Patents
US 10020217 B2: Systems and methods for treating substrates with cryogenic fluid mixtures
- Granted
- 2018-07-10
- Filed
- 2015-10-06 application 14876242
- Type
- Utility · 20 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
Disclosed herein are systems and methods for treating the surface of a microelectronic substrate, using a cryogenic fluid mixture used to treat an exposed surface of the microelectronic substrate. The fluid mixture may be expanded through a nozzle to form an aerosol spray or gas cluster jet (GCJ) spray may impinge the microelectronic substrate and remove particles from the microelectronic substrate's surface. The fluid mixture may include nitrogen, argon, helium, neon, xenon, krypton, carbon dioxide, or any combination thereof. The incoming fluid mixture may be maintained pressure greater than atmospheric pressure and at a temperature greater than the condensation temperature of the fluid mixture. The fluid mixture may be expanded into the treatment chamber to form an aerosol or gas cluster spray. In this embodiment, the nozzle may be positioned within 50 mm of the microelectronic substrate during the treatment, more preferably within 10 mm of the microelectronic substrate.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg180710.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEL FSI, INC. 34 patents | US company or organization | Chaska, MN | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeffery W. Butterbaugh | Eden Prairie, MN | 14 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Chimaobi W. Mbanaso | Chaska, MN | 8 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| David S. Becker | Excelsior, MN | 10 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| H01L | Semiconductor devices not covered by class h10 | H01L21/67051 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| H10P | Generic processes or apparatus for the manufacture or treatment of devices covered by class h10 | H10P72/70 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| B08B | Cleaning in general; prevention of fouling in general | B08B5/04 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-07-30 | Correction Conversion | TEL FSI, INC. signed 2019-12-31 | TEL MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING OF AMERICA, INC. CHASKA, MN | 53366/139 | PASDL, file of 2026-10-15 |
| 2015-10-21 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | BECKER, DAVID SCOTT signed 2015-10-08 BUTTERBAUGH, JEFFERY W. signed 2015-10-08 MBANASO, CHIMAOBI W. signed 2015-10-08 | TEL FSI, INC. CHASKA, MN | 36850/19 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.