ABSTRACT
Liquid-based processing (i.e., cleaning, etching, developing) is prominent in modem microelectronics fabrication facilities. These liquid processes can often prove to be significant sources of wafer contamination. Wet cleaning is especially problematic due to the large number of wet cleaning steps that are utilized to fabricate a completed device; while film deposition operations contribute more particles per process step than wet cleaning, the use of multiple cleaning steps during fabrication makes exposure of wafers to liquid cleaning solutions the top defect contributor in the cleanroom [1].
