, further comprising:
a display component that displays the comparison result from comparison by the comparison component, wherein the predetermined processing executed by the execution component is at least one processing from visual display, audible announcement, andor permanent visible display of the comparison result on the display component.
4. A signal processing system comprising:
a transmitter component that transmits a predetermined detection signal, using one or other of a plurality of signal lines of a transmitter path;
a receiver component that receives an interference signal, occurring in a different signal line from the signal line the transmitter component used for transmitting the detection signal, the interference signal occurring from interference due to the detection signal transmitted from the transmitter component;
a storage component that stores a relationship between length of signal line and a predetermined reference voltage value according to signal line length;
a setting component that sets signal line length;
a comparison component that compares a voltage value of the interference signal received by the receiver component with the reference voltage value that accords with the signal line length notified by the setting component based on the relationship stored in the storage component; and
an execution component that, based on a comparison result of comparison by the comparison component, executes predetermined processing according to the comparison result.
5. The signal processing system of claim 4, wherein, when the comparison result, from the comparison component comparing the voltage value of the interference signal and the reference voltage value, is that the voltage value of the interference signal is greater than the reference voltage value, the execution component executes predetermined processing to provide notification that the transmitter path is inappropriate as the comparison result.
6. The signal processing system of claim 4, further comprising:
a display component that displays the comparison result from comparison by the comparison component, wherein the predetermined processing executed by the execution component is at least one processing from visual display, audible announcement, andor permanent visible display of the comparison result on the display component.