Semiconductor cleaner systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9646817-B2
Application number	US-201213531504-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 23, 2012
Priority date	Jun 23, 2011
Publication date	May 9, 2017
Grant date	May 9, 2017

Abstract

In an embodiment, the present invention discloses a EUV cleaner system and process for cleaning a EUV carrier. The euv cleaner system comprises separate dirty and cleaned environments, separate cleaning chambers for different components of the double container carrier, gripper arms for picking and placing different components using a same robot handler, gripper arms for holding different components at different locations, horizontal spin cleaning and drying for outer container, hot water and hot air (70 C) cleaning process, vertical nozzles and rasterizing megasonic nozzles for cleaning inner container with hot air nozzles for drying, separate vacuum decontamination chambers for outgassing different components, for example, one for inner and one for outer container with high vacuum (e.g., <10 −6 Torr) with purge gas, heaters and RGA sensors inside the vacuum chamber, purge gas assembling station, and purge gas loading and unloading station.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for cleaning a workpiece, the system comprising:
a first chamber, wherein the first chamber comprises a non-vacuum ambient atmosphere and is configured with a cleaning interface that interfaces with and cleans a predetermined workpiece surface of a workpiece in the non-vacuum ambient atmosphere from an uncleaned condition of the predetermined workpiece surface in which the workpiece is received in the first chamber to a cleaned condition of the predetermined workpiece surface;
a second chamber, wherein the second chamber is different than the first chamber so that the second chamber comprises a vacuum ambient that is different from the non-vacuum ambient atmosphere of the first chamber, and the second chamber is configured so that the second chamber effects post cleaning outgassing of the workpiece after being cleaned in the first chamber; and
a robotic mechanism for transferring the workpiece between the first chamber and the second chamber.

2. A system as in claim 1 further comprising a first vacuum pump coupled to the second chamber.

3. A system as in claim 2 further comprising a first shut off valve connected between the first vacuum pump and the second chamber.

4. A system as in claim 3 further comprising a gas monitor coupled to the second chamber.

5. A system as in claim 4 further comprising a second shut off valve connected between the gas monitor and the second chamber.

6. A system as in claim 4 further comprising a differential valve connected between the gas monitor and the second chamber.

7. A system as in claim 6 further comprising a second vacuum pump connected between the differential valve and the second chamber.

8. A system as in claim 1 further comprising a heater for heating the workpiece in the second chamber.

9. A system as in claim 1 further comprising a nozzle for injecting an inactive gas to the second chamber.

10. A system for cleaning a workpiece, the system comprising:
a cleaning chamber including a non-vacuum atmosphere and being configured with a cleaning interface for interfacing with and cleaning at least one portion of a predetermined workpiece container surface of a workpiece container in the non-vacuum atmosphere from an uncleaned condition of the predetermined workpiece container surface in which the workpiece container is received in the cleaning chamber to a cleaned condition of the predetermined workpiece container surface; and
a post cleaning outgassing chamber, connected to the cleaning chamber, the post cleaning outgassing chamber being different than the cleaning chamber so that the post cleaning outgassing chamber is configured to hold a vacuum atmosphere different from the non-vacuum atmosphere of the cleaning chamber, and the post cleaning outgassing chamber is configured so that the post cleaning outgassing chamber effects outgassing of the workpiece container.

11. The system of claim 10 , further comprising a robotic mechanism for transferring the workpiece container between the cleaning chamber and the post cleaning outgassing chamber.

Assignees

• Rebstock Lutz
• Brooks Automation Inc

Inventors

• Rebstock Lutz

Classifications

• H10P72/7602

  the wafers being placed on a robot blade or gripped by a gripper for conveyance · CPC title

• H10P72/3304

  characterised by movements or sequence of movements of transfer devices · CPC title

• H10P72/1906

  specially adapted for containing masks, reticles or pellicles · CPC title

• H10P72/0468

  comprising a chamber adapted to a particular process · CPC title

• H10P72/0456

  in-line arrangement · CPC title