JP3844616B2 - Aerosol cleaning device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an aerosol cleaning apparatus, and in particular, an aerosol cleaning that is suitable for use when cleaning the surface of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer and that can reduce dust generation and improve throughput. Relates to the device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Since fine particles (particles) and dirt on the surface of a semiconductor wafer in the LSI manufacturing process and on the surface of a liquid crystal (LCD) or solar cell greatly reduce the yield of the final product, the surface of the wafer or the like is extremely cleaned. is important.
[0003]
Therefore, various surface cleaning methods have been proposed in the past. Taking semiconductor manufacturing as an example, pure water cleaning combined with ultrasonic waves, chemical solution in pure water (for example, ammonia hydrogen peroxide solution or sulfuric acid hydrogen peroxide solution) A wet cleaning method is used in which an object to be cleaned is immersed in a solution to which is added and cleaned.
[0004]
However, this type of wet cleaning method has a problem that the installation area of various facilities is large and waste liquid treatment is necessary.
[0005]
On the other hand, as a dry cleaning method that does not use liquid, there is dry cleaning using a chemical reaction by adding gas, but there is a problem that contaminants on the particles cannot be removed.
[0006]
Furthermore, it is also considered to remove particles by colliding fine particles such as dry ice, ice, and argon solids on the surface of the object to be cleaned. However, when ice is used, the surface of the object to be cleaned is damaged. When dry ice is used, there is a problem of impurity contamination especially in commercial products made from steel or petroleum refining waste gas because the dry ice itself is dirty.
[0007]
On the other hand, according to the method described in JP-A-6-252114 and JP-A-6-295895, an aerosol containing fine particles of argon solid (referred to as argon aerosol) is collided in a vacuum atmosphere to perform surface cleaning. For example, the above problems do not exist.
[0008]
FIG. 1 shows a conduit diagram of the overall configuration of an example of a wafer cleaning apparatus using this argon aerosol, and FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the same.
[0009]
In this example, the argon gas and nitrogen gas whose flow rates are controlled by the mass flow controllers 30 and 32 pass through the filter 34 and are then cooled in a heat exchanger 38 using, for example, a helium (He) cryocooler 36. After that, an aerosol 24 is ejected from a large number of fine nozzle holes 22 opened in the aerosol nozzle 20 and ejected into a cleaning chamber 42 for wafer cleaning which is evacuated by a vacuum pump 40.
[0010]
The wafer 10 is placed on a process hand (also referred to as an XY scan stage) 46 that is scanned in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction by the wafer scanning mechanism 44, and the entire surface of the wafer can be cleaned.
[0011]
In order to improve the cleaning power, it is considered to install an acceleration nozzle 56. Nitrogen gas (referred to as acceleration gas 58) supplied to the acceleration nozzle 56 through the mass flow controller 52 and the filter 54 and blown out from the nozzle hole. ) Accelerates the aerosol 24 ejected from the aerosol nozzle 20.
[0012]
Further, for the purpose of preventing the reattachment of particles to the wafer surface, the cleaning chamber 42 is formed by using nitrogen gas flowing from one end (left end in FIG. 2) of the cleaning chamber 42 through the mass flow controller 62 and the filter 64 as the purge gas 66. It is also considered to supply the inside.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 2, two wafers 10 in the cassette chamber 70 </ b> A or 70 </ b> B exhausted to a vacuum state for carrying in the wafers 10 accommodated in the cassette 72 from the outside of the apparatus, provided for two cassette replacements, A cassette gate valve 74A is provided by a robot hand 86 attached to the tip of a robot arm 84 of a vacuum transfer robot (referred to as a vacuum robot) 82 disposed in a robot chamber (also referred to as a transfer chamber) 80 for handling the wafer 10. Alternatively, it is transferred to the process hand 46 in the buffer chamber 90 for passing the wafer 10 to the cleaning chamber 42 through the gate valve 76 and 74B. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 73 denotes a cassette stage for mounting the cassette 72.
