Horizontal laminar flow cleaning in wet batch cleaning process

A novel horizontal laminar flow (HLF) cleaning is proposed for removing contamination from highly integrated semiconductor devices with high pattern densities. The proposed HLF cleaner contains fluid flow plates that realize horizontal laminar flow in the cleaning bath. This configuration effectively reduces cross contamination. The effects of laminar flow are investigated by fluid visualization. The dependence of the laminar flow on the hole diameter and the opening area ratio of the plates is clarified.