摘要 |
The present invention is related to a method and apparatus for cleaning semiconductor substrates, wherein a nucleation structure is mounted facing a surface of the substrate to be cleaned, said nucleation structure having nucleation sites on a surface of the structure. The substrate and structure are brought into contact with a cleaning liquid, which is subsequently subjected to acoustic waves of a given frequency, e.g. megasonic waves. The nucleation template features easier nucleation formation than the surface that needs to be cleaned. This could be obtained in different ways: make a template with a higher contact angle when in contact with the liquid than the substrate surface to be clean. Therefore, bubbles nucleate on the structure and not on the surface to be cleaned. The invention is related to an apparatus comprising a tank, a transducer and a means for mounting the substrate and nucleation structure in the above manner. |