Claims
- 1. A process for cleaning optical surfaces, comprising:
- sequential ultrasonic cleaning in acetone, methanol, and a pH neutral soap solution,
- rinsing in de-ionized water,
- spin-rinsing, and
- blow-drying.
- 2. The process of claim 1, additionally including forming the soap solution from 40 to 60 ml soap and 2000 to 3000 ml de-ionized water.
- 3. The process of claim 2, wherein the soap solution is composed of about 50 ml soap and about 2500 ml de-ionized water.
- 4. The process of claim 1, wherein the rinsing in de-ionized water is carried out in a time period of 2 to 4 hours.
- 5. The process of claim 4, wherein rinsing in de-ionized water is carried out for a time period of up to about 2 hours.
- 6. The process of claim 1, wherein the spin-rinsing is carried out at an rpm in the range of 1000 to 2000 rpm.
- 7. The process of claim 6, wherein the spin-rinsing is carried out at about 2000 rpm.
- 8. The process of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic cleaning in each of the acetone, methanol, and pH neutral soap solution is carried out for a time period in the range of 5 to 10 minutes.
- 9. The process of claim 8, wherein the ultrasonic cleaning is carried out for about 5 minutes in each of the acetone, methanol, and pH neutral soap.
- 10. The process of claim 1, wherein the spin-rinsing is carried out in a time period of 15 to 20 seconds.
- 11. The process of claim 10, wherein the spin-rinsing is carried out for about 15 seconds.
- 12. The process of claim 1, wherein the blow-dry is carried out immediately following the spin-rinse.
- 13. The process of claim 1, wherein the blow-dry is carried out during a latter part of the spin-rinse.
- 14. The process of claim 1, wherein the blow-dry is carried out with dry filtered inert gas.
- 15. The process of claim 14, wherein the inert gas is selected from nitrogen and argon.
- 16. The process of claim 1, additionally including minimizing evaporation time between immersions.
- 17. The process of claim 1, additionally including maintaining the optical surface wet during transfer from the rinsing in de-ionized water to the spin-rinsing.
- 18. The process of claim 17, wherein the maintaining of the optical surface wet is carried out by directing de-ionized water thereon.
- 19. The process of claim 1, additionally including directing de-ionized water onto the optical surface for a time period of 5 to 10 seconds after the spin-rinsing is initiated.
- 20. The process of claim 19, wherein the blow-drying is initiated prior to cessation of the directing of de-ionized water onto the optical surface.
- 21. The process of claim 20, wherein the time period for directing water after initiation of spin-rinsing is about 15 seconds, and wherein the blow-drying is carried out with dry filtered nitrogen while the optical surface is spinning.
- 22. The process of claim 1, additionally including transporting the cleaned optical surface in an evaporation dish to a deposition facility, followed by depositing a reflective coating thereon.
- 23. The process of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic cleaning is carried sequentially in acetone, methanol, and a pH neutral soap solution.
- 24. A process for cleaning surfaces having very demanding cleanliness requirements, comprising:
- sequentially immersing and ultrasonically cleaning in acetone, methanol, and a pH neutral soap solution,
- rinsing in de-ionized water and
- spin-rinsing with de-ionized water, immediately followed by blow-drying with dry filtered nitrogen while spinning.
Government Interests
The United States Government has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. W-7405-ENG-48 between the United States Department of Energy and the University of California for the operation of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
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