Swing apparatus, method of handling a substrate, swing module for receiving a substrate from a transfer chamber, and vacuum processing system

Abstract

A swing apparatus for moving a substrate relative to one or more deposition sources having a longitudinal axis is described. The swing apparatus includes a support body for holding the substrate, a rotation mechanism coupled to the support body to move the substrate about an axis of rotation by an angle to change the substrate orientation from a transfer or horizontal orientation to a processing or vertical orientation at a processing region, and a linear motion mechanism coupled to the support body to translate the substrate relative to the longitudinal axis of the deposition sources when the substrate is in the processing orientation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of this disclosure relate to oscillating devices and modules for moving a substrate relative to one or more deposition sources. Furthermore, embodiments of this disclosure relate to methods for processing substrates and vacuum processing systems. Background Technology

[0002] Several methods for depositing materials on substrates are known. For example, substrates can be coated using vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition (PVD) processes (such as sputtering, spraying, etc.), or chemical vapor deposition (CVD). These processes can be performed in the processing chamber of a deposition apparatus, with the substrate to be coated located within the chamber. Deposition material is provided in the processing chamber. A material layer, such as an insulating material layer, can be deposited on the substrate using sputtering deposition. This involves spraying material from a target onto the substrate. Ions generated in a plasma region bombard the target material to be deposited on the substrate to expel atoms of the target material from the surface of the target. The expelled atoms can form a material layer on the substrate. In reactive sputtering deposition processes, the expelled atoms can react with gases (e.g., nitrogen or oxygen) in the plasma region to form oxides, nitrides, or oxynitrides of the target material on the substrate. Furthermore, other processes, such as etching, structuring, annealing, or similar processes, can be performed in the processing chamber.

[0003] For example, in display manufacturing technology, coating processes can be considered for use on large-area substrates. Coated substrates can be used in a number of applications and technical fields. These applications may include, for example, insulating panels, microelectronic devices (such as semiconductor devices), substrates with thin-film transistors (TFTs), color filters, or similar applications.

[0004] The trend toward larger substrates with more complex and thinner coatings has led to larger processing modules. Vertically connected processing modules in series can have disadvantages due to their footprint, redundancy, and cost. For coating large-area substrates, glass can be aligned with a mask to avoid coating on the glass edges and / or back surfaces, and the processing chamber can be sealed to isolate it from the glass transport area. A fixture holds the substrate at its edges during processing. This can lead to issues with graininess and uniformity due to glass mask alignment (shading effect) and lateral deposition on the fixture. Furthermore, the deposition of particles generated in the processing chamber on components of the processing module outside the target substrate (e.g., on moving mechanical components) can negatively impact the performance of these components and thus their reliability.

[0005] In view of the above, there is a need for devices, modules, methods and systems that can provide improved uniformity of deposited layers and reduce particle generation in or near the chamber. Summary of the Invention

[0006] A oscillating device, a method for processing a substrate, an oscillating module for receiving a substrate from a transfer chamber, and a vacuum processing system are provided. Further features, details, aspects, and modifications can be derived from the dependent claims, the description, and the drawings.

[0007] According to one embodiment, a oscillating device is provided for moving a substrate relative to one or more deposition sources having a longitudinal axis. The oscillating device includes: a support body for holding the substrate; a rotation mechanism coupled to the support body to move the substrate about a rotation axis by an angle to change the substrate orientation from a transfer or horizontal orientation to a processing or vertical orientation at a processing region; and a linear motion mechanism coupled to the support body to translate the substrate relative to the longitudinal axis of the deposition sources when the substrate is in the processing orientation.

[0008] According to another embodiment, a method for processing a substrate is provided. The method includes: holding the substrate on a support body; moving the substrate relative to a deposition source having a longitudinal axis, the movement of the substrate being performed by means of a rotation mechanism coupled to the support body about an angle around the rotation axis to change the substrate orientation from a pass or horizontal orientation to a process or vertical orientation; processing the surface of the substrate with the deposition source; and when the substrate is in the process orientation, translating the substrate relative to the longitudinal axis of the deposition source by means of a linear motion mechanism coupled to the support body.

[0009] According to another embodiment, a swing module is provided for receiving a substrate from a transfer chamber of a vacuum processing system and for positioning the substrate in a processing region of a processing chamber of the vacuum processing system. The swing module includes: a vacuum chamber; a support body for holding the substrate within the vacuum chamber; a rotation mechanism coupled to the support body for moving the substrate about a rotation axis by an angle to change the orientation of the substrate from a transfer or horizontal orientation to a processing or vertical orientation; and a linear motion mechanism coupled to the support body for laterally translating the substrate relative to the longitudinal axis of the deposition source when the substrate is in the processing orientation.

