WO2015184676A1

WO2015184676A1 - Vacuum transportation device for realizing orthogonal transmission of substrate and transportation method therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2015184676A1
Application number: PCT/CN2014/082821
Authority: WO
Inventors: 徐升东
Original assignee: 上海理想万里晖薄膜设备有限公司; 理想能源设备(上海)有限公司
Priority date: 2014-06-03
Filing date: 2014-07-23
Publication date: 2015-12-10
Also published as: CN105448767A; CN105448767B

Abstract

Provided are a vacuum transportation device for realizing the orthogonal transmission of a substrate and a transportation method therefor. On the one hand, the motion condition of the substrate in a certain direction is controlled by a driving mechanism composed of a ball spline, a crossed helical gear mechanism and a rotation translation steering mechanism; and on the other hand, the motion condition of the substrate in another direction perpendicular to the direction is controlled by another driving mechanism, so that the vacuum transportation device can realize long-distance translation and an excellent sealing effect in a vacuum transportation cavity, and high accuracy and high reliability are guaranteed during substrate transportation at the same time.

Description

Vacuum conveying device for realizing orthogonal transmission of substrates and carrying method thereof

Technical field

The invention relates to a technology for carrying out substrate transfer between two vacuum chambers or a plurality of functional modules area. In particular, it relates to a vacuum transfer device that realizes orthogonal transfer of a substrate and a method of transporting the same.

Background technique

In the solar, flat panel display, semiconductor and other industries, the coated substrate usually needs to be in the loading chamber, unloading The transfer of a plurality of different modules, such as a cavity and a process chamber, and the transfer of different device structures to the substrate There are huge differences in requirements.

At present, the common vacuum laminating equipment can be roughly divided into clusters according to the position of each functional cavity. Equipment and in-line equipment. The vacuum coating can be set according to whether the substrate is horizontal or upright. It is divided into horizontal equipment and vertical equipment. Referring to Figure 1, the cluster device is usually provided with a vacuum in the center. The polygonal structure of the transport cavity 110 is connected to the loading cavity 120 and the unloading cavity 130 on each side of the polygon. a processing chamber 140, wherein a vacuum carrying device 150 is disposed in the vacuum carrying chamber 110 for real The substrate is now transferred between the loading chamber 120, the unloading chamber 130, and the process chamber 140. See Figure 2, The linear device is generally linear in the linear direction of the loading chamber 120, the processing chamber 140, and the unloading chamber 130. In combination, the substrate passes through each of the above chambers in sequence during operation of the device.

Different device structures have different requirements for substrate transmission. Usually, cluster devices are required to be located in the device. The central vacuum conveying device has multi-angle rotary positioning and mechanical arm telescopic function, which requires multi-drive Source and multiple degrees of freedom. Straight-type equipment usually adopts roller friction transmission, and the transmission structure is relatively simple.

In addition, for some equipment products with special needs, many equipment manufacturers will also address these special needs. Seek some special transfer function design.

Patent US2013230370A1 discloses an optimized cluster semiconductor device in which Each process chamber has an independently controlled processing time, so the substrate needs to have a very fast handling speed, the same The device is required to have high integration and small footprint, so its polygonal central vacuum handling The cavity is designed to have a long side shape, and a plurality of process chambers are connected at the long side, so that the vacuum is moved The requirements of the transport device are different from the traditional rotary positioning and arm telescopic functions, but they need to be able to follow the long side. The direction achieves a linear translation. At the same time, the vacuum handling device also needs to have a rotating function in order to remove the substrate from the process. Remove or feed in the cavity. This means that the vacuum handling device requires two independent power sources and corresponding machines. Mechanical transmission mechanism, and requires that the transmission mechanism can not affect each other and vacuum vacuum sealing with the vacuum chamber. The The patent adopts a magnetic coupling method to achieve the above functions, and relies on two magnetic poles outside the vacuum and vacuum. The magnetic field of the vacuum chamber wall plate is used to realize the power transmission. However, the magnetic coupling transmission method can The torque tolerated is usually small, and it is easy to produce excessive rotation or rotation, which greatly reduces the equipment. Transmission accuracy and reliability.

Patent US2007051314A1 discloses a multi-process processing chamber capable of realizing a large substrate and A movable transfer chamber for carrying the substrate transfer between the loading and unloading chambers. Patent US2007059129A1 A specific embodiment for realizing such a structure is required, and the movable transfer chamber needs to carry the internal vacuum handling The device moves with the external vacuum chamber and all the accessories on the functional module on an external track, And need to maintain a vacuum state during the movement, and then process the cavity with the corresponding linear parallel arrangement And the loading and unloading cavity is abutted to achieve vacuum sealing. The overall mobile unit quality of this structure and The volume is very large, and it is difficult to guarantee the compression of the elastic seal (usually the O-ring) after the abutment The amount and the impact caused by the abutment are reduced, so that the reliability of the vacuum seal is difficult to ensure.

Patent CN102282664A discloses a substrate processing system, in particular to a linear row in two rows A central substrate transfer chamber for transporting substrates between the process chambers of the columns. The central substrate transports the cavity The empty handling device needs to move in parallel along the direction of the process chamber, and the vacuum arm is perpendicular to the process. The linear alignment direction of the cavity has a bidirectional stretching function. In this way, it is necessary to involve at least two sets of relatively independent transmissions. Moving agencies. The patent's translational movement in a linear alignment direction uses a linear motor and a bidirectionally telescopic drive source. Or the driving source for the lifting function is disposed inside the vacuum chamber. However, currently available on the market for vacuum rings The driving source of the environment is very selective and expensive, especially the output power is small and cannot meet the industrial production. The requirement to transport large-size large-size substrates.

