JP4938357B2 - Cleaning method and cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for cleaning an object, and more particularly to a cleaning method and apparatus suitable for cleaning semiconductors.

The semiconductor is immersed in the cleaning liquid or cleaned by spraying the cleaning liquid. As the cleaning liquid, a solvent that dissolves and removes dirt is used. The solvent of the cleaning liquid is easily vaporized, and the vaporized cleaning liquid causes the working environment to deteriorate. Accordingly, the working environment can be improved by reducing the amount of the cleaning liquid used. As a method of cleaning with a small amount of cleaning liquid, a method has been developed in which the cleaning liquid is sprayed in a mist form from a nozzle and sprayed onto the surface of the object to be cleaned. (See Patent Documents 1 to 3)
JP 2006-41065 A JP-A-2005-349301 JP 2004-335838 A

  The cleaning methods described in these publications have the feature that the amount of cleaning liquid used can be reduced, but have the disadvantage that the entire surface of the object to be cleaned cannot be cleaned cleanly. In particular, there is a drawback that fine gaps and voids in semiconductor integrated circuits and the like cannot be cleaned cleanly. This is because the mist-like cleaning liquid cannot effectively enter narrow gaps or depressions on the surface of the object to be cleaned.

  The present invention has been developed for the purpose of solving this drawback. An important object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning method and a cleaning apparatus that can cleanly clean the object to be cleaned from a minute gap while reducing the amount of the cleaning liquid used.

The cleaning method of the present invention has the following configuration in order to achieve the above-described object.
In the cleaning method, the cleaning liquid W is ultrasonically vibrated to form the mist M, and the mist M is supplied to the surface of the target object H to clean the target object H.
Furthermore, the cleaning method of the present invention removes the large mist contained in the mist M of the cleaning liquid W by a mechanism for separating the large mist provided in the passage of the carrier gas containing the mist M, and removes the mist. The average particle size is reduced and supplied to the surface of the object H to be cleaned.

  In the cleaning method of the present invention, the cleaning liquid W is ultrasonically vibrated to form a mist M, a carrier gas is supplied to the mist M, and the mist M is sprayed onto the surface of the object H to be cleaned through the carrier gas. H can be washed. Further, in the cleaning method of the present invention, the flow rate of the carrier gas can be set to 1 liter / min or more with respect to 1 W of input power of the ultrasonic vibrator 2 that ultrasonically vibrates the cleaning liquid W.

The method of cleaning the invention, the cleaning liquid W by ultrasonic vibration and the mist M, supplied to the surface of the object to be cleaned H to remove mist of large included in the mist M in the demister 38. Further, the cleaning method of the present invention, washing liquid W and volatile liquid.

The cleaning apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration in order to achieve the above-described object.
The cleaning device ultrasonically atomizes the cleaning liquid W to atomize the mist M, and supplies the mist M atomized by the ultrasonic atomizer 1 to the surface of the object H to be cleaned. And a supply unit 5. The ultrasonic atomizer 1 includes an ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4 into which the cleaning liquid W is put, an ultrasonic vibrator 2 that ultrasonically vibrates the cleaning liquid W in the ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4 and atomizes the mist M, An ultrasonic power source 3 for supplying high-frequency power to the sonic transducer 2 and a mechanism for separating large mist, which is provided in a path of a carrier gas containing mist M, are provided. The cleaning apparatus supplies the mist M from which the large mist is removed from the mist M atomized by the ultrasonic atomizer 1 from the supply unit 5 to the surface of the object H to be cleaned. Then, the object H to be cleaned is cleaned.

Cleaning apparatus of the present invention, Ru provided with a gas supply source 8 for forced air carrier gas to the ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4. In the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the gas supply source 8 can forcibly blow the carrier gas into the ultrasonic atomization chamber 4 with an air flow of 1 liter / min or more with respect to the input power 1 W of the ultrasonic vibrator 2. . The cleaning device of the present invention, the gas supply source 8, that have a air volume variation mechanism 37 for changing the air volume of the carrier gas for blowing air to the ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4. Further, the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, you the carrier gas and air. Furthermore, the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the passage of the carrier gas containing the mist M, Ru provided demister 38 for removing mist large.

