Patent ID: 6701942
Filing Date: 2004-03-09
Classification: B08B,B24C,H01L,Y10S

Abstract:
A cleaning apparatus comprising:a transfer chamber into which a substrate to be cleaned is loaded; a first cleaning chamber connected to the transfer chamber so that a substrate can be transferred between said transfer chamber and said first cleaning chamber; a reactant supplier that supplies a fluid comprising a reactant, capable of chemically removing contaminants from the surface of the substrate, into said first cleaning chamber, said reactant supplier being oriented to direct the fluid onto the surface of a substrate transferred into the first cleaning chamber; a light source that irradiates the surface of a substrate transferred into the first cleaning chamber to supply activation energy required to cause a chemical reaction between the reactant and contaminants on the surface of the substrate; a second cleaning chamber connected to the transfer chamber independently of the first cleaning chamber such that a substrate can be sequentially transferred between said first and second cleaning chambers via said transfer chamber; an aerosol supplier that supplies an aerosol into said second cleaning chamber, said aerosol supplier comprising an aerosol-generating nozzle oriented to direct the aerosol onto the surface of a substrate transferred into the second cleaning chamber, and a heat exchanger that freezes gas particles of the aerosol upstream of the aerosol-generating nozzle, whereby frozen particles are jetted into said second cleaning chamber through said aerosol-generating nozzle to physically remove contaminants from the surface of the substrate transferred into the second cleaning chamber.