Semiconductor cleaner systems and methods

Abstract

In an embodiment, the present invention discloses a EUV cleaner system and process for cleaning a EUV carrier. The euv cleaner system comprises separate dirty and cleaned environments, separate cleaning chambers for different components of the double container carrier, gripper arms for picking and placing different components using a same robot handler, gripper arms for holding different components at different locations, horizontal spin cleaning and drying for outer container, hot water and hot air (70 C) cleaning process, vertical nozzles and rasterizing megasonic nozzles for cleaning inner container with hot air nozzles for drying, separate vacuum decontamination chambers for outgassing different components, for example, one for inner and one for outer container with high vacuum (e.g., <10 −6 Torr) with purge gas, heaters and RGA sensors inside the vacuum chamber, purge gas assembling station, and purge gas loading and unloading station.

1 .- 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A method for cleaning a workpiece, the method comprising:
 transferring the workpiece in a dirty state from a first station with a dirty environment commensurate with a dirtiest surface of the dirty workpiece to a chamber through an entrance of the chamber;   cleaning the workpiece from the dirty state to a clean state in the chamber;   transferring the workpiece in the cleaned state from the chamber to a second station through an exit of the chamber,   isolating the second station from the first station so that an environment of the second station is cleaner than the dirty environment of the first station so as to receive the workpiece cleaned from the chamber.   
     
     
         22 . The method as in  claim 21  further comprising loading the workpiece in the dirty state to an input load port to be transferred to the first station. 
     
     
         23 . The method as in  claim 21  further comprising unloading the workpiece in the cleaned state from the second station to an output load port. 
     
     
         24 . The method as in  claim 21  further comprising closing the exit of the chamber before transferring the workpiece in the dirty state from the first station to the chamber. 
     
     
         25 . The method as in  claim 21  further comprising pressurizing the chamber before opening the entrance of the chamber for transferring the workpiece in the dirty state from the first station to the chamber. 
     
     
         26 . The method as in  claim 21  further comprising closing the entrance of the chamber before transferring the workpiece in the cleaned state from the chamber to the second station. 
     
     
         27 . The method as in  claim 21  further comprising lowering a pressure in the chamber before opening the exit of the chamber for transferring the workpiece in the cleaned state from the chamber to the second station. 
     
     
         28 . The method as in  claim 21  further comprising establishing a recirculating gas flow in the second station. 
     
     
         29 . The method as in  claim 21  further comprising cooling the environment of the second station. 
     
     
         30 . The method as in  claim 21  further comprising establishing a curtain flow at the exit of the chamber. 
     
     
         31 . A method for cleaning a workpiece, the method comprising:
 establishing two environments with different cleanliness levels interfacing a cleaning chamber, one of the two environments being dirty commensurate with a dirtiest surface of the workpiece to be received in a dirty state in the dirty environment;   transferring the workpiece from the dirty environment to the cleaning chamber for cleaning;   transferring the workpiece, in a clean state, from the cleaning chamber to a clean one of the two environments, accepting the workpiece in a cleaned state; and   isolating the two environments from each other during each transfer of the workpiece from the dirty environment to the cleaning chamber in a dirty state, and from the cleaning chamber to the clean environment in a clean state.   
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31  further comprising loading the workpiece in the dirty state to an input load port to be transferred to the dirty environment. 
     
     
         33 . The method as in  claim 31  further comprising unloading the workpiece in the clean state from the clean environment to an output load port. 
     
     
         34 . The method as in  claim 31  further comprising closing an exit of the cleaning chamber before transferring the workpiece in the dirty state from the dirty environment to the cleaning chamber. 
     
     
         35 . The method as in  claim 31  further comprising pressurizing the cleaning chamber before opening an entrance of the cleaning chamber for transferring the workpiece in the dirty state from the dirty environment to the cleaning chamber. 
     
     
         36 . The method as in  claim 31  further comprising closing an entrance of the cleaning chamber before transferring the workpiece in the clean state from the cleaning chamber to the clean environment. 
     
     
         37 . The method as in  claim 31  further comprising lowering a pressure in the cleaning chamber before opening an exit of the cleaning chamber for transferring the workpiece in the clean state from the cleaning chamber to the clean environment. 
     
     
         38 . The method as in  claim 31  further comprising establishing a recirculating gas flow in the clean environment. 
     
     
         39 . The method as in  claim 31  further comprising cooling the environment of the clean environment. 
     
     
         40 . The method as in  claim 31  further comprising establishing a curtain flow at an exit of the cleaning chamber.