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:
May. 13, 2008
Filed:
Mar. 07, 2003
Jeffrey W. Carr, Livermore, CA (US);
Jeffrey W. Carr, Livermore, CA (US);
RAPT Industries, Inc., Fremont, CA (US);
Abstract
A flame torch can be used to clean the surface of a contact-sensitive object, such as a glass optic, extremely thin workpiece, or semiconductor wafer by providing a reactive precursor gas to the feed gases of the torch. Reactive atom plasma processing can be used to clean the surface of a contaminant that chemically combines with the atomic radicals of the precursor without affecting the surface. The torch can also be used to modify the surface after cleaning, without transferring the object or engaging in any intermediate processing, by supplying a second reactive precursor that reacts with the surface itself. The flame torch can be used to shape, polish, etch, planarize, deposit, chemically modify and/or redistribute material on the surface of the object. This description is not intended to be a complete description of, or limit the scope of, the invention. Other features, aspects, and objects of the invention can be obtained from a review of the specification, the figures, and the claims.