System and method for cleaning semiconductor fabrication equipment parts

1 . A process for cleaning semiconductor fabrication equipment parts comprising:

determining a definition for a clean part including multiple maximum acceptable impurity levels;

determining an initial multiple impurity levels of a part prior to its cleaning;

determining a cleaning process to apply to the part;

applying the cleaning process to the part, wherein the cleaning process creates reduced multiple impurity levels for the part below that of said initial multiple impurity levels;

determining said reduced multiple impurity levels;

comparing said reduced multiple impurity levels against said multiple maximum acceptable impurities levels of said definition; and

repeating the application of said cleaning process to said part if said reduced multiple impurity levels do not meet said definition of a clean part.

2 . A process as recited in claim 1 , further comprising testing the part in reassembled equipment in which the part was designed to operate.

3 . A process as recited in claim 2 , further comprising the operation of repeating a cleaning process on the part if the part does not function properly in the reassembled equipment.

4 . A process as recited in claim 1 , wherein at least one impurity level is determined utilizing a surface particle test.

5 . A process of claim 1 , wherein at least one impurity level is determined using a liquid particle test.

6 . A process of claim 1 , wherein at least one impurity level is determined by using acid-extraction ICP-MS.

7 . A dilute aqueous cleaning solution for parts comprising:

0.5-1.5% wt. HF;

0.1-0.5% wt. HNO 3 ; and

1-10% wt H 2 O 2 .

8 . A dilute aqueous cleaning solution as recited in claim 7 wherein the concentration of H 2 O 2 is no greater than about 5% wt.

9 . A method for reducing sub-surface damage to a part comprising:

determining how deep is the sub-surface damage beneath a surface of a part;

chemically etching said surface of said part; and

stopping said chemical etching of said surface at about said depth of said sub-surface damage.

10 . A method for cleaning a part comprising:

performing an ultrasonication cleaning process to a surface of a part to be cleaned;

spray rinsing said part with a dilute chemical mixture; and

spray rinsing said part with deionized water.

11 . A method for cleaning a part as recited in claim 10 further comprising repeating said spray rinsing of said part with a dilute chemical mixture and spray rinsing said part with deionized water based upon the specification of purity for said part.

12 . A method for determining contamination of an openable part having inner surfaces comprising:

introducing a part into a controlled clean environment of at least class 1000;

opening said part in said controlled clean environment; and

running contamination analysis on said inner surfaces of said part.

13 . A method for determining contamination as recited in claim 12 where running contamination analysis includes applying a known volume of ultra pure water to a cavity of a part, extracting said water, and analyzing contaminants found in said water.

14 . A method for determining contamination as recited in claim 12 where running contamination analysis includes applying a known volume of a high purity extraction solution to a cavity of a part, extracting said extraction solution, and analyzing contaminants found in said extraction solution.

15 . A method for cleaning ceramic parts comprising:

immersing a ceramic part into a first chemical bath to damage contaminant bonds;

heating said ceramic part in a furnace after said contaminant bonds are damaged; and

immersing said ceramic part in a second chemical bath to remove contaminants.

16 . A method for cleaning ceramic parts as recited in claim 15 wherein said first chemical bath is a dilute chemical bath including HF and HNO 3 which is heated to about 60-80° C.

17 . A method for cleaning textured quartz parts comprising:

immersing a textured quartz part into an ultrasonic chemical bath;

immersing said textured quartz part into an ultrasonication water bath; and

immersing said textured quartz part into a deionized water bath.

18 . A method for cleaning metallic impurities from textured ceramic surfaces comprising:

immersing a ceramic part having a textured surface into a heated chemical bath;

rinsing said ceramic part in deionized water;

immersing said part in a dilute acid bath and rinsing;

visually inspecting said part; and

repeatedly immersing said part in said dilute acid bath until it passes visual inspection.

19 . A method for cleaning metallic impurities as recited in claim 18 further comprising:

immersing said part in an ultrasonification overflowing bath.

20 . A method for determining the cleanliness of semiconductor fabrication equipment parts comprising:

testing the parts before a cleaning process for at least one of particles, metallic impurities and organics;

testing the parts after certain steps in the cleaning process for at least one of particles, metallic impurities and organics; and

testing the parts after a final cleaning step for at least one of particles, metallic impurities and organics.

21 . A method for removing particles on a textured surface of a semiconductor fabrication equipment part comprising:

determining a chemical bonding characteristic of the particles;

identifying a type of particles embedded in the textured surface;

measuring a depth of any subsurface damage; and

performing a combination of ultrasonication and chemical etching to the textured surface based upon said chemical bonding characteristics, said type of particles and said depth of subsurface damage.