International Business Machines Corporation

William Alfred Syverson

Frederick William Kern, Jr

Glenn Walton Gale

Joel M Sharrow

Harald F Okorn-Schmidt

Ronald A Warren

David Stanasolovich

Casey Jon Grant

Kenneth F McAvey, Jr

Nicole Susan Carpenter

Alison K Easton

Kenneth H Yao

Joseph R Drennan

Wayne Martin Moreau

Kenneth John McCullough

Charles Jesse Taft

John Patrick Simons

Robert J Purtell

Donald Joseph Martin

John Joseph Snyder

Andrew S Hoadley

Richard Hilliard Gaylord, Iii

John Michael Cotte

Eric Jeffrey White

Keith Randal Pope

Kenneth T Settlemyer, Jr

Bernadette Ann Pierson

Russell Herbert Arndt

Emily E Fisch

Ben Kim

Jeffrey Alan Brigante

Marshall J Fleming, Jr

Catherine Ivers

Rick H Gaylord

Mark A Pakulski

Maurice R Hevey

Francis A Abramovich

An apparatus and method are provided for removing contaminate particulate matter from substrate surfaces such as semiconductor wafers. The method and apparatus use a material, preferably a liquid curable polymer, which is applied as a sacrificial coating to the surface of a substrate containing contaminate particulate matter thereon. An energy source is used to dislodge the contaminate particulate matter from the surface of the wafer into the sacrificial coating so that the particles are partially or fully encapsulated and suspended in the sacrificial coating. The sacrificial coating is then removed. The coating is preferably formed into a film to facilitate removal of the coating by pulling (stripping) the film providing a cleaner substrate surface.

Cleaning of semiconductor wafers by contaminate encapsulation

Methods are provided for making microfilters by subtractive techniques which remove a component or part of a filter material to form pores in the filter material and additive techniques which deposit a filter material onto a porous underlying substrate. All the methods employ a supercritical fluid or mixture which have very high solvency properties and low viscosity and COis the preferred supercritical fluid.

Method to build a microfilter

A method for preparing a workpiece surface utilizing two more fluids of differing density and miscibility which create one or more fluid interfaces wherein the fluids are chosen such that the solubility or affinity of one of the fluids is high for a material to be removed from the workpiece surface while the other fluid has a low solubility or affinity for the material to be removed. The workpiece surface is treated by passing the workpiece through the fluid interface. The two or more fluids are preferably dispensed into an apparatus and allowed to settle into two or more predominant layers separated by an interface. Surface preparation techniques which may benefit from the present invention include etching, cleaning or drying processes and the like.

Method for surface preparation of workpieces utilizing fluid separation techniques

A method and apparatus are provided for removing solid and/or liquid residues from electronic components such as semiconductor wafers utilizing liquid or supercritical carbon dioxide which is solidified on the surface of the wafer and then vaporized and removed from the system. In a preferred embodiment the solidification and vaporizing steps are repeated (cycled) before removal of the COfrom the vessel. The residues are carried away with the vaporized carbon dioxide.

Solid CO2 cleaning

Contaminants are removed from a surface of a substrate by applying a fluid to the surface; lowering the temperature of the fluid to form a solid layer of the fluid and entrap contaminants therein; and applying energy to the layer and/or substrate to cause the layer containing the contaminants to separate from the surface.

Method of cleaning contaminants from the surface of a substrate

An apparatus for drying one or more workpieces. The apparatus includes the use of a chemically reactive additive to remove contaminants from the wafer surface during processing. In particular, during processing, a wafer is rinsed in a liquid bath and subsequently exposed to a chemically reactive additive. The chemically reactive additive creates a surface tension gradient that physically and chemically alters the properties of the film of the rinse liquid so that the liquid and any contaminants contained therein are removed from the water surface.

Apparatus for removing contaminants from a workpiece using a chemically reactive additive

Disclosed is a method of removing liquid from a surface of a semiconductor wafer that comprises the steps of providing a plurality of capillary channels, each said capillary channel having a first opening and a second opening, and then placing said first openings in contact with the liquid in a manner effective in drawing away the liquid by capillary action.

