CN211929431U

CN211929431U - Substrate support, vacuum processing apparatus and substrate processing system

Info

Publication number: CN211929431U
Application number: CN201790001806.XU
Authority: CN
Inventors: 西蒙·刘; 安科·赫尔密西; 莱内尔·欣特舒斯特
Original assignee: Applied Materials Inc
Current assignee: Applied Materials Inc
Priority date: 2017-11-20
Filing date: 2017-11-20
Publication date: 2020-11-13
Anticipated expiration: 2027-11-20
Also published as: WO2019096426A1; TW201936949A

Abstract

A substrate support (100) is described for supporting a substrate (101) having a front surface (102) to be processed and an opposite back surface (115). The substrate support includes a support body and a dry-stick assembly (240) attached to the support body, the dry-stick assembly having one or more dry-stick elements (121), wherein the one or more dry-stick elements support a substrate in at least a central region and an outer region at a back surface.

Description

Substrate support, vacuum processing apparatus and substrate processing system

Technical Field

Embodiments relate to a substrate support for vacuum processing. Embodiments of the present disclosure relate, inter alia, to a substrate support for processing a substrate having a support body and a dry-stick assembly attached to the support body, a vacuum processing apparatus including a vacuum chamber, a substrate support within the vacuum chamber, and a processing station, and a substrate processing system. Embodiments of the present disclosure also relate to methods for processing a substrate including holding the substrate in a non-vertical position.

Background

Various techniques for performing layer deposition on a substrate are known, such as thermal evaporation (thermal evaporation), chemical vapor deposition (chemical vapor), Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD), such as sputter deposition. A sputter deposition process may be used to deposit a layer of material (e.g., a layer of insulating material) on a substrate. This involves ejecting material from the target onto the substrate. The target material to be deposited on the substrate is impacted with ions generated in the plasma region to dislodge (dislogge) atoms of the target material from the target surface. The dislodged atoms may form a layer of material on the substrate. In a reactive sputter deposition process, the dislodged atoms may react with a gas (e.g., nitrogen or oxygen) in the plasma region to form an oxide, nitride, or oxynitride of the target material on the substrate.

The coated materials can be used in several applications and in several technical fields. For example, the coated materials may be used in the field of microelectronics, such as for the fabrication of semiconductor devices. Also, the substrate for the display may be coated using a physical vapor deposition process. Additional applications include insulating panels, Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) panels, substrates with Thin Film Transistors (TFTs), color filters or the like.

In current developments, high resolution displays (high resolution displays) are beneficial, for example in the field of mobile devices and television screens or the like. In the current development of mobile devices with high resolution, as well as large 4k/8k televisions (TV-sets), etc., it is beneficial that very low levels of particles reach the substrate, e.g. during PVD processing. For cost and efficiency reasons, industry is moving towards processing larger and larger substrates. Large substrates, especially large glass disks, are difficult to handle during processing. Substrates are particularly susceptible to damage, breakage or scratching of the surface during transport or alignment prior to processing operations. During substrate processing, a clamp is provided to hold a substrate on an edge of the substrate. The glass mount grips around the glass edge. Holding the substrate with the jig leads to particle and uniformity problems due to glass mask alignment (shadowing effects), increased glass mask gap affects particle level and layer uniformity, and ultimately results in lateral deposition on the jig.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In view of the above, a substrate support for substrate processing, a vacuum processing apparatus, a method for processing a substrate, and a substrate processing system are provided.

According to one embodiment, a substrate support is provided for supporting a substrate having a front surface to be processed and an opposing back surface. The substrate support includes a support body and a dry-stick assembly attached to the support body, the dry-stick assembly having one or more dry-stick elements, wherein the one or more dry-stick elements support a substrate in at least a central region and an outer region of the back surface.

According to one embodiment, the substrate support is configured to hold the substrate in a non-vertical position, the back surface of the substrate being attached to the one or more dry-stick elements and the front surface of the substrate facing downwards.

