Appeal No. 2002-2159 Page 3
Application No. 09/652,969
As explained in the appellant’s specification, coating materials commonly are
applied to semiconductor wafers by flowing liquid coating material onto the top surface
of a wafer while it is spinning on a rotating spin chuck. The rotation causes the coating
material to flow outwardly over the wafer. In practice, however, some excess coating
material tends to collect at and form a bead around the edge of the wafer. This
commonly is removed by dispensing a solvent along the edge of the wafer, which then
is removed along with the excess coating that had formed the edge bead. The
appellant’s invention is directed to a device for removing the solvent and the bead.
Independent claim 38 expresses the invention in the following manner:
38. A removal system for a workpiece having an overlying material,
comprising:
a nozzle having an extended position and a retracted
position, wherein said nozzle is disposed toward said
workpiece and configured to dispense a chemical toward
said workpiece while in said extended position; and
a suction applicator commensurately movable with said
nozzle and defining a port around said nozzle, wherein said
suction applicator is configured to withdraw said chemical
and said material at a distance from said workpiece.
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