Claims
- 1. A process for cleaning semiconductor fabrication equipment parts comprising:
determining a definition for a clean part including multiple maximum acceptable impurity levels; determining an initial multiple impurity levels of a part prior to its cleaning; determining a cleaning process to apply to the part; applying the cleaning process to the part, wherein the cleaning process creates reduced multiple impurity levels for the part below that of said initial multiple impurity levels; determining said reduced multiple impurity levels; comparing said reduced multiple impurity levels against said multiple maximum acceptable impurities levels of said definition; and repeating the application of said cleaning process to said part if said reduced multiple impurity levels do not meet said definition of a clean part.
- 2. A process as recited in claim 1, further comprising testing the part in reassembled equipment in which the part was designed to operate.
- 3. A process as recited in claim 2, further comprising the operation of repeating a cleaning process on the part if the part does not function properly in the reassembled equipment.
- 4. A process as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one impurity level is determined utilizing a surface particle test.
- 5. A process of claim 1, wherein at least one impurity level is determined using a liquid particle test.
- 6. A process of claim 1, wherein at least one impurity level is determined by using acid-extraction ICP-MS.
- 7. A dilute aqueous cleaning solution for parts comprising:
0.5-1.5% wt. HF; 0.1-0.5% wt. HNO3; and 1-10% wt H2O2.
- 8. A dilute aqueous cleaning solution as recited in claim 7 wherein the concentration of H2O2 is no greater than about 5% wt.
- 9. A method for reducing sub-surface damage to a part comprising:
determining how deep is the sub-surface damage beneath a surface of a part; chemically etching said surface of said part; and stopping said chemical etching of said surface at about said depth of said subsurface damage.
- 10. A method for cleaning a part comprising:
performing an ultrasonication cleaning process to a surface of a part to be cleaned; spray rinsing said part with a dilute chemical mixture; and spray rinsing said part with deionized water.
- 11. A method for cleaning a part as recited in claim 10 further comprising repeating said spray rinsing of said part with a dilute chemical mixture and spray rinsing said part with deionized water based upon the specification of purity for said part.
- 12. A method for determining contamination of an openable part having inner surfaces comprising:
introducing a part into a controlled clean environment of at least class 1000; opening said part in said controlled clean environment; and running contamination analysis on said inner surfaces of said part.
- 13. A method for determining contamination as recited in claim 12 where running contamination analysis includes applying a known volume of ultra pure water to a cavity of a part, extracting said water, and analyzing contaminants found in said water.
- 14. A method for determining contamination as recited in claim 12 where running contamination analysis includes applying a known volume of a high purity extraction solution to a cavity of a part, extracting said extraction solution, and analyzing contaminants found in said extraction solution.
- 15. A method for cleaning ceramic parts comprising:
immersing a ceramic part into a first chemical bath to damage contaminant bonds; heating said ceramic part in a furnace after said contaminant bonds are damaged; and immersing said ceramic part in a second chemical bath to remove contaminants.
- 16. A method for cleaning ceramic parts as recited in claim 15 wherein said first chemical bath is a dilute chemical bath including HF and HNO3 which is heated to about 60-80° C.
- 17. A method for cleaning textured quartz parts comprising:
immersing a textured quartz part into an ultrasonic chemical bath; immersing said textured quartz part into an ultrasonication water bath; and immersing said textured quartz part into a deionized water bath.
- 18. A method for cleaning metallic impurities from textured ceramic surfaces comprising:
immersing a ceramic part having a textured surface into a heated chemical bath; rinsing said ceramic part in deionized water; immersing said part in a dilute acid bath and rinsing; visually inspecting said part; and repeatedly immersing said part in said dilute acid bath until it passes visual inspection.
- 19. A method for cleaning metallic impurities as recited in claim 18 further comprising:
immersing said part in an ultrasonification overflowing bath.
- 20. A method for determining the cleanliness of semiconductor fabrication equipment parts comprising:
testing the parts before a cleaning process for at least one of particles, metallic impurities and organics; testing the parts after certain steps in the cleaning process for at least one of particles, metallic impurities and organics; and testing the parts after a final cleaning step for at least one of particles, metallic impurities and organics.
- 21. A method for removing particles on a textured surface of a semiconductor fabrication equipment part comprising:
determining a chemical bonding characteristic of the particles; identifying a type of particles embedded in the textured surface; measuring a depth of any subsurface damage; and performing a combination of ultrasonication and chemical etching to the textured surface based upon said chemical bonding characteristics, said type of particles and said depth of subsurface damage.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional application U.S. Serial No. 60/224/582 (Atty. Docket No. 60081-300500), filed on Aug. 11, 2001, entitled “System and Method for Cleaning Semiconductor Fabrication Equipment Parts”, incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60224582 |
Aug 2000 |
US |