Development of Novel Optical Techniques for Cleaning Contaminated Surfaces

从固体表面去除颗粒污染物是制造集成电路（IC）、高密度磁存储器、大面积显示器、高功率激光器和天文光学器件以及其它电子和光学器件的主要关注点。 随着小型装置技术的发展趋势，对改进的颗粒去除技术的需求变得至关重要。 在以前的工作中，艾伦开发了一种称为激光辅助颗粒去除（LAPR）的创新技术，使用激光和介质将激光束的能量转化为颗粒中的动能，从固体表面去除颗粒。 在这个项目中，一个两个长期的努力将被用来实验识别控制LAPR过程中的重要变量，并将由此产生的信息整合到一个物理上有意义的模型来预测和优化LAPR为不同的粒子/基板/环境系统。 这种经验和机械相结合的方法将允许向例如半导体工艺设备制造商进行有效的技术转让。 主要目的是开发一个模型的LAPR过程中，可用于优化设计的颗粒去除工艺模块清洗关键表面。 为此，将继续与工业伙伴合作。 实现这一目标的一个重要步骤是开发一个模型，用于预测特定污染物与表面结合的粘附力的强度。 这将通过使用Walz开发的测量胶体相互作用力的新光学技术来实现。 还提出了一种新的技术，用于去除粘附颗粒的辐射压力的基础上的原则的发展。 在这里，一个紧密聚焦的激光束将被用来“推”粒子离开透明基板。 该技术将特别适用于清洁高能光学器件。 该技术的一个主要优点是可以在不使用任何液体的情况下进行清洁。 由于所施加的辐射力可以独立测量，该技术也可以用于直接测量粘附力，这将是一个非常有用的研究工具。 ***

9612274 Walz Removal of particulate contamination from solid surfaces is a major concern in the fabrication of integrated circuits (IC's), high density magnetic storage, large area displays, high power laser and astronomical optics, and other electronic and optical devices. With the trend toward smaller scale device technology, the need for improved particle removal techniques has become critical. In previous work, Allen developed an innovative technique called Laser Assisted Particle Removal (LAPR) to remove particulates from solid surfaces using a laser and a medium to transfer energy from the laser beam to kinetic energy in the particles. In this project, a two-prolonged-effort will be used to identify experimentally the important variables in controlling the LAPR process and to integrate the resulting information into a physically meaningful model to predict and optimize LAPR for different particle/substrate/ambient systems. This combined empirical and mechanistic approach will allow efficient technology transfer to, for example, semiconductor process equipment manufacturers. The primary objective is to develop a model of the LAPR process that can be used to optimize the design of a particle removal process module for cleaning critical surfaces. Toward that end, collaborations with industrial partners will be continued. An important step in reaching this objective is to develop a model for predicting the strength of the adhesion force binding specific contaminants to surfaces. This will be accomplished using the novel optical techniques developed by Walz to measure colloidal interaction forces. Also proposed is the development of a new technique for removing adhered particles based on the principle of radiation pressure. Here, a tightly focused laser beam will be used to "push" particles off transparent substrates. The technique would be especially useful for cleaning high energy optical devices. A major advantage of the technique is that it should be possible to perform the cleaning without the use of any liquids. Since the applied radiation force can be measured independently, the technique could also be used for measuring directly the adhesion force, which would be an extremely useful research tool. ***