In addition, in practical applications, there is a linear substrate processing with a translation function as shown in FIG. Device. For example, it is sometimes necessary to have the front side 301 and the back side of the same substrate 101 in the PVD process chamber. 302 was subjected to film deposition. At this time, when the substrate 101 completes the front film layer in the first film layer processing array 310 After deposition, the transfer frame carrying the substrate 101 will be in a position in the cavity 110 having the translation function. Translating and entering the second film processing array 320 for deposition of the reverse film layer, so that the substrate 101 is loaded Both the carrier end and the unloading end are on the same side of the process chamber. Since this application usually uses a vertical structure, it is in the first The stroke between translation of a film processing array 310 and the second film processing array 302 is generally shorter, as is common The stroke is less than 300 mm, so the translation in the cavity 110 in this case and in the direction of the processing array The multidirectional movement of the transmission generally takes the combination of a bellows and a rotary dynamic seal, and if in the cavity 110 The internal translation stroke is larger, such as greater than 500mm, the bellows and rotary dynamic seal combination will be due to reliability The deterioration, the shortened service life, and the cost of complicated steering mechanisms are too high to be applied.

In general, in a vacuum laminating apparatus, when two or more cavities are respectively along the orthogonal two When transferring substrates in one direction, the prior art faces such as the inability to perform long distance translation, transmission accuracy, and A series of technical limitations such as low reliability, poor sealing performance, and difficulty in handling large-size substrates.

Summary of the invention

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a vacuum carrying device for realizing orthogonal transmission of a substrate and The handling method, on the one hand, through the ball spline, the staggered shaft gear mechanism, the rotary translation steering mechanism a common transmission mechanism to control the movement of the substrate in one direction, and another through another transmission The mechanism controls the movement of the substrate in another direction perpendicular to the direction, thereby causing the vacuum handling The device is capable of long-distance translation and excellent sealing in the vacuum carrying chamber while maintaining Proven high precision and high reliability in substrate transfer.

The invention provides a vacuum conveying device for realizing orthogonal transmission of a substrate, which is arranged in a vacuum moving Inside the chamber, used to complete the substrate transfer between the two functional chambers, which are set on the vacuum handling device a manipulator assembly having a direction of movement of the substrate carrying the substrate in the vacuum carrying chamber, from the work The direction of movement of the substrate in the cavity can be the second direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, The utility model is characterized in that the vacuum conveying device further comprises a first one capable of independently controlling the movement of the first direction independently a transmission mechanism and a second transmission mechanism for controlling movement in the second direction, the first transmission mechanism or the second transmission A transmission mechanism in the mechanism includes: a ball spline provided with a rotating nut, a rotary translation steering mechanism, a pair of intermeshing staggered shaft teeth fixedly coupled to the rotating nut and the rotary translation steering mechanism The wheel mechanism, the rotary translation steering mechanism and the staggered shaft gear connected thereto are coaxially rotated.

Optionally, another one of the first transmission mechanism or the second transmission mechanism includes: a unit, and a bevel gear mechanism or a reversing flexible coupling for mating with the direction changing unit.

Optionally, the purpose of the rotary translation steering mechanism and the redirecting unit is to rotate the rotary motion It becomes linear motion, and can be used with ball screw, steel strip pulley, sprocket chain, synchronous wheel, worm gear Any of the rod structures.

Alternatively, the staggered shaft gear mechanism may be a bevel gear mechanism or a staggered cylindrical bevel gear mechanism.

Optionally, the first transmission mechanism is driven by a first driving source, and the second transmission mechanism is driven by a second driving a driving source, at least one of the first driving source and the second driving source is disposed in the vacuum conveying cavity external.

Optionally, a first driving source or a second driving source located outside the vacuum carrying cavity and the vacuum The transfer chamber is sealed by magnetic fluid.

Optionally, the substrate has an area greater than 0.5 m 2 and the substrate has a weight greater than 5 Kg.

Optionally, the displacement range of the vacuum handling chamber when the robot assembly is in a contracted state The circumference is greater than 0.5 meters.

The invention also provides a method for carrying a vacuum conveying device for realizing orthogonal transmission of a substrate, comprising: Movement of the manipulator assembly in a direction in a first direction or a second direction: driving the ball flower When the key is rotated, a pair of staggered shaft gear structures fixedly connected with the rotating nut of the ball spline will follow Rotating and driving the rotary translation steering mechanism connected thereto to realize the robot assembly Movement in the direction; movement of the robot assembly in the other direction in the first direction or the second direction: Driving the redirecting unit to work, transforming the rotational motion of the redirecting unit into a linear motion, thereby implementing the machine The movement of the robot assembly in this direction.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following technical effects:

1. In the present invention, two sets of transmission mechanisms capable of independent control are used, and the first transmission mechanism is used for control a movement of the substrate in the first direction, the second transmission mechanism is for controlling the substrate in the second direction In the case of motion, since the substrate is relatively independent in both directions, there is no mutual Correlation, thus avoiding interference between the two, improving the accuracy and operation of the vacuum handling device Rely on the standard of sex. In addition, the present invention does not relate to the magnetic coupling transmission method in the prior art, and does not need to Magnetic components are used to avoid interference of the magnetic components with the normal process in the processing chamber or for other elements The device causes interference, which further improves the accuracy and reliability of the vacuum handling device.

