Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/683—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping
  • H01L21/6838—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping with gripping and holding devices using a vacuum; Bernoulli devices
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G49/00—Conveying systems characterised by their application for specified purposes not otherwise provided for
  • B65G49/05—Conveying systems characterised by their application for specified purposes not otherwise provided for for fragile or damageable materials or articles
  • B65G49/06—Conveying systems characterised by their application for specified purposes not otherwise provided for for fragile or damageable materials or articles for fragile sheets, e.g. glass
  • B65G49/063—Transporting devices for sheet glass
  • B65G49/064—Transporting devices for sheet glass in a horizontal position
  • B65G49/065—Transporting devices for sheet glass in a horizontal position supported partially or completely on fluid cushions, e.g. a gas cushion
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G51/00—Conveying articles through pipes or tubes by fluid flow or pressure; Conveying articles over a flat surface, e.g. the base of a trough, by jets located in the surface
  • B65G51/02—Directly conveying the articles, e.g. slips, sheets, stockings, containers or workpieces, by flowing gases
  • B65G51/03—Directly conveying the articles, e.g. slips, sheets, stockings, containers or workpieces, by flowing gases over a flat surface or in troughs
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
  • H01L21/67739—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations into and out of processing chamber
  • H01L21/67748—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations into and out of processing chamber horizontal transfer of a single workpiece
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G2249/00—Aspects relating to conveying systems for the manufacture of fragile sheets
  • B65G2249/02—Controlled or contamination-free environments or clean space conditions
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G2249/00—Aspects relating to conveying systems for the manufacture of fragile sheets
  • B65G2249/04—Arrangements of vacuum systems or suction cups
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G2249/00—Aspects relating to conveying systems for the manufacture of fragile sheets
  • B65G2249/04—Arrangements of vacuum systems or suction cups
  • B65G2249/045—Details of suction cups suction cups

