Claims
- 1. A method for cleansing a substrate, comprising the following steps:
- inserting a substrate into a processing chamber to substantially isolate the substrate from a surrounding environment;
- applying a pressurized stream, received within said processing chamber, of a gaseous cleansing medium against at least one surface of the substrate;
- simultaneously evacuating with negative pressure said cleansing medium from the chamber and disposing of said cleansing medium; and
- obtaining from the cleansing medium evacuated from said chamber an indication of a number of particles removed from the substrate.
- 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said cleansing medium comprises an inert gas.
- 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said cleansing medium is applied at a pressure of from about 10 p.s.i. to about 100 p.s.i.
- 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the processing chamber is provided with sidewalls that include surfaces that are arranged along at least two intersecting planes.
- 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said pressurized stream is evacuated into an exhaust stack.
- 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said substrate is received by a substrate support positioned within said processing chamber.
- 7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of drawing ambient air into said processing chamber with said negative pressure.
- 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said substrate is a semiconductor wafer handling implement and said cleansing medium is applied to said implement from a plurality of discharge outlets that are positioned along one surface of said processing chamber.
- 9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of dislodging contaminants with said pressurized stream from said substrate.
- 10. The method according to clam 1, wherein said cleansing medium is applied until a predetermined particle count is attained.
- 11. The method according to claims 1, wherein the substrate is interposed between the pressurized stream and a source of negative pressure to the processing chamber.
- 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said cleansing medium travels substantially in one direction through the processing chamber.
- 13. A method for removing contaminants from a substrate that is used in the handling of semiconductor wafers, comprising the following steps:
- inserting a substrate disposed to handle semiconductor wafers into a processing chamber that is substantially isolated from a surrounding environment;
- applying a stream of purified, pressurized gaseous cleansing medium, against at least one surface of the substrate received within said processing chamber so as to dislodge a contaminant from the surface of the substrate;
- simultaneously evacuating the dislodged contaminant form the processing chamber with negative pressure into an exhaust stream and disposing of said contaminant; and
- obtaining from the dislodged contaminant an indication of a number of particles removed from the substrate.
- 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein said cleansing medium comprises an inert gas.
- 15. The method according to claim 13, wherein said cleansing medium is applied at a pressure of from about 10 p.s.i. to about 100 p.s.i.
- 16. The method according to claim 13, wherein the processing chamber is provided with sidewalls that include surfaces that are arranged along at least two intersecting planes.
- 17. The method according to claim 13, wherein said exhaust stream is at a flow rate of at least about 10 c.f.m.
- 18. The method according to claim 13, wherein said cleansing medium is directed into at least one pressurized discharge outlet for application to the substrate to be cleansed.
- 19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the substrate is a wafer cassette having at least one wafer-receiving slot and said discharge outlet is operable to direct said cleansing medium into said wafer slot.
- 20. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of measuring contaminant concentration with said chamber.
- 21. The method according to claim 9, wherein said cleansing medium is applied until a predetermined particle count is attained.
Parent Case Info
This application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 08/420,996, filed Apr. 13, 1995 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
420996 |
Apr 1995 |
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