[0014]
The wafer 10 on the process hand 46 driven by the wafer scanning mechanism 44 passes through the gate valve 92 from the buffer chamber 90 and is carried into the cleaning chamber 42, and below the aerosol nozzle 20 in the Y-axis direction and the X-axis direction. Scanned.
[0015]
The wafer 10 whose entire surface has been cleaned by the aerosol nozzle 24 blown out from the aerosol nozzle 20 in this way is returned to the cassette chamber 70 </ b> A or 70 </ b> B by following the path carried into the buffer chamber 90.
[0016]
For example, when cleaning the wafer in the right cassette chamber 70A, the wafer cleaning apparatus using the argon aerosol is operated as follows.
[0017]
(1) The gate valve 92 that separates the buffer chamber 90 and the cleaning chamber 42 is closed, and the aerosol 24 is generated in the cleaning chamber 42.
(2) A cassette gate valve 74A that separates the cassette chamber 70A and the robot chamber 80 on the side where the cassette 72 containing the wafer 10 to be cleaned is located (right side in this case), and a gate valve 76 that separates the robot chamber 80 and the buffer chamber 90. And the right cassette chamber 70A, the robot chamber 80, and the buffer chamber 90 are set to a nitrogen atmosphere.
(3) The wafer 10 is taken out from the right cassette chamber 70 </ b> A by the robot hand 86 and loaded into the buffer chamber 90.
(4) The gate valve 76 is closed, the next second wafer is taken out from the right cassette chamber 70A, and is waited in front of the buffer chamber 90 until the cleaning of the first wafer is completed.
(5) After performing the pressure equalization operation so that the pressure in the buffer chamber 90 and the cleaning chamber 42 becomes the same, the gate valve 92 is opened.
(6) The flow rate of the purge gas 66 that flows only during cleaning is set to ON, and cleaning of the first wafer is started.
(7) After cleaning the first wafer, the flow rate of the purge gas 66 is turned off and the gate valve 92 is closed.
(8) The buffer chamber 90 is evacuated, and the gate valve 76 is opened in accordance with the pressure in the robot chamber 80 to perform a pressure equalizing operation between the buffer chamber 90 and the robot chamber 80, and then the second wafer is buffered. The first wafer is carried into the robot chamber 80 while being carried into the chamber 90.
(9) After performing the pressure equalization operation of the buffer chamber 90 and the cleaning chamber 42, the gate valve 92 is opened.
(10) The purge gas 66 is turned on and cleaning of the second wafer is started.
(11) The first wafer that has been cleaned is returned to the right cassette chamber 70A, and the third wafer is removed from the same right cassette chamber 70A.
(12) Wait for the completion of cleaning of the second wafer in front of the buffer chamber 90.
(13) The third wafer is carried into the buffer chamber 90, and the second wafer that has been cleaned is carried out to the robot chamber 80.
[0018]
Repeat the above operation.
[0019]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such an operation method, the pressure equalization operation between the robot chamber 80 and the buffer chamber 90 is performed before the wafer 10 is carried in and out, and the wafer chamber 10 and the buffer chamber 90 are cleaned before the wafer 10 is cleaned. Pressure operation is required, and it takes time for pressure equalization operation. Further, the gate valve 76 needs to be opened and closed before and after the wafer 10 is loaded and unloaded, and the gate valve 92 needs to be opened and closed before and after the wafer 10 is cleaned. Had problems.
[0020]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and it is an object to reduce pressure generation operation and gate valve opening / closing operation to reduce dust generation due to gate valve opening / closing and to improve throughput. To do.
[0021]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the present invention, a cassette chamber that is evacuated to carry in and out a cassette containing a large number of objects to be cleaned from the outside of the apparatus, and an object to be cleaned before cleaning are pulled out from the cassette, A robot chamber in which a vacuum robot for handling an object to be cleaned is disposed to carry the object to be cleaned out of the buffer chamber and insert it into a predetermined cassette, and the robot chamber; To eliminate the pressure difference between the next cleaning chambers and to wash the aerosol by colliding with the buffer chamber for delivering the object to be cleaned, and the surface of the object to be cleaned carried from the buffer chamber, in aerosol cleaning apparatus having a cleaning chamber which is maintained at a predetermined pressure, the aerosol generator is kept open a gate valve that separates the cleaning chamber and the buffer chamber, the cleaning chamber from the buffer chamber, Machine in a standby, with during cleaning is to force the flow of purge gas flow rate for washing, between the robot chamber and the buffer chamber, the pressure equalizing bypass pipe pressure equalization valve is disposed in the middle in the so that provided is obtained by solving the above problems.
