Treatment Cup Cleaning via Dual-Sided Substrate Rotation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing substrate treatment methods face challenges in ensuring thorough cleaning of the treatment cup's inner wall, leading to potential contamination from chemical liquids that can crystallize and form particles, due to inefficient distribution and scattering of cleaning liquids during the cleaning process.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the simultaneous supply of cleaning liquid to both the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate, with controlled flow rates and rotation speeds to direct the cleaning liquid effectively onto the treatment cup's inner wall, ensuring comprehensive cleaning and preventing crystallization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If cleaning liquid is supplied to the upper surface of the rotary base, then the inner wall of the treatment guard is cleaned, but the cleaning liquid is splashed by clamping members and scatters in various directions, resulting in insufficient cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from supplying cleaning liquid to only the upper surface (single dimension) to supplying cleaning liquid to both upper and lower surfaces simultaneously (multiple dimensions). This dimensional change allows the cleaning liquid to scatter in controlled directions that cover the entire inner wall of the treatment cup, resolving the insufficient cleaning problem while maintaining proper liquid distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the parameter of cleaning liquid supply by introducing dual-sided supply (upper and lower surfaces) with adjustable flow rates. By controlling the flow rate ratio between upper and lower surfaces, the scattering direction of cleaning liquid can be adjusted to ensure comprehensive coverage of the treatment cup inner wall, improving cleaning accuracy while maintaining ease of operation.
2Manufacturing precision
If cleaning is performed separately from substrate treatment, then thorough cleaning can be achieved, but productivity decreases due to additional process time
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the cleaning process with the substrate treatment process by simultaneously performing both operations. The cleaning liquid supplied to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate serves dual purposes: cleaning the substrate and cleaning the treatment cup inner wall. This integration eliminates separate cleaning steps, maintaining thorough cleaning while improving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning liquid supply system is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it cleans the substrate surfaces, cleans the treatment cup inner wall through scattered liquid, and can be adjusted to optimize either cleaning or treatment based on process requirements. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction between cleaning thoroughness and productivity.
3Area of stationary object
If cleaning liquid flow rate is increased to improve cleaning coverage, then more areas are cleaned, but liquid scattering becomes uncontrolled and may contaminate the substrate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses parameter changes by adjusting the flow rate ratio between upper and lower surface cleaning liquid supply. By controlling these flow rates independently, the scattering direction and coverage area can be optimized to clean the treatment cup inner wall effectively while preventing uncontrolled scattering that could contaminate the substrate. The parameters can be dynamically adjusted based on process requirements.
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
This approach ensures extensive and proper cleaning of the treatment cup's inner wall, preventing particle contamination and allowing for simultaneous substrate treatment, thereby improving productivity by integrating cleaning into the treatment process.
Implementation Method 1
a substrate rotating unit which horizontally holds and rotates a substrate about a rotation axis; a cleaning liquid supplying unit which supplies a cleaning liquid to upper and lower surfaces of the substrate
Data Source
AI summary
A treatment cup cleaning method is provided, which includes: a rotating step of rotating a substrate rotating unit with a substrate being held by the substrate rotating unit; a cleaning liquid supplying step of supplying a cleaning liquid to an upper surface and a lower surface of the substrate and causing the cleaning liquid to scatter from a peripheral edge of the substrate to be applied to an inner wall of a treatment cup in the rotating step, whereby the cleaning liquid is supplied to the inner wall of the treatment cup; and a scattering direction changing step of changing a cleaning liquid scattering direction in which the cleaning liquid scatters from the peripheral edge of the substrate in the rotating step and the cleaning liquid supplying step.