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Abstract

A method for treating a surface region having a surface roughness, e.g., 0.3-30 nm rms. The method includes providing a substrate, which has a surface region, a thickness of material, and a backside surface. The surface region is characterized by a first predetermined surface roughness value. The thickness of material is defined between the surface region and the backside surface. The method includes maintaining the substrate on a susceptor from the backside surface to hold the substrate in place within a treatment chamber. The method includes maintaining the surface region within an annular region, which is substantially a similar height as the surface region. The annular region has a width surrounding the surface region. The method introduces hydrogen gas into the treatment chamber and introduces an etchant gas into the treatment chamber. The method exposes the surface region having the first predetermined surface roughness value and the width of the annular region to at least the hydrogen gas and the etchant gas. The method reduces the predetermined surface roughness value from the predetermined surface roughness value to a second predetermined surface roughness value from a first edge of the substrate to a second edge of the substrate along the surface region, whereupon the reducing occurs substantially evenly across the first edge of the substrate to the second edge of the substrate.

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First Claim