[0010] According to another embodiment, a vacuum processing system for processing a substrate is provided. The system includes: at least one processing chamber including a deposition source for processing the substrate, the deposition source having a longitudinal axis; at least one oscillating module operatively coupled to the processing chamber for positioning the substrate in a processing region of the processing chamber; and a transfer chamber operatively coupled to the oscillating module for moving the substrate to the oscillating module. The oscillating module includes: a vacuum chamber; a support body for holding the substrate within the vacuum chamber; a rotation mechanism coupled to the support body for moving the substrate about a rotation axis by an angle to change the orientation of the substrate from a transfer or horizontal orientation to a processing or vertical orientation; and a linear motion mechanism coupled to the support body for laterally translating the substrate relative to the longitudinal axis of the deposition source when the substrate is in a processing orientation. Attached Figure Description

[0011] To gain a more detailed understanding of the features described above, a more specific description of the present disclosure, which has been briefly summarized above, can be obtained by referring to the embodiments. The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and are described below:

[0012] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a swinging device for moving a substrate relative to a deposition source is shown.

[0013] Figure 2A It shows Figure 1 A schematic top view of the swinging device;

[0014] Figure 2B It shows Figure 1 A schematic rear view of the swinging device;

[0015] Figure 2C An exploded view of the oscillating device is shown;

[0016] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a swing module including a swing device is shown;

[0017] Figure 4 A schematic side view of the vacuum processing system is shown;

[0018] Figure 5 A schematic top view of the vacuum processing system is shown; and

[0019] Figure 6 A flowchart of a method for processing a substrate is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0020] Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of this disclosure, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same parts. Only differences with respect to the various embodiments are described. The various examples are provided by way of explanation of this disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, features shown or described as part of one embodiment may be used on or in combination with other embodiments to produce another embodiment. This specification is intended to include such modifications and variations.

[0021] Unless otherwise specified, the description of a part or aspect of one embodiment also applies to the corresponding part or aspect of another embodiment.

[0022] The embodiments described herein can be used to inspect large-area coated substrates, such as those used in the manufacture of displays. The substrate or substrate receiving area targeted by the apparatus and methods described herein can be, for example, 1m in size. 2 Or even larger large-area substrates. For example, a large-area substrate or carrier could be: Generation 4.5, which corresponds to approximately 0.67m. 2 Substrate (0.73 × 0.92 m); Generation 5, corresponding to approximately 1.4 m. 2 Substrate (1.1m × 1.3m); Generation 7.5, which corresponds to approximately 4.29m. 2 Substrate (1.95m × 2.2m); Generation 8.5, corresponding to approximately 5.7m. 2 Substrate (2.2m × 2.5m); or even generation 10, which corresponds to approximately 8.7m. 2 The substrate (2.85m × 3.05m) can be similarly achieved for larger generations (such as 11th and 12th generations) and corresponding substrate areas. For example, in OLED display manufacturing, half the size of the aforementioned substrate generations (including GEN6) can be coated by evaporation using equipment for evaporating materials. Half the size of the substrate generation can be achieved by some processes running on the full substrate size and subsequent processes running on half of the previously treated substrate.

[0023] As used herein, the term "substrate" can specifically encompass substantially non-flexible substrates, such as wafers, transparent crystal slices (such as sapphire), or glass plates. However, this disclosure is not limited thereto, and the term "substrate" can include flexible substrates, such as rolls or foils. Depending on the embodiment that can be combined with any other embodiment described herein, the substrate can be made of any material suitable for material deposition. For example, the substrate can be made of materials selected from the group consisting of: glass (e.g., soda-lime glass or borosilicate glass), metals, polymers, ceramics, composite materials, carbon fiber materials, mica, or any other material or combination of materials capable of being coated by a deposition process. For example, the thickness of the substrate in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the substrate can range from 0.1 mm to 1.8 mm, such as 0.7 mm, 0.5 mm, or 0.3 mm. In some embodiments, the thickness of the substrate can be 50 μm or greater. The thickness of the substrate can be 900 μm or less.

