SiGe surface morphogenesis during dry cleaning with NF3/H2O plasma

Herein, we investigated the effects of processing conditions on the surface morphology of SiGe subjected to dry cleaning with NF 3 /H 2 O plasma, characterizing dry-cleaned samples by several instrumental techniques and revealing the generation of 80–250-nm-wide bumps on the SiGe surface. The formation of these bumps resulted in increased surface roughness and was found to be correlated with the H 2 O flow rate. Based on the above observations, an additional guideline for evaluating the SiGe cleaning process was proposed.