Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100224215 | Method for Reducing the Damage Induced by a Physical Force Assisted Cleaning - Disclosed is a method for performing a physical force-assisted cleaning process on a patterned surface of a substrate, including providing a substrate having at least one patterned surface, supplying a cleaning liquid to the patterned surface, and applying a physical force to the cleaning liquid in contact with the patterned surface, whereby the physical force leads to bubble formation in the cleaning liquid. Furthermore, and prior to applying the physical force, an additive is supplied to the surface, and the additive is maintained in contact with the surface for a given time, the additive and the time being chosen so that a substantially complete wetting of the surface by the cleaning liquid is achieved. | 09-09-2010 |
20100317185 | SUBSTRATE TREATING METHOD AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE USING THE SAME - A substrate treating method comprising a step of preparing a semiconductor substrate (W, | 12-16-2010 |
20110000504 | Method and Apparatus for Controlling Optimal Operation of Acoustic Cleaning - Methods and apparatuses for cleaning a surface of a substrate are presented. The method comprises positioning a substrate at a controllable distance from a piezoelectric transducer, supplying a cleaning liquid between the substrate and the transducer, applying an oscillating acoustic force to the cleaning liquid by actuating the transducer, and moving the transducer relative to the substrate. The method further comprises, while moving the transducer relative to the substrate, measuring a value that indicates a distance between a surface of the substrate and the transducer, comparing the measured value to a desired value, and adjusting the distance between the surface and the transducer so that the measured value is maintained substantially equal to the desired value. The measured value may be the distance between the surface of the substrate and the transducer or a phase shift between an alternating current and voltage applied to the transducer. | 01-06-2011 |
20110088719 | Method and Apparatus for Cleaning a Semiconductor Substrate - Disclosed are systems and methods for cleaning semiconductor substrates, wherein a nucleation structure having nucleation sites is mounted facing a surface of the substrate to be cleaned. The substrate and structure are brought into contact with a cleaning liquid, which is subsequently subjected to acoustic waves of a given frequency. The nucleation template features easier nucleation formation than the surface that needs to be cleaned by, for example, causing the template to have a higher contact angle when in contact with the liquid than the substrate surface to be clean. Therefore, bubbles nucleate on the structure and not on the surface to be cleaned. | 04-21-2011 |
20120227775 | Method and Apparatus for Controlling Optimal Operation of Acoustic Cleaning - Methods and apparatuses for cleaning a surface of a substrate are presented. The method comprises positioning a substrate at a controllable distance from a piezoelectric transducer, supplying a cleaning liquid between the substrate and the transducer, applying an oscillating acoustic force to the cleaning liquid by actuating the transducer, and moving the transducer relative to the substrate. The method further comprises, while moving the transducer relative to the substrate, measuring a value that indicates a distance between a surface of the substrate and the transducer, comparing the measured value to a desired value, and adjusting the distance between the surface and the transducer so that the measured value is maintained substantially equal to the desired value. The measured value may be the distance between the surface of the substrate and the transducer or a phase shift between an alternating current and voltage applied to the transducer. | 09-13-2012 |
20120266912 | Method and Apparatus for Cleaning Semiconductor Substrates - The present invention is related to a method and apparatus for cleaning a substrate, in particular a semiconductor substrate such as a silicon wafer. The substrate is placed in a tank containing a cleaning liquid, at an angle with respect to acoustic waves produced in said liquid. The angle corresponds to the angle of transmission, i.e. the angle at which waves are not reflected off the substrate surface. A damping material is provided in the tank, arranged to absorb substantially all waves thus transmitted through the substrate. A significant improvement in terms of cleaning efficiency is obtained by the method of the invention. | 10-25-2012 |
20140053864 | System for Delivering Ultrasonic Energy to a Liquid and Use for Cleaning of Solid Parts - This present application relates to a system for delivering megasonic energy to a liquid, involving one or more megasonic transducers, each transducer having a single operating frequency within an ultrasound bandwidth and comprising two or more groups of piezoelectric elements arranged in one or more rows, and a megasonic generator means for driving the one or more transducers at frequencies within the bandwidth, the generator means being adapted for changing the voltage applied to each group of piezoelectric elements so as to achieve substantially the same maximum acoustic pressure for each group of piezoelectric elements. The generator means and transducers being constructed and arranged so as to produce ultrasound within the liquid. Such a system may be part of an apparatus for cleaning a surface of an article such as a semiconductor wafer or a medical implant. | 02-27-2014 |