According to one embodiment, the dry-stick assembly is configured to form one or more retainers on the support body.

According to one embodiment, the one or more holders are movably arranged on the support body.

According to one embodiment, the substrate support further comprises four holders configured to be movable in a radially outward direction or a radially inward direction.

According to one embodiment, the substrate support further comprises four holders configured to be movable in a radially outward direction and a radially inward direction.

According to one embodiment, the dry-stick assembly is configured to have an attachment area corresponding to at least 75% of the rear surface of the substrate.

According to one embodiment, the one or more dry adhesive elements comprise a first adhesive structure over a first area of the support body and a second adhesive structure over a second area of the support body.

According to one embodiment, the one or more dry adhesive elements comprise Gecko adhesive (Gecko adhesive).

According to another embodiment, a vacuum processing apparatus is provided. The vacuum processing apparatus includes: a substrate support comprising a support body and a dry adhesion arrangement on the support body having one or more dry adhesion elements configured to support a substrate in at least a central region and an outer region of a back surface; and a processing station located at least partially below the substrate support.

According to one embodiment, the substrate support is configured to move the substrate in a non-vertical position into and out of the processing station.

According to one embodiment, a mask is arranged in front of the substrate, the mask covering an edge region of the substrate.

In accordance with another embodiment, a substrate processing system is provided. The substrate processing system includes a loading module, a vacuum transfer chamber, and a vacuum processing apparatus.

Drawings

So that the manner in which the above recited features can be understood in detail, a more particular description, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments. The accompanying drawings relate to embodiments and are described below:

FIG. 1 depicts a schematic top view of an exemplary substrate support having a dry-stick assembly including a center holder and an outer holder;

FIG. 2 depicts a schematic top view of another example of a substrate support including a center holder and an outer holder;

FIG. 3 depicts a schematic top view of another example of a substrate support including a central holder and an outer holder having a closed-ring-like design;

FIG. 4 depicts a schematic top view of another example of an embodiment of a substrate support including four movable holders;

FIG. 5 depicts a schematic top view of another example of an embodiment of a substrate support including four movable center holders and four movable outer holders;

FIG. 6 depicts a side cross-sectional schematic view of an exemplary substrate support including a dry-stick assembly on a surface of a support body of the substrate support;

FIG. 7 depicts a cross-sectional schematic view of an embodiment of a vacuum processing apparatus in which a front surface of a substrate is supported in a non-vertical position above a processing station.

Fig. 8 shows an enlarged view of a mask covering a portion of the front surface of the substrate.

Fig. 9 depicts a flow diagram illustrating a method for processing a substrate according to embodiments described herein.

Fig. 10 depicts another flow diagram illustrating another method for processing a substrate according to embodiments described herein.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the various embodiments, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the figures. In the following description of the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements. Generally, only the differences of the individual embodiments are described. The various examples are provided as means of explanation and are not meant to be limiting. Furthermore, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used on or in conjunction with other embodiments to yield yet a further embodiment. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein.

In the following description of the drawings, the same reference numerals are used for the same or similar elements. Generally, only the differences of the individual embodiments are described. Unless otherwise indicated, descriptions of a portion or aspect of one embodiment also apply to the corresponding portion or aspect of another embodiment.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a substrate support for supporting a substrate having a front surface to be processed and an opposite back surface is provided. The substrate support includes a support body and a dry-stick assembly attached to the support body, the dry-stick assembly having one or more dry-stick elements, wherein the one or more dry-stick elements support the substrate in at least a central region and an outer region of the back surface.

The substrate support with the dry adhesive, e.g. gecko chuck, enables substrate processing in a non-vertical substrate orientation, in particular with the substrate facing downwards, i.e. with the substrate at least partially disposed below the substrate carrier. The dry-stick assembly enables not only holding of the glass edge (as provided, e.g. using a gripper system), but also additional holding of the central or middle region of the substrate (e.g. glass).

