Fsi International, Inc.

Tel Fsi, Inc.

Tfl Fsi, Inc.

Gregory Paul Thomes

Edward Hanzlik

Robert E Larson

David C Zimmerman

Christina Ann Rathman

Mark Goluch

James F Weygand

Thomas J Wagener

Kevin L Siefering

Brent D Schwab

David Scott Becker

Chimaobi W Mbanaso

Jeffrey M Lauerhaas

Ronald J Hanestad

Larry D Zimmerman

Pamela A Kunkel

Kevin Rolf

A system and method for treating a substrate is described. In particular, the system and method for treating a substrate include techniques for removing particles from the surface of a microelectronic substrate. The system includes: a vacuum process chamber; a substrate stage for supporting a microelectronic substrate within the vacuum process chamber; a cryogenic fluid supply system that can provide a fluid or fluid mixture through one or more nozzles arranged within the vacuum process chamber to inject a fluid spray into the process chamber in a direction towards an upper surface of the microelectronic substrate; and a process monitoring system coupled to the vacuum process chamber, and arranged to collect fluid spray data corresponding to at least one measured attribute of the injected fluid spray downstream of an exit of the one or more nozzles.

System and method for monitoring treatment of microelectronic substrates with fluid sprays such as cryogenic fluid sprays

An apparatus for treating the surface of a microelectronic workpiece via impingement of the surface with at least one fluid and a method for operating the apparatus are described. In particular, the apparatus includes a treatment chamber defining an interior space to treat the microelectronic workpiece with at least one fluid within the treatment chamber, and a movable chuck that supports the workpiece within the treatment chamber. The apparatus further includes a workpiece translational drive system configured to translate the movable chuck between a workpiece load position and at least one processing position at which the workpiece is treated with the at least one fluid using at least one nozzle connected to at least one fluid supply, and a workpiece rotational drive system configured to rotate the microelectronic workpiece.

Apparatus and method for scanning an object through a fluid stream

Apparatus and method for scanning an object through a fluid spray

Stiction in a microstructure may be eliminated by directing a cryogenic aerosol at the portion of the microstructure subject to stiction with sufficient force so as to free the portion of the microstructure.

Eliminating stiction with the use of cryogenic aerosol

A nozzle having a series of orifices along a longitudinal length of the nozzle for processing a substrate and which is rotatably adjustable. By the nozzle design of the present invention, liquid is properly distributed along the longitudinal length of the nozzle independently of the angle of the aerosol spray. This allows for the generation of a uniform aerosol stream that is independent of spray angle. The nozzle design of the present invention improves the uniform distribution of liquid within the nozzle, which in addition to providing a more uniform liquid pooling, also substantially eliminates temporal non-uniformities across the nozzle length. Moreover, the present invention is also directed to a nozzle that is translatable in the direction toward or away from the substrate to be processed or parallel to the substrate surface. The nozzle includes a series of impingement orifices provided in a longitudinal direction along at least a part of the nozzle, wherein the nozzle has an interior longitudinally divided into first and second internal cavities with plural openings between the first and second internal cavities, and the openings between the first and second cavities are oriented at a different radial angle from the longitudinal axis than the radial angle of the impingement orifices. Preferably, the nozzle comprises an inner tube and an outer tube operatively supported and connected with respect to one another. The present invention is also directed to the combination of such a nozzle that is rotationally and translatably adjustable independently from one another.

Rotatable and translatable spray nozzle

Growing community of inventors

Chaska, MN, United States of America

Gregory Paul Thomes