2. The rotary translation steering mechanism and the direction changing unit of the present invention use a ball screw, a steel strip pulley, and a sprocket Chain, synchronous wheel, worm gear, etc., which do not involve the waves commonly used in the prior art. The tube so that the travel of the substrate in the first direction and the second direction is no longer subject to a shorter bellows length Restriction, for example, in the case of using a ball screw as a rotary translational rotation mechanism, the row of the substrate The length of the ball can reach the length of the ball screw, and the length of the ball screw can be made according to actual needs. As any length.

3. In the present invention, the first driving source or the second driving source may be placed outside the vacuum carrying cavity, such that There is no need to use a vacuum motor, so that the drive source can be powered by a high-power motor. The long-distance travel of the substrate, on the other hand, can also save equipment costs.

4. In an alternative of the present invention, the direction changing unit can adopt a lower cost ball screw structure, and the ball The screw can maintain fast, smooth and high-precision motion over a large stroke range, and thanks to the ball inside the screw The friction is small and it is not easy to generate dust, which is conducive to obtaining a more clean working environment.

5. In an alternative of the present invention, the rotary translation steering mechanism can adopt a steel strip steel pulley structure, the phase For other methods, the price is low, the production cost of the equipment can be reduced, and at the same time, the installation of the steel strip structure Accuracy is not high and assembly is relatively easy.

6, the current technology for the solar cell industry and the flat panel display industry using large-size large-size substrates The transmission device involved in the operation is usually a multi-joint structure, and the robot arm has a large amount of sag, which is difficult Entering a narrow-mouth reaction chamber, and the handling device of the present invention avoids multi-joint design and The start and end of the robot arm are supported by rails, which makes the sagging of the robot arm extremely Improvement.

DRAWINGS

1 is a schematic plan view of a conventional typical cluster substrate processing system.

2 is a schematic plan view of a conventional linear substrate processing system.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a double-sided laminating device for a linear substrate having a translation function.

4 is a plan view showing a substrate processing system for realizing vacuum transportation of a substrate by using the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a substrate processing system for implementing vacuum processing of a substrate according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the vacuum carrying device of the first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a partial perspective view of the ball spline, spline nut and associated transmission structure.

Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the state in which the manipulator assembly is extended.

9A-9D are schematic plan views showing the transfer of the substrate of the robot assembly at different stations according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a substrate processing system for realizing vacuum transportation of a substrate by using the second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of a vacuum carrying device for a substrate according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

12A and 12B are schematic perspective views of the robot assembly of the second embodiment at different positions in the third direction.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a substrate processing apparatus for realizing vacuum transportation of a substrate by using a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view showing the layout of a substrate handling function cavity according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

In order to make the above objects, features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following The specific embodiments of the invention are described in detail.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. Other methods than those described herein may be employed, and thus the present invention is not subject to the disclosure disclosed below. Limitations of the body embodiment.

The invention provides a vacuum conveying device for realizing orthogonal transmission of a substrate, on the one hand by a roller flower Key, staggered shaft gear mechanism, rotary translation steering mechanism work together to control the substrate in a certain direction The motion situation, on the other hand, by another transmission mechanism to control the substrate in the other direction perpendicular to the direction The upper movement, so that the vacuum handling device can be used for long distances in the vacuum carrying chamber The transfer and excellent sealing effect ensure high precision and high reliability in substrate transfer.

First embodiment:

4 is a plan view showing the substrate processing system of the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the first The direction is the "X" direction, the second direction is the "Y" direction, the "X" direction is orthogonal to the "Y" direction, and the "X" direction is "Y" The directions are all parallel to the ground, specifically, the direction of movement of the robotic component carrying substrate in the vacuum carrying cavity In the "X" direction, the direction in which the robot component grabs and places the substrate from the functional cavity is the "Y" direction.

The substrate processing system 500 mainly includes a vacuum transfer cavity 110 internally provided with a vacuum transfer device 150a capable of transferring the substrate 101 between two functional cavities, the substrate having an area greater than 0.5 m ² . The weight of the substrate is greater than 5 Kg. The vacuum carrying device 150a can transfer the substrate 101 in the "X" direction and the "Y" direction, respectively; the two functional chambers are a first substrate processing function cavity 140a and a second substrate processing function cavity 140b, respectively. Any one of film deposition, cleaning, etching, and ion implantation treatment may be performed. The substrate processing system 500 further includes: a substrate loading cavity 120; a substrate unloading cavity 130; an atmospheric side substrate loading module 510; an atmospheric side substrate unloading module 520; and a vacuum isolation between the respective cavities Door valve 102.

The atmospheric side substrate loading module 510, the substrate loading cavity 120, and the first substrate processing function cavity 140a, the gate valve 102 together constitute a first substrate processing array 530a; the atmospheric side substrate unloading module 520, The substrate unloading cavity 130, the second substrate processing functional cavity 140b, and the gate valve 102 together form a second substrate Array 530b. The first substrate processing array 530a and the second substrate processing array 530b are parallel A "U" type substrate processing system is provided and connected to the vacuum transfer chamber 110. The true The distance that the empty conveyance device 110 needs to move in the "X" direction in the vacuum transfer chamber 110 is "D".