In view of the above, according to another aspect or embodiment, a vacuum processing apparatus may be provided. The vacuum processing apparatus includes a substrate support including a support body and a dry adhesion arrangement on the support body having one or more dry adhesion elements. The one or more dry-stick elements are configured to support the substrate at the processing station in at least a central region and an outer region of the back surface. The apparatus may include a processing station located at least partially below the substrate support.

In the present disclosure, a substrate support is provided for supporting a substrate having a front surface to be processed and an opposing back surface. The substrate support includes a support body and a dry-stick assembly attached to the support body. The dry-stick assembly has one or more dry-stick elements, wherein the one or more dry-stick elements support the substrate in at least a central region and an outer region of the back surface.

According to an embodiment, a substrate support will be understood as a support configured to hold a substrate, in particular a large substrate as described herein. Typically, the terms substrate support, carrier, and support are used synonymously. A substrate held or supported by a substrate support as described herein includes a front surface and a back surface, where the front surface is a substrate surface being processed. For example, the front surface is the surface on which a material layer is to be deposited. Typically, the substrate support is configured such that the back surface of the substrate may be attached to a carrier, in particular to a dry adhesive of the substrate support described herein.

The term substrate as used herein may be an inflexible substrate, such as a glass plate, a metal plate, a wafer, a slice of transparent crystal, a glass substrate or a ceramic plate. However, the present disclosure is not so limited, and the term substrate may also include flexible substrates, such as a web or foil (foil), e.g. metal or plastic foil. According to embodiments, which can be combined with any other embodiments described herein, the substrate can be made of any material suitable for material deposition. For example, the substrate may be made of a material selected from the group consisting of: glass (such as soda lime glass, borosilicate glass), metal, polymer, ceramic, composite, carbon fiber material, mica, or any other material or combination of materials that can be coated by a deposition process. For example, the substrate may have a thickness in a direction perpendicular to the major surface of the substrate in a range of 0.1 mm to 1.8 mm, such as 0.7 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.3 mm. In some embodiments, the substrate may have a thickness of 50 microns or greater. The substrate may also have a thickness of 700 microns or less.

According to embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the substrate can be a large area substrate. The large area substrate may have a thickness of 0.5m²Or a larger surface area. Typically, large area substrates may be used for display manufacturing and may be glass substrates or plastic substrates. For example, the substrate described herein shall include substrates for LCDs (liquid crystal displays), PDPs (plasma display panels), and the like. For example, the large area substrate may have a thickness of 1m²Or a larger area of the major surface. In some embodiments, the large area substrate may be a substrate corresponding to about 0.67m²Generation 4.5 of the substrate (0.73mx0.92m), corresponding to about 1.4m²Generation 5 or greater of the substrate (1.1m x 1.3.3 m). The large area substrate may further correspond to about 4.29m²Generation 7.5 of the substrate (1.95m x 2.2.2 m), corresponding to about 5.7m²Generation 8.5, or even corresponding to about 8.7m, of the substrate (2.2m x 2.5.5 m)²Generation 10 of substrate (2.85m × 3.05 m). Even higher generations (e.g., 11 th generation and 12 th generation) and corresponding substrate areas may be similarly implemented.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 depicts a schematic top view of an exemplary rectangular substrate support 100 according to embodiments described herein. The substrate support 100 includes a dry-stick assembly 105 having dry-stick elements. The dry adhesive assembly 105 is formed from a central holder 120 and an outer holder 130. The center holder 120 is arranged at or near the center 145 of the substrate support 100. The outer holder 130 is arranged at an outer region of the substrate support 100, in particular at the corner edge 118. The outer holder 130 may form a gap region 114 on the surface 110 of the substrate support 100 between the outer holder 130 and the outer edge 116 of the substrate support 100.

The substrate support may be provided by a full area dry adhesive (such as a full area gecko chuck) or may be provided by a pattern of smaller dry adhesive elements, as shown, for example, in fig. 1-3. The dry-stick arrangement (e.g. gecko suction cups) may have a pattern or any other grid (grid) dry-stick elements. This enables the provision of a treatment or coating zone with the substrate (e.g. glass) suspended with the active side (i.e. front surface) facing downwards. The particles produced will fall with gravity and away from the front surface (active glass side). Furthermore, the use of dry stickers, such as gecko materials, avoids particle generation from being pinched by glass.

