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 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;   one or more optical sensors configured to determine if the at least a portion of the electroplating chuck is clean.   
     
     
         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 at least one optical sensor is selected from at least one camera, at least one laser, at least one light emitting diode (LED) optical sensor, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one optical sensor comprises a laser source light and one or more light intensity sensors, wherein the at least one optical sensor is configured to detect plate up metal on the electroplating chuck. 
     
     
         6 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 1 , further comprising an end effector configured to carry the nozzle. 
     
     
         7 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more optical sensors are located on the end effector. 
     
     
         8 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 6 , wherein the nozzle is a first nozzle, and wherein the maintenance chamber further comprises a second nozzle. 
     
     
         9 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 8 , wherein the first nozzle, the second nozzle, or both is configured to spray a narrow spray pattern, a wide-angle spray pattern, a ring-spray pattern, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 8 , wherein the second nozzle is located on the end effector. 
     
     
         11 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 10 , wherein the optical sensor is located between the first nozzle and the second nozzle. 
     
     
         12 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 8 , wherein the first nozzle is configured to spray the atomizing fluid on a front side of the electroplating chuck. 
     
     
         13 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 8 , wherein the second nozzle is configured to spray the atomizing fluid on a back side of the electroplating chuck. 
     
     
         14 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 1 , wherein the maintenance chamber further comprises a lid configured to prevent splash of the atomized fluid. 
     
     
         15 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more optical sensor is located on the lid. 
     
     
         16 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 14 , wherein the first nozzle and the second nozzle are located on the lid. 
     
     
         17 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 16 , wherein the first nozzle is located on a first side of the lid and the second nozzle is located on a second side, opposite the first side of the lid. 
     
     
         18 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 8 , wherein the maintenance chamber further comprises a third nozzle. 
     
     
         19 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 18 , wherein the third nozzle is located on a side of the maintenance chamber, opposite the end effector. 
     
     
         20 . The maintenance chamber of  claim 18 , wherein the third nozzle is configured to spray a second side of the electroplating chuck.