Cleaning method

• US 8,024,831 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2010
• Issued: 09/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ikenaga, Kazuyuki, Furuse, Muneo, Tetsuka, Tsutomu
• Primary Examiner(s): KARLS, SHAY LYNN
• Application Number:
  US12/849,255
• Publication Number:
  US 20100294315A1
• Time in Patent Office: 420 Days
• Field of Search: 15/15.1, 134/21
• US Class Current: 15/1.51
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4407 Cleaning of reactor or reactor parts by using wet or mechanical methods
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67028 for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67092 Apparatus for mechanical treatment or grinding or cutting, see the relevant groups in subclasses B24B or B28D

Abstract

A cleaning method using a cleaning apparatus having an adhesive sheet, a conductive sheet in contact with a base material of the adhesive sheet, and a pressing member for pressing the conductive sheet onto the adhesive sheet. The pressing member includes a voltage applier, and a pressing force controller which presses the adhesive sheet onto a curved surface of a portion to be cleaned of a vacuum processing apparatus from above the conductive sheet. The method includes pressing the pressing member by a pressing force controlled via the pressing force controller to press the conductive sheet and the adhesive sheet to adhere an adhesive surface of the adhesive sheet to the curved surface of the portion to be cleaned, and applying a voltage to the conductive sheet or applying a voltage having a temporally changed polarity.

Claims

1. A cleaning method using a cleaning apparatus including (1) an adhesive sheet including a base material and an adhesive surface, (2) a flexible conductive sheet in contact with the base material of the adhesive sheet, and (3) a pressing member configured to press the flexible conductive sheet onto the adhesive sheet, the pressing member including (a) a voltage applying mechanism configured to apply either of a positive or a negative voltage to the flexible conductive sheet at a point in time and (b) a pressing force controlling mechanism configured to press the adhesive sheet onto a curved surface of a portion of a vacuum processing apparatus to be cleaned by the cleaning apparatus from above the flexible conductive sheet, the cleaning method comprising:

a first step of pressing the pressing member by a pressing force controlled via the pressing force controlling mechanism so as to press the flexible conductive sheet and the adhesive sheet in order to closely adhere the adhesive surface of the adhesive sheet to the curved surface of the portion of the vacuum processing apparatus to be cleaned by the cleaning apparatus; and

a second step of applying either of a positive or a negative voltage at a point in time to the flexible conductive sheet or applying voltage having temporally changed polarity from the voltage applying mechanism;

wherein _ the first step removes particles attached to the curved surface of the portion of the vacuum processing apparatus to be cleaned by the cleaning apparatus, while the second step generates electrostatic attraction force to attract and remove particles attached to the curved surface of the portion of the vacuum processing apparatus to be cleaned by the cleaning apparatus.

2. The cleaning method according to claim 1,

the cleaning method further comprising:

a third step of removing the adhesive sheet after the second step;

a fourth step of pressing the pressing member by a pressing force controlled by the pressing force controlling mechanism, in order to press the flexible conductive sheet onto a new adhesive sheet so as to closely adhere the adhesive surface of the new adhesive sheet to the curved surface of the portion of the vacuum processing apparatus to be cleaned by the cleaning apparatus; and

a fifth step of applying a DC voltage having an opposite polarity from the polarity of a DC voltage applied to the flexible conductive sheet by the voltage applying mechanism if a DC voltage is applied in the second step;

wherein the second step includes applying either one of a positive or negative DC voltage, or applying voltage having temporally changed polarity; and

wherein _ the electrostatic attraction force generated by the fifth step attracts and removes particles charged with a polarity opposite from that of particles attracted and removed by the second step attached to the curved surface of the portion of the vacuum processing apparatus to be cleaned by the cleaning apparatus.