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:
Oct. 19, 2004
Filed:
Mar. 13, 2002
Raashina Humayun, San Jose, CA (US);
Patrick Christopher Joyce, San Jose, CA (US);
Novellus Systems, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention pertains to methods and apparatus for removal of one or more solutes from a supercritical process solution. Solute additives and contaminants are removed from supercritical processing solutions via a contaminant removal system that is either part of the process vessel itself or is part of a local recirculation loop in fluid communication with the process vessel. This invention provides supercritical processing methods and apparatus for the removal of additives and contaminants during circulation so that depressurization and substrate removal can occur without contamination. The removal in some cases, for example cleaning residue, can be done continuously during a process to improve its efficiency. Removal mechanisms may include separation, destruction, conversion of the contaminant to acceptable species, or combinations thereof.