In addition, the present invention draws out from the cassette a cassette chamber that is evacuated to a vacuum state for loading and unloading a cassette containing a large number of objects to be cleaned from the outside of the apparatus, and the object to be cleaned before cleaning. A robot chamber in which a vacuum robot for handling an object to be cleaned is disposed to be carried into the next buffer chamber, and the object to be cleaned is pulled out of the buffer chamber and inserted into a predetermined cassette, and the robot To eliminate the pressure difference between the chamber and the next cleaning chamber and wash the aerosol by colliding with the buffer chamber for delivering the object to be cleaned and the surface of the object to be cleaned that is carried from the buffer chamber In the aerosol cleaning apparatus having the cleaning chamber maintained at a predetermined pressure, the first gate valve that separates the cleaning chamber and the buffer chamber is opened to separate the buffer and the robot chamber. 2. A purge gas / mass flow controller that generates an aerosol in the cleaning chamber after closing the gate valve, and opens a purge gas supply valve for supplying purge gas to the cleaning chamber after the generation of the aerosol is completed, thereby controlling the flow rate of the purge gas Is set to a standby flow rate that is a purge gas flow rate for standby, a cassette gate valve that separates the robot chamber from the cassette chamber is opened, and the cassette chamber, the robot chamber, and the buffer chamber are placed in a nitrogen atmosphere, and the first sheet is covered. Take out the cleaning product from the cassette chamber, wait in front of the buffer chamber, open a vent valve for flowing nitrogen gas into the robot chamber, and vent to a vent / mass flow controller that controls the amount of nitrogen gas supplied to the vent valve Set the flow rate, compare the pressure in the robot chamber and the pressure in the buffer chamber, When the pressure in the robot chamber is sufficiently larger than the pressure in the buffer chamber, a pressure equalizing valve for equalizing the pressure between the buffer chamber and the robot chamber is opened, and the pressure in the robot chamber is The pressure equalization valve is closed, the second gate valve is opened, the first object to be cleaned is carried into the buffer chamber, and the second gate valve is closed. The purge gas / mass flow controller is set to a cleaning flow rate that is a purge gas flow rate for cleaning, and the cleaning of the first object to be cleaned is started, the second object to be cleaned is taken out of the cassette chamber, After waiting in front of the buffer chamber and cleaning of the first object to be cleaned, the purge gas flow rate is returned to the standby flow rate, the second gate valve is opened, and the second object to be cleaned is placed in the buffer chamber. Carry in At the same time, the first object to be cleaned is carried out to the robot chamber, the second gate valve is closed, and the purge gas flow rate is increased to the cleaning flow rate. Return the object to be cleaned to the cassette chamber, remove the object to be cleaned from the cassette chamber, wait in front of the buffer chamber, and after the cleaning of the object to be cleaned is completed, The purge gas flow rate is returned to the standby flow rate, the second gate valve is opened, the third article to be cleaned is carried into the buffer chamber, and the second article to be washed is carried out to the robot chamber. The above-mentioned problem is solved.
In the present invention, the series of operations may be repeated.