Capillary dry process and apparatus

A method for removing one or more particles from a surface of an object is provided. The method has first and second steps of detecting and locating the one or more particles on the surface of the object. In a third step, focused energy is directed onto one or more of the detected particles to break a bond energy between the one or more particles and the surface thereby removing the one or more particles from the surface. In preferred variations of the method of the present invention, the object is a semiconductor wafer and the directed focused energy is in the form of a laser. Also provided is an apparatus for removing the plurality of particles from the surface of the object. The apparatus includes a detector for detecting and locating the plurality of particles on the surface of the object, and a laser for directing focused energy on one or more of the detected particles to break a bond energy between the one or more particles and the surface thereby removing the one or more particles from the surface.

Method and apparatus for combined particle location and removal

A method for drying one or more workpieces. The method includes the use of a chemically reactive additive to remove contaminants from the wafer surface during processing. In particular, during processing, a wafer is rinsed in a liquid bath and subsequently exposed to a chemically reactive additive. The chemically reactive additive creates a surface tension gradient that physically and chemically alters the properties of the film of the rise liquid so that the liquid and any contaminants contained therein are removed from the wafer surface.

Method for removing contaminants from a workpiece using a chemically reactive additive

An array of ultrasonic or megasonic transducers is used to clean a substrate. An interference signal that is the superposition of the signals from each transducer enhances the cleaning. The system improves cleaning by providing a higher intensity beam than is available from uncoupled transducers to facilitate removal of smaller particles. In addition, the beam can be swept across the substrate to provide a uniform cleaning of the entire surface, avoiding dead spots. The system can be adapted for use in a vessel or for single wafer processing with a stream of fluid or a puddle of fluid.

Sonic cleaning with an interference signal

A fluid mixing system and a method of using same for maintaining uniform concentrations of fluid chemical additives in a dilutant, in which the system includes a multi-port aspirator device including a venturi having a venturi inlet for receiving dilutant and a venturi outlet of reduced diameter for discharging said dilutant, a dilutant injector source fluidly coupled to said multi-port aspirator device for delivering a dilutant at a dilutant pressure thereto, and a plurality of injectate sources fluidly connected to the aspirator device at or immediately downstream said venturi outlet, wherein each said injectate source is capable of independently varying pressure at said a multi-port venturi injector with respect to said dilutant pressure. The use of the inventive fluid mixing system also provides a facile and accurate means of injecting required volumes of wet chemicals into a flowing stream of a carrier fluid.

Integrated dynamic fluid mixing apparatus and method

A forced plug process for high aspect ratio structures. The process comprises the steps of providing a liquid plug in a high aspect ratio structure; increasing a gas pressure to force the liquid plug down into the high aspect ratio structure; and suddenly decreasing the gas pressure allowing the liquid plug to be ejected from the high aspect ratio structure. The process is useful for removing unwanted particles from a high aspect ratio structure, as well as for etching and coating the side walls of the structure.

Forced plug processing for high aspect ratio structures

Apparatus and method for cleaning/etching the surface of an article with sonic energy in the megahertz range which employ an anti-reflection mechanism within a recirculation tank. A tank having at least one side wall and a bottom structure holds a cleaning/etching liquid and a megasonic transducer is associated with the tank for projecting megasonic energy into the liquid. The anti-reflection mechanism is disposed within the tank in close association with the at least one sidewall or bottom structure of the tank to thereby minimize reflection of megasonic energy from the associated surface. Preferably, the megasonic transducer is associated with a first tank sidewall which opposes a second tank sidewall, and the anti-reflection mechanism is disposed adjacent the second tank sidewall. By way of example, the anti-reflection mechanism can comprise a stream of gas bubbles, a plurality of anechoic structures, or a combination of both gas bubbles and anechoic structures.

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Colchester, VT, United States of America

William Alfred Syverson