Another exemplary embodiment of a substrate support 100 is shown in figure 2; the dry-stick assembly 105 is shown to include two outer holders 130, the two outer holders 130 being disposed on two opposing sides on the surface 110 of the substrate support 100. The outer holder 130 may have a strip-like design.

Referring to fig. 3, a top view of another exemplary embodiment of a substrate support 100 is shown; the dry-stick assembly 105 is shown with an outer holder 130 of annular design at an outer region and a central holder 120 at or near a center point or center 145. For example, the outer retainer may surround or partially surround the central retainer.

According to embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, a support body can be understood as an arrangement configured to hold a substrate. For example, the support body may be a rigid body, such as a frame or a plate. In particular, the support body may be configured to support a surface of the substrate, for example a rear surface of the substrate. The support body may have a polygonal design forming a flat surface, in particular a uniform flat surface, to support the rear surface of the substrate. For example, the support body may have a rectangular or square design. The perimeter of the support body may have substantially the same perimeter as compared to the substrate being supported.

The dry-stick component can include a plurality of dry-stick structures. The dry adhesive structure may comprise a first adhesive structure protruding from the surface, wherein the first adhesive structure has anisotropic flexibility (anistropic flexibility) parallel to the surface. For example, the plurality of adhesive structures may have anisotropic flexibility parallel to the surface. The dry-tack structure may have a second dry-tack structure protruding from the surface. The first adhesive structure is differently bent when bent in the same direction with the same force.

According to an embodiment, supporting the substrate in the central region at the rear surface may be understood as supporting the substrate in a region near the center point of the substrate. The center point may be a geometric center of the back surface of the substrate. For example, when supporting a substrate having a rectangular or square shape, the center point may be an intersection of two diagonals of the rear surface of the substrate. Supporting the substrate at or near the central region may be advantageous to prevent the substrate from bending or deforming due to its own weight.

According to an embodiment, supporting the substrate at the outer region may be understood as supporting the substrate at an edge region of the substrate. The outer region of the substrate may be a region near or along the periphery of the substrate. Supporting the substrate in the outer region may also be understood as supporting the substrate in a region closer to the edge of the substrate than to the center of the substrate.

According to embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the substrate support is configured to hold the substrate in a non-vertical position with the back surface of the substrate attached to the dry adhesive element and the front surface of the substrate facing downwards. The substrate may be suspended below the substrate support. In particular when referring to the orientation of the substrate, the non-vertical position is understood to allow deviations from the horizontal or orientation of +/-20 deg. or less, for example +/-10 deg. or less. Deviation of the substrate from a horizontal position may be advantageous to facilitate transport and/or alignment of the substrate.

In the present disclosure, a dry adhesive arrangement is understood to be a holding arrangement configured to provide an adhesive force for attaching a substrate described herein. In particular, the dry adhesion arrangement may be provided or attached to the support body such that the substrate described herein may be held by the support body via the dry adhesion arrangement. More specifically, the dry-tack arrangements described herein may include the dry-tack elements described herein. The dry adhesion element may be configured to provide adhesion by van der Waals force. The dry-stick arrangement is configured to form a bond between the substrate surface and the substrate support. The joint between the substrate and the dry-tack arrangement may be slip resistant, non-slip or the like. Advantageously, the bond between the substrate and the dry-adhesion arrangement may be broken residue-free, for example after processing of the substrate, in particular after the deposition process.

According to an embodiment, the dry adhesive element may be a synthetic setae material. The adhesive capacity of the dry adhesive, particularly of the synthetic bristle material, may be inorganic. According to some embodiments, the dry-stick elements may be substantially 100% inorganic.