In addition, the present invention draws out from the cassette a cassette chamber that is evacuated to a vacuum state for loading and unloading a cassette containing a large number of objects to be cleaned from the outside of the apparatus, and the object to be cleaned before cleaning. A robot chamber in which a vacuum robot for handling an object to be cleaned is disposed to be carried into the next buffer chamber, and the object to be cleaned is pulled out of the buffer chamber and inserted into a predetermined cassette , and the robot To eliminate the pressure difference between the chamber and the next cleaning chamber and wash the aerosol by colliding with the buffer chamber for delivering the object to be cleaned and the surface of the object to be cleaned that is carried from the buffer chamber In the aerosol cleaning apparatus having a cleaning chamber maintained at a predetermined pressure, the first gate valve that separates the cleaning chamber and the buffer chamber is opened to separate the buffer and the robot chamber. Purge gas for controlling the flow rate of the purge gas by closing the second gate valve, generating aerosol in the cleaning chamber, and opening the purge gas supply valve for supplying purge gas to the cleaning chamber after the generation of the aerosol is completed The mass flow controller is set to a standby flow rate that is a standby purge gas flow rate, a cassette gate valve that separates the robot chamber from the cassette chamber is opened, and the cassette chamber, the robot chamber, and the buffer chamber are placed in a nitrogen atmosphere. The first object to be cleaned is taken out from the cassette chamber, is waited in front of the buffer chamber, and a vent valve for flowing nitrogen gas into the robot chamber is opened to control the amount of nitrogen gas supplied to the vent valve. The vent flow is set by the vent / mass flow controller, and the pressure in the robot chamber and the buffer are set. If the pressure in the robot chamber is sufficiently larger than the pressure in the buffer chamber, the pressure equalizing valve for performing pressure equalization operation on the pressure in the buffer chamber and the robot chamber is opened, When the pressure in the robot chamber becomes substantially equal to the pressure in the buffer chamber, the pressure equalizing valve is closed, the second gate valve is opened, and the first object to be cleaned is transferred to the buffer chamber. Then, the second gate valve is closed and the purge gas / mass flow controller is set to a cleaning flow rate that is a purge gas flow rate for cleaning to start cleaning the first object to be cleaned. The object to be cleaned is taken out from the cassette chamber and waited in front of the buffer chamber. After the cleaning of the first object to be cleaned is completed, the purge gas flow rate is returned to the standby flow rate, and the second gate valve Open The second object to be cleaned is carried into the buffer chamber, the first object to be cleaned is carried out to the robot chamber, the second gate valve is closed, and the purge gas flow rate is increased to the cleaning flow rate. After that, the cleaning of the second object to be cleaned is started, the first object to be cleaned is returned to the cassette chamber, the third object to be cleaned is taken out of the cassette chamber, and the buffer chamber After waiting for the second object to be cleaned, the purge gas flow rate is set to the standby flow rate, the second gate valve is opened, and the third object to be cleaned is carried into the buffer chamber. On the other hand, by providing a control means for carrying out the second object to be cleaned to the robot chamber, the above problem is solved.
In the present invention, the operation by the control means may be repeated.
[0022]
Furthermore, a pressure equalizing bypass pipe having a pressure equalizing valve disposed in the middle is provided between the robot chamber and the buffer chamber.
[0023]
In the present invention, the gate valve that separates the buffer chamber and the cleaning chamber is not opened and closed each time cleaning is performed, but remains open during aerosol generation. Therefore, dust generation due to opening and closing of the gate valve can be reduced.
[0024]
In addition, by flowing purge gas from the buffer chamber to the cleaning chamber, a forced flow of gas from the buffer chamber to the cleaning chamber is created. It can be prevented from reaching the room or cassette room.
[0025]
In particular, when a pressure equalizing bypass pipe having a pressure equalizing valve is provided between the robot chamber and the buffer chamber, nitrogen gas is supplied to the robot chamber and the cassette chamber, After opening the pressure equalizing valve with the pressure slightly increased, closing the pressure equalizing valve, and then opening the gate valve between the robot chamber and the buffer chamber, the pressure difference when the large-diameter gate valve is opened at once Impurity scattering can be prevented. In addition, since the purge gas is always flowing, the pressure in the cleaning chamber and the buffer chamber before and after cleaning is almost constant. If the pressure equalizing operation is performed when the first wafer is loaded, the pressure is equalized during the subsequent loading / unloading. It is only necessary to open and close the pressure valve, and the throughput can be improved as compared with the case where the pressure is adjusted by evacuation or the like.