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the substrate processing system for implementing vacuum substrate transportation corresponding to FIG. 4 (not shown) The atmospheric side substrate loading module 510 and the atmospheric side substrate unloading module 520).

In the present embodiment, the "U" type substrate processing system is used to complete two or more work on the substrate 101. It can be processed, and the loading and unloading tasks of the substrate 101 are performed on the same side of the "U" type substrate processing system. This structure is advantageous for reducing the footprint of the entire system, reducing the production space required for high cleanliness, and Improve the automation level of production.

For a horizontal structure in which a substrate is horizontally placed, the first substrate processing array 530a and the first The distance "D" between the two substrate processing arrays 530b tends to be large, for example, the area is 1100 mm x 1300 mm. The fifth-generation substrate requires a travel "D" of about 2500 mm, which requires the vacuum handling device 150a to Must be able to move large strokes.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view corresponding to the vacuum carrying device 150a shown in Fig. 5.

As shown in FIG. 6, the vacuum handling device 150a includes: a machine for grasping and carrying the substrate 101. The robot assembly 410 and the first transmission mechanism and the second transmission mechanism capable of independent control, respectively.

The first transmission mechanism includes a redirecting unit 702a that converts rotational motion into linear motion, and Engaged

bevel gear mechanisms

706a, 706b that cooperate with the redirecting unit. The redirecting unit can be a industry Among the structures known as ball screws, steel belts, chain sprockets, synchronous wheels, worm gears, etc. Any one. In this embodiment, the redirecting unit uses a ball screw 702a. The intermeshing umbrella The

gear mechanism

706a, 706b can also adopt other mechanical knots having the same function, such as a variable flexible coupling. Construct instead. The first transmission mechanism further includes: a first direction translation rail 409a in the "X" direction and 409b, the first direction translation rail mount 705, the ball screw mounts 704a, 704b. The ball The lead screw 702a is driven by the first driving source 707a, and the transmission between the two passes through the pair of meshing

bevel gears Mechanisms

706a, 706b are implemented. The first driving source 707a may be located in a cavity of the vacuum carrying cavity or Outside the cavity, when the cavity is outside the cavity, the first driving source 707a and the cavity can pass through the sealing joint surface 715 is sealed, and the specific sealing method can adopt magnetic fluid, O-ring, skeleton sealing ring and the like. Place a first transmission mechanism for controlling the robot assembly 410 to translate the rail 409a in the first direction and The movement on the 409b.

The robot assembly 410 includes: a robot arm 709 for carrying a substrate, a robot arm mount The base 703 is mounted to the 708 and robot assembly.

Figure 7 is a partial perspective view of the second transmission mechanism of Figure 6, which is known from Figure 7, the second The transmission mechanism includes: a ball spline 701 with a rotating nut 713, and drives the robot assembly 410 Rotating translational steering mechanism, rotating nut 713 with the ball spline, respectively, and rotating translation steering A pair of intermeshing crossed

shaft gear mechanisms

706e and 706f are fixedly coupled to the mechanism. Rotating translation Ball screw, steel belt, chain sprocket, synchronous wheel, worm gear known to the industry Any one of a structure such as a worm, in the embodiment, the rotary translation steering mechanism is driven by a transmission steel A steel strip structure consisting of a belt 711 and a steel pulley 712. The steel strip 711 and the machinery on the robot assembly 410 The arm mount 708 is fixedly connected. The staggered

shaft gear structures

706e and 706f may be bevel gears or The staggered cylindrical helical gear structure is preferably a bevel gear structure in this example. In addition, the second transmission mechanism is further included Included: translating the

rails

408a and 408b in a second direction in the "Y" direction, spline rotating the nut mount 714, rolling Bead spline mounts 704c and 704d. The second transmission mechanism is driven by the second driving source 707b, For controlling the motion of the robot assembly 410 on the second direction translation rails 408a and 408b condition. The transmission of the second driving source 707b and the ball spline 701 passes through the pair of pinch gears 706c, 706d implementation. The second driving source may be located in the cavity of the vacuum carrying cavity or outside the cavity, in position The first driving source 707a and the cavity may be sealed by the sealing bonding surface 715 when the body is outside the cavity. The specific sealing method can be carried out by means of magnetic fluid, O-ring, skeleton sealing ring and the like.

The structural features of the components in the first embodiment of the present invention are further illustrated in conjunction with FIGS. 6 and 7. The first direction translation rails 409a and 409b, the ball splines 701, and the ball screws 702a are arranged in parallel, they The directions are all perpendicular to the first substrate processing array 530a and the second substrate processing array 530b. Place The robot assembly mounting base 703 is fixedly connected to the sliders of the first

direction translation rails

409a, 409b, The second

direction translation rails

408a, 408b are processed along the first substrate processing array 530a and the second substrate processing array The direction of the column 530b is set and mounted on the upper surface of the robot assembly mounting base 703. The robot group The robot arm mount 708 of the member 410 is fixedly coupled to the sliders of the

translation rails

408a, 408b. Steel The pulley 712 is disposed on the robot assembly mounting base 703, and the bevel gear 706f and the steel pulley 712 are mounted. Mounted on the same rotating shaft, the bevel gear 706e is fixedly coupled to the rotating nut 713 of the ball spline 701 At the end, the bevel gear 706e and the bevel gear 706f can mesh with each other. The flange of the rotating nut 713 Fixedly coupled to the splined swivel nut mount 714, the splined swivel nut mount 714 is fixedly coupled The robot assembly is mounted on the base 703. Thus, the steel pulley 712, the bevel gear 706e and the bevel gear 706f, The spline rotation nut 712 is relatively fixed to the position of the robot assembly mounting base 703.

