# US 2019/0168269 A1 · Treatment head, treatment system and method for treating a local surface area of a substrate

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- Number: US 2019/0168269 A1
- Document ID: US20190168269A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 15/830,151
- Filed: 2017-12-04
- Published: 2019-06-06
- Earliest claimed: 2017-12-04
- Assignees: Suss Mircrotec Photomask Equipment GmbH & Co, KG
- Applicants: Suss Mircrotec Photomask Equipment GmbH & Co. KG
- Inventors: Uwe Dietze; Martin Samayoa
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190168269A1

## CPC

- B08B 5/023: {Cleaning travelling work}
- B08B 7/0071: {by heating (B08B7/0035 takes precedence)}
- B08B 15/04: from a small area, e.g. a tool {(removing chips B23Q11/0042)}
- G03F 7/0002: {Lithographic processes using patterning methods other than those involving the exposure to radiation, e.g. by stamping}
- G03F 7/70925: {Cleaning, i.e. actively freeing apparatus from pollutants, e.g. using plasma cleaning}
- H01J 37/00: Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof (H01J33/00, H01J40/00, H01J41/00, H01J47/00, H01J49/00 take precedence)
- H05H 1/24: Generating plasma {(nuclear fusion reactors G21B1/00; gas-filled discharge reactors H01J37/32)}
- B08B 2205/005: Using the coanda effect of the gas flow/stream
- H05H 1/46: using applied electromagnetic fields, e.g. high frequency or microwave energy (H05H1/26 takes precedence)
- H05H 2245/40: Surface treatments
- B08B: CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
- G03F: PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; (phototypographic composing devices B41B; photosensitive materials or processes for photographic purposes G03C; electrophotography, sensitive layers or processes therefor G03G)
- H01J: ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS (spark-gaps H01T; electric arc lamps H05B31/00; particle accelerators H05H)
- H05H: PLASMA TECHNIQUE (apparatus or processes specially adapted for producing X-rays H05G2/00); PRODUCTION OF ACCELERATED ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED PARTICLES OR OF NEUTRONS; PRODUCTION OR ACCELERATION OF NEUTRAL MOLECULAR OR ATOMIC BEAMS

## Abstract

A treatment head for treating a surface area of a substrate includes a housing having a main surface configured to be arranged adjacent to and facing the surface area of the substrate to be treated. An exhaust opening in the main surface of the housing is connectable to an exhaust device via an exhaust gas path formed at least in part in the housing. A radiative heater is arranged in the housing to emit heat radiation through a radiation opening in the main surface. A plasma source is arranged in the housing to emit a plasma jet through a plasma exit opening in the main surface. An outlet opening in the main surface of the housing is connectable to a gas source via an gas path formed at least in part in the housing. The centers of the exhaust opening, the radiation opening, the plasma exit opening, and the outlet opening are arranged in the above order along a first direction of the main surface.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A treatment head for treating a surface area of a substrate, the treatment head comprising:
a housing having a main surface configured to be arranged adjacent to and facing the surface area of the substrate to be treated;
an exhaust opening in the mam surface of the housing, the exhaust gas opening being connectable to an exhaust device via an exhaust gas path formed at least in part in the housing;
a radiative heater arranged in the housing to emit heat radiation through a radiation opening in the main surface;
a plasma source arranged in the housing to emit a plasma jet through a plasma exit opening in the main surface; and
an outlet opening in the main surface of the housing, the outlet opening being connectable to a gas source via an gas path formed at least In part in the housing, wherein
the centers of the exhaust opening, the radiation opening, the plasma exit opening and the outlet opening are arranged in the above order along a first direction of the main surface.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The treatment head of claim 1, wherein the exhaust opening, the radiation opening, the plasma exit opening and the outlet opening each have a width in the first direction of the main surface and a length in a second direction of the main surface, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the length of the openings is larger than its respective width; and wherein the length is defined as the distance between the outer ends of the respective opening in the second direction and the width is defined as the distance between the outer ends of the respective openings in the first direction.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The treatment head of claim 2, wherein at least one of the exhaust opening and the outlet opening is formed by a plurality of openings arranged adjacent each other.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The treatment head of claim 2, wherein the exhaust opening and the outlet opening each have a length which is longer than the length of the plasma exit opening.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The treatment head of claim 2, wherein at least a center section of the exhaust opening, the radiation opening, the plasma exit opening and the outlet opening extend parallel to each other in the second direction, the center section having a length corresponding to the length of the plasma exit opening.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The treatment head of claim 1, wherein at least one of the exhaust opening and the outlet opening at least partially overlaps at least one of the radiation opening arid the plasma exit opening in the first direction.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The treatment head of claim 1, wherein at least one of the exhaust opening and the outlet opening have a U-shape, a V-shape or a combination thereof.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The treatment head of claim 1, wherein the main surface of the housing is substantially flat.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The treatment head of claim 1, wherein the main surface of the housing has a surface contour matching in substance the surface contour of the substrate surface.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The treatment head of claim 1, wherein the radiative heater and the radiation opening are arranged such that at least part of the radiation exiting the radiation opening is inclined in the direction of the plasma exit opening.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The treatment head of claim 1, wherein the main surface of the treatment head has an extension in a direction perpendicular to the first direction which is larger than the extension of the surface area to be cleaned in the direction perpendicular to the first direction.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The treatment head of claim 1, wherein the treatment head is configured to clean the surface area of the substrate, wherein the radiative heater and the plasma source are configured to locally provide sufficient heat and plasma energy to decompose any matter to be removed from the surface area to be cleaned.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

