LIGHT-ASSISTED ACOUSTIC CLEANING TOOL

• Main Author: RASTEGAR ABBAS
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 11.06.2015
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CLEANING; CLEANING IN GENERAL; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; TRANSPORTING

A cleaning tool facilitating removal of particles from a surface is provided which includes an acoustic wave generator and one or more light-emitting diodes. The acoustic wave generator, which is configured to direct acoustic waves towards the surface to be cleaned, may include an acoustic transducer that facilitates generating the acoustic waves, and an acoustic coupler substrate through which the acoustic waves propagate. The light-emitting diode(s), which is configured to direct light towards the surface to be cleaned, is coupled to the acoustic coupler substrate of the acoustic wave generator. The acoustic wave generator and the light-emitting diode(s) are spaced from the surface to be cleaned, and are configured to selectively concurrently direct overlapping, at least partially, acoustic waves and light energy towards the surface to facilitate removal of particles by breaking bonds between the particles and the surface.