US Patent No: 8,206,513
Number of patents in Portfolio can not be more than 2000
Method for cleaning elements in vacuum chamber and apparatus for processing substrates
Stats
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Jun 26, 2012
Issued date -
Jun 2, 2008
filing date -
12/131,803
serial no -
In Force
status
Importance
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Abstract
To clean an element in a vacuum chamber by causing particles sticking to the element to scatter, the present invention uses a means for applying a voltage to the element and causing the particles to scatter by utilizing Maxwell's stress, a means for electrically charging the particles and causing the particles to scatter by utilizing the Coulomb force, a means for introducing a gas into the vacuum chamber and causing the particles sticking to the element to scatter by causing a gas shock wave to hit the element, a means for heating the element and causing the particles to scatter by utilizing the thermal stress and thermophoretic force, or a means for causing the particles to scatter by applying mechanical vibrations to the element. The thus scattered particles are removed by carrying them in a gas flow in a relatively high pressure atmosphere.
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First Claim
Related Publications
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International Classification(s)
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Cited Art
| Patent Info | (Count) | # Cites | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
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| 5,410,122 Use of electrostatic forces to reduce particle contamination in semiconductor plasma processing chambers | 17 | 1993 | |
| 6,047,713 Method for cleaning a throttle valve | 5 | 1994 | |
| 5,737,178 Monocrystalline ceramic coating having integral bonding interconnects for electrostatic chucks | 24 | 1997 | |
| 7,004,107 Method and apparatus for monitoring and adjusting chamber impedance | 11 | 1997 | |
| 6,323,463 Method and apparatus for reducing contamination in a wafer loadlock of a semiconductor wafer processing system | 13 | 2000 | |
| 2002/0096,195 Method and apparatus for critical flow particle removal | 4 | 2002 | |
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| 5,843,239 Two-step process for cleaning a substrate processing chamber | 77 | 1997 | |
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| 6,391,118 Method for removing particles from surface of article | 6 | 2001 | |
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| 5,298,720 Method and apparatus for contamination control in processing apparatus containing voltage driven electrode | 27 | 1990 | |
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| 2002/0028,566 CVD film formation method | 5 | 2001 | |
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| 6,397,861 Situ plasma clean gas injection | 5 | 2000 | |
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| 5,858,108 Removal of particulate contamination in loadlocks | 15 | 1996 | |
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| 5,584,938 Electrostatic particle removal and characterization | 19 | 1993 | |
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| 5,522,933 Particle-free microchip processing | 15 | 1994 | |
Patent Citation Ranking
Maintenance Fees
| Fee | Large entity fee | small entity fee | micro entity fee | due date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Year Payment | $1600.00 | $800.00 | $400.00 | Dec 26, 2015 |
| 7.5 Year Payment | $3600.00 | $1800.00 | $900.00 | Dec 26, 2019 |
| 11.5 Year Payment | $7400.00 | $3700.00 | $1850.00 | Dec 26, 2023 |
| Fee | Large entity fee | small entity fee | micro entity fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surcharge - 3.5 year - Late payment within 6 months | $160.00 | $80.00 | $40.00 |
| Surcharge - 7.5 year - Late payment within 6 months | $160.00 | $80.00 | $40.00 |
| Surcharge - 11.5 year - Late payment within 6 months | $160.00 | $80.00 | $40.00 |
| Surcharge after expiration - Late payment is unavoidable | $700.00 | $350.00 | $175.00 |
| Surcharge after expiration - Late payment is unintentional | $1,640.00 | $820.00 | $410.00 |