Elastically Deformable Brush for Substrate Peripheral Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate treatment methods fail to effectively clean the peripheral areas and end faces of substrates, such as semiconductor wafers, due to limitations in brush design, which lead to uneven cleaning and nonuniform cleaning widths, and require cumbersome changes in cleaning width or replacement of brushes.
Innovation Solution
A substrate treatment apparatus with elastically deformable brushes having inclined cleaning surfaces, allowing for adjustable cleaning widths and simultaneous cleaning of both surfaces and end faces, regardless of substrate warping, using a controller to manage brushing pressure and movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a cylindrical brush with a groove is used to clean peripheral areas, then the peripheral areas on front and back surfaces can be cleaned, but the cleaning width cannot be changed easily and brush replacement is required
Solution Approach 1:
The brush is designed with an elastic body that can dynamically adjust its contact width with the substrate by changing the pushing pressure. This allows the cleaning width to be varied continuously without replacing the brush, resolving the contradiction between cleaning precision and operational flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameter of pushing pressure applied to the brush to control the cleaning width. By adjusting the pressure parameter, the contact area between brush and substrate changes, enabling easy modification of cleaning width while maintaining uniform cleaning quality.
2Ease of operation
If the amount of insertion of substrate into brush groove is reduced to change cleaning width, then cleaning width may be adjusted, but the brush cannot contact peripheral end face for cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic brush design allows simultaneous contact with both peripheral areas and end face by adjusting pushing pressure. The brush dynamically adapts its contact configuration based on applied pressure, enabling both surfaces to be cleaned without compromising either cleaning width adjustability or end face cleaning quality.
3Device complexity
If a fixed groove depth is used in brush, then brush structure is simple, but cleaning width cannot be changed without replacing brush
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of changing the fixed geometric parameter of groove depth, the invention changes the operational parameter of pushing pressure to control cleaning width. This maintains the simple brush structure while achieving high adaptability in cleaning width through pressure control.
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
The solution ensures satisfactory cleaning of peripheral areas and end faces with uniformity and efficiency, allowing for easy adjustment of cleaning widths and simultaneous processing of both surfaces, thereby improving the cleaning process.
Implementation Method 1
a first brush (84) made of an elastically deformable material and having a cleaning surface (98) inclined with respect to a perpendicular direction perpendicular to one surface of the substrate
Implementation Method 2
the cleaning surface (98) is made to contact with a peripheral area (13) on the one surface and a peripheral end face (15) of the substrate
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate treatment apparatus including a substrate holding mechanism for holding a substrate; a first brush made of an elastically deformable material and having a cleaning surface inclined with respect to a perpendicular direction perpendicular to one surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism; a first brush moving mechanism for moving the first brush with respect to the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism; a controller for controlling the first brush moving mechanism so that the cleaning surface is made to contact with a peripheral area on the one surface and a peripheral end face of the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism; and a first pushing pressure holding mechanism for holding a pushing pressure of the first brush in the perpendicular direction to the peripheral area on the one surface of the substrate at a preset pushing pressure.