Microenvironment, rinsing and cleaning system
11/01/2002
Microenvironment, rinsing and cleaning system
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The invention is a microenvironment chamber and system for rinsing and drying semiconductor and microelectronic components.
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The component (A) is placed into a rinser-dryer chamber (B), which is rotated by rotor (C) powered by a motor (D). Rinsing and drying fluids are distributed across at least one face of the component by the centrifugal force generated during rotation of the rinser/dryer. A fluid supply system is connected to sequentially supply a rinsing fluid followed by a drying fluid to the chamber as the housing is rotated.
6,446,643 B2
Sept. 10, 2002
Gary L. Curtis and Raymon F. Thomson of Semitool Inc. (Kalispell, MT)
Exhaust apparatus
The exhaust apparatus is designed particularly for a spray tool for the chemical treatment of wafers. The system can have one or more spray tools (A) located within the cleanroom (B).
Outside the cleanroom, an exhaust apparatus (C) removes particles greater than or equal to 16 microns by suction from the spray tool to prevent contaminating the semiconductor or microelectronic component.
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The exhaust apparatus has a main pipe (D), which is connected to a side pipe (E), through which particles are guided to the main pipe. To support the process, an exhaust pipe (F) is connected to the main pipe, while the intake of cleanroom air ensures that contamination will not diffuse back into the apparatus.
The main exhaust pipe is connected to a gas scrubber kept under constant flow of de-mineralized water and prevents acids and gases from entering the cleanroom. The scrubber is connected to a motor on an upper floor (G), which controls the discharge of gases through a chimney (H). De-mineralized water is discharged from the scrubber through a discharge pipe (I).
6,443,171 B1
September 3, 2002
Germar Schneider and Pierre-Louis Saez of Infineon Technologies AG (Munich)
Fan unit
The fan unit comprises a fan blower (A) that is configured to emit air in several directions in an airflow plane.
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First and second guide surfaces (B, C) on one side of the fan blower make up one side (D) with a first airflow path leading to a designated airflow channel, while third and fourth guide surfaces (E, F) on the opposite end of the fan blower (A) make up another side (G), creating a second airflow path leading to a second designated airflow channel. Guide surfaces are mounted on separate, yet identical guide mounts (H, I, J and K).
According to the inventors, by constructing guides for each airflow path, construction of the fan is made simpler, and each guide surface can be made curved or straight to create a variety of configurations. The fan unit design also adopts developments from previous inventions, namely the use of guides on either end of the unit, which were first employed to reduce fan filter noise.
6,444,004 B1
Sept. 3, 2002
Lee Zong Tang of Kyodo-Allied Industries Ltd. (Singapore)
Low-fume hood
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The fume hood aims to provide an adequate level of safety, while reducing the amount of air exhausted from the hood. A displacement flow fume hood works on the principle of a displacement flow, which displaces the volume currently present in the hood using a push-pull system, as indicated by the arrows (A). The displacement flow includes numerous air supplies, a bottom air source and plenum (B) and top air source (C) and plenum (D), which provide fresh air, preferably having laminar flow, to the fume hood. The displacement flow fume hood also includes an air exhaust apparatus (E), which pulls air from the work chamber in a minimally turbulent manner. According to the inventors, as the displacement flow produces a substantially consistent and minimally turbulent flow in the hood, inconsistent flow patterns associated with contamination escaping from the hood are minimized. The displacement flow fume hood reduces the need to exhaust large amounts of air from the hood. Exhaust airflow reductions of up to 70 percent are possible without a decrease in the hood's containment performance, according to inventor claims. The fume hood also includes other structural adaptations (not pictured), which facilitate consistent and minimally turbulent flow within a fume hood.
6,428,408 B1
August 6, 2002
Geoffrey C. Bell, Helmut E. Feustel and Darryl J. Dickerhoff of The University of California (Oakland, CA).
Send your inventions
Submit your granted patents for new cleanroom and contamination technology are to CleanRooms magazine for publication. Send a brief description of the invention along with a detailed drawing to Mark A. DeSorbo, associate editor, CleanRooms, 98 Spit Brook Road, Nashua, NH 03062, or e-mail at [email protected].