  The cleaning method and cleaning apparatus of the present invention reduce the amount of cleaning liquid used and reduce the cleaning environment compared to conventional methods in which the object to be cleaned is immersed in the cleaning liquid or the cleaning liquid is directly applied to the surface of the object to be cleaned. While improving, there is a feature that fine gaps and dents in the object to be cleaned can be cleaned cleanly. This is because the present invention supplies the cleaning liquid to the surface of the object to be cleaned as ultrafine particles of nano size by ultrasonically vibrating the cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid that has become nano-sized ultra-fine particles smoothly enters fine gaps and depressions on the surface of the object to be cleaned, and cleans the dirt cleanly. Furthermore, by using nano-sized ultrafine particles for the cleaning liquid, a large number of cleaning liquid particles can be obtained with a small amount of cleaning liquid, and these particles are supplied to the surface of the object to be cleaned and enter fine gaps and depressions. And clean all over. For this reason, an extremely excellent feature is realized that the object to be cleaned can be cleaned cleanly while limiting the amount of the cleaning liquid to be used to be small.

  The present invention also vibrates the fine particles of the cleaning liquid against the surface of the object to be cleaned by oscillating the cleaning liquid ultrasonically to form a mist and spraying the mist onto the surface of the object to be cleaned with a carrier gas. Dirt can be removed neatly. In addition, there is a feature that the dirt dissolved in the fine particles of the cleaning liquid can be cleaned by blowing off with a carrier gas.

  In addition, according to the present invention, an object to be cleaned can be cleaned cleanly by using a large amount of carrier gas to efficiently make the cleaning liquid into very fine particles. This is because the efficiency with which the cleaning liquid is atomized into mist can be improved by increasing the supply amount of the carrier gas, and the cleaning liquid can be made finer mist by increasing the carrier gas.

  Furthermore, the present invention removes large particles from a mist obtained by ultrasonic vibration with a demister and supplies the mist to the surface of the object to be cleaned. It can be effectively cleaned.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the examples shown below exemplify a cleaning method and a cleaning apparatus for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the present invention does not specify the cleaning method and the cleaning apparatus as follows.

  Further, in this specification, in order to facilitate understanding of the scope of claims, numbers corresponding to the members shown in the examples are indicated in the “claims” and “means for solving problems” sections. It is added to the members. However, the members shown in the claims are not limited to the members in the embodiments.

  The cleaning method and the cleaning apparatus of the present invention atomize the cleaning liquid into mist by ultrasonic vibration. The atomized cleaning liquid is supplied to the surface of the object to be cleaned, and the surface of the object to be cleaned is cleaned with the cleaning liquid of mist. In the present invention, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the surface of the object to be cleaned in a fine mist state, and the surface is cleaned cleanly from the minute gaps on the surface of the object to be cleaned. The cleaning liquid mist can enter a narrow gap or depression by reducing the particle size. A semiconductor integrated circuit or the like that is cleaned by spraying a cleaning liquid is processed with a size smaller than a micron size in order to increase the density. High-density integrated circuits have gaps and depressions that are even narrower than the micron size, and it is required to clean them cleanly. In the cleaning method and apparatus of the present invention, in order to cleanly clean such fine gaps and depressions, the cleaning liquid is atomized by ultrasonic vibration to form nano-sized fine particles.

  The particle size of the cleaning liquid mist atomized by ultrasonic vibration can be controlled by the type of cleaning liquid, the amount of air supplied to the mist, the temperature of the cleaning liquid, and the vibration frequency of the ultrasonic vibrator. The particle size of the mist varies depending on the type of cleaning liquid. For example, the particle size of mist obtained by ultrasonically vibrating 30 ° C. ethyl alcohol is 1 nm, and the particle size of mist obtained by ultrasonically vibrating 30 ° C. water is 100 nm. When the cleaning liquid is an ethyl alcohol aqueous solution, the particle diameter of the mist changes between 100 nm and 1 nm depending on the temperature of the cleaning liquid and the amount of air supplied. For example, when the temperature of a 20 mol% aqueous ethyl alcohol solution is 20 ° C., the mist particle size is 1 nm, and when the temperature is 20 ° C. to 50 ° C., the mist particle size is 1 nm and 100 nm. It becomes a state. Accordingly, the aqueous ethyl alcohol solution can be increased in temperature to increase the particle size. Further, when the temperature of the ethyl alcohol aqueous solution is 30 ° C. and the air volume is 15 liters / minute, the mist has a particle size of 1 nm and 100 nm. When the air volume is increased from this state to 50 liters / minute, the particle size of the mist becomes 1 nm, and the one with 100 nm disappears. Therefore, the air volume can be increased to reduce the mist particle size. However, in the above test, the input power of the ultrasonic transducer is 10 W and the vibration frequency is 2.4 MHz. It is also possible to control the mist particle size by changing the vibration frequency of the ultrasonic vibrator. In this case, it is possible to increase the vibration frequency and reduce the particle size of the mist.