According to embodiments, which can be combined with any other embodiment described herein, the adhesive force provided by the dry-stick assembly can be provided for holding or carrying a substrate described herein. In particular, the dry-stick assembly may be configured to provide about 2N/cm²Or greater adhesion, especially 3N/cm²Or larger, more particularly 4N/cm²Or greater, e.g. at least 5N/cm²Or greater adhesion.

According to embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the dry adhesive component is configured to form one or more holders on the support body. A holder may be understood as a closed or free-standing (encapsulated) area on the surface of the substrate support, said area comprising dry adhesive elements for attachment to the rear surface of the substrate. The holder may form a pattern of dry-adhered components on the support body.

Referring to fig. 4, a schematic top view of an exemplary embodiment of a substrate support 100 comprising four

holders

225a, 225b, 225c, 225d is shown. The four holders 225 may have substantially the same size and are disposed at the center region and the outer region of the substrate support 100. The holder is configured to be movable in a radially outward direction 255, particularly movable towards an edge of the substrate support 100, more particularly movable towards a corner edge 265 of the substrate support 100. The holder 225 may be moved by a mandrel (mandrel)235 or the like. In particular, the mandrel 235 may press the retainer outward along a radial path 245 depicted by dashed lines.

According to embodiments described herein, moving the holder or the dry-stick element allows releasing the substrate from the substrate support. In particular, the movement of two or more dry adhesive elements that provide a pulling force on the substrate portion may facilitate substrate release. For example, the motion may be a first dry stick component or holder moving relative to the substrate surface, a second dry stick component or holder moving relative to the substrate surface, and the corresponding forces canceling each other to provide a stable or substantially stable substrate position.

Referring to fig. 5, a schematic top view of another example of an embodiment of a substrate support comprising four movable

central holders

335a, 335b, 335c, 335d and four movable

outer holders

345a, 345b, 345c, 345d is shown. The center holder is configured to be movable in a radially outward direction. The outer retainer is configured to be movable in a radially outward direction and/or a radially inward direction.

According to embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the one or more holders are movably arranged on the support body. The term movable may be understood as the holder being configured to move or be moved along a surface of the support body. The movement of the holder along the surface of the support body may, for example, run along a channel or groove formed on the surface of the substrate support for setting the direction of movement of the holder on the substrate support. The holder may be configured to have a first state in which the holder is movable or may be moved and a second state in which the holder may be locked on the support body to be fixed on the support body. In particular, the holder may be configured to be movable radially outward and radially inward with respect to a center point of the substrate support. The holder may also be configured to be movable along a circular line around a center point of the substrate support.

The term movable may also be understood as that the holder is configured to be extendably and/or retractably arranged on the support body. The extended and/or retracted holder may, for example, protrude to some extent beyond the support surface of the support body to facilitate the attachment process and the detachment process of the substrate on the holder, in particular on the substrate support. Having a holder movably arranged on the substrate support may facilitate the separation of the substrate from the support body, in particular the separation of the dry-stick element from the rear surface of the substrate.

According to an embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the dry-stick component is configured to have an attachment area corresponding to at least 75% of the rear surface of the substrate. In particular, the dry-stick component may be configured to have an attachment area corresponding to at least 80% of the rear surface of the substrate, more particularly corresponding to at least 90% of the rear surface of the substrate.

According to embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the dry adhesive element comprises a first adhesive structure over the first zone and a second adhesive structure of the second zone. The first adhesive structure may have anisotropic flexibility different from that of the second adhesive structure. For example, the first adhesive structure may have anisotropic flexibility parallel to the surface. The dry adhesive structure may comprise a first adhesive structure protruding from the surface, wherein the first adhesive structure has anisotropic flexibility parallel to the surface. For example, the plurality of adhesive structures may have anisotropic flexibility parallel to the surface. The dry-tack structure may have a second dry-tack structure protruding from the surface. The first adhesive structure is differently bent when bent in the same direction with the same force.

