Film forming apparatus, head cleaning method, device manufacturing system, and device

Abstract

A system and method for reliably cleaning the nozzle face of each head while flexibly coping with changes in specification for a product to be manufactured. The film forming apparatus has a plurality of heads for jetting droplets, each having an nozzle in a nozzle face; and a common head cleaning mechanism for collectively cleaning the nozzle faces, so that the head cleaning mechanism is not substantially affected by a change in the pitch between the heads, or the like. Typically, the head cleaning mechanism has a wiping sheet for wiping the nozzle faces; a supply unit for feeding the wiping sheet towards the nozzle faces; and a roller for pressing the wiping sheet against the nozzle faces while the wiping sheet is fed from the supply unit, so that an unused cleaning face can always be supplied to each nozzle face.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.