Patent ID: 7108003
Filing Date: 2006-09-19
Classification: B01J,Y10S

Abstract:
1. An ultrasonic cleaning apparatus comprising: a cleaning tank adapted to hold a cleaning liquid; a substrate holder adapted to hold substrates in the cleaning tank; a plurality of ultrasonic transducers arranged on a bottom wall of the cleaning tank; an ultrasonic oscillator that generates electric power for driving the ultrasonic transducers; and a switching unit interposed between the ultrasonic transducers and the ultrasonic oscillator, the switching unit configured to switch a drive mode between a first mode in which the plurality of ultrasonic transducers are supplied with the electric power generated by the ultrasonic oscillator and are thus excited, and a second mode in which only a part or parts of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers are supplied with the electric power generated by the ultrasonic oscillator and are thus excited, wherein: the plurality of ultrasonic transducers are aligned in a row; and the switching unit is configured to supply the electric power generated by the ultrasonic oscillator to the ultrasonic transducers, in the second mode, in such a manner that the ultrasonic transducers are sequentially excited from a first end side of the row toward a second end side of the row.