According to embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, exemplary reference is made to fig. 6, a dry-stick element 240 can be attached to the back surface 115 of the substrate 101. The dry-stick element 240 may be configured to provide an adhesive force for holding the substrate 101. Typically, the back surface 115 of the substrate is not processed. The back surface is opposite the front or active surface. The dry-stick element 240 may comprise a filament (filament)121, in particular a plurality of filaments 121, for attaching the rear surface 115 of the substrate 101. The term filament may be used synonymously with the term adhesive structure.

According to an embodiment, which may be combined with any other embodiment, the dry adhesive element may comprise gecko sticker. The adhesive capacity of the dry-stick elements of the dry-stick assembly may be correlated to the adhesive properties of the gecko's feet. The adhesive ability of the gecko foot is provided by a number of hair-like extensions called setae on the gecko foot. It is noted here that the term synthetic setae material is understood to mean a synthetic material that mimics the natural adhesive capabilities of a gecko foot and includes adhesive capabilities similar to those of a gecko foot. Further, the term synthetic seta material may be used synonymously with the term synthetic gecko seta material or the term gecko tape material. For example, a support body with a gecko-like adhesive material may also be referred to as a G-chuck (G-chuck). However, the disclosure is not so limited and other dry-stick devices are suitable for holding substrates.

Fig. 7 depicts a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a vacuum processing apparatus 200. The substrate 101 is supported by the substrate support 100 in a non-vertical position, such as a horizontal position or a substantially horizontal position. The substrate is supported above the processing station 220. The substrate 101 is supported by a dry-stick arrangement. The processing station 220 may include a rotating target 215 for sputter deposition. The substrate 101 may be held substantially parallel to the rotating target 215.

The mask 230 may be arranged on the front side of the substrate 101, in particular on the front side of the edge 103 of the front surface 102 of the substrate 101. The material 222a of the rotating target 215 is ejected from the surface of the rotating target 215 to be deposited on the front surface 102 of the substrate 101. The material 222a ejected from the surface 217 of the target 215 passes through the distance 250 between the surface 217 of the target 215 and the front surface 102 of the substrate 101 for deposition on the front surface 102. The particles 222c fall to the bottom 280 of the vacuum processing chamber where they may degrade the device quality when attached to the substrate surface. For example, the distance 250 may be less than 300mm, in particular less than 260mm, or in particular between 240mm and 260 mm.

According to an embodiment, which can be combined with any other embodiment described herein, the mask is arranged at the front side of the substrate and the mask covers an edge region of the substrate. For example, the mask may be an edge exclusion mask (edge exclusion mask) or a shadow mask (shadow mask) or the like. An edge exclusion mask is a mask configured to mask one or more edge regions of a substrate such that no material is deposited on the one or more edge regions of the substrate during coating and/or processing of the substrate.

A processing station is understood to be a station comprising one or more devices for processing a substrate. The means for treating may be, for example, means for providing a coating to the front surface of the substrate. For example, a sputtering source or a vapor deposition source may be used to coat the front surface of the substrate. In particular, a physical vapor deposition or chemical vapor deposition apparatus and the like can be used as the processing apparatus.

As described above, an edge exclusion, edge exclusion mask, or mask can be positioned under a substrate (e.g., glass) followed by a coating source, which can be a planar or rotating target. According to embodiments described herein, which can be combined with other embodiments, the glass-mask-distance can be reduced by a dry-adhesion arrangement. The glass-mask-distance can be as small as possible because the glass edge is straight and no clamps interfere with edge exclusion (i.e., masking).

Embodiments described herein provide a treatment or coating zone where a substrate (e.g., glass) is suspended with the active side (i.e., front surface) facing downward. The particles fall with gravity and away from the active glass side. In addition, no particles from the glass jig were generated.

According to an embodiment, a vacuum processing apparatus is provided. The processing apparatus comprises a substrate support comprising a support body as described herein and a dry adhesion arrangement on the support body with one or more dry adhesion elements as described herein. The one or more dry-stick elements are configured to support a substrate as described herein in a processing station at the back surface in at least a central region and an outer region, wherein the processing station is at least partially below the substrate.