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic side view of a oscillating device 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The oscillating device 10 is used to move a substrate 20 relative to a deposition source 30. The deposition source 30 has a longitudinal axis 31 and is intended to process the substrate 20, particularly a surface of the substrate 20, i.e., the front surface. According to some embodiments, one or more vertically oriented sputtering sources may be provided. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the deposition source may be a line source. For example, one or more rotatable sputtering cathodes may be provided. The rotatable sputtering cathode may have a cylindrical target, such as a target for the material to be deposited. Two or more sputtering cathodes may be formed into an array. A rotating cathode array can produce a corrugated coating of material.

[0025] The oscillating device 10 includes a support body 40 for holding a substrate 20. For example, the rear surface of the substrate 20 (opposite to the front surface processed by the deposition source 30) contacts the support body 40. The oscillating device 10 also includes a rotation mechanism 42 coupled to the support body 40 to move the substrate 20 about a rotation axis 44 by an angle 12 from a transfer or horizontal orientation I to a processing or vertical orientation II in the processing area. Furthermore, the oscillating device 10 includes a linear motion mechanism 46 coupled to the support body 40 for laterally translating the substrate 20 relative to the longitudinal axis 31 of the deposition source 30 when the substrate 20 is in processing orientation II. Figure 2A and Figure 2B (To be better described in Chinese).

[0026] The movement of the support body 40 can be described by rotation about a joint 43 arranged at the rotating mechanism 42, wherein the joint 43 forms a rotation axis 44. The movement of the support body 40 can also be understood as a folding or flap-up movement. Figure 1 The dashed outline 10' in the diagram illustrates the support body 40 moving from a transfer or horizontal orientation I by an angle 12 (e.g., about 90 degrees) to a processing or vertical orientation II. The term "transfer orientation" is intended to describe an orientation in which the front surface of the substrate 20 points upward, allowing the substrate 20 to be easily transferred to or from another chamber. The term "processing orientation" is intended to describe an orientation in which the front surface of the substrate 20 faces the deposition source 30, allowing target material to be deposited on the substrate 20. Figure 1 Arrow 32 in the figure indicates the direction of the material or ions ejected from the source.

[0027] The substrate 20 moves by an angle 12, for example, by rotating about axis 44, into the processing area 72. The movement of the substrate 20 through angle 12 into the processing area 72 can be described as including angular displacement. In embodiments, the movement of the substrate 20 through angle 12 can include translational movement. For example, the axis of rotation can be offset about the edge of the substrate, thereby providing translational movement during the angle movement of the substrate. The axis of rotation can also be displaced, particularly toward the processing area 72. The support body 40 configured to move the substrate 20 by angle 12 can be understood as a rotatably mounted support body 40 configured to rotate or oscillate at least about axis 44, for example about joint 43, to change the orientation of the substrate surface attached to the support body 40.

[0028] According to embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the support body 40 is configured to move the substrate 20 from a non-vertical orientation I to a non-horizontal orientation II. Specifically, when referring to the orientation of the substrate 20, non-vertical orientation I can be understood as allowing a deviation from the horizontal direction or orientation of + / -20 degrees or less, for example, less than + / -10 degrees. Similarly, non-horizontal orientation II can be understood as allowing a deviation from the vertical direction or orientation of + / -20 degrees or less, for example, less than + / -10 degrees. For example, during substrate processing, particularly during layer deposition processes, deviation from the vertical orientation II of the substrate support may result in a more stable substrate orientation. Furthermore, particularly before moving the substrate 20 in the processing region 72, deviation from the horizontal orientation I of the substrate can be advantageous to facilitate the transfer and / or alignment of the substrate 20.

[0029] Figure 2A and Figure 2B The top view and rear view are shown respectively. Figure 1The device is a swinging device. It should be noted that the support body 40, and therefore the substrate 20, can be laterally translated relative to the deposition source 30, and in particular, relative to the longitudinal axis 31 of the deposition source 30. The double arrow 14 in the figure indicates that the support body 40 can be translated on the right and left sides of the deposition source 30. Lateral translation occurs when the substrate 20 is in processing orientation II, i.e., when the front surface of the substrate 20 faces the deposition source 30. In particular, this movement is made possible by actuating a linear motion mechanism 46 coupled to the support body 40 and located below the rotation mechanism 42.

[0030] Lateral movement of the substrate 20 relative to the deposition source 30 allows for improved uniformity of the deposited layer. For example, ripples in the deposition source array can be removed by moving the substrate in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the deposition source (e.g., a line source). This can be confirmed by various measurement techniques, such as microwave optical conductivity attenuation measurement (μPCD) or X-ray methods. For example, μPCD can serve as an indicator of monolayer uniformity tuning.

