ABSTRACT
Surface contamination by small particles and other contaminants is a major problem in many industries such as semiconductor, storage, imaging, aerospace, pharmaceutical, automotive, food, medical, etc. Contaminant particles range in size from several hundred microns to less than 20 nm. In today’s semiconductor manufacturing, the minimum size that needs to be removed keeps decreasing, and currently it is below 20 nm. Surface contamination can result from particle deposition in the manufacturing environment as well as particle generation by the manufacturing process or process tool. Improving the clean environment further or isolating products can only solve part of the contamination problem. ¢ere is always a need for e£ective and economical technique for surface cleaning of a variety of substrates.
