The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 04, 1994
Filed:
Jun. 17, 1992
Gerald A Garwood, Jr, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Santa Barbara Research Center, Goleta, CA (US);
Abstract
A semiconductor wafer (52) or other object is retained in a cell (50) such that a thin space (60) having a laterally spaced inlet (62) and outlet (64) is provided above the wafer surface (52a). A plurality of chemicals including solvents, etchants, etc. are provided in individual pressurized containers (18,20,22,24,28,44). A valve (42) connects a selected container (18,20,22,24,28,44) to the inlet (62) for a length of time sufficient for the respective chemical to fill the space (60), and also connects the outlet (64) to an individual receptacle (26,30) for the chemical. The valve (42) then disconnects the container (18,20,22,24,28,44) and receptacle (26,30) from the inlet (62) and outlet (64) and traps the chemical in the space (60) for a length of time sufficient for the chemical to react with the wafer surface (52a). This operation is repeated such that the wafer surface (52a) is exposed to a number of fresh volumes of the chemical in a pulsating manner sufficient to perform a desired processing operation, and used volumes of the chemical are discharged from the space (60) into and captured by the receptacle (26,30). Additional containers (32) may be provided to enable a non-reactive gas, cleaning agent, etc. to be passed through the space (60) to dry and sanitize the surface (52a) and purge the flow passageways of used chemical prior to processing with another chemical.