Patent ID: 8821644

Claim:
A bevel/backside polymer removing method, comprising the sequential steps of: providing a target substrate having multi-layered bevel/backside polymers adhering to a bevel surface and a backside of the target substrate, the multi-layered bevel/backside polymers including an inorganic layer and an organic layer; heating the multi-layered bevel/backside polymers; mechanically breaking the heated multi-layered bevel/backside polymers; and heating residues of the mechanically broken multi-layered bevel/backside polymers to thermally remove the residues, wherein the residues have a thermal expansion coefficient that is different than that of the target substrate, and wherein the difference between the thermal expansion coefficient of the residues and that of the target substrate causes the residues to be removed during the heating, wherein the mechanical breaking step is performed on the bevel surface and on a backside region extending about 5 mm from an edge of the target substrate, and wherein the bevel/backside polymer removing method is a dry process.