Abstract: A substrate cleaning apparatus comprises an outer shell constructed such that the outer shell is selectively openable or hermetically closable to form a sealed space, an inner shell enclosed within the outer shell and having a holding member for holding a substrate, and a dispenser unit for feeding at least one of gas and liquid into the inner shell. Within the sealed space formed by the outer shell, a highly gas-tight space is formed by the inner shell to permit cleaning of the substrate within the highly gas-tight space. Also disclosed are a dispenser, a substrate holding mechanism and a substrate cleaning chamber, which are suitable for use with the substrate cleaning apparatus, and substrate cleaning processes making use of these dispenser, substrate holding mechanism and substrate cleaning chamber, respectively.

Abstract: A substrate cleaning apparatus comprises an outer shell constructed such that the outer shell is selectively openable or hermetically closable to form a sealed space, an inner shell enclosed within the outer shell and having a holding member for holding a substrate, and a dispenser unit for feeding at least one of gas and liquid into the inner shell. Within the sealed space formed by the outer shell, a highly gas-tight space is formed by the inner shell to permit cleaning of the substrate within the highly gas-tight space. Also disclosed are a dispenser, a substrate holding mechanism and a substrate cleaning chamber, which are suitable for use with the substrate cleaning apparatus, and substrate cleaning processes making use of these dispenser, substrate holding mechanism and substrate cleaning chamber, respectively.

Abstract: A substrate cleaning apparatus comprises an outer shell constructed such that the outer shell is selectively openable or hermetically closable to form a sealed space, an inner shell enclosed within the outer shell and having a holding member for holding a substrate, and a dispenser unit for feeding at least one of gas and liquid into the inner shell. Within the sealed space formed by the outer shell, a highly gas-tight space is formed by the inner shell to permit cleaning of the substrate within the highly gas-tight space. Also disclosed are a dispenser, a substrate holding mechanism and a substrate cleaning chamber, which are suitable for use with the substrate cleaning apparatus, and substrate cleaning processes making use of these dispenser, substrate holding mechanism and substrate cleaning chamber, respectively.

Abstract: A substrate cleaning apparatus comprises an outer shell constructed such that the outer shell is selectively openable or hermetically closable to form a sealed space, an inner shell enclosed within the outer shell and having a holding member for holding a substrate, and a dispenser unit for feeding at least one of gas and liquid into the inner shell. Within the sealed space formed by the outer shell, a highly gas-tight space is formed by the inner shell to permit cleaning of the substrate within the highly gas-tight space. Also disclosed are a dispenser, a substrate holding mechanism and a substrate cleaning chamber, which are suitable for use with the substrate cleaning apparatus, and substrate cleaning processes making use of these dispenser, substrate holding mechanism and substrate cleaning chamber, respectively.

Abstract: A mixing feeder is disclosed for a slurry that contains liquids at a desired mixing ratio. The liquids include at least a dispersion of fine abrasive particles and a solution of an additive. The slurry mixing feeder has suction ports for sucking the liquids from a reservoir; a discharge port for feeding the slurry to the chemical mechanical polishing machine; feed pumps arranged in feed lines for the respective liquids, the feed lines extending from the individual suction ports to the discharge port, for sucking the individual liquids in specific amounts to give the mixing ratio and delivering the thus-sucked liquids toward the discharge port; and dampers and pressure-regulated restrictors arranged in combination in the feed lines on delivery sides of the feed pumps, respectively.

Abstract: A supporting apparatus for supporting a substrate in drying a substrate surface of the substrate including a supporting rod having a hollow interior portion and a groove configured to support a substrate on the supporting rod, the groove communicating to the hollow interior portion, a porous material disposed in the hollow interior portion of the supporting rod such that the porous material contacts with the substrate being supported in the groove, and a vacuum device configured to provide suction in the hollow interior portion of the supporting rod.

Abstract: The present invention provides a drying method of a substrate surface and a supporting fixture of substrate used in such a method, which, in the drying treatment applied after a chemical and/or water dipping treatment of a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal substrate, permits improvement of substrate product yield and is excellent in economic merits, particularly without causing defective drying of the substrate surface near the carrier holding section.

Abstract: A slurry mixing feeder for feeding a slurry to a chemical mechanical polishing machine is disclosed. The slurry contains liquids at a desired mixing ratio. The liquids includes at least a dispersion of fine abrasive particles and a solution of an additive. The slurry mixing feeder comprises: suction ports for sucking the liquids, respectively, a number of said suction ports corresponding to that of the liquids; a discharge port for feeding the slurry to the chemical mechanical polishing machine; feed pumps arranged in feed lines for the respective liquids, said feed lines extending from the individual suction ports to the discharge port, for sucking the individual liquids in specific amounts to give the mixing ratio and delivering the thus-sucked liquids toward the discharge port; and dampers and pressure-regulated restrictors arranged in combination in the feed lines on delivery sides of the feed pumps, respectively. A slurry mixing and feeding method is also disclosed.

Abstract: A substrate cleaning apparatus comprises an outer shell constructed such that the outer shell is selectively openable or hermetically closable to form a sealed space, an inner shell enclosed within the outer shell and having a holding member for holding a substrate, and a dispenser unit for feeding at least one of gas and liquid into the inner shell. Within the sealed space formed by the outer shell, a highly gas-tight space is formed by the inner shell to permit cleaning of the substrate within the highly gas-tight space. Also disclosed are a dispenser, a substrate holding mechanism and a substrate cleaning chamber, which are suitable for use with the substrate cleaning apparatus, and substrate cleaning processes making use of these dispenser, substrate holding mechanism and substrate cleaning chamber, respectively.

Abstract: Sulfuric acid used in the process of fabricating semiconductor devices, etc., can be recycled to reduce the amount of sulfuric acid to be discarded. A sulfuric acid effluent is fed to an anode chamber of a sulfuric acid-concentrating electrolyzer partitioned by at least one cation exchange membrane to concentrate sulfuric acid and generate oxidizing substances, so that the sulfuric acid can be used at the step of using sulfuric acid, and, when the concentration of impurities built up in the system exceeds a certain level, a part of sulfuric acid in the system is fed to a unit for refining sulfuric acid, where the sulfuric acid is refined and whence the refined sulfuric acid is fed back to the system. According to this recycling process, it is possible to obtain sulfuric acid having high oxidizing power with no addition of an oxidizing substance such as hydrogen peroxide thereto.