The first driving source 707a is required when the robot assembly 410 needs to perform a first direction ("X" direction) motion. The ball is driven by the pair of

pinched bevel gears

706a, 706b to transmit the ball to the ball screw 702a, thereby driving the ball The lead screw 702a rotates. Since the screw nut (not shown in Fig. 6) is connected to the robot assembly mounting base 703 Connected, thus causing the rotational motion of the ball screw 702a to be converted into a ball screw nut in the direction of the ball screw Translational movement. The translation of the ball screw nut causes the robot assembly to mount the base 703 and the robot assembly The 410 moves in the "X" direction, and the manipulator assembly 410 in the embodiment has a large displacement range in the "X" direction. At 0.5 meters. At the same time, due to the steel pulley 712, the bevel gear 706e and the bevel gear 706f, spline rotation The nut 712 is relatively fixed to the position of the robot assembly mounting base 703, so these components will be mechanically The hand assembly mounting base 703 synchronizes the translational movement. Spline rotation nut when the robot component is moving in the "X" direction The 713 always slides on the ball spline 701.

When the robot assembly needs to perform a second direction ("Y" direction) movement, the first driving source 707a stops Stopping the work, the second drive source 707b transmits the motion to the pair of

pinched bevel gears

706c, 706d The ball spline 701, the ball spline 701 drives the matching spline rotation nut 713, the bevel gear 706e and the bevel gear Wheel 706f rotates. The steel pulley 712 is finally rotated. The rotation of the steel pulley 712 causes the steel strip 711 to be at "Y" The movement in the direction, and the movement of the steel strip 711, in turn, causes the robot assembly 410 to move in the "Y" direction. For progress One step to understand the principle that the steel belt drives the robot assembly 410 to move in the "Y" direction, as shown in Figure 8, Figure 8 is a schematic perspective view of the state in which the robot assembly 410 is extended.

In order to be better understood, it can be combined with reference to Figures 9A to 9D, Figure 8 and Figure 7:

In FIGS. 9A to 9D, the position at which the robot assembly 410 arrives is in the "X" direction and the "Y" direction, respectively. It is represented by "X1", "X2", "Y1", "Y2". Figure 9A shows the robot assembly 410 with the substrate 101 at "X1Y2" Position, at this time, the robot assembly 410 is at the corresponding position of the first substrate processing array 530a in the "X" direction, It is in the "Y" direction. Figure 9B shows the robot assembly 410 with the substrate 101 in the "X1Y1" position. At this time, the robot assembly 410 is at the corresponding position of the first substrate processing array 530a in the "X" direction, at "Y" The direction is in the retracted state. Figure 9C shows the robot assembly 410 with the substrate 101 in the "X2Y1" position. At time, the robot assembly 410 is at the corresponding position of the second substrate processing array 530b in the "X" direction, at "Y" The direction remains retracted. Figure 9D shows the robot assembly 410 with the substrate 101 in the ""X" 2Y2" position. At this time, the robot assembly 410 is at the corresponding position of the second substrate processing array 530b in the "X" direction, at "Y" The direction is in the extended state.

Second embodiment:

10 is a plan view of a substrate processing system 800 for implementing substrate vacuum handling using a second embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment, the first direction is a "Z" direction, and the second direction is a "Y" direction. The "Z" direction is orthogonal to the "Y" direction, the "Y" direction is parallel to the ground, and the "Z" direction is perpendicular to the ground. Specifically, The moving direction of the manipulator assembly in the vacuum carrying chamber is in the "Z" direction, and the mechanical component is functionally The direction of movement of the substrate in the cavity is "Y".

The substrate processing system 800 of the second embodiment and the various parts of the substrate processing system 500 of the first embodiment The composition and functions are basically similar, and are not described here again. The main difference between the two is that the first embodiment is the first one. The substrate processing function cavity 140a and the second substrate processing function cavity 140b are not on the same horizontal surface, but Arranged in a vertical direction, that is, a "U" type substrate processing system 800 is a U-shaped structure perpendicular to the ground, corresponding Ground, in the vacuum transfer cavity 110, the movement direction of the robotic component carrier substrate is a vertical "Z" direction, The robot component grabs and places the substrate from the functional cavity in a horizontal "Y" direction.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the substrate vacuum carrying device of the second embodiment.

Figure 12A is a perspective view of the robot assembly in a first direction ("Z" direction).

Figure 12B is a perspective view of the robot assembly in a low position in the first direction ("Z" direction).

As shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 12A, FIG. 12B, the vacuum carrying device of the second embodiment includes: for grasping Taking the robot assembly 410 carrying the substrate 101, and controlling the movement of the robot assembly in the first direction The first transmission mechanism is a second transmission mechanism capable of controlling the movement of the robot assembly in the second direction. The first transmission mechanism includes a ball spline 701 provided with a rotating nut 713, a rotary translation steering mechanism, a pair of intermeshings respectively fixedly coupled to the rotating nut 713 of the ball spline and the rotary translation steering mechanism Staggered

shaft gear mechanisms

706e and 706f, the rotary translation steering mechanism and the staggered shaft teeth connected thereto The wheel is coaxially rotated. In this embodiment, the staggered shaft gear mechanism is a bevel gear mechanism, and the rotation is translated. The steering mechanism is a ball screw 702b. The first transmission mechanism includes: a redirecting unit 702a, and a The bevel gear mechanism or the variable direction flexible coupling for the matching unit, in the embodiment, the direction change single The element is a ball screw 702a.

