| abstract |
(57) Abstract: Abrasive components and water are recovered from aqueous chemical and mechanical slurries used to planarize semiconductor materials. The slurry effluent is preferably brought to a neutral pH and cooled to a temperature of about 0C to about 15C. A voltage is applied to the slurry effluent to promote agglomeration and separation of abrasive particles in the slurry effluent. In one embodiment, the slurry effluent is introduced into the process chamber at ambient temperature and pressure, and the supernatant separated from the process chamber further separates water and abrasive particles from the slurry effluent. To recover, the gas is depressurized in a vacuum chamber and the gas trapped in the supernatant is bubbled to the surface of the supernatant. In another embodiment, the slurry effluent is filtered through one or more self-cleaning reversible grit filter assemblies. |