Referring to fig. 8, an enlarged view of the mask 230 covering the section 102a of the front surface 102 of the substrate is schematically shown. The section 102a of the substrate front surface 102 is the part of the substrate front surface that should remain particle-free, in particular the part of the substrate front surface that is not to be treated. The dashed line 104 separates a section of the front surface 102 to be treated and a section 102a of the surface not to be treated. Reference numeral 104a defines a boundary surface region 104a between the segment 102a and the segment 102 b. Due to the horizontal processing, the particles 222c tend to move parallel to the process direction 272 towards the substrate front surface 102. The dimension 104b between the deposition surface and the non-deposition surface in the boundary surface region 104a is substantially determined by the distance 305 between the mask 230 and the front surface 102, the process direction 272 of the particles 222c, and the size of the particles 222 c. A smaller distance 305 may result in a smaller dimension 104b of the boundary surface region 104a, in particular improved edge exclusion or shadowing of the edge.

Particles generated in the processing apparatus (e.g., at the target joint gap or on the edge exclusion mask) will be less likely to reach the active surface of the substrate with gravity than if the substrate were arranged vertically or substantially vertically. Furthermore, the use of a dry stick arrangement (e.g., gecko suction cups) may avoid particles that may be generated by the clamp. Furthermore, the dry-stick arrangement allows for a smaller mask-substrate-distance than a substrate supported by a fixture. This allows for improved masking.

According to an embodiment, a method of processing a substrate is provided. The method includes a substrate support according to embodiments described herein, wherein the support body holds the substrate in a non-vertical position and a back surface of the substrate is attached to the dry-stick element, a front surface of the substrate facing downward in the processing station. The term face down may be understood as described herein, wherein face down in a processing station may be understood as a front surface of a substrate facing the processing station, the processing station being located at least partially below the substrate support, in particular below the substrate. The facing-process station supports the substrate facing downward to enable horizontal processing of the front surface of the substrate.

Fig. 9 shows a flow diagram depicting a method for processing a substrate according to embodiments described herein. The method 400 includes: transferring 410 the substrate with the front side of the substrate facing upward; attaching 420 a backside of the substrate to a support body as described herein; inverting 430 the substrate upside down with the front surface to be processed facing down; moving 440 the substrate to the processing region; a substrate facing down as described herein is processed 450.

Fig. 10 shows a flow diagram depicting another method 500 for processing a substrate according to embodiments described herein. The method 500 includes: attaching 510 the backside of the substrate to the support body with the front side of the substrate facing down; moving 520 the substrate to the processing region; processing 530 a downward facing substrate front surface as described herein; the substrate is moved 540 out of the processing region with the front surface of the substrate facing downward as described herein.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a substrate processing system comprising a load module, a vacuum transfer chamber, and a vacuum processing apparatus as described herein. The processing system may include more than one or more load modules, transfer chambers, or vacuum processing apparatuses. The substrate processing system comprises a vacuum transfer chamber, wherein more than one, in particular a plurality of vacuum transfer chambers is provided. The substrate may be grasped from the top and brought to the processing module, and the substrate may be grasped from the bottom and inverted up and down. Uncoated glass may be provided to a processing module suspended on a gecko chuck (i.e., substrate support) that is to be mounted on a transport system, plate fork, or the like.

A loading module is understood to be a module which can be used to feed in or receive substrates. The load module may be a chamber having an opening on one side configured to receive a substrate. The load module may be coupled to a transfer device configured to transfer the substrate to the load module. For example, the load module may be understood as a gas lock for transferring the substrate to a chamber having a low pressure, in particular to a chamber having a vacuum pressure. According to an embodiment, the loading module is connected to the vacuum transfer chamber.