The substrate vacuum carrying device further includes: a first direction translation rail 802; a first direction translation rail Mounting seat 803; second

direction translation rail

408a, 408b; second direction translation rail mounting seat 705; machine Robot assembly mounting base 703; robot assembly 410; ball spline and ball screw mounts 704a, 704b, 704c, 704d; first driving source 707a; second driving source 707b; first driving source 707a and ball screw 702a power transmission required paired kneading

gear mechanisms

706a, 706b; second drive source 707b and ball splines 701 power transmission required pair of kneading

gears

706c, 706d; spline rotation nut mount 714; ball wire The bar 702a is equipped with a screw nut 717; the ball screw 702b is equipped with a screw nut 718; among them, the robot group The member 410 includes: a robot arm mount 708; the robot arms 709. 715 and 716 are the first drive source 707a, a sealing surface of the second driving source 707b and the cavity; a ball spline rotating nut 713; a spline rotating nut Mounting seat 714; first direction moving

transmission bevel gears

706e, 706f. 801a, 801b, 801c are cavity along Flange connection in the first direction ("Z" direction). Ball screw nut 717 and robot assembly mounting base The 703 is fixedly coupled and the ball screw nut 718 is fixedly coupled to the robot mount 708. Ball spline The turn nut 713 is coupled to the robot assembly mounting base 703 via a spline rotation nut mount 714. machine The robot arm mount 708 of the robot assembly 410 is fixedly coupled to the slider of the first direction translation rail 802.

The working of the second embodiment of the present invention will be further explained with reference to FIG. 10, FIG. 11, FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B. the way. The second direction shifting

guide rails

408a, 408b; the ball spline 701; the ball screw 702a is arranged in parallel, The direction is the telescopic direction of the robot assembly 410, and the robot assembly mounting base 703 is translated in the second direction. The sliders of the

guide rails

408a, 408b are fixedly connected. The first direction translation rail translates the guide rail 802 in the first direction The setting is shown as a translation guide rail, but it can be adopted in the industry. Line settings. The first direction translation rail mount 803 is fixedly coupled to the robot assembly mounting base 703. First The ball nut 717 of the ball screw 702a in the two directions ("Y" direction) passes through the nut mount 806 and the machine The hand assembly mounting base 703 is connected. Ball nut 718 of ball screw 702b in the first direction ("Z" direction) It is connected to the robot arm mount 708. The bevel gear 706e is fixedly coupled to the end of the spline rotation nut 713. The bevel gear 706f is coupled to the first direction ("Z" direction) ball screw, the bevel gear 706e and the bevel gear 706f Kneading each other. Thus, the ball spline shaft 701, the bevel gear 706e and the bevel gear 706f, and the spline rotation nut 713 The position of the mounting base 703 of the robot assembly is relatively fixed.

When the robot assembly needs to perform the second direction ("Y" direction) movement, the robot in the first embodiment The component 410 performs a similar movement in the first direction ("X" direction), and the first driving source 707a is pinched by the pair The

bevel gears

706a, 706b transmit motion to the ball screw 702a, thereby driving the ball screw to rotate. wire The lever nut 715 is coupled to the robot assembly mounting base 703. Thus, the rotational motion of the ball screw 702a Turned into a translational movement of the ball screw nut 717 in the direction of the ball screw. The translation of the ball screw nut will The robot assembly mounting base 703 and the robot assembly 410 are moved in the "Y" direction. At the same time, due to The ball spline 701, the bevel gear 706e and the bevel gear 706f, the spline rotation nut 712 and the robot The component mounting base 703 is relatively fixed in position, so these components are attached to the robot assembly mounting base 703 synchronous translation movement. When the robot assembly is moving in the "Y" direction, the spline rotation nut 713 is always in the spline Slide 701 on the slide.

When the robot assembly needs to move in the first direction ("Z" direction), the first driving source 707a stops working. The second drive source 707b transmits the motion to the ball spline through the pair of pinched bevel gears 706c, 706d. 701, the ball spline 701 drives the matching spline rotation nut 713, the bevel gear 706e and the bevel gear 706f Rotate. Finally, the "Z" direction ball screw 702b is rotated. The rotation of the ball screw 702b makes it The used screw nut 718 is used for linear motion in the "Z" direction. Due to the robot arm mount 708 and the screw The female 718 is connected, thus ultimately causing the robotic arm mount 708 to move linearly in the "Z" direction. Really The linear motion of the robot assembly 410 in the "Z" direction is now available.

12A and 12B respectively illustrate different positions of the robot assembly 410 in the first direction ("Z" direction). Schematic diagram of the setting. The robot arm 709 of the robot assembly 410 and the opening 801a on the cavity in Fig. 12A Correspondingly, the robot arm 709 of the robot assembly 410 in Fig. 12B corresponds to the opening 801c in the cavity. Cavity The

body openings

801a, 801b, and 801c can be connected to other functional chambers through the gate valve 102. A variety of substrate processing requirements are now available.

Third embodiment:

The working mode of the third embodiment of the present invention is further explained with reference to FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 , and is implemented here. In the example, the first direction is the "X" direction and the second direction is the "Y" direction.

