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. 08, 2003
Filed:
Jul. 12, 2000
Bruce E. Mayer, Soquel, CA (US);
Robert H. Chatham, III, Scotts Valley, CA (US);
Nitin K. Ingle, Campbell, CA (US);
Zheng Yuan, Fremont, CA (US);
Asml US, Inc., Scotts Valley, CA (US);
Abstract
An in-situ, two step or combination, method and system for cleaning of semiconductor manufacturing equipment is provided. The present invention utilizes two separate fluorine based chemistries in each step which selectively target the removal of different types of deposits that build up on the equipment surfaces. In particular, powdery and dense film-like solid deposits, as well as a combination of both, build up on the chamber surfaces and associated equipment components. These two types of deposits are removed selectively by the present invention. Such selective targeting of combined cleaning steps, yields an improved cleaning technique. In another embodiment, the method and system of the present invention provides for cleaning of the chamber and associated equipment using separate steps with different chemicals, and then performing these steps in a variety of desired sequences.