A vacuum transfer chamber may be understood as a chamber having a vacuum pressure that is connected to other substrate processing modules, chambers or devices. The vacuum transfer chamber may be configured to move the substrate to other modules or devices connected to the vacuum transfer chamber for further substrate processing. According to an embodiment, more than one vacuum treatment apparatus may be arranged at the vacuum transfer chamber, in particular at an outer wall of the vacuum transfer chamber. The vacuum transfer chamber may form a transfer path configuration between the vacuum processing apparatuses.

A vacuum transfer chamber may be understood as a transfer path configuration in which a number of substrate processing modules, such as processing apparatuses, are arranged at lateral regions of the transfer path configuration. Each substrate processing module or substrate processing system may be connected to the transport path arrangement, for example, by an opening or by a damper.

According to an embodiment, the substrate processing system may comprise (at least partially) more than one substrate processing apparatus arranged adjacent to each other, wherein a substrate supported by the support body in a first processing apparatus is moved into a processing zone of a processing station as described herein. For further processing, the substrate may be moved along the further processing apparatus, wherein the substrate is moved beside the processing station of the processing apparatus in a non-vertical position. The movement of the substrate support beside the processing station may be at a fixed speed, or at a variable speed.

The present disclosure has several advantages, including providing a substrate support for holding a substrate on a back surface without requiring other holding arrangements affecting a front or lateral surface of the substrate. The substrate support described herein enables substrate processing in a non-vertical position without side deposition on other holding arrangements around the edge of the contact glass. Non-vertical substrate processing enables thinner coatings and finer coatings because larger particles are avoided from depositing on the substrate surface.

Claims

1. A substrate support for supporting a substrate having a front surface to be processed and an opposing back surface, the substrate support characterized by comprising:

a support body; and

a dry-stick component attached to the support body, the dry-stick component having one or more dry-stick elements, wherein the one or more dry-stick elements support the substrate in at least a central region and an outer region at the back surface.

2. The substrate support of claim 1, wherein the substrate support is configured to hold the substrate in a non-vertical position, the back surface of the substrate being attached to the one or more dry-stick elements and the front surface of the substrate facing downward.

3. The substrate support of claim 1, wherein the dry-stick assembly is configured to form one or more retainers on the support body.

4. The substrate support of claim 2, wherein the dry-stick assembly is configured to form one or more retainers on the support body.

5. The substrate support of claim 3, wherein the one or more holders are movably arranged on the support body.

6. The substrate support of claim 4, wherein the substrate support further comprises four holders configured to be movable in a radially outward direction or a radially inward direction.

7. The substrate support of claim 5, wherein the substrate support further comprises four retainers configured to be movable in a radially outward direction and a radially inward direction.

8. The substrate support of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the dry-stick assembly is configured to have an attachment area corresponding to at least 75% of the back surface of the substrate.

9. The substrate support of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the one or more dry adhesion elements comprise a first adhesion structure over a first region of the support body and a second adhesion structure over a second region of the support body.

10. The substrate support of claim 8, wherein the one or more dry adhesion elements comprise a first adhesion structure over a first region of the support body and a second adhesion structure over a second region of the support body.

11. The substrate support of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the one or more dry adhesion elements comprise Gecko adhesive (Gecko adhesive).

12. The substrate support of claim 8, wherein the one or more dry adhesion elements comprise gecko adhesives.

13. The substrate support of claim 9, wherein the one or more dry adhesion elements comprise gecko adhesives.

14. A vacuum processing apparatus characterized by comprising:

a substrate support comprising:

a support body; and

a dry-stick arrangement on the support body, the dry-stick arrangement having one or more dry-stick elements configured to support a substrate in at least a central region and an outer region at a back surface; and

a processing station located at least partially below the substrate support.

15. The vacuum processing apparatus of claim 14, wherein the substrate support is configured to move the substrate in a non-vertical position into and out of the processing station.

16. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein a mask is disposed in front of the substrate, the mask covering an edge region of the substrate.

17. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein a mask is disposed in front of the substrate, the mask covering an edge region of the substrate.

18. A substrate processing system, comprising:

a loading module;

a vacuum transfer chamber; and

a vacuum treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 17.