  A cleaning apparatus for atomizing the cleaning liquid into mist by the above method is shown in FIG. The cleaning apparatus in this figure supplies ultrasonic mist M 1 that is atomized into mist M by ultrasonically oscillating cleaning liquid W, and supplies mist M atomized by this ultrasonic atomizer 1 to the object H to be cleaned. And supply unit 5.

  The ultrasonic atomizer 1 includes an ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4 having a closed structure that supplies a cleaning liquid W, and a plurality of atomizing the mist M by ultrasonically vibrating the cleaning liquid W in the ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4. An ultrasonic transducer 2, a cylindrical body 6 disposed above each ultrasonic transducer 2, and an ultrasonic power source 3 connected to the ultrasonic transducer 2 are provided.

  In the cleaning device of FIG. 1, the ultrasonic atomization chamber 4 and the supply unit 5 are separated separately and connected by a connection duct 7. This cleaning device supplies the mist M of the cleaning liquid W atomized in the ultrasonic atomization chamber 4 from the supply unit 5 to the object to be cleaned H.

  The ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4 stores the cleaning liquid W at a predetermined level. The cleaning liquid W is supplied so as to keep the cleaning liquid W at a constant liquid level. The apparatus shown in the figure is connected to an ultrasonic atomization chamber 4 via a pump 10 and a stock solution tank 11 storing a wash solution W, and the cleaning solution W is supplied from the stock solution tank 11 to keep the liquid level constant. Yes.

  In the illustrated apparatus, a cylindrical body 6 is disposed in an ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4. The cylindrical body 6 is disposed above each ultrasonic transducer 2 and efficiently atomizes the cleaning liquid W ultrasonically vibrated by the ultrasonic transducer 2 into the mist M. The cylindrical body 6 has a cylindrical shape with an opening 12 at the upper end. The cylindrical body 6 is filled with the cleaning liquid W, and ultrasonic vibration is applied to the cleaning liquid W in the cylindrical body 6 toward the spray port 12 so that the spray liquid is atomized and scattered from the spray port 12 to the mist M. The ultrasonic transducer 2 shown in the figure emits ultrasonic waves upward. Accordingly, the cylindrical body 6 is disposed in a vertical posture above the ultrasonic transducer 2. The cylindrical body 6 shown in the figure is a conical horn that becomes gradually thinner toward the upper end. However, the cylindrical body can also be an exponential horn whose inner surface has an exponential curve. The cylinder 6 of the conical horn or the exponential horn has a feature that the ultrasonic vibration can be efficiently transmitted to the inside and the cleaning liquid W can be efficiently atomized into the mist M. However, in the present invention, the cylindrical body may be a cylindrical shape, an elliptical cylindrical shape, or a polygonal cylindrical shape.

  The inner shape of the lower end opening of the cylindrical body 6 is smaller or larger than the outer shape of the ultrasonic vibrator 2 so that the ultrasonic vibration can be efficiently transmitted to the inside, and the liquid column P that is ultrasonically vibrated is the inner surface. To ascend along. For example, the inner diameter of the opening at the lower end of the cylindrical body 6 is 50 to 150%, preferably 60 to 100% of the outer diameter of the ultrasonic transducer 2.

  Further, the height of the cylindrical body 6 and the size of the spray port 12 are ultrasonic vibrations so that an air layer is not formed between the inner surface of the cylindrical body 6 and the liquid column P along the inside of the cylindrical body 6. It is designed that the liquid column P due to rises along the inside of the cylindrical body 6 and scatters as mist M in the vicinity of the spray port 12. However, in other words, the cylindrical body 6 can be made lower than the liquid column P so that the liquid column P protrudes from the spray port 12. Therefore, the height of the cylindrical body 6 and the size of the spray port 12 are designed to optimum values depending on the size, output, frequency, etc. of the ultrasonic transducer 2.