A treatment system for treating a surface area of the substrate, the treatment system comprising:
a treatment head of claim 1; and
a holder for holding the substrate to be treated;
a movement mechanism configured to move at least one of the holder and the treatment head to place the treatment head in close proximity to a surface area of the substrate to be treated and to provide a scanning movement between the treatment head and the substrate to be treated at least along a main scan direction corresponding to the first direction of the main surface and in substance parallel to the surface of the substrate to be treated.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The system of claim 13, wherein the holder is configured to hold the substrate such that the surface area to be treated faces downwards and is freely accessible.

### Claim 15 (depends on 13)

The system of claim 13, wherein the movement mechanism is configured to move the holder along the main scan direction.

### Claim 16

A method of treating a local surface area of a substrate, the method comprising:
placing a treatment head having a main surface adjacent to and facing the focal surface area of the substrate to be treated, such that a substantially uniform gap is formed between the surface and the local surface area to be cleaned;
providing a scanning movement along a scan direction between the cleaning head and the substrate to be cleaned while maintaining the gap;
treating the local surface area during the movement along the scan direction by sequentially exposing the surface to be cleaned in the gap in the given order to the following;
a gas flow into an exhaust opening provided in the main surface of the treatment head, the gas flow causing a suction force on the surface to be treated;
radiative heat emitted from a radiation opening provided in the main surface of the treatment head towards the substrate to be treated, the radiative heat causing local heating of the surface to be treated;
a plasma jet emitted from a plasma exit opening provided in the main surface of the treatment head towards the surface to be cleaned; and
a purge gas flow provided from an outlet opening provided in the main surface of the treatment head into the gap.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1, 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the treatment head is of the type as defined in claim 1.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the main surface of the treatment head is substantially flat

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the gas flow into the exhaust opening and the purge gas flow from the outlet opening are controlled to capture all of the gas flow emitted by the plasma jet.

### Claim 20 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the gap is controlled to be between 0.1 mm and 2 mm.

### Claim 21 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the movement of the treatment head is controlled such that during the treatment the main surface of the head does not move beyond the substrate surface or a surface extension, which is an element provided adjacent the substrate, and which forms a substantially flush surface with the surface to be treated of the substrate.

### Claim 22 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the treatment is a cleaning of a local surface area of a substrate and the radiative heat and the plasma jet are controlled to locally provide sufficient heat and plasma energy to decompose the matter to be removed from the local surface area to be cleaned.

### Claim 23 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the method is for cleaning the mesa area of a masks for nanoimprint lithography.

### Claim 24 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the treatment is one of a deoxygenation and passivation using at least one of hydrogen and nitrogen as gas for forming the plasma jet.

### Claim 25 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the treatment is an oxidation process by means of Ozone, which is generated using oxygen as gas for forming the plasma jet.

### Claim 26 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the treatment is an high energy decomposition process by means of metastables, which are generated using Helium, Argon, Nitrogen or a mix of those gases for forming the plasma jet.