Definitions

• the present invention applies to substrate movement in vacuum process devices in general, and to a multitude of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) reactors employed in parallel for LCD production in particular. It may also be employed for any other kind of substrate movements in vacuum such as semiconductor wafers, optical and architectural glasses, tool bits and the like and in many different vacuum processes such as etching, sputtering, vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition and others more.
• PECVD plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition
• the substrates are loaded into a process chamber by means of a load lock, so that a vacuum may constantly be maintained in the actual process chamber.
• mechanical loading and unloading systems requires a minimal height of a vacuum process system (such as a reactor height) , which is especially undesirable in the case of PECVD reactors, because they dictate a minimal reactor gap dimension (i. e. the distance between the top electrode and the reactor bottom) which again limits process parameter windows, such as deposition rates.
• a minimal reactor height By generally requiring a minimal reactor height, such mechanical loading and unloading systems also increase the footprint (overall height) when several such vacuum deposition systems are used in parallel and on top of each other.
• the use of mechanical loading and unloading devices often also introduces particle sources and thus tend to increase the number of defects in the so manufactured products.
• US 3,607,198 generally addresses an apparatus for pneumatically supporting a plate-like substrate under atmospheric conditions.
• US 6,220,056 provides a device for handling thin plate glass in machining facilities, comprising at least two plates with flat surfaces arranged parallel to each other at a distance sufficient for accommodating the pane of glass without contact. The surfaces show numerous gas passages.
• a levitation apparatus for use under vacuum or near vacuum conditions comprises a levitation plate with a plurality of injection points and adjacent suction points for gas, creating an air bearing and thereby supporting a thin plate-like substrate.
• the suction and injection points are arranged alternatively and are respectively connected to form a levitation or suction network.
• Further embodiments comprise a transport mechnism for substrates and/or a tilting mechanism to incline the levitation plate.
• Figure 1 shows in detail an arrangement of injection and suction points in a levitation plate.
• Figure 2a and 2b show two embodiments of injection and suction point distribution according to the invention.
• Figure 2c shows an example for a gas and vacuum network.
• Figure 3a and 3b show a transfer with two robot configurations (side view)
• Figure 3c and 3d show a transfer with two robot configurations (top view)
• the present invention overcomes the problems described above - how to reliably transport fragile large area substrates between a load lock chamber and a vacuum reactor and how to have minimum impact on the reactor size and its process uniformity - by using uniform air or gas bearing (levitation) for transport under vacuum conditions.
• Glass substrates with density of 2700 kg/m3 and a thickness of 0.5 to 3 mm have a weight of 0.135g to 0.81g per square centimeter. This represents a pressure from 13 to 80 Pascal (0.13 to 0.8 mbar) .
• a gas under a pressure from 0.13 to 0.8 mbar can lift such a substrate.
• a levitation gas is injected via injection points 1 and is further pumped back out of the vacuum chamber via suction points 2 at a lower pressure (the pressure difference between injection and suction being larger than the minimum necessary for levitation) .
• a lower pressure the pressure difference between injection and suction being larger than the minimum necessary for levitation
• Injection points 1 and suction points 2 are located in levitation plate 3, which can be a robot arm or the process chamber bottom.
• the bulk of the gas needed for the substrate transport by levitation is readily evacuated through the carefully placed suction points and all remaining levitation gas is easily removed from the system before the actual vacuum process (such as deposition or etching) takes place.
• the gas is mainly evacuated through the suction points and the gas leak at the edges of the substrates is limited.
• an inert gas can be used.
• Figure 2a and 2b show two possible arrangements of suction points 2 and injection points 1 in a levitation plate 3.
• a circumferential line shows the posiible position of a substrate 5.
• Figure 2c shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention by- arranging the injection and suction points alternatively so that overall uniformity is given. Consequently, a high gas flow on the substrate side is avoided and consequently turbulences, which would cause unwanted particle movement, are avoided also.
• the size and spacing of the injection and suction holes, the injection and suction pressure and the nature of the levitation gas vary, and are very much dependent on the substrate material and the thickness of the substrate.
• suction holes are connected to establish a vacuum (suction) network 12 and the injection holes are connected to Establish a levitation gas network 12.
• Example 1 a glass substrate with a density of 2700 kg/m3 and a thickness of 0.5 mm is levitated for a loading / unloading action by injection of nitrogen, which has a pressure of 100 Pa in the injection grooves, 50 Pa under the substrate and 20 Pa in the suction grooves.
• figures 3a and 3b show a robot with robot table 24 with a clamping system 22 (gripper) , which is used in a preferred embodiment to move the substrate 5 once it is levitated by the gas cushion described above, e. g. in and out of a process chamber (process chamber bottom 21) . Due to the levitation of the substrate 5 and since the loading and unloading movement is in a substantially horizontal plane, only very small forces are needed to overcome the inertia of the substrate and thus to move it to its final loaded and unloaded positions. Alternatively, if the substrate is thick and stiff enough, pushing substrate from the edge is also possible ( Figure 3b, pushing / pulling system 23).
• Figure 3c and 3d each show an embodiment of the invention, wherein both, the vacuum process chamber itself (left) , and a table (robot table 24) belonging to a transport robot assembly (right) are equipped with the injection and suction means for levitation in vacuum as described above.
• a gripper clamping system 22
• a pushing / pulling system 23 the gripper is accommodated into a groove, which is machined into both of the air bearing tables, to allow for a smooth, even, straight and substantially horizontal loading and unloading movement.
• clamping systems may also be employed on the substrate sides parallel to the substrate movement or even means of movement by rolls, magnets and electrostatic devices may be deployed to advance the substrate once it is levitated by gas.
• the robot table and the process chamber may each or both be slightly inclined by a tilting mechanism during loading and unloading actions, so that the substrate movement is supported or caused by gravity and so that the substrate is consequently kept flat.
• the transfer robot assembly may move in a plurality of directions and axes to serve a load lock chamber, further reactor chambers or an array of any such chambers.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
• Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
• Power Engineering (AREA)
• Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Container, Conveyance, Adherence, Positioning, Of Wafer (AREA)
• Magnetic Bearings And Hydrostatic Bearings (AREA)

Priority Applications (5)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Cited By (2)

Families Citing this family (32)

Citations (4)

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• 2005
  • 2005-07-07 AU AU2005262191A patent/AU2005262191A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2005-07-07 WO PCT/CH2005/000392 patent/WO2006005214A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2005-07-07 CN CNA2005800232489A patent/CN101023011A/zh active Pending
  • 2005-07-07 EP EP05756159A patent/EP1768921A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-07-07 KR KR1020077000087A patent/KR20070037741A/ko not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-07-07 US US11/571,604 patent/US20070215437A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2005-07-07 JP JP2007519595A patent/JP2008505041A/ja not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-07-08 TW TW094123153A patent/TW200624357A/zh unknown
• 2006
  • 2006-12-14 IL IL180080A patent/IL180080A0/en unknown

Patent Citations (4)

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