[0031] The movement of the substrate 20 into the processing area 72 through an angle 12 can be described as a substantial angular displacement. In an embodiment, the movement of the substrate 20 through an angle 12 may include a portion of translational motion. (Refer to...) Figure 1 The support body 40 can perform a translational movement aligned with the horizontal direction and move about an angle 12 toward the processing area 72 about the rotation axis. In other words, the support body 40 is configured to move the substrate 20 in a horizontal linear direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 31 of the deposition source 30 during movement from transfer orientation I to processing orientation II, and vice versa; and to provide a linear offset 48 between the edge of the substrate 20 facing the processing area 72 and the longitudinal axis 31 of the deposition source 30.

[0032] like Figure 1 and Figure 2B As shown, the rotating mechanism 42 is positioned above the linear motion mechanism 46. In particular, the rotating mechanism 42 is supported by the linear motion mechanism 46. This results in the advantage of positioning the moving parts of the mechanical rotation and translation mechanism within a more compact and limited area of ​​the oscillating device 10.

[0033] According to an embodiment that can be combined with any other embodiment described herein, the oscillating device 10 includes a protection unit 50 for reducing particles generated by the deposition source 30 within the processing area. The protection unit 50 may be a single element protecting (i.e., shielding) the moving parts of the rotating mechanism 42 and / or the linear motion mechanism 46, or it may be a combination of two or more elements, each protecting different portions of these moving parts. In this way, particle generation in or near the processing area 72 is reduced, or the entry of generated particles into the processing area can be reduced.

[0034] For example, the protection unit 50 may include at least one bellows element. The rotating mechanism 42 may include at least one rotating shaft 47, which is positioned within the bellows element. The bellows may be in the form of a rod or flexible tube that surrounds and covers the rotating shaft 47 of the rotating mechanism 42.

[0035] According to embodiments that can be combined with any other embodiments described herein, the protection unit 50 may include at least one other or a second bellows element, and the linear motion mechanism 46 may include a linear guide 49 located within the other or second bellows element. For example, in Figure 3 The linear guide 49, schematically shown, is used to provide lateral translational movement of the substrate 20 relative to the deposition source 30. In this way, one or more bellows may have the form of rods or flexible tubes that surround and cover the linear guide 49 of the linear motion mechanism 46. The bellows may cover and thus protect other components of the linear motion mechanism 46, such as linear actuators coupled to the linear guide 49. Due to the fact that the rotating mechanism 42 is supported by the linear motion mechanism 46, a single bellows element can be constructed to protect both the rotating shaft 47 and the linear guide 49. Alternatively, two separate bellows can be used to protect the rotating shaft 47 of the rotating mechanism 42 and the linear guide 49 of the linear motion mechanism 46.

[0036] According to the embodiments, the support body 40 can be understood as being configured to hold the arrangement of the substrate 20. For example, the support body 40 can be a rigid body, such as a frame or a plate. In particular, the support body 40 can be configured to support the surface of the substrate 20, such as the back surface of the substrate 20.

[0037] According to an embodiment that may be combined with any other embodiment described herein, the support body 40 includes a base for heating the substrate 20. Specifically, the support body 40 may include a heated plate that is in direct contact with the substrate 20 (i.e., the back surface of the substrate 20). Heating may occur during the deposition process of the target material in the processing region 72.

[0038] In this disclosure, the clamping element can be understood as a holding arrangement configured to provide a retaining force for attaching the substrate 20 described in this disclosure. Specifically, the substrate 20 can be held at its edge to the support body 40 by a clamp.

[0039] Figure 2CThe oscillating device 10 is described with an exploded view of its components. For example, the rotation mechanism 42 includes at least two splined shaft connecting elements 421 and at least two rotary motors 422 to move the substrate 20 (i.e., the support body 40) from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation. The oscillating device 10 includes two tubular bellows 52 that symmetrically cover the left and right portions of the rotation axis 47 of the rotation mechanism 42. Positioned below the rotation axis 47 is a linear motion mechanism 46 with linear guides 49, which may be additionally covered by the bellows 52. The oscillating device may also include a vertical frame 22 positioned at a processing area 72. When the support body 40 is rotated and held in a vertical orientation, the substrate 20 is positioned at the processing area 72 and ready for deposition processes.

[0040] According to one embodiment, the substrate 20 can be aligned with the support body 40 before being placed on it. This alignment can be performed, for example, by a transport frame that carries the substrate 20 horizontally oriented above the support body 40. An array of pins can be provided to position the substrate 20 on the support body 40 in an aligned or centered manner. Alternatively, the substrate 20 can be aligned using a simple pusher before being placed on the support body 40 and attached by a clamp.

