Apparatus for cleaning a semiconductor processing tool

Details Apparatus for cleaning a semiconductor processing tool Apparatus for cleaning a semiconductor processing tool

1997-04-23

1999-08-03

Breneman, Bruce

Coating apparatus

Gas or vapor deposition

134 21, 134 37, 154151, 153001, C23C 1600, B08B 504

Patent

active

059320133

ABSTRACT:
A method and apparatus for cleaning apertures within an input manifold of a semiconductor fabrication deposition tool is presented. Vapor phase chemicals that contain the required constituents are introduced into the tool through the input manifold. The apertures of the input manifold direct the gas flow towards the surface of the wafer where they are absorbed and react to form thin films. Film accumulates on the wafers but also in other places inside the chamber of the reactor. Those places include the sidewall surfaces of the gas delivery apertures. Apertures deposits can source contaminants thereby causing defects on the wafers. The presented cleaning mechanism is operably sealed to the input manifold on one end and to a vacuum pump at the other end. The vacuum cleaner comprises a rotating plate with a radial slot. Air flows from the input manifold, through the apertures, through the slot, and to the vacuum pump. Air flows is directed with increased flow rate and pressure through the slot having purposefully smaller dimensions than the summation of all apertures within the input manifold. Specifically, the slot overlies only a subset of all apertures to force a greater amount of air through the apertures currently being cleaned. The slot rotates to sequentially expose all of the apertures to the higher velocity airflow but at different times to complete the cleaning process.

REFERENCES:
patent: 3216043 (1965-11-01), Lipson
patent: 4787118 (1988-11-01), Weiland et al.
patent: 5330577 (1994-07-01), Maeda et al.
patent: 5359751 (1994-11-01), Bellardini
patent: 5746834 (1998-05-01), Hanley

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