Apparatus and method for processing a large area substrate

Abstract

An apparatus (100) for processing a large area substrate (120) and a method for measuring at least one optical property of a substantially vertically arranged large area substrate is described. The apparatus for processing a large area substrate comprises: a chamber arrangement (110) for transporting the large area substrate there through in a vertically arranged state, wherein the chamber arrangement includes at least one chamber, a processing device for processing the vertically arranged large area substrate and an exit port (112) for the vertically arranged large area substrate; a transport system for transporting the substrate through the chamber arrangement; and a measuring arrangement (210) comprising an optical measuring device. The optical measuring device includes an illuminating device (211) for emitting diffuse light onto the vertically arranged large area substrate, and a light detecting device for measuring at least one optical property of the vertically arranged large area substrate.

Description

technical field [0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to processing systems and methods for operating the processing systems. In particular, they relate to equipment for handling and monitoring large area substrates and methods of measuring properties of large area substrates by optical means. The present disclosure particularly relates to in-line processing equipment. The apparatus of the present disclosure is particularly suitable for handling and measuring vertically arranged large area substrates. Background technique [0002] In many technical applications, multiple layers of different materials are deposited onto each other on a substrate. Typically, this is done in a series of coating or deposition steps, eg sputtering steps. For example, a multilayer stack having a succession of "Material One" - "Material Two" - "Material One" may be deposited. For depositing multilayer stacks, a serial arrangement of several deposition modules can be used. A typic...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

A problem associated with measuring properties of vertically arranged large area substrates is that large area substrates tend to warp due to the gravitational force acting on the substrate

Such warping of the substrate can lead to inaccurate optical measurements because the relative position of the substrate to the measurement setup can vary depending on the position and degree of warping

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