[0041] After alignment, substrate 20 can be attached or clamped to support body 40, for example, in a horizontal orientation. Support body 40 can then be positioned in a vertical direction. Substrate 20 may experience sagging due to gravity during orientation changes. According to some embodiments of this disclosure that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, clamps may be provided at the edges to allow for reduced sagging and easy release of substrate 20 from support body 40 after processing.

[0042] In this disclosure, with respect to the rotating mechanism 42, at least one actuator is provided to move the support body 40 about the shaft 44. The actuator can be understood as a rotary motor or an extendable cylinder, for example, a hydraulically, pneumatically, mechanically, or electrically driven cylinder, configured to move the support body 40 about the shaft 44 in front of the processing station. The actuator can also be understood as a linear actuator with a rack and pinion system. The shaft, particularly a rotating shaft, can be configured as a pivot, swivel, oscillating, or rotary joint. The shaft may include, for example, an actuator with a motor and gears. The shaft can be directly driven. A motor and / or gears can be provided. The actuator can be self-driven or can be a rotatably mounted rod. The actuator can be fixed to the support body 40 and / or the shaft.

[0043] In this disclosure, with respect to the linear motion mechanism 46, at least one actuator is provided for laterally translating the support body 40 relative to the longitudinal axis 31 of the deposition source 30, and thus laterally translating the substrate 20. For example, the actuator can be understood as a linear actuator having a rack and pinion system. The actuator can be a rod-type actuator, which can be fluid-powered (e.g., pneumatic or hydraulic) or electric via a lead screw or ball screw. Alternatively, the actuator can be a rodless actuator, which can be fluid-powered or electric via a lead screw, ball screw, conveyor belt, or linear motor. Both types of actuators can be applied to guiding systems. The guiding element can be a shaped track, a circular track, or other rolling or sliding system.

[0044] Figure 3 and Figure 4 A swing module 60 is described, which receives a substrate 20 from a transfer chamber 80 of a vacuum processing system and positions the substrate 20 within a processing region 72 of a processing chamber 70 of the vacuum processing system. The swing module 60 includes a vacuum chamber 62 and a support body 40 for holding the substrate 20 positioned within the vacuum chamber 62. A rotation mechanism 42 coupled to the support body 40 moves the substrate 20 by an angle 12 about a rotation axis 44 from a transfer or horizontal orientation I to a processing or vertical orientation II. Figure 3 A substrate in processing orientation I is shown. A linear motion mechanism 46, coupled to a support body 40, is used to laterally translate the substrate 20 relative to the longitudinal axis 31 of the deposition source 30 when the substrate 20 is in processing orientation II. To perform the translational movement of the substrate as described above, the linear motion mechanism 46 is provided with a linear actuator coupled to a linear guide 49 located below the rotation mechanism 42. Furthermore, a protection unit 50 is provided to protect both the rotation mechanism 42 and the linear motion mechanism 46 from particles generated by the deposition source 30.

[0045] Figure 4An exemplary vacuum processing system 90 is shown, comprising: at least one processing chamber 70; at least one oscillation module 60 operably coupled to the processing chamber 70 to position a substrate 20 in a processing region 72 of the processing chamber 70; and at least one transfer chamber 80 operably coupled to the oscillation module 60 to move the substrate 20 to the oscillation module 60. Specifically, the oscillation module 60 includes a vacuum chamber 62 and a support body 40 for holding the substrate 20 within the vacuum chamber 62. Furthermore, the oscillation module 60 includes a rotation mechanism 42 coupled to the support body 40 to move the substrate 26 from a transfer or horizontal orientation I about a rotation axis 44 by an angle 12 to a processing or vertical orientation II. Additionally, the oscillation module 60 includes a linear motion mechanism 46 coupled to the support body 40 to laterally translate the substrate 20 relative to the longitudinal axis 31 of the deposition source 30 when the substrate 20 is in processing orientation II.

[0046] The vacuum chamber 62 and the transfer chamber 80 of the swing module 60 may be provided with a support 64. The swing module 60 may include or be connected to the processing chamber 70, which may be provided with a support column 74.