  1 has a lower end disposed below the liquid surface of the cleaning liquid W and a spray port 12 disposed above the liquid surface. The cylindrical body 6 guides ultrasonic vibration below the liquid level to the inside, and scatters the cleaning liquid W as mist M from the spray port 12 located above the liquid level. The cylindrical body 6 shown in the figure is arranged away from the ultrasonic transducer 2 upward. However, although the cylindrical body is not shown, an ultrasonic vibrator can be disposed at the bottom, and the opening at the lower end of the cylindrical body can be closed with the ultrasonic vibrator. The cylindrical body whose lower end is closed by an ultrasonic vibrator opens an inlet for supplying the cleaning liquid to the inside, and supplies the cleaning liquid from the inlet to the inside of the cylinder.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the cylindrical body 6 opens an injection port 14 for supplying a carrier gas to the mist M atomized from the spray port 12, and connects the injection port 14 to the gas supply source 8. ing. The carrier gas supplied from the gas supply source 8 is supplied to the mist M from the jet port 14, and the mist M sprayed from the spray port 12 is atomized into the carrier gas. The carrier gas containing the mist M atomized in this state is sprayed on the surface of the cleaning object H to clean the cleaning object H. The carrier gas is air. However, the carrier gas is not limited to air, and may be any gas capable of atomizing the cleaning liquid, for example, any gas such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide. In the illustrated apparatus, the gas supply source 8 is a blower 8A, and the carrier gas is air. The blower 8A of the gas supply source 8 sucks air and supplies the carrier gas air to the mist M. The ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4 having a closed structure exhausts air supplied from the blower 8 </ b> A to the connection duct 7 and blows it to the supply unit 5 through the connection duct 7. Therefore, the device for forcibly blowing the carrier gas with the blower 8A into the ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4 having the closed structure does not provide a blower for forcibly blowing the carrier gas in the connecting duct 7, and the supply unit from the ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4 is provided. The carrier gas can be blown to 5. However, it is also possible to connect a blower (not shown) to the connection duct and forcibly blow the carrier gas from the ultrasonic atomization chamber to the supply unit with this blower.

  The air volume of the carrier gas supplied from the gas supply source 8 to the ultrasonic atomization chamber 4 affects the particle size of the mist M to be atomized. When the air volume of the carrier gas is increased, the particle size of the mist M becomes smaller. The carrier gas needs to be increased as the amount of atomization of the mist M increases. The amount of atomization of the mist M increases by increasing the input power of the ultrasonic transducer 2. Therefore, the air volume of the carrier gas needs to be increased in proportion to the input power of the ultrasonic transducer 2. From this, the air volume of the carrier gas supplied from the gas supply source 8 to the mist M is 1 liter / minute or more, preferably 1.5 W or more, more preferably, with respect to the input power 1 W of the ultrasonic transducer 2. 3W or more.

  The gas supply source 8 shown in the figure includes an air volume changing mechanism 37 that changes the air volume of the carrier gas blown into the ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4. The air volume changing mechanism 37 shown in the figure is an inverter 37A that controls the operation of the blower 8A. This air volume changing mechanism 37 controls the air speed of the carrier gas supplied to the ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4 by controlling the rotational speed of the fan of the blower 8A by the inverter 37A. However, the air volume changing mechanism can also be disposed as a damper 37B on the discharge side of the blower 8A, as indicated by a chain line in the figure. The damper 37 </ b> B adjusts the opening area through which the carrier gas passes and adjusts the air volume of the carrier gas supplied to the ultrasonic atomization chamber 4.

  The cylindrical body 6 in FIG. 2 is provided with a duct 15 inside the plane with a double wall surface. The duct 15 is connected to an air outlet 14 opened at the upper end of the cylindrical body 6. The carrier gas supplied to the duct 15 is exhausted from the jet port 14. The fumarole 14 is opened in a slit shape around the upper end of the cylindrical body 6. The slit-shaped air outlet 14 exhausts the carrier gas in a ring shape. Mist M is discharged inside the carrier gas exhausted in a ring shape. The cylinder 6 having this structure sprays the mist M inside the fresh carrier gas. For this reason, the cleaning liquid W can be efficiently atomized into the mist M. This is because the mist M is atomized in the carrier gas having a low cleaning liquid concentration.

