Lower-Surface Brush Cleaning for High-Throughput Substrate Washing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate cleaning devices face challenges in maintaining brush cleanliness without reducing throughput, as the cleanliness of the brush degrades over time, leading to inefficient cleaning of substrates.
Innovation Solution
A substrate cleaning device with a movable and rotatable lower-surface brush that includes liquid nozzles to clean the brush at a waiting position, overlapping with the substrate, ensuring efficient cleaning without increasing footprint, and using fluorine-based resin for the brush to minimize contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a brush is used to clean the substrate repeatedly, then the cleaning function is maintained, but the cleanliness of the brush degrades over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by cleaning the brush at the waiting position before it moves to the processing position for substrate cleaning. The liquid nozzle discharges cleaning liquid to the brush while it is positioned below the substrate, pre-cleaning it before use. This ensures the brush maintains cleanliness without interrupting the substrate cleaning process, thus preserving throughput while improving brush reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The brush cleans itself through the liquid nozzle that discharges cleaning liquid directly onto the brush at the waiting position. This self-service mechanism allows the brush to be cleaned automatically as part of the operational cycle without requiring external intervention or separate cleaning equipment, maintaining both cleanliness and productivity.
2Productivity
If a larger brush is used to clean the substrate faster, then the cleaning efficiency improves, but the footprint of the device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the vertical dimension by positioning the brush at a waiting position below the substrate level. The brush moves upward to contact the substrate for cleaning, then returns below the substrate at the waiting position where it is cleaned by the liquid nozzle. This vertical arrangement allows a larger brush to be used for faster cleaning without increasing the horizontal footprint of the device.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Maintains brush cleanliness without reducing throughput by uniformly cleaning the substrate's lower surface, preventing partial hardening of the brush, and ensuring efficient cleaning of substrates with large brushes.
Implementation Method 1
a first liquid nozzle that discharges a cleaning liquid to a center portion of the lower-surface brush, at the waiting position, and a second liquid nozzle that discharges a cleaning liquid to an end portion of the lower-surface brush
Implementation Method 2
a lower-surface brush that is configured to be movable between a processing position for cleaning of the substrate and a waiting position that overlaps with the substrate held by the substrate holder in an up-and-down direction and rotatable about an axis extending in the up-and-down direction
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate cleaning device includes a substrate holder, a lower-surface brush, a first liquid nozzle and a second liquid nozzle. The substrate holder holds a substrate in a horizontal attitude. The lower-surface brush is configured to be movable between a processing position for cleaning of the substrate and a waiting position that overlaps with the substrate held by the substrate holder in an up-and-down direction. Further, the lower-surface brush is configured to be rotatable about an axis extending in the up-and-down direction. The lower-surface brush cleans a lower surface of the substrate by coming into contact with the lower surface of the substrate. The first liquid nozzle discharges a cleaning liquid to a center portion of the lower-surface brush, at a waiting position. The second liquid nozzle discharges a cleaning liquid to an end portion of the lower-surface brush, at the waiting position.