[0047] According to embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, such as Figure 5 As shown, the vacuum processing system 90 may include a vacuum transfer chamber 80, wherein more than one, particularly two or more, swing modules 60A, 60B, 60C, and 60D are arranged adjacent to the vacuum transfer chamber 80. A substrate 20 (shown in dashed lines in the figure) is transferred to the vacuum transfer chamber 80, for example, via a loading chamber or loading module 92. The vacuum transfer chamber 80 can move the substrate 20 to the vacuum chamber of the first swing module 60A. The vacuum processing system 90 may include a support chamber arranged on the vacuum transfer chamber 80 to perform specific additional functions, such as substrate storage. Furthermore, more than one loading locking chamber may be provided. For example, a loading locking chamber may be provided to load the substrate into the transfer chamber, and a loading locking chamber may be provided to unload the substrate from the transfer chamber.

[0048] The substrate 20 can be arranged or attached to the support body 40 in the vacuum chamber of the first swing module 60A by means of a clamp. As described herein, the support body 40 moves the substrate 20 from a non-vertical orientation I by an angle 12 to a non-horizontal orientation II in the processing area of ​​the processing chamber 70A in front of the mask (not shown). After processing the substrate 20 in the processing area of ​​the processing chamber 70A, the substrate 20 is moved to a non-vertical orientation I and removed from the processing area and moved into the vacuum chamber of the first swing module 60A. The substrate 20 is removed from the vacuum chamber of the swing module 60A and returned to the transfer chamber 80. After obtaining the substrate 20 from the vacuum chamber of the swing module 60A, the transfer chamber 80 can move the substrate 20 to another swing module 60B, 60C, or 60D, which respectively have other processing chambers 70B, 70C, and 70D.

[0049] According to the embodiment, the movement of substrate 20 from oscillating module 60A to other oscillating modules 60B, 60C, 60D can be understood as a lateral movement of substrate 20, wherein substrate 20 moves while in a non-vertical orientation I. The transfer chamber 80 can be configured to rotate substrate 20, for example, to enable alignment of substrate 20 before moving it to the processing chamber. Substrate 20 can be moved by transfer chamber 80 from the vacuum chamber of the first oscillating module 60A to any other vacuum chamber of oscillating modules 60B, 60C, 60D, which are arranged on transfer chamber 80 in an undetermined order.

[0050] According to an embodiment, the vacuum processing system 90 may include more than one loading module 92, transfer chamber 80, swing module 60, or processing chamber 70.

[0051] The loading module 92 can be understood as a module capable of receiving or accepting the substrate 20 and / or removing or discarding the substrate. The loading module 92, or loading locking chamber, may be a chamber with an opening on one side configured to receive the substrate 20. The loading module 92 may be connected to a transfer device configured to transfer the substrate 20 to the loading module 92. For example, the loading module 92 can be understood as an airlock for transferring the substrate 20 to a chamber with low pressure, particularly a chamber with vacuum pressure. According to an embodiment, the loading module is connected to a transfer chamber 80.

[0052] The transfer chamber 80 can be understood as a chamber with vacuum pressure, which is connected to other substrate processing modules, chambers, or devices (i.e., swing module 60, loading module 92). The transfer chamber 80 can be configured to move the substrate 20 to other modules or devices connected to the transfer chamber 80 for further substrate processing.

[0053] According to one embodiment, more than one swing module 60 is arranged in the transfer chamber 80, particularly on the outer wall of the transfer chamber 80. The transfer chamber 80 can form a transmission path structure between the swing modules 60.

[0054] The transfer chamber 80 can be understood as a transfer path configuration in which several swing modules 60A, 60B, 60C, and 60D, and corresponding processing chambers 70A, 70B, 70C, and 70D, are arranged in the side region of the transfer path configuration. Each swing module or processing chamber may be connected to the transfer path configuration, for example, through an opening or an airlock.

[0055] According to an embodiment, the vacuum processing system 90 may include more than one oscillating module 60 and processing chamber 70 arranged adjacent to each other. As described herein, in the first oscillating module 60A, an actuator moves the support body 40 about an axis 44 into the processing area 72A of the first processing chamber 70A. For further processing, the substrate 20 may be moved to other oscillating modules 60B, 60C, 60D and processing chambers 70B, 70C, 70D, wherein the substrate 20 is moved from one oscillating module 60 to another with a non-vertical orientation I.

[0056] According to an embodiment, the transfer chamber 80 may have a polygonal shape design, i.e., it may be a polygonal design or it may have a circular design. The polygonal design may include, for example, a triangular, square, pentagonal, or hexagonal design. The oscillating module 60 may be arranged on one or more edges or each edge of the polygonal shape design of the transfer chamber 80. If more than one oscillating module 60 is provided, the transfer chamber 80 may be arranged in the middle or center of these oscillating modules. The arrangement of the transfer chamber 80 in the center or middle of the oscillating modules 60 enables a clustered design of the vacuum processing system 90. More than one oscillating module 60 and a corresponding processing chamber 70 may be arranged on the transfer chamber 80, wherein each module / chamber has the same distance from the center point of the transfer chamber 80. Storage modules or any other substrate support modules for the substrate may also be arranged at one or more edges of the polygonal transfer chamber 80.