[0026]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0027]
The piping system in this embodiment is shown in FIG.
[0028]
In the present embodiment, a pressure equalizing bypass pipe 100 having a pressure equalizing valve 102 disposed in the middle is provided between the robot chamber 80 and the buffer chamber 90, and a purge gas for constantly supplying a purge gas from the mass flow controller 62. Supply valve 63, robot chamber vent valve 112 for flowing nitrogen gas to the robot chamber 80 and cassette chambers 70A and 70B, cassette chamber vent valves 114 and 116, and for controlling the flow rate of nitrogen gas supplied to these. The mass flow controller 110 and pressure gauges 118, 120, 122, 124, and 126 for monitoring the pressure in the cleaning chamber 42, the buffer chamber 90, the robot chamber 80, and the cassette chambers 70A and 70B, respectively, are provided.
[0029]
In the figure, V1 is an argon gas supply valve for generating argon aerosol, V2 is also a nitrogen gas supply valve, V3 is also a mixed gas supply valve, 35 is also a mixed gas pressure gauge, 53 is an acceleration gas supply valve, 55 is an acceleration gas pressure gauge, APC is an automatic pressure regulator that adjusts the pressure so that the pressure in the cleaning chamber 42 detected by the cleaning chamber pressure gauge 118 becomes a set value, and T1, T2, and T3 are respectively The thermometer for detecting the temperature of the outlet of the aerosol nozzle 20, the outlet side of the heat exchanger 38, and the inlet side thereof, and DP 1, respectively, via the automatic pressure controller APC, the valve VV 1, and the valve VV 9, respectively. A vacuum pump G1 for evacuating the inside of the cleaning chamber 42 and the aerosol nozzle 20 is for detecting the pressure of the vacuum drawn by the vacuum pump DP1. The vacuum gauge DP2 is a vacuum pump for evacuating the buffer chamber 90, the robot chamber 80, and the cassette chambers 70A and 70B through valves VV4, VV5, VV6, and VV7, and G2 is the vacuum pump DP2. A vacuum gauge for detecting the pressure of the vacuum drawn by DP, DP3 is a vacuum pump for drawing a vacuum in the heat exchanger 38 via a manual valve MV4 and a valve LV, G3 is a vacuum pump DP3 A vacuum gauge for detecting the pressure of the vacuum drawn, MV3 is a manual valve for adjusting the amount of nitrogen gas supplied to the heat exchanger 38 and the cleaning chamber 42, 128 detects the pressure of the nitrogen gas The pressure gauge VV8 is a valve for returning the return gas from the aerosol nozzle 20 and the cleaning chamber 42 to the inlet side of the heat exchanger 38, MV4˜ V8 is a manual valve which is disposed as required in the middle of the pipes, the vacuum pump DP1~3 is disposed, for example, utility room 130.
[0030]
Hereinafter, similarly to the conventional example, the operation procedure in the embodiment of the present invention will be described by taking as an example the case of cleaning the wafer in the right cassette chamber 70A.
[0031]
(1) The gate valve 92 is opened according to the present invention.
(2) After the gate valve 76 is closed, aerosol is generated in the cleaning chamber 42.
(3) After the aerosol generation is completed, the purge gas supply valve 63 is opened according to the present invention, and a standby first purge gas flow rate (referred to as a standby flow rate) is set in the mass flow controller 62.
(4) The cassette gate valve 74A is opened, and the right cassette chamber 70A, the robot chamber 80, and the buffer chamber 90 are placed in a nitrogen atmosphere.
(5) The first wafer is taken out from the right cassette chamber 70A, and stands by in front of the buffer chamber 90.
(6) According to the present invention, the pressure equalizing valve 102 is opened and the pressure equalizing operation of the robot chamber 80 and the buffer chamber 90 is performed. Specifically, first, the vent valve 112 of the robot chamber 80 is opened, and the vent flow rate is set in the mass flow controller 110. Next, the pressure in the robot chamber 80 and the pressure in the buffer chamber 90 are compared. If the pressure in the robot chamber 80 is sufficiently higher than the pressure in the buffer chamber 90, the pressure equalizing valve 102 is opened. When the pressure in the robot chamber 80 becomes substantially equal to the pressure in the buffer chamber 90, the pressure equalizing valve 102 is closed.
