Patents by Inventor Anthony Nichtawitz

Anthony Nichtawitz has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Wafer cleaning system
    Patent number: 6308369
    Abstract: A wafer cleaning apparatus provides two opposed brushes for brushing a vertically disposed wafer in a tank which can contain a process liquid. A pressure controller adaptively controls the pressure exerted by the brushes on the wafer to compensate for brush wear. Rim driving wheels engage the wafer periphery with a porous jacket coupled to a fluid delivery system, thereby simultaneously rotating and cleaning the periphery of the wafer. The apparatus includes a fluid delivery system for separately and independently delivering a plurality of constituents of a cleaning solution to the brushes, thereby ensuring that a freshly mixed cleaning solution reaches the wafer. The tank can be filled with a process liquid through which megasonic waves provided by a transducer can propagate and impinge upon the wafer thereby enhancing the cleaning of the wafer or the brushes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2001
    Assignee: Silikinetic Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Alejandro Garcia, Brent Krick, Anthony Nichtawitz, Daniel Nordeen, Josh Oen, Kenneth Smith, Vincent Suro, Daniel Wolf
  • Wafer cleaning method and system
    Patent number: 6070284
    Abstract: A wafer cleaning apparatus provides two opposed brushes for brushing a vertically disposed wafer in a tank which can contain a process liquid. A pressure controller adaptively controls the pressure exerted by the brushes on the wafer to compensate for brush wear. Rim driving wheels engage the wafer periphery with a porous jacket coupled to a fluid delivery system, thereby simultaneously rotating and cleaning the periphery of the wafer. The apparatus includes a fluid delivery system for separately and independently delivering a plurality of constituents of a cleaning solution to the brushes, thereby ensuring that a freshly mixed cleaning solution reaches the wafer. The tank can be filled with a process liquid through which megasonic waves provided by a transducer can propagate and impinge upon the wafer thereby enhancing the cleaning of the wafer or the brushes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignee: Silikinetic Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Alejandro Garcia, Brent Krick, Anthony Nichtawitz, Daniel Nordeen, Josh Oen, Kenneth Smith, Vincent Suro, Daniel Wolf