[0057] According to an embodiment, two or more of the clustered vacuum processing systems 90 described herein can be connected, enabling substrate transfer and further substrate processing between the two or more vacuum processing systems 90.

[0058] According to an embodiment, the transfer chamber 80 is configured to transfer a substrate 20 attached to the support body 40 to the oscillating module 60. The attached substrate 20 can be understood as being held attached and / or held by clamps on the support body 40 as the substrate is transferred within the oscillating module 60 into the processing area 72. Movement of the substrate 20 can be understood as displacement in the horizontal direction. This displacement can be achieved by a guide system with rollers or the like. The advantage of holding the substrate 20 attached to the support body 40 is that additional attachment and separation operations using the clamps of the support body 40 can be avoided when the substrate 20 enters the oscillating module 60 and approaches the processing area and / or re-enters the transfer chamber 80 after processing. Holding the substrate 20 attached to the support body 40 accelerates the substrate processing process.

[0059] According to embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the processing chamber 70 includes one or more deposition sources 30 having a longitudinal axis 31. For example, an array having four or more linear deposition sources (e.g., rotating sputtering cathodes) can be provided.

[0060] Furthermore, the processing chamber may also include an injection source, such as a vertically linear injection source. For example, for a deposition source or injection source, the term "linear" can be understood as a source having a primary and secondary dimension defining a particle or ion emission region (e.g., a substantially rectangular region), wherein the secondary dimension is smaller than the primary dimension. For example, the secondary dimension may be less than 10% of the primary dimension, particularly less than 5% of the primary dimension, and more particularly less than 1% of the primary dimension. The primary dimension may extend substantially vertically. In other words, at least one linear source may be a vertically linear source. According to some embodiments, the beam width, such as the emission area, of the particles or ions provided by at least one linear source may be in the range of 1 mm to 300 mm, particularly in the range of 10 mm to 100 mm, and more particularly less than 50 mm. The beam width may be defined as a linear extension perpendicular to the at least one linear source.

[0061] Typically, in embodiments, the linear source serving as the ion source can be configured for pretreatment or cleaning processes of the surface of the substrate 20, implanting ions into the substrate 20 or into layers previously deposited on the substrate 20, or depositing layers on the substrate 20. In embodiments, the linear source can be configured for cleaning or pretreatment of the substrate 20, which may include, for example, removing TiO.

[0062] Typically, the width of the processing chamber 70 in the dimension parallel to the substrate can be significantly greater than the width of the substrate 20 in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the substrate. It should be understood that processing chambers 70 with a deposition source 30 and a large width can also be used in other configurations, such as in devices having two or more such processing chambers with deposition sources 30. The extended width of the processing chamber 70 allows the substrate 20 to move along the deposition source 30, while enabling any segment of the substrate surface to be affected by the beam 32 of the deposition source 30 during processing.

[0063] The deposition source 30 can be configured as a sputtering source or a PLD (pulsed laser deposition) source. In pulsed laser deposition (PLD), a high-power pulsed laser beam is focused within a vacuum chamber to strike a target containing the material to be deposited. The material is ablated or evaporated from the target, and the resulting plasma plume is deposited as a thin film on the substrate 20. For sputtering deposition, a magnetron sputtering source can typically be provided, such as a cylindrical target with a permanent magnet disposed within the target barrel.

[0064] Illustrative reference Figure 6 An embodiment of a method 100 for processing a substrate 20 is provided. Method 100 includes: holding the substrate 20 102 on a support body 40 of a swing device 10; moving the substrate 20 from a transfer or horizontal orientation I about a rotation axis 44 by an angle 12 relative to a deposition source 30 having a longitudinal axis 31 for processing the substrate 20 to a processing or vertical orientation II by means of a rotation mechanism 42 coupled to the support body 40; and processing or machining 106 the surface of the substrate 20 by a beam from the deposition source 30. Furthermore, method 100 includes, when the substrate 20 is in processing orientation II, laterally translating the substrate 20 108 relative to the longitudinal axis 31 of the deposition source 30 by means of a linear motion mechanism 46 coupled to the support body 40.

