Patent · US Active

Apparatus for treating wafers using supercritical fluid

US7857939B2 · kind B2 · utility

2Cited by
5References
11Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 20, 2007
Grant dateDec 28, 2010
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 3, 2029

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10T137/4673
  • WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Provided are an apparatus and method for treating wafers using a supercritical fluid. The wafer treatment apparatus includes a plurality of chambers; a first supply supplying a first fluid in a supercritical state; a second supply supplying a mixture of the first fluid and a second fluid; a plurality of first and second valves; and a controller selecting a first chamber of the plurality of chambers for wafer treatment to control the open/closed state of each of the plurality of first valves so that the first fluid can be supplied only to the first chamber of the plurality of chambers and selecting a second chamber of the plurality of chambers to control the open/closed state of each of the plurality of second valves so that the mixture of the first fluid and a second fluid can be supplied only to the second chamber of the plurality of chambers. The wafer treatment method involves performing a predetermined treatment such as etching, cleaning or drying on wafers within only one of the plurality of chambers, followed by wafer treatment on the succeeding chamber, and thus allowing for sequential wafer treatment within each of the plurality of chambers.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.