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. 11, 2005
Filed:
Mar. 14, 2002
Nicholas A. Ryza, Austin, TX (US);
Allan W. Awtrey, Fort Worth, TX (US);
Nicholas A. Ryza, Austin, TX (US);
Allan W. Awtrey, Fort Worth, TX (US);
Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
Contaminant removal from a substrate can be performed using a supercritical fluid. An apparatus can be configured to operate at conditions that take advantage of higher solubility of a contaminant in its supercritical state compared to its liquid state. The substrate can be exposed to a supercritical fluid in a chamber to remove at least some of the contaminant. Outside the chamber, the supercritical fluid can be cooled to its corresponding liquid state, in which lower solubility of the contaminant may allow the contaminant to separate into a different phase from the liquid phase of the supercritical fluid. Such contaminant removal can be highly advantageous to substrates that withstand only limited amounts of physical or mechanical stress or heat. The contaminant removal can also be used where geometries virtually prevent removal by physical or mechanical means.