It has been mentioned in the prior art that a ball spline transmission structure with a rotating nut is easily available. derivative. For example, adding a set of ball splines to the rotating nut can add a new way of movement. Figure 5 above And a substrate having a first substrate processing array 530a and a second substrate processing array 530b and a base is shown in FIG. The "U" type substrate processing system formed by the board handling function cavity 110 is in the "U" type substrate processing system 500 The other side of the substrate carrying function cavity 110 is also provided with a third substrate processing array 530a' and a second substrate The array 530b' constitutes a dual "U" type substrate processing system 900 as shown in FIG. The double "U" type The substrate processing system 900 includes: a vacuum transfer cavity 110; an A-side substrate loading functional cavity 120; A side base The board unloading function cavity 130; the A side first substrate processing function cavity 140a; the A side second substrate processing function cavity 140b; A side atmospheric side substrate loading function module 510; A side atmospheric side substrate unloading function module 520; B side substrate Loading functional cavity 120'; B-side substrate unloading functional cavity 130'; B-side first substrate processing functional cavity 140a'; B side second substrate processing function cavity 140b'; B side atmosphere side substrate loading function module 510'; B side large a gas side substrate unloading function module 520'; and a gate valve 102 connecting vacuum between the functional rooms; Substrate 101. The vacuum transfer chamber 110 has vacuum handling for realizing substrate "X" and "Y" transmission Device 150c, and vacuum handling device 150c has two sets of

robot assemblies

410a and 410b disposed in opposite directions. The A side atmospheric side substrate loading function module 510, the A side substrate loading function room 120, and the A side first base The plate processing function room 140a and the gate valve 102 constitute a first substrate processing array 530a; the A side atmospheric side substrate is unloaded Load function module 520, A side substrate loading function room 130, A side second substrate processing function room 140b, door Valve 102 constitutes a second substrate processing array 530b. B side atmospheric side substrate loading function module 510', B side The substrate loading function chamber 120', the B side first substrate processing function chamber 140a', and the gate valve 102 constitute a third base The board processing array 530a'; the B side atmospheric side substrate unloading function module 520', the B side substrate loading function room 130', the B side second substrate processing function chamber 140b', and the gate valve 102 constitute a fourth substrate processing array 530b'. The

substrate processing arrays

530a, 530b, 530a', 530b' are connected to the vacuum transfer chamber 110 to form a double "U" Type substrate processing device. The distance that the vacuum transfer chamber 110 needs to move in the "X" direction is "D". At the device The A-side

substrate processing arrays

530a, 530b participate in the process flow of completing the substrate processing, on the side of the device B. The substrate processing arrays 530a', 530b' collectively participate in the process flow for completing the substrate processing. Side A and Side B The substrate processing process can be the same or can be completely different. Complete the entire process on the A side and B side A vacuum transfer chamber 110 is required. Therefore, the vacuum transfer chamber 110 is shared, so that the entire device can To be more compact, equipment costs are further reduced.

Figure 14 is a plan view showing the structure of the vacuum transfer chamber 110 of the double "U" type substrate processing system. The vacuum handling device 150c mainly includes: a first direction ("X" direction)

translation rails

409a, 409b; Transmission mechanism 710; robot assembly mounting base 703; A side robot assembly 410a; B side robot group Piece 410b; A side second transmission mechanism 720a; B side second transmission mechanism 720b; second direction ("Y" direction) A

side translation rails

408a, 408b; second direction ("Y" direction) B side translation rails 408c, 408d. pass The moving

mechanisms

710 and 720a, 720b have the same structure and features as the first embodiment, and are not described herein again. And based on the first embodiment of the present invention, it is not difficult to understand the implementation method of the embodiment. What needs special explanation is The second direction ("Y" direction)

translation rails

408a, 408b, 408c, 408d are all mounted on the robot assembly Above the mounting base 703, that is, the

robot components

410a, 410b are disposed on the same mounting base 703. Thus, the

robot components

410a, 410b will maintain synchronized motion in the first direction. In the second direction The robot assembly can be driven by a separate drive source (not shown) and a second transmission 710a or 710b. Now pick and place the respective A side or B side substrate.

It can be seen from the above three embodiments that the present invention provides a vacuum for realizing orthogonal transmission of a substrate. The handling device, on the one hand, is composed of a roller spline, a staggered shaft gear mechanism, and a rotary translation steering mechanism. Work together to control the movement of the substrate in one direction, and on the other hand to control through another transmission mechanism The movement of the substrate in the other direction perpendicular to the direction, thereby enabling the vacuum handling device to Long-distance translation and excellent sealing effect in the vacuum transfer chamber, while ensuring substrate transfer High precision and high reliability.

In the present invention, two sets of transmission mechanisms capable of independent control are used, and the first transmission mechanism is used for control. The movement of the substrate in the first direction, the second transmission mechanism for controlling the movement of the substrate in the second direction In the case, since the substrate is relatively independent in both directions, there is no correlation between them. This avoids interference between the two and improves the accuracy and reliability standards in the operation of the vacuum handling device. another In addition, the present invention does not relate to the prior art magnetic coupling transmission mode, and does not require the use of magnetic components, thereby Avoiding the interference of magnetic components on the normal process in the processing chamber or causing interference to other components, further Improve the accuracy and reliability of the vacuum handling device.

