US 8,137,473 B2 · Method for cleaning elements in vacuum chamber and apparatus for processing substrates

Abstract

To clean an element in a vacuum chamber by causing particles sticking to the element to scatter, the present invention uses a means for applying a voltage to the element and causing the particles to scatter by utilizing Maxwell's stress, a means for electrically charging the particles and causing the particles to scatter by utilizing the Coulomb force, a means for introducing a gas into the vacuum chamber and causing the particles sticking to the element to scatter by causing a gas shock wave to hit the element, a means for heating the element and causing the particles to scatter by utilizing the thermal stress and thermophoretic force, or a means for causing the particles to scatter by applying mechanical vibrations to the element. The thus scattered particles are removed by carrying them in a gas flow in a relatively high pressure atmosphere.

Claims12

Dependent claims

An element cleaning method for scattering particles sticking to an element in a process chamber and removing the particles by using a gas flow, comprising the steps of:

evacuating the process chamber to reduce a pressure in the process chamber to a first pressure;
scattering the particles sticking to the element;
and
setting the pressure in the process chamber to a second pressure that is higher than the first pressure and removing the scattered particles from the process chamber by using the gas flow,
wherein the particles are scattered under the first pressure that is not more than 1.3×10−2 Pa and are effectively removed by using the gas flow under the second pressure not less than 1.3×103 Pa, and the gas flow is caused by evacuating the process chamber while gas is being introduced into the process chamber.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method for cleaning elements in vacuum chamber and apparatus for processing substrates

Life of this patent

Method for cleaning elements in vacuum chamber and apparatus for processing substrates

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims12