Contaminant Cleaning Systems And Related Methods Using One Or More Reactive Substances, Reaction Byproduct Measurements, And Differential Pressure Or Vacuum Transfer Of The Reactive Substances And Reaction Byproducts

A cleaning apparatus comprising:

• a control section configured to control said cleaning apparatus operation;
• a cleaning chamber comprising a sealable port;
• a gas manifold system comprising a plurality of isolation valves and connecting segments that selectively convey gas or gases between different components of the cleaning apparatus;
• an analysis chamber coupled with the cleaning chamber via a portion of the gas manifold system and a test sample input valve system;
• a reactant supply system configured to supply one or more reactant substances that are selected to destructively or chemically react with one or more contaminants in a selected item to be cleaned that is disposed into or coupled with said cleaning chamber after said reactant substance is converted into one or more reactive substances or act as a reactive substance without conversion;
• a reactive substance generator that receives at least one said reactant, the reactive substance generator comprises a plasma generator configured to generate at least one of the one or more reactive substances, the plasma generator is coupled with the cleaning chamber and converts at least one of the one or more reactant substances into low energy plasma comprising the reactive substance comprising an activated reactant gas or gases;
• a gas analyzer coupled with the analysis chamber to perform gas analysis on gas samples brought into the analysis chamber through the sample input valve system;
• a pumping system separately and selectively coupled with the analysis chamber and the cleaning chamber to provide a vacuum source;
• a first and second ion gage respectively coupled with the analysis chamber and cleaning chamber that are respectively configured to measure vacuum within the analysis and cleaning chamber;
• wherein the control section selectively configures the pumping system and gas manifold system to generate a cycle of differential low pressure or ultra-high vacuum levels in the cleaning chamber and the analysis chamber;
• wherein the control section selectively configures the cleaning chamber, gas manifold system, and pumping system to create a higher vacuum level in the cleaning chamber than an output section of the plasma generator when said at least one reactive substance is passed into the cleaning chamber;
• wherein the control section selectively configures the pumping system to generate a cycle of different pressure or vacuum levels in the analysis chamber and the cleaning chamber, wherein the pumping system selectively creates a higher vacuum level in the analysis chamber than the cleaning chamber to facilitate passage of said gas samples into the analysis chamber at predetermined times or processing points using a portion of said gas manifold.

A cleaning system comprising:

• a cleaning chamber configured to receive an item to be cleaned, selectively maintain a vacuum, and connect or receive the item with or into the cleaning chamber;
• a reactant supply and processing section which includes a plasma generator;
• a control section operable to operate the cleaning system;
• a vacuum pumping system;
• a gas analysis section that includes gas analyzer;
• and
• a valve system that selectively couples the cleaning chamber with the reactant supply and processing section, the vacuum pumping system, and the gas analysis section that is controlled at least in part by the control section;
• wherein the control section further comprises a plurality of control logic sections or machine readable instructions readable by the control section that the control section uses to execute a plurality of control operations operating elements of the cleaning system including:
• a first control logic sequence or machine readable instruction comprising machine readable instructions or control logic that selectively set and control vacuum and pressure parameters of the cleaning chamber and commence operation and cycling of the pumping system to a create a first vacuum and pressure level within the cleaning chamber;
• a second control logic sequence or machine instruction comprising machine readable instructions or control logic that selectively operate the gas analyzer to measure and analyze the cleaning chamber's internal environment including gas or gases present therein;
• a third control logic sequence or machine readable instruction comprising control logic or machine instructions that selectively controls a reactant supply and processing section to generate a first quantity of reactive substance selected to react with specified contaminants on or within the item after to produce an output comprising ionized reactant gas or gases;
• fourth control logic sequence or machine readable instruction comprising machine readable instructions or control logic that selectively controls a portion of the valve system to transfer or introduce the first quantity of reactive substances from the plasma generator into the cleaning chamber wherein the reactive substance expands into the cleaning chamber so as to expose the one or more surfaces of the item having the contaminants thereon to the reactive substance which then produces said one or more reaction byproducts into the cleaning chamber;
• a fifth control logic sequence or machine readable instruction comprising machine readable instructions or control logic that selectively control the pumping system and valve system to cycle vacuum and pressure levels in the analysis section to a lower pressure or higher vacuum level than a pressure or vacuum level in the cleaning chamber, then opening one of the valves coupling the analysis section to the cleaning chamber to communicate a gas sample from the cleaning chamber to the gas analyzer;
• a sixth control logic sequence or machine readable instruction comprising machine readable instructions or control logic that selectively controls the gas analyzer to determine chemical composition of gas or gases in the gas sample to identify presence and levels of one or more of detected reaction byproducts from a reaction between one or more said contaminants and at least one said reactive substance;
• a seventh control logic sequence or machine readable instruction comprising machine readable instructions or control logic that selectively compares said determined chemical composition of said gas or gases in the gas sample including the detected reaction byproducts against a predetermined reaction byproduct threshold associated with a predetermined level of contaminant reduction after at least one said reactive substance reacts with at least one said contaminant within or on the item;
• an eighth control logic sequence or machine readable instruction comprising machine readable instructions or control logic that selectively repeat the first through seventh control logic sequences or machine readable instructions if the detected reaction byproducts are greater than the predetermined reaction byproduct threshold or vents remaining gas or gases in the cleaning chamber if the detected reaction byproducts are equal to or less than the predetermined byproduct threshold.