Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

John M DiMond

Michael D Lammert

Michael Edward Barsky

Victor J Watson

Semiconductor wafer ( ) are uniformly and thoroughly cleaned of particulate and organic contaminants by sweeping the wafer with a hydraulic broom that sprays cleaning solution onto the wafer. The broom contains an aspirating nozzle ( ) for connection to a source of pressurized gas, such as nitrogen, and to a source of cleaning fluid, such as acetone, wherein cleaning fluid aspirated by the gas stream is expressed through the nozzle outlet to impact the surface of the wafer, dislodging particulate matter and dissolving organic contaminants. A programmed controller ( ) controls movement of the hydraulic broom relative to the wafer to ensure that the entire surface is cleaned and permits a variety of sweeping patterns.

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San Pedro, CA, United States of America

John M DiMond