  The cylinder 6 in FIG. 2 is connected to the connection duct 16 so as to be detachable. Although not shown, a plurality of cylinders are connected to the connection duct 16. The cylinder 6 of FIG. 2 is provided with a male screw 17 on the outer periphery of the lower end, and the connecting duct 16 is provided with a female screw hole 18 into which the male screw 17 of the cylinder 6 is screwed. The cylinder 6 is connected to the connecting duct 16 by screwing the male screw 17 into the female screw of the female screw hole 18. The connecting duct 16 is provided with a carrier gas supply duct 19 therein. The cylinder 6 is connected to the connection duct 16, the inlet of the duct 15 is connected to the supply duct 19 of the connection duct 16, and the carrier gas is transferred from the supply duct 19 of the connection duct 16 to the duct 15 of the cylinder 6. Supplied. The cylindrical body 6 in FIG. 2 is provided with ring grooves in the upper and bottom surfaces of the male screw 17 and O-rings 20 and 21 are inserted therein. The O-rings 20 and 21 are in close contact with the inner surface of the female screw hole 18 in a state where the cylinder 6 is connected to the connection duct 16, and prevent gas leakage at the connection portion between the connection duct 16 and the cylinder 6. That is, the cylinder 6 is connected to the connection duct 16 in an airtight state.

  In the ultrasonic atomizer 1 described above, the ultrasonic vibrator 2 is ultrasonically vibrated to scatter the cleaning liquid W as the mist M from the spray port 12 of the cylindrical body 6. The cleaning liquid W is ultrasonically vibrated inside the cylindrical body 6 and scattered as mist M from the spray port 12. The ultrasonic atomizer 1 shown in the figure has an ultrasonic transducer 2 disposed upward. The ultrasonic vibrator 2 radiates ultrasonic waves upward from the bottom toward the inside of the cylindrical body 6 to ultrasonically vibrate the cleaning liquid W, and pushes up the cleaning liquid W inside the cylindrical body 6, Spatter as mist M. The ultrasonic transducer 2 emits ultrasonic waves in the vertical direction.

  As described above, the separation device including the cylindrical body 6 has an advantage that the cleaning liquid W in the ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4 can be efficiently atomized into the mist M. However, the separation device of the present invention does not necessarily need to be provided with a cylinder. A separation apparatus without a cylinder can be atomized into mist from the surface of the liquid column generated on the liquid surface by ultrasonically vibrating the cleaning liquid with an ultrasonic vibrator in the ultrasonic atomization chamber.

  The ultrasonic atomizer 1 in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 2 and an ultrasonic power source 3 that ultrasonically vibrates these ultrasonic transducers 2. The ultrasonic transducer 2 is fixed below the cylindrical body 6. An ultrasonic atomizer 1 shown in the figure includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 2. As described above, the ultrasonic atomizer 1 including the plurality of ultrasonic vibrators 2 has an advantage that a large amount of the cleaning liquid W can be efficiently atomized into the mist M. However, the ultrasonic atomizer includes one ultrasonic vibrator and can atomize the cleaning liquid into mist with a single ultrasonic vibrator. The number of ultrasonic vibrators provided in the ultrasonic atomization chamber is variously changed according to the required amount of atomization.

  The mist M of the cleaning liquid W atomized in the ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4 is supplied to the supply unit 5. In order to transfer the mist M to the supply unit 5, the illustrated apparatus connects the supply unit 5 to the ultrasonic atomization chamber 4 by a connection duct 7.

  Further, the apparatus of FIG. 1 sucks the mist M above the spray port 12 of the cylindrical body 6 in order to efficiently collect the mist M scattered from the spray port 12 of the cylindrical body 6 and supply it to the connecting duct 7. Part 9 is provided. The suction portion 9 shown in the figure is a cylindrical pipe and is arranged in a vertical posture above the cylindrical body 6. The suction portion 9, which is a cylindrical pipe, has a lower end disposed above the cylindrical body 6 and an upper end extending above the ultrasonic atomization chamber 4. The suction part 9 shown in the figure is located at the upper end edge of the cylindrical body 6 and arranges the lower end edge of the cylindrical pipe. However, the suction part can be arranged in a state where the lower end part is wrapped on the upper part of the cylinder, or the lower end edge can be arranged away from the upper end edge of the cylinder. Further, the opening at the lower end of the suction portion 9 has a larger opening area than the spray port 12 of the cylinder 6 so that the mist M scattered from the upper end of the cylinder 6 can be collected without leakage. The suction part 9 has an upper end connected to the upper part of the ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4, and this connection part is connected to the connection duct 7 so that the mist M collected by the suction part 9 is transferred to the connection duct 7. I have to. However, the inhalation part is not necessarily provided.

