Substrate Cleaning Head with Inclined Brushes for Uniform Pressure

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing substrate cleaning technologies fail to uniformly clean substrates, leading to contaminants remaining at specific positions and potential substrate damage during the cleaning process.

Innovation Solution

A substrate cleaning head with a support body and brushes arranged circumferentially, featuring an inclination portion that decreases in thickness inwardly, combined with a pressure sensor and actuator to maintain uniform pressure and prevent particle entrapment, ensuring thorough cleaning without damage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If a substrate cleaning head is used to clean the substrate, then the substrate can be cleaned, but contaminants may remain at specific positions and the substrate may be damaged

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecleaning uniformityVSAvoidcontaminant remaining and substrate damage

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The brush is designed with an inclination portion that has different thicknesses at different locations. The thickness decreases from the outer circumference toward the center, creating locally adapted cleaning pressure. This local quality variation ensures uniform cleaning across the entire substrate surface while preventing contaminant accumulation and substrate damage at specific positions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The cleaning head is equipped with a pressure sensor and actuator that dynamically adjust the pressing force applied to the brush. This dynamic adjustment ensures consistent cleaning pressure across the substrate, preventing both insufficient cleaning (contaminant remaining) and excessive pressure (substrate damage), thereby resolving the technical contradiction between cleaning effectiveness and substrate protection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Ease of manufacture

If the brush has a uniform thickness, then the structure is simple, but contaminants remain at specific positions due to uneven pressure distribution

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebrush structure simplicityVSAvoidcleaning uniformity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The brush incorporates an inclination portion with varying thickness along its length, creating a gradient structure. This local quality variation compensates for the natural sagging or uneven contact that occurs during substrate cleaning, ensuring uniform pressure distribution across the substrate surface and preventing contaminant accumulation, while maintaining reasonable manufacturing complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The inclination portion is designed with a curved surface that gradually decreases in thickness from the outer circumference toward the center. This curved geometry naturally distributes contact pressure more evenly across the substrate, eliminating the sharp pressure variations that cause contaminant accumulation, while the curvature can be manufactured using standard molding techniques.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

3Productivity

If the brush presses hard on the substrate, then cleaning effectiveness improves, but the substrate may be damaged

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecleaning effectivenessVSAvoidsubstrate integrity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The brush design changes the physical parameter of thickness along its length, creating an inclination portion that is thicker at the outer circumference and thinner toward the center. This parameter variation ensures that the brush applies appropriate pressure to different regions of the substrate, maintaining cleaning effectiveness while protecting the substrate from damage through reduced pressure at critical areas.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The cleaning system incorporates a pressure sensor that provides real-time feedback on the pressing force applied to the substrate. This feedback mechanism allows the actuator to dynamically adjust the brush pressure, maintaining optimal cleaning effectiveness while preventing excessive pressure that could damage the substrate, thus resolving the contradiction between cleaning performance and substrate protection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS20250214114A1Substrate cleaning head, substrate cleaning module including the same, substrate cleaning system including the same, and substrate processing method using the same

Publication Date: 2025.07.03 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

AI summary

Disclosed are substrate cleaning heads, substrate cleaning modules, substrate cleaning systems, and substrate processing methods. The substrate cleaning head comprises a support body having a vertical axis, and a plurality of brushes at a bottom surface of the support body, wherein the brushes of the plurality of brushes are arranged in a circumferential direction about the vertical axis of the support body. The brushes of the plurality of brushes are each spaced apart from one another in the circumferential direction. Each of the brushes includes a brush body that extends in the circumferential direction from a first side surface to a second side surface opposing the first side surface, and an inclination portion extending inward from an inner lateral extent of the brush body. A thickness of the inclination portion decreases in an inward direction. An inclined surface as a bottom surface of the inclination portion forms an acute angle with the vertical axis.