Substrate Brush Cleaning With Noninterfering Liquid Discharge
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Solution Overview
Problem
In substrate cleaning apparatuses using scrub cleaning, impurities removed from substrates can adhere to brushes, leading to contamination of subsequent substrates and deterioration in substrate quality.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning apparatus with a substrate cleaner that uses rotating brushes to clean both surfaces of a substrate while supplying a cleaning liquid, and a brush cleaner that discharges brush cleaning liquid linearly onto the brushes at retracted positions, ensuring the liquids do not interfere until landing on the brush surfaces, supported by a system that adjusts the position of the dischargers to prevent overlap.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a brush is used to clean substrates by scrubbing, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but the brush becomes contaminated with impurities and causes cross-contamination of subsequent substrates
Solution Approach 1:
The brush is extracted from continuous contact with substrates by retracting it to a retracted position after cleaning each substrate. This separation prevents the brush from transferring impurities to subsequent substrates while maintaining cleaning effectiveness during the contact phase.
Solution Approach 2:
A brush cleaning liquid discharge mechanism is provided that cleans the brush surface before the brush contacts the next substrate. This preliminary cleaning action removes accumulated impurities from the brush, preventing cross-contamination while maintaining consistent cleaning performance.
2Area of stationary object
If multiple dischargers are used to clean both surfaces of the substrate, then cleaning coverage is improved, but the discharged liquids may interfere with each other
Solution Approach 1:
The first discharger and second discharger are configured with asymmetric discharge directions - the first discharger discharges liquid in a first direction while the second discharger discharges liquid in a second direction that is different from the first direction. This asymmetric configuration prevents liquid interference while maintaining comprehensive cleaning coverage of both substrate surfaces.
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 and improves substrate quality by preventing cross-contamination, ensuring high cleanliness and reproducibility in substrate processing.
Implementation Method 1
a brush cleaner configured to clean the first brush and the second brush by discharging a brush cleaning liquid from a discharger to the contact surface of the first brush and the contact surface of the second brush
Data Source
AI summary
A cleaning apparatus includes: first and second dischargers configured to discharge a brush cleaning liquid so that the brush cleaning liquid lands linearly on contact surfaces of first and second brushes, in a state in which the first and second brushes configured to clean a substrate are located at a retracted position spaced apart from the substrate; and a support configured to support the first and second discharger, so that the brush cleaning liquid discharged from the first discharger and the brush cleaning liquid discharged from the second discharger do not interfere with each other until the brush cleaning liquid lands on the contact surfaces of the first and second brushes.