Further, in the apparatus of FIG. 1, a discharge port 1 </ b> A is opened on the upper surface of the ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4, and a connecting duct 7 is connected thereto. Further, the ultrasonic atomizing chamber 4 shown in the figure is provided with a demister 38 for removing the atomized large water particles at the outlet 1A. Since this apparatus removes the large mist discharged from the ultrasonic atomization chamber 4 by the demister 38 and supplies it to the supply unit 5, the average particle diameter of the mist supplied to the supply unit 5 can be reduced. Therefore, the supply unit 5 supplies only fine mist, Ru can be effectively cleaned cleaning object H with a washing liquid of a fine mist.

  The supply unit 55 sprays the atomized mist M onto the cleaning object H to clean the surface of the cleaning object H. The supply unit 5 in FIG. 1 is a nozzle 5 </ b> A that injects mist M onto an object H to be cleaned. Nozzle 5A injects carrier gas containing mist M on the surface of cleaning object H, and cleans cleaning object H.

  Using the apparatus shown in the figure, the ethyl alcohol of the cleaning liquid W can be atomized as follows. Ethyl alcohol which is the cleaning liquid W is supplied to the ultrasonic atomization chamber. The cleaning liquid W is atomized into mist M by ultrasonic vibration with an ultrasonic vibrator having an input power of the ultrasonic vibrator of 10 W and a vibration frequency of 2.4 MHz. The temperature of the cleaning liquid W is 30 ° C., the carrier gas supplied to the ultrasonic atomization chamber is air, and the air volume is 10 liters / minute. The average particle diameter of the cleaning liquid W mist M is 1 nm.

It is a schematic block diagram of the washing | cleaning apparatus concerning one Example of this invention. It is a cross-sectional front view which shows the cylinder of the washing | cleaning apparatus shown in FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic atomizer 1A ... Discharge port 2 ... Ultrasonic vibrator 3 ... Ultrasonic power supply 4 ... Ultrasonic atomization chamber 5 ... Supply part 5A ... Nozzle 6 ... Cylindrical body 7 ... Connection duct 8 ... Gas supply source 8A DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Air blower 9 ... Inhalation part 10 ... Pump 11 ... Concentration tank 12 ... Spraying port 14 ... Foaming port 15 ... Duct 16 ... Connection duct 17 ... Male screw 18 ... Female screw hole 19 ... Supply duct 20 ... O-ring 21 ... O-ring 37 ... Air volume change mechanism 37A ... Inverter
37B ... Damper 38 ... Demister H ... Object to be cleaned P ... Liquid column M ... Mist W ... Cleaning liquid

Claims (3)

A cleaning liquid (W) that is a volatile liquid is ultrasonically vibrated into a mist (M), and this mist (M) is supplied to the surface of the object to be cleaned (H) to clean the object to be cleaned (H). A method,
A demister (38) for separating large mist, which is provided in the passage of the carrier gas containing mist (M), removes the large mist contained in the mist (M) of the cleaning liquid (W), and A cleaning method, characterized in that the average particle size is reduced and supplied to the surface of the object to be cleaned (H) via air as carrier gas . Ultrasonic atomizer (1) that ultrasonically vibrates cleaning liquid (W), which is a volatile liquid, into mist (M), and mist atomized by this ultrasonic atomizer (1) ( M) and a supply unit (5) for supplying the surface of the object (H) to be cleaned.The ultrasonic atomizer (1) includes an ultrasonic atomization chamber (4) for storing the cleaning liquid (W), The ultrasonic vibrator (2) that ultrasonically vibrates the cleaning liquid (W) in the ultrasonic atomization chamber (4) into the mist (M), and the ultrasonic vibrator that supplies high-frequency power to the ultrasonic vibrator (2) A sonic power source (3) and a demister (38) of a mechanism for separating a large mist, which is provided in a passage for a carrier gas containing mist (M),
Further, the ultrasonic atomization chamber (4) is provided with a gas supply source (8) for forcibly blowing the air of the carrier gas, and the gas supply source (8) blows air to the ultrasonic atomization chamber (4). It has an air volume change mechanism (37) that changes the air volume of the carrier gas,
The supply unit (5) covers the mist (M) from which the large mist has been removed by the demister (38) of the mechanism that separates the large mist from the mist (M) atomized by the ultrasonic atomizer (1). A cleaning device that supplies the surface of the object to be cleaned (H) to clean the object to be cleaned (H). Gas supply source (8), for the input power 1W ultrasonic transducer (2), 1 liter / min or more in air volume in claim 2 for forced air carrier gas to the ultrasonic atomizing chamber (4) The cleaning device described.

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