Vacuum drying of semiconductor fragments

• US 6,170,171 B1
• Filed: 12/08/1998
• Issued: 01/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wacker-Chemie GmbH (Dr. Alexander Wacker Familiengesellschaft Mit Beschrã¤Nkter Haftung)
• Original Assignee: Wacker-Chemie GmbH (Dr. Alexander Wacker Familiengesellschaft Mit Beschrã¤Nkter Haftung)
• Inventors: Ott, Werner, Schmidbauer, Wilhelm, Wochner, Hanns
• Primary Examiner(s): Yeung, James C.
• Application Number:
  US09/207,496
• Time in Patent Office: 763 Days
• Field of Search: 34/92, 342/33, 342/39, 344/08, 344/06, 344/02, 346/29
• US Class Current: 34/406
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 5/04 by evaporation or sublimation of moisture under reduced pressure, e.g. in a vacuum F26B11/049 and F26B17/128 take precedence

Abstract

A method and apparatus for drying semiconductor fragment material, has at least one vacuum-tight chamber with at least one receiving means for semiconductor fragment material, and there is a means for maintaining a vacuum in the apparatus.

Claims

1. A method for drying semiconductor fragment material comprising

cleaning semiconductor fragment material with ultrapure water;

and

drying the semiconductor fragment material in a vacuum by repeatedly applying a vacuum and alternatingly flooding the material with a substance selected from the group consisting of dry ultrapure air and a dry inert gas.

2. The method for drying semiconductor fragment material as claimed in claim 1, further comprising

predrying the semiconductor fragment material by means of at least one convection drying step.

3. The method for drying semiconductor fragment material as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the dry ultrapure air and the dry inert gas each has a relative humidity of less than 20%.

4. The method for drying semiconductor fragment material as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the dry inert gas is a pure dry inert gas.

5. The method for drying semiconductor fragment material as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the dry inert gas is a pure dry inert gas selected from the group consisting of nitrogen and argon.

6. The method for drying semiconductor fragment material as claimed in claim 5,

wherein the dry pure inert gas is nitrogen.

7. The method for drying semiconductor fragment material as claimed in claim 5,

wherein the dry pure inert gas is argon.

8. The method for drying semiconductor fragment material as claimed in claim 1, comprising

applying the dry ultrapure air and the dry inert gas each in a laminar air flow.