(7) Open the gate valve 76 and load the first wafer into the buffer chamber 90.
(8) The gate valve 76 is closed, and a second purge gas flow rate for cleaning (referred to as a cleaning flow rate) is set in the mass flow controller 62.
(9) Start cleaning the first wafer.
(10) The second wafer is taken out from the right cassette chamber 70 </ b> A and stands by in front of the buffer chamber 90.
(11) After the cleaning of the first wafer is completed, the purge gas flow rate is returned to the standby flow rate.
(12) Open the gate valve 76 and load the second wafer into the buffer chamber 90 and unload the first wafer into the robot chamber 80.
(13) After closing the gate valve 76 and increasing the purge gas flow rate to the cleaning flow rate, the cleaning of the second wafer is started.
(14) Return the first wafer to the right cassette chamber 70A, take the third wafer out of the right cassette chamber 70A, and wait in front of the buffer chamber 90.
(15) After cleaning the second wafer, the purge gas flow rate is returned to the standby flow rate.
(16) The gate valve 76 is opened and the third wafer is loaded into the buffer chamber 90, while the second wafer 10 is unloaded into the robot chamber 80.
[0032]
Thereafter, the above procedure is repeated.
[0033]
In the present embodiment, the gate valve 92 is opened before generating the aerosol, and is kept open thereafter, and a certain amount of the purge gas 66 is allowed to flow even during other than cleaning.
[0034]
Further, the pressure equalization operation of the buffer chamber 90 and the robot chamber 80 during loading / unloading is performed by venting the robot chamber 80 and the cassette chamber 70A (or 70B) with nitrogen to match the pressure in the buffer chamber 90 and the cleaning chamber 42. The pressure valve 102 is opened. After the pressure difference between the buffer chamber 90 and the robot chamber 80 disappears, the pressure equalizing valve is closed and the gate valve 76 is opened. Since the pressure in the cleaning chamber 42 and the buffer chamber 90 before and after cleaning is almost constant because purge gas is constantly flowing, if a pressure equalizing operation is performed when a single shellfish wafer is loaded, at the time of subsequent wafer loading / unloading, It is only necessary to open and close the pressure equalizing valve 102.
[0035]
In the embodiment, argon aerosol is used as the aerosol and nitrogen gas is used as the acceleration gas and the purge gas. However, the types of the aerosol, the acceleration gas, and the purge gas are not limited to these.
[0036]
In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus. However, the application target of the present invention is not limited to this, and a semiconductor mask, a flat panel substrate, a magnetic disk substrate, It is obvious that the present invention can be similarly applied to a cleaning apparatus such as a flying substrate.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
In the present invention, it is not necessary to perform a pressure equalizing operation between the buffer chamber and the robot chamber before cleaning, so that the throughput is improved.
[0038]
In addition, since the gate valve that separates the buffer chamber and the cleaning chamber is not opened and closed, dust generation due to the opening and closing operation can be reduced.
[0039]
In addition, after the aerosol is generated, the gate valve that separates the buffer chamber and the robot chamber is opened while the gate valve that separates the buffer chamber and the cleaning chamber is open, but a certain amount of purge gas flows from the buffer chamber to the cleaning chamber. Since a forced flow is created, it is possible to prevent scattering of impurities (particles) due to aerosols to the robot chamber and cassette chamber.