The rotary translation steering mechanism and the direction changing unit of the present invention use a ball screw, a steel strip pulley, a sprocket Chain, synchronous wheel, worm gear, etc., which do not involve the bellows commonly used in the prior art. The stroke of the substrate in the first direction and the second direction is no longer limited by the length of the shorter bellows, for example For example, in the case where a ball screw is used as the rotational translation rotating mechanism, the length of the stroke of the substrate can be up to To the length of the ball screw, the length of the ball screw can be made to any length according to actual needs.

In the present invention, the first driving source or the second driving source may be placed outside the vacuum carrying cavity, such that There is no need to use a vacuum motor, so that the drive source can use a high-power motor, on the one hand, the substrate Long-distance travel, on the other hand, can also save equipment costs.

In an alternative of the invention, the direction changing unit can adopt a lower cost ball screw structure, ball The screw can maintain fast, smooth and high-precision motion over a large stroke range, and due to the ball in the lead screw The rubbing is small and it is not easy to generate dust, which is conducive to obtaining a more clean working environment.

In an alternative of the present invention, the rotary translation steering mechanism may adopt a steel strip steel pulley structure, the phase For other methods, the price is low, which can reduce the production cost of the equipment, and at the same time, the installation accuracy of the steel strip structure The requirements are not high and the assembly is relatively easy.

For the solar cell industry and the flat panel display industry, which use large-size and large-sized substrates, their current technologies The transmission device involved in the operation is usually a multi-joint structure, and the robot arm has a large amount of sag, which is difficult to enter. a narrow-mouth reaction chamber, while the handling device of the present invention avoids multiple joint designs and is in a robotic arm The starting end and the end have rail support, which greatly improves the sagging of the robot arm.

Although the invention has been disclosed above in the preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited thereto, and any skill is Various changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention should be determined by the scope defined by the claims.

Claims

A vacuum conveying device for orthogonally conveying a substrate, which is disposed inside a vacuum conveying chamber, For performing substrate transfer between two functional chambers, the vacuum handling device is provided with a robot assembly, The direction of movement of the carrier substrate in the vacuum carrying cavity is a first direction, and the device is grasped from the functional cavity Positioning the substrate in a second direction, the first direction being perpendicular to the second direction, wherein: The vacuum handling device further includes a first transmission mechanism and a control capable of independently controlling the movement of the first direction separately a second transmission mechanism that moves in the second direction, and one of the first transmission mechanism or the second transmission mechanism The transmission mechanism includes: a ball spline provided with a rotating nut, a rotary translation steering mechanism, and the rotation respectively a pair of intermeshing staggered shaft gear mechanisms fixedly coupled to the rotating nut and the rotary translation steering mechanism The translational steering mechanism and the staggered shaft gear connected thereto are coaxially rotated.
A vacuum carrying device for realizing orthogonal transmission of a substrate according to claim 1, wherein: The other of the first transmission mechanism or the second transmission mechanism includes: a direction changing unit, and A bevel gear mechanism or a variable direction flexible coupling for use with the direction changing unit.
A vacuum carrying device for realizing orthogonal transmission of a substrate according to claim 2, wherein: The purpose of the rotary translation steering mechanism and the direction changing unit is to convert the rotary motion into a linear motion Can be used in ball screw, steel strip pulley, sprocket chain, synchronous wheel, worm gear structure Any one.
A vacuum carrying device for realizing orthogonal transmission of a substrate according to claim 1, wherein: The staggered shaft gear mechanism may be a bevel gear mechanism or a staggered cylindrical bevel gear mechanism.
A vacuum carrying device for realizing orthogonal transmission of a substrate according to claim 1, wherein: The first transmission mechanism is driven by a first driving source, and the second transmission mechanism is driven by a second driving source. At least one of the first drive source and the second drive source is disposed outside the vacuum transfer chamber.
A vacuum carrying device for realizing orthogonal transmission of a substrate according to claim 8, wherein: a first driving source or a second driving source located outside the vacuum carrying chamber and the vacuum carrying chamber The magnetic fluid is used for sealing.
The vacuum conveying device for realizing orthogonal transmission of a substrate according to claim 1, wherein: the area of the substrate is greater than 0.5 m 2 , and the weight of the substrate is greater than 5 Kg.
A vacuum carrying device for realizing orthogonal transmission of a substrate according to claim 1, wherein: The displacement of the inside of the vacuum transfer cavity when the robot assembly is in the contracted state is greater than 0.5 meters.
A method of transporting a vacuum conveying device for orthogonally conveying a substrate according to claim 2, It is characterized by:

Movement of the manipulator assembly in a direction in a first direction or a second direction: driving the roller When the bead spline rotates, a pair of staggered shaft gear structures fixedly connected with the rotating nut of the ball spline will also Rotating with it and driving the rotary translation steering mechanism connected thereto to realize the robot assembly Movement in this direction;

Movement of the robot assembly in the other direction in the first direction or the second direction: driving the direction change single Meta-working, transforming the rotational motion of the redirecting unit into a linear motion, thereby realizing the mechanical component The movement in that direction.
A method of transporting a vacuum conveying device for orthogonally conveying a substrate according to claim 7, The utility model is characterized in that: the purpose of the rotary translation steering mechanism and the direction changing unit are both for rotating the rotary motion It becomes linear motion, and can be used with ball screw, steel strip pulley, sprocket chain, synchronous wheel, worm gear Any of the rod structures.