Patent ID: 6032683
Filing Date: 2000-03-07
Classification: B08B,B41F,B41P,G03F,H01L,H05K

Abstract:
Apparatus for cleaning residual paste from a mask, the apparatus comprising:A) a source of an alkali detergent;B) a wash chamber and within said chamber:1) at least one pair of primary opposing liquid spray nozzles movably mounted within the wash chamber;2) a drive for moving said spray nozzles in tandem in a vertical path within said chamber;C) said opposing spray nozzles oriented to direct balanced front and back liquid streams of said alkali detergent toward each other at an angle of between about 40 and about 50 degrees to the vertical;D) a pump connected to said source of alkali detergent and said at least one pair of opposing spray nozzles, said pump generating a pressure in the liquid streams of between 150 and 500 psi;E) a drying chamber adjacent said wash chamber, comprising:1) an air knife supplying two symmetrically opposing gaseous streams directed toward each other; andF) a vertical mask support attached to a transport in said wash and drying chambers located so as to support and transport a mask along a path substantially centered between said opposing liquid spray nozzles and said opposing gaseous streams.