[0040]
Furthermore, by keeping the gate valve separating the buffer chamber and the cleaning chamber open, the pressure equalizing operation is performed only at the first wafer loading, and the pressure equalizing valve is only opened and closed at the second and subsequent wafer loading / unloading. In such a case, the throughput can be further improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a pipeline diagram showing an overall configuration of an example of an aerosol wafer cleaning apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a plan view. FIG. 3 is a pipeline diagram showing a piping system in an embodiment of the invention. [Brief description of symbols]
10 ... Wafer (object to be cleaned)
20 ... aerosol nozzle 24 ... aerosol 30, 32, 52, 62, 110 ... mass flow controller 42 ... cleaning chamber 56 ... acceleration nozzle 58 ... acceleration gas 63 ... barge gas supply valve 66 ... purge gas 70A, 70B ... cassette chamber 74A, 74B ... cassette Gate valve 76, 92 ... Gate valve 80 ... Robot chamber 86 ... Robot hand 90 ... Buffer chamber 100 ... Pressure equalizing bypass pipe 102 ... Pressure equalizing valves 112, 114, 116 ... Vent valves 118, 120, 122, 124, 126 ... Pressure Total

Claims (5)

A cassette chamber that is evacuated to carry in and out a cassette containing a large number of objects to be cleaned from the outside of the apparatus, and an object to be cleaned before being cleaned are pulled out from the cassette and loaded into the next buffer chamber. In addition, a robot chamber in which a vacuum robot for handling the object to be cleaned is provided for drawing out the object to be cleaned from the buffer chamber and inserting it into a predetermined cassette, and the robot chamber and the next cleaning chamber The pressure difference between them is eliminated, and the buffer chamber for delivering the object to be cleaned and the surface of the object to be cleaned carried from the buffer chamber are maintained at a predetermined pressure for cleaning by making the aerosol collide with the surface. In an aerosol cleaning apparatus provided with a cleaning chamber,
During the aerosol generation, the gate valve that separates the buffer chamber and the cleaning chamber is kept open, and the purge gas is forced to flow from the buffer chamber to the cleaning chamber. as well as to,
An aerosol cleaning apparatus, wherein a pressure equalizing bypass pipe having a pressure equalizing valve disposed in the middle is provided between the robot chamber and the buffer chamber . A cassette chamber that is evacuated to carry in and out a cassette containing a large number of objects to be cleaned from the outside of the apparatus, and an object to be cleaned before being cleaned are pulled out from the cassette and loaded into the next buffer chamber. In addition, a robot chamber in which a vacuum robot for handling the object to be cleaned is provided for drawing out the object to be cleaned from the buffer chamber and inserting it into a predetermined cassette, and the robot chamber and the next cleaning chamber The pressure difference between them is eliminated, and the buffer chamber for delivering the object to be cleaned and the surface of the object to be cleaned carried from the buffer chamber are maintained at a predetermined pressure for cleaning by making the aerosol collide with the surface. In an aerosol cleaning apparatus provided with a cleaning chamber,
Opening a first gate valve separating the cleaning chamber and the buffer chamber;
After closing the second gate valve that separates the buffer and the robot chamber, aerosol is generated in the cleaning chamber,
After the aerosol generation is completed, a purge gas supply valve for supplying purge gas to the cleaning chamber is opened, and a purge gas / mass flow controller that controls the flow rate of the purge gas is set to a standby flow rate that is a standby purge gas flow rate.
