Ozone, a compound consisting of three oxygen atoms, is a highly efficient cleaner. When paired with an ultraviolet light source, ozone is able to clean nearly any surface rapidly and effectively. This has been confirmed through years of testing and research.
In the 1970s, a series of experiments first began to show the efficacy of UV cleaning, and eventually, the combination of UV and ozone. An early experiment in 1972 showed that UV light, combined with a quartz filter and a mercury lamp that generated ozone, was able to successfully aid the depolymerization of photoresist polymers.
Another experiment was able to demonstrate the ability of UV and ozone to clean hydrocarbons from glass and gold surfaces. The results indicated that absorbed hydrocarbons could be removed from these surfaces after 15 hours of exposure to the UV/Ozone mixture, and that storing the surfaces underneath the cleaner would allow that cleanliness to be retained indefinitely.