Cleaning and liquid contact with solids – Apparatus – With plural means for supplying or applying different fluids...
Patent
1998-10-23
2000-11-14
Coe, Philip R.
Cleaning and liquid contact with solids
Apparatus
With plural means for supplying or applying different fluids...
134183, 134902, B08B 304
Patent
active
061455202
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing substrates in a fluid tank, with at least one fluid inlet opening and at least one overflow opening in the upper region of at least one side wall of the fluid tank, wherein the opening area of the overflow opening is changeable.
An apparatus of this type is known from printed documents U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,184, U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,923, JP 3-233930 A2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,808, JP 5-94978 A2, JP 5-36666 A2, JP 6-53205 A2, JP 3-20031 or DE-A-44 13 077 filed by the instant applicant. The fluid that is introduced via the fluid inlet openings flows over the upper edge of at least one side wall of the fluid tank. These known apparatus do not make it possible to vary the fluid discharge as a function of existing conditions or of the type of fluid used, i.e. liquids or gases.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,488 an apparatus of the aforementioned type is known in which the side wall of the fluid tank has an overflow edge and a knife edge arranged opposite the overflow edge so that a capillary action results in the gap between the overflow edge and the knife edge that causes removal of fluid form the fluid container. The width of this gap can be adjusted by adjusting a bolt.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus of the aforementioned type with which a gas provided for performing the drying process is used as efficiently and economically as possible during the drying process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The stated objective is inventively solved by providing during a drying process a hood for introducing a gas above the fluid tank and by making the surface area of the overflow opening smaller for introducing a gas than during a preceding rinsing step.
Gases in this context are also gas mixtures, vapors, and vapor mixtures such as, for example, isopropyl alcohol, nitrogen or a gas mixture with the components isopropyl alcohol and/or nitrogen.
The inventive apparatus is particularly advantageous for the use of additionally introduced gases, gas mixtures, or vapors that are introduced via a hood, for example for a drying process pursuant to the Marangoni principle. To avoid repetition with respect to these processes, reference is made to DE-A-44 13 077 as well as to DE-A-195 46 990, DE-A-196 15 108 and DE-A-196 15 969 (filed on Apr. 22, 1996), the latter three applications having been filed by the instant applicant. The content of these documents is hereby incorporated into the present application by reference. During the rinsing process that precedes the drying process, large rinsing fluid quantities are changed over, so that during the rinsing process a large overflow opening area is required. During the subsequent drying process, no or only a small quantity of rinsing fluid is introduced into the fluid tank, so that large overflow opening areas are not required. The gas or vapor mixture, for example isopropyl alcohol or a mixture with isopropyl alcohol, which is required for the drying process pursuant to the Marangoni principle and is introduced via the hood, is discharged via the overflow openings.
In order to lose as little gas or vapor as possible, which is expensive or difficult to recycle, it is therefore advantageous to have during the drying process, when the substrates are lifted from the rinsing fluid, overflow opening areas that are as small as possible or even closed. The inventive apparatus now enables an optimum adaptation of the overflow opening areas to the opposite requirements during processing.
With the inventive features, it is also possible to vary the flow conditions, the flow rate, the quantity of flow, the direction of flow in the fluid tank, and/or the flow velocity of the exiting fluid as a function of the respective conditions, and, in particular, to also establish or test in the fluid tank the optimal flow conditions for a particular process. It is also possible with the inventive apparatus to vary the discharge quantity as a function of the type of fluid. For example, with a rapid c
REFERENCES:
patent: 2713347 (1955-07-01), Hazy
patent: 5921257 (1999-07-01), Weber et al.
Coe Philip R.
Steag MicroTech GmbH
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