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:
Apr. 16, 2002
Filed:
Aug. 25, 1999
Applicant:
Inventors:
Donato Casati, Merate, IT;
Fabio Mauri, Bernareggio, IT;
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01N 1/300 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G01N 1/300 ;
Abstract
A method and apparatus for estimating the degree of cleanliness of a substrate surface by measuring the surface wettability, particularly of an inorganic surface used in the manufacturing of electronic components. The wettability of the substrate surface is measured by depositing a droplet of test liquid on the substrate surface and measuring the speed at which the droplet evaporates. This speed is proportional to the droplet liquid surface area, which depends on the substrate surface wettability. A good surface wettability indicates a clean surface.