Although there are several inventions disclosed herein, the present
application is directed to a reactor for electrochemically processing a
microelectronic workpiece. The reactor comprises a movable electrode
assembly that is disposed for movement along a motion path. The motion
path includes at least a portion thereof over which the electrode
assembly is positioned for processing at least one surface of the
microelectronic workpiece. A cleaning electrode is located along the
motion path of the movable electrode assembly. In one embodiment, a
programmable controller is connected to direct the movable electrode
assembly to move to the cleaning electrode during a cleaning cycle. At
that time, the programmable controller connects the movable electrode
assembly as an anode and the cleaning electrode as a cathode for cleaning
of the movable electrode assembly. The cleaning electrode may be disposed
along a position of the motion path that is beyond the range of motion
required to process the microelectronic workpiece so that the
programmable controller may be programmed to conduct a cleaning cycle
while a microelectronic workpiece is present in the reactor for
processing.