Cleaning method

• US 9,129,797 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2010
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kurita Water Industries Limited
• Original Assignee: Kurita Water Industries Limited
• Inventors: Tokoshima, Hiroto, Morita, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): BLAN, NICOLE R
• Application Number:
  US13/518,583
• Publication Number:
  US 20120325927A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,722 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02052 Wet cleaning only H01L21/02085 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0206 during, before or after processing of insulating layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67051 using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles

Abstract

Disclosed is a low-cost and resource-saving cleaning method wherein high cleaning effects are obtained by high-pressure jet cleaning or two-fluid cleaning using a gas-dissolved water. In the high-pressure jet cleaning method or the two-fluid cleaning method, a cleaning liquid or a mixed fluid of the cleaning liquid and a gas is jetted from a cleaning fluid jetting nozzle toward a subject to be cleaned, and the subject is cleaned. The cleaning liquid introduced into the cleaning fluid jetting nozzle contains the dissolved gas in a quantity equal to or more than the saturation solubility at the liquid temperature of the cleaning liquid.

Claims

1. A cleaning method by high-pressure jet cleaning or two-fluid cleaning, comprising:

a step of jetting a cleaning liquid or a mixed fluid of the cleaning liquid and a carrier gas from a jetting nozzle toward a subject of an electronic material to be cleaned and thereby cleaning the subject,

wherein the cleaning liquid is at room temperature,

the cleaning liquid introduced into the jetting nozzle contains a dissolved gas prepared by dissolving a gas in degassed water with a gas-dissolving membrane module in a quantity of 1.5 to 3 times as large as a saturation solubility at a temperature of the cleaning liquid,

a pressure in a feed water piping connecting the gas-dissolving membrane module and the jetting nozzle is controlled thereby to prevent generation of bubbles in the cleaning liquid,

the gas is supplied to a gas-phase room of the gas-dissolving membrane module through a gas supply piping having a gas flow regulating valve,

the gas-phase room has a first pressure indicator measuring a pressure V₁ in the gas-phase room,

the feed water piping has a feed water regulating valve and a second pressure indicator measuring a water feed pressure V₂ at a downstream side relative to the feed water regulating valve, and

V₁<

V₂ is satisfied with the gas flow regulating valve and the feed water regulating valve.

2. The cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the dissolved gas is at least one selected from the group consisting of nitrogen gas, oxygen gas, carbon dioxide gas, hydrogen gas, ozone gas, purified air, and rare gas.

3. The cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid introduced into the jetting nozzle is prepared by dissolving the gas in pure water or ultrapure water.

4. The cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid contains at least one chemical agent selected from the group consisting of alkalis, acids, chelating agents, and surfactants.

5. The cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid contains ammonia at a concentration of 1 to 200 mg/L.

6. The cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein, in the high-pressure jet cleaning, a supply of the cleaning liquid from the nozzle is 0.5 to 30 L/min and a liquid pressure at the nozzle is 5 to 20 MPa.

7. The cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein, in the two-fluid cleaning, a supply of the cleaning liquid from the nozzle is 0.05 to 0.5 L/min, a liquid pressure at the nozzle is 0.05 to 0.5 MPa, and a carrier gas pressure at the nozzle is 0.1 to 0.6 MPa.

8. A cleaning method by two-fluid cleaning, comprising:

supplying raw water to a degassing membrane module;

degassing the raw water through the degassing membrane module, thereby producing degassed water;

supplying the degassed water to a gas-dissolving membrane module and supplying a gas to a gas-phase room of the gas-dissolving membrane module, thereby producing a gas-dissolved water;

supplying a carrier gas to the gas-dissolved water, thereby producing a mixture of the gas-dissolved water and the carrier gas;

jetting the mixture from a jetting nozzle toward a subject of a material to be cleaned, thereby cleaning the subject; and

controlling a pressure in a feed water piping connecting the gas-dissolving membrane module and the jetting nozzle at a predetermined pressure, thereby preventing generation of bubbles in the gas-dissolved water,

wherein the gas-dissolved water contains the gas in a quantity of 1.5 to 3 times as large as a saturation solubility at the temperature of the gas-dissolved water,

the gas-phase room has a gas supply piping having a gas flow regulating valve and a first pressure indicator measuring a pressure V₁ in the gas-phase room, the gas is supplied to the gas-phase room through the gas supply piping,

the feed water piping has a feed water regulating valve and a second pressure indicator measuring a water feed pressure V₂ at a downstream side relative to the feed water regulating valve, and

V₁<

V₂ is satisfied with the gas flow regulating valve and the feed water regulating valve.

9. The cleaning method according to claim 8, further comprising adding a chemical agent to the gas-dissolved water.