Open the cassette gate valve that separates the robot chamber from the cassette chamber, and set the cassette chamber, the robot chamber, and the buffer chamber to a nitrogen atmosphere, and remove the first object to be cleaned from the cassette chamber. Wait,
Open a vent valve for flowing nitrogen gas into the robot chamber, and set a vent flow rate in a vent / mass flow controller that controls the amount of nitrogen gas supplied to the vent valve,
When the pressure in the robot chamber is compared with the pressure in the buffer chamber and the pressure in the robot chamber is sufficiently larger than the pressure in the buffer chamber, the pressure in the buffer chamber and the robot chamber is equalized. When the pressure in the robot chamber is substantially equal to the pressure in the buffer chamber, the pressure equalizing valve is closed,
Open the second gate valve and carry the first object to be cleaned into the buffer chamber,
Close the second gate valve, set the purge gas / mass flow controller to a cleaning flow rate that is a purge gas flow rate for cleaning, and start cleaning the first object to be cleaned,
Remove the second item to be cleaned from the cassette chamber, wait in front of the buffer chamber,
After the cleaning of the first object to be cleaned is completed, the purge gas flow rate is returned to the standby flow rate,
Open the second gate valve and carry the second article to be cleaned into the buffer chamber, and carry the first article to be washed into the robot chamber,
After closing the second gate valve and increasing the purge gas flow rate to the cleaning flow rate, the cleaning of the second object to be cleaned is started,
Return the first object to be cleaned to the cassette chamber, take out the third object to be cleaned from the cassette chamber, wait in front of the buffer chamber,
After the cleaning of the second object to be cleaned is completed, the purge gas flow rate is returned to the standby flow rate,
An aerosol cleaning method, wherein the second gate valve is opened and a third object to be cleaned is carried into the buffer chamber, while a second object to be cleaned is carried out to the robot chamber. An aerosol cleaning method comprising repeating the series of operations according to claim 2. A cassette chamber that is evacuated to carry in and out a cassette containing a large number of objects to be cleaned from the outside of the apparatus, and an object to be cleaned before being cleaned are pulled out from the cassette and loaded into the next buffer chamber. In addition, a robot chamber in which a vacuum robot for handling the object to be cleaned is provided for drawing out the object to be cleaned from the buffer chamber and inserting it into a predetermined cassette, and the robot chamber and the next cleaning chamber The pressure difference between them is eliminated, and the buffer chamber for delivering the object to be cleaned and the surface of the object to be cleaned carried from the buffer chamber are maintained at a predetermined pressure for cleaning by making the aerosol collide with the surface. In an aerosol cleaning apparatus provided with a cleaning chamber,
Opening a first gate valve that separates the cleaning chamber and the buffer chamber;
After closing the second gate valve that separates the buffer and the robot chamber, aerosol is generated in the cleaning chamber,
After the aerosol generation is completed, the purge gas supply valve for supplying the purge gas to the cleaning chamber is opened, and the purge gas / mass flow controller for controlling the flow rate of the purge gas is set to the standby flow rate that is the standby purge gas flow rate.
A cassette gate valve that separates the robot chamber from the cassette chamber is opened, the cassette chamber, the robot chamber, and the buffer chamber are placed in a nitrogen atmosphere, and the first object to be cleaned is taken out of the cassette chamber, and the buffer chamber Wait in front,
A vent valve for flowing nitrogen gas to the robot chamber is opened, and a vent flow rate is set in a vent / mass flow controller that controls the amount of nitrogen gas supplied to the vent valve,
When the pressure in the robot chamber is compared with the pressure in the buffer chamber and the pressure in the robot chamber is sufficiently larger than the pressure in the buffer chamber, the pressure in the buffer chamber and the robot chamber is equalized. When the pressure in the robot chamber is substantially equal to the pressure in the buffer chamber, the pressure equalizing valve is closed,
The second gate valve is opened, and the first object to be cleaned is carried into the buffer chamber;
The second gate valve is closed, the purge gas / mass flow controller is set to a cleaning flow rate that is a purge gas flow rate for cleaning, and cleaning of the first object to be cleaned is started,
Remove the second item to be cleaned from the cassette chamber and wait in front of the buffer chamber,
After the cleaning of the first object to be cleaned, the purge gas flow rate is returned to the standby flow rate,
The second gate valve is opened, the second object to be cleaned is carried into the buffer chamber, and the first object to be cleaned is carried out to the robot chamber,
After the second gate valve is closed and the purge gas flow rate is increased to the cleaning flow rate, the cleaning of the second object to be cleaned is started,
The first object to be cleaned is returned to the cassette chamber, the third object to be cleaned is taken out of the cassette chamber, and waited in front of the buffer chamber.
After the cleaning of the second object to be cleaned is completed, the purge gas flow rate is set to the standby flow rate,
An aerosol comprising: control means for opening the second gate valve to bring a third article to be cleaned into the buffer chamber and to carry the second article to be washed out into the robot chamber. Cleaning device. The aerosol cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the operation by the control means is repeated.

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