Patent ID: 6848458

Claim:
A system for cleaning semiconductor wafers, the system comprising: a solvent delivery mechanism configured to provide a supercritical cleaning solution; a process vessel in downstream fluid communication with the solvent delivery mechanism, said process vessel comprising a wafer support that includes: a plurality of point contacts configured to support the wafer or plurality of wafers while making minimal contact with the wafer or plurality of wafers; and a plurality of wafer guides configured to position the wafer plurality of wafers in the wafer support, wherein each of the plurality of wafer guides is inclined at an angle of between about 60 and 85 degrees to the vertical (perpendicular to the wafer support surface) and is arranged around the periphery of the wafer or each of the plurality of wafers; and a recirculation system in fluid communication with the process vessel, said recirculation system comprising at least one flow distribution element configured to allow the supercritical cleaning solution to recirculate through the process vessel such that a flow field is established over at least one surface of a wafer or a plurality of wafers in the wafer support to thereby clean the surface or surfaces that contact the flow field.