Gas atomized fluid clean of electroplating chuck in maintenance chamber

Abstract

A maintenance chamber configured to reduce contamination on an electroplating chuck, the maintenance chamber including a positioning system configured to rotate, axially move, or both rotate and axially move the electroplating chuck, and a gas atomizing nozzle, wherein the nozzle is configured to spray an atomized fluid onto the electroplating chuck, wherein the atomized fluid is configured to reduce contamination on the electroplating chuck. Further, a method for reducing contamination of an electroplating chuck inside a maintenance chamber, including placing the electroplating chuck inside the maintenance chamber, spraying the electroplating chuck with an atomized fluid from one or more nozzles, and dislodging or eroding contaminants on the electroplating chuck by mechanical interactions between atomized liquid droplets and the contaminants.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A maintenance chamber configured to reduce contamination on at least a portion of an electroplating chuck, the maintenance chamber comprising:
 a positioning system configured to rotate, axially move, or both rotate and axially move the electroplating chuck; and   a gas atomizing nozzle, configured to spray an atomized fluid onto the electroplating chuck, wherein the atomized fluid is configured to reduce contamination on the electroplating chuck.   
     
     
         2 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid comprises deionized (DI) water, a cleaning chemistry, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid is atomized with a gas selected from dry nitrogen, compressed air, or carbon dioxide. 
     
     
         4 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 1 , wherein the positioning system is configured to rotate the positioning system at a speed of about 1 RPM to 700 RPM. 
     
     
         5 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 1 , wherein the atomized fluid is sprayed at a volume flow rate of about 1 mL/min to about 1500 mL/min. 
     
     
         6 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 1 , further comprising an end effector configured to carry the nozzle. 
     
     
         7 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 1 , wherein the nozzle is a first nozzle, and wherein the maintenance chamber further comprises a second nozzle. 
     
     
         8 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 7 , wherein the second nozzle is located on the end effector. 
     
     
         9 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 8 , wherein the maintenance chamber includes a first wall and a second wall opposite the first wall, and wherein the second nozzle is located on the second wall of the maintenance chamber. 
     
     
         10 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 1 , wherein the nozzle is a first nozzle, and wherein the maintenance chamber further comprises a plurality of nozzles. 
     
     
         11 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 10 , wherein each nozzle of the plurality of nozzles is configured to target a predetermined location of the electroplating chuck. 
     
     
         12 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 11 , wherein the predetermined location is selected from a seal of the chuck, a backside of the chuck, a body of the chuck, an electrical contact of the chuck, or a side of the chuck. 
     
     
         13 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 10 , wherein the maintenance chamber further comprises a lid configured to prevent splash of the atomized fluid. 
     
     
         14 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 13 , wherein at least one nozzle of the plurality of nozzles is located on the lid. 
     
     
         15 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 13 , wherein the maintenance chamber is fully enclosed. 
     
     
         16 . A method for reducing contamination of an electroplating chuck inside a maintenance chamber, comprising:
 placing the electroplating chuck inside the maintenance chamber;   spraying the electroplating chuck with an atomized fluid from one or more nozzles; and   dislodging or eroding contaminants on the electroplating chuck by mechanical interactions between atomized liquid droplets and the contaminants.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the nozzle is configured to spray in a narrow spray pattern, a wide-angle spray pattern, a fan spring pattern, a ring spray pattern, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the nozzle is angled so that a direction of spray from the nozzle intersects with a plane of the chuck. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the method further comprises:
 determining if the electroplating chuck is clean with one or more optical sensors; and   if it is determined that the electroplating chuck is not clean, directing the one or more nozzles to spray the atomized fluid toward the electroplating chuck.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 drying the electroplating chuck.