Photoreactive surface cleaning
AssigneeUVTech Systems, Inc.
InventorsDavid J. Elliott, Richard F. Hollman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Foreign material on a surface of a substrate is processed to form a non-solid by-product by providing a gaseous reactant in the vicinity of the foreign material and delivering a beam of radiation to aid the gaseous reactant to react with the foreign material to form the non-solid by-product. In another aspect, radiation for cleaning a surface of a substrate is provided by a laser configured to deliver an original beam of ultraviolet radiation, and optics (e.g., a pair of orthogonal cylindrical mirrors) for shaping the beam to have a cross-section in the form of a line having a width smaller than any dimension of a cross-section of the original beam and a length at least ten times larger than any dimension of the original beam.
Claims34
A photoreactive method of removing foreign material from a surface of a substrate to form a non-solid by-product comprising the steps of:
- providing a flow of a gaseous reactant in a reaction region in the vicinity of said foreign material;
- and
- delivering a beam of radiation to aid said gaseous reactant to react with said foreign material to form said non-solid by-product;
- said beam of radiation and said gaseous reactant interacting in said reaction region to create a foreign material reaction environment that chemically interacts with and that removes said foreign material from said substrate surface and converts said foreign material to said non-solid by-product.
A photoreactive method of processing foreign material on a surface of a substrate to a non-solid by-product, comprising the steps of:
- selecting a gaseous reactant to match reaction characteristics of said foreign material providing a flowing stream of said gaseous reactant at a reaction region which is at the location of said foreign material on said surface, and
- delivering a beam of radiation that has a long and narrow cross-sectional shape in said reaction region in the vicinity of said foreign material to aid said gaseous reactant to chemically react with said foreign material to form said non-solid by-product, said beam having energy characteristics to match absorption characteristics of said foreign material, said radiation being delivered to said reaction region at an energy level insufficient to damage said surface, and
- removing said by-product from said reaction region.
Apparatus for processing foreign material on a surface of a substrate to form a non-solid by-product, comprising
- a supply of a gaseous reactant, nozzle structure for providing a flowing stream of said gaseous reactant in the vicinity of said foreign material, and
- structure for providing a beam of radiation, and
- optics configured to impart to said beam a cross-sectional shape which is long and narrow in the vicinity of said foreign material to aid said gaseous reactant to react with said foreign material to form said non-solid by-product.
Apparatus for providing radiation for cleaning a surface of a substrate comprising
- a laser configured to deliver an original beam of ultraviolet radiation, and
- optics for shaping said beam to have a cross-section in the form of a line having a width smaller than any dimension of a cross-section of said original beam and a length at least ten times larger than any dimension of said original beam.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.