BRUSH SCRUBBING EMERGES AS FUTURE WAFER-CLEANING TECHNOLOGY

In early wafer scrubbers, high-pressure water sprays and nylon brushes were notorious for damaging the wafer surface, Silicon manufacturers were among the first to recognize the ability of polyvinyl alcohol (PV A) brush cleaning to remove particles without damaging the surface of a prime silicon wafer. The PVA brush material is a soft, sponge-like m aterial that is highly compressible, This material allows the mechanic al component of wafer cleaning to occur without damaging the wafer sur face. The silicon manufacturers demonstrated that PVA brush scrubbing is not only able to remove large particles (greater than or equal to 1 mu m), but is highly effective for the removal of submicron particles as well, Due to its process performance (especially, submicron partic le removal), process flexibility, single-wafer processing configuratio n, and environmentally friendly process chemistry, brush scrubbing is a viable and highly desirable cleaning option for next-generation tech nology.