Semiconductor cleaner systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9646858-B2
Application number	US-201213531503-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 face of a workpiece, the system comprising
a chamber;
one or more first nozzles, wherein the one or more first nozzles are operable to deliver a cleaning liquid;
one or more second nozzles, wherein the one or more second nozzles are operable to deliver a megasonic liquid;
one or more third nozzles, wherein the one or more third nozzles are operable to deliver a drying gas;
a first mechanism for moving the one or more second nozzles in a first linear direction; and
a second mechanism for moving the workpiece in a second linear direction, wherein the second linear direction is different from the first linear direction;
wherein, the movement of the first mechanism in the first linear direction and the movement of second mechanism in the second linear direction together form a rasterizing plane upon which the first mechanism and the second mechanism effect simultaneous rasterized movement of the one or more second nozzles, where the rasterizing plane is parallel with the face of the workpiece.

2. A system as in claim 1 wherein the first linear direction is horizontal and the second linear direction is vertical.

3. A system as in claim 1 wherein the second one or more nozzles move cyclically from one side of the workpiece to an opposite side of the workpiece.

4. A system as in claim 1 wherein the workpiece moves vertically.

5. A system as in claim 1 wherein the one or more third nozzles are disposed above the one or more first nozzles.

6. A system as in claim 1 wherein the one or more second nozzles are disposed interspersed with the one or more first nozzles.

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