Apparatus for cleaning a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer
US6494220B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 31, 2000 |
| Grant date | Dec 17, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 7, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S134/902
- WIPO fieldChemical engineering
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A cleaning apparatus comprises a holder for holding a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer horizontally and rotating the substrate about its central axis, while conducting a cleaning operation of the substrate by supplying a cleaning liquid thereto. The apparatus further comprises a cleaning vessel including a side wall encircling the substrate rotated by the holder to intercept the cleaning liquid supplied to and scattered from the rotating substrate and then finally drain the cleaning liquid. There is provided a vent duct for carrying gas from the inside of the cleaning vessel to the outside of the same. The vent duct includes an inlet provided at substantially the same level as that of the substrate for introducing the gas into the vent duct. The side wall may include an inner surface along which the cleaning liquid scattered from the substrate flows downward in a spiral manner, with the inner surface, being of a construction which impedes the spiral movement of the liquid in a circumferential or peripheral direction.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.