Patent ID: 7060422

Claim:
A method of supercritical processing of a first work-piece having a residue on a surface of the workpiece comprising the steps of: a. transferring the first workpiece from an entrance of a transfer module into the transfer module; b. transferring the first workpiece to a supercritical processing module having a workpiece cavity while maintaining the first workpiece in a clean environment, the step of transferring the first workpiece to the supercritical processing module comprising: i. transferring the first workpiece from the transfer module to an antechamber; ii. pressurizing the antechamber to a pressure above 1,000 psi; and iii. transferring the first workpiece from the antechamber to the workpiece cavity; c. processing the first workpiece in the workpiece cavity in a supercritical environment until at least a portion of the residue is removed from the surface of the workpiece, the workpiece cavity maintaining a substantially constant volume during processing; d. transferring the first workpiece to the non-supercritical processing module while maintaining the first workpiece in a clean environment; e. processing the first workpiece in the non-supercritical processing module; and f. returning the first workpiece to the entrance of the transfer module.