Substrate Cleaning Nozzle Cover With Gas Curtain Against Re-Adhesion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate cleaning techniques struggle to effectively remove particles while minimizing re-adhesion and substrate damage, particularly in semiconductor manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
A substrate cleaning apparatus utilizing a gas cluster generated by jetting high-pressure gases into a decompression chamber, combined with a gas curtain, to remove particles from the substrate surface without re-adhesion, using a nozzle cover and substrate holder configuration to manage gas flow and pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a gas cluster is used to remove particles from the substrate, then particle removal effectiveness is improved, but particles may be wound up and re-adhered to the substrate
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning process is segmented into distinct functional zones: a cleaning zone where the gas cluster removes particles, and a separate transport zone where the gas curtain carries particles away. This spatial segmentation prevents removed particles from returning to the substrate surface.
Solution Approach 2:
A gas curtain acts as an intermediary medium between the cleaning process and the substrate. This gas curtain flows from the rear surface of the substrate toward the front surface, creating a protective barrier that transports particles away and prevents their re-adhesion to the substrate.
2Power
If high-pressure gas is jetted to generate gas cluster, then cleaning power is improved, but substrate damage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful high-pressure gas is extracted and confined to a specific decompression chamber region where it generates the gas cluster for cleaning. The gas curtain system separately manages the high-pressure gas flow to protect the substrate, separating the powerful cleaning function from the substrate contact zone.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure parameter of the gas is dynamically changed across different spatial zones. High pressure is maintained in the decompression chamber for effective particle removal, while the gas curtain uses controlled pressure to gently transport particles away without damaging the substrate.
3Manufacturing precision
If particles are removed from the substrate surface, then cleanliness is improved, but removed particles may be wound up and re-adhered
Solution Approach 1:
The gas curtain provides continuous particle transport action from the moment particles are removed until they are carried away from the substrate. This continuous action ensures that particles do not remain near the substrate surface where they could re-adhere, maintaining sustained cleanliness.
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 apparatus efficiently removes particles from substrates by forming a gas cluster that peels them off without re-adhesion, maintaining substrate cleanliness and integrity.
Implementation Method 1
a gas nozzle configured to jet a cleaning gas having a pressure higher than that of the decompression chamber to generate, in the decompression chamber, a gas cluster configured to clean the substrate
Implementation Method 2
The gas cluster is an aggregate (cluster) in which a large number of atoms or molecules are aggregated when a high-pressure gas is jetted into a vacuum formed in a decompression chamber or the like to be cooled to a condensation temperature by adiabatic expansion
Implementation Method 3
The substrate holder is provided with a gas curtain forming unit configured to form a gas curtain by jetting a gas for the gas curtain to the flange
Data Source
AI summary
A particle removed from a substrate is suppressed from adhering to the substrate again. A substrate cleaning apparatus includes a substrate holder configured to hold the substrate; a gas nozzle configured to jet a cleaning gas to the substrate on the substrate holder; and a nozzle cover provided to surround the gas nozzle. The cleaning gas is jetted to a decompression chamber of the nozzle cover from the gas nozzle, and a gas cluster configured to remove the particle on the substrate in the decompression chamber is generated. A gas for a gas curtain is jetted from a holder support of the substrate holder toward the nozzle cover, and the gas curtain is formed between the nozzle cover and the holder support.