[0065] Furthermore, the method includes moving the substrate 20 in a horizontal linear direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 31 of the deposition source 30 during the movement from transfer orientation I to processing orientation II, and vice versa.

[0066] The embodiments according to this disclosure have several advantages, including the possibility of improving the uniformity of the deposited layer. Furthermore, the embodiments according to this disclosure have the advantage of reducing particle generation in or near the processing chamber.

[0067] While the foregoing describes embodiments of this disclosure, other and further embodiments of this disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope of this disclosure, and the scope of this disclosure is determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A oscillating device (10) for moving a substrate (20) relative to one or more vertically linear deposition sources (30) having a longitudinal axis (31), the oscillating device (10) comprising: A support body (40) is located within a vacuum chamber to hold the substrate (20); A rotating mechanism (42) coupled to the support body (40) to move the substrate (20) about a rotation axis (44) by an angle (12) to change the orientation of the substrate from a horizontal transfer orientation (I) to a vertical processing orientation (II) at the processing area (72), wherein the rotating mechanism (42) extends along the rotation axis (44) below the support body (40) within the vacuum chamber; A linear motion mechanism (46) is coupled to the support body (40) in the vacuum chamber and located below the rotation mechanism to laterally translate the substrate (20) relative to the longitudinal axis (31) of the deposition source (30) when the substrate (20) is in the processing orientation (II). and A protection unit (50) protects both the rotating mechanism (42) and the linear motion mechanism (46) for reducing particles in the processing area (72).

2. The oscillating device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the support body (40) is configured to move the substrate (20) in a horizontal linear direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (31) of the deposition source (30) during movement from the transfer orientation (I) to the processing orientation (II), and vice versa; and to provide a linear offset (48) between the edge of the substrate (20) adjacent to the processing area (72) and the longitudinal axis (31) of the deposition source (30).

3. The swing device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the rotating mechanism (42) is supported by the linear motion mechanism (46).

4. The swing device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the protection unit (50) includes at least one first bellows element (52), and the rotating mechanism (42) includes at least one rotating shaft (47) located within the first bellows element (52).

5. The oscillating device according to claim 4, wherein the linear motion mechanism is disposed within the first bellows element.

6. The swing device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the protection unit (50) includes at least one second bellows element, and the linear motion mechanism (46) includes a linear guide (49) located within the second bellows element.

7. The swing device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the support body (40) includes a base for heating the substrate (20).

8. The oscillating device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rotating mechanism (42) comprises at least two spline shaft connecting elements (421) and at least two rotary motors (422).

9. The swing device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the base plate (20) is held to the support body (40) by a clamp.

10. The oscillating device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the substrate (20) is 1m in size. 2 Or a larger large-area substrate, wherein the substrate (20) has a thickness selected from the range of 0.1 mm to 1.8 mm.

11. The oscillating device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transmission orientation is an orientation in which the front surface of the substrate (20) points upward.

12. The oscillating device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processing orientation is the orientation of the front surface of the substrate (20) toward the deposition source (30).

13. A method (100) for processing a substrate (20), the method comprising: The substrate (20) is held (102) on the support body (40) located in the vacuum chamber; The substrate (20) is moved (104) relative to a vertically linear deposition source (30) having a longitudinal axis (31) for processing the substrate (20). The movement of the substrate (20) is carried out by a rotation mechanism (42) coupled to the support body (40) about a rotation axis (44) by an angle (12) to change the orientation of the substrate from a horizontal transfer orientation (I) to a vertical processing orientation (II). The rotation mechanism (42) extends along the rotation axis (44) below the support body (40) within the vacuum chamber. The surface of the substrate (20) is treated (106) with the deposition source (30); When the substrate (20) is in the processing orientation (II), the substrate (20) is laterally translated (108) relative to the longitudinal axis (31) of the deposition source (30) by a linear motion mechanism (46) coupled to the support body (40) in the vacuum chamber and located below the rotation mechanism. and Both the rotating mechanism (42) and the linear motion mechanism (46) are protected by using a protection unit (50) to reduce particles in the processing area (72).

14. The method (100) according to claim 13, further comprising: During the movement from the transfer orientation (I) to the processing orientation (II), the substrate (20) is moved in a horizontal linear direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (31) of the deposition source (30), and vice versa.

15. A swing module (60) for receiving a substrate (20) from a transfer chamber (80) of a vacuum processing system and for positioning the substrate (20) in a processing region (72) of a processing chamber (70) of the vacuum processing system, the swing module (60) comprising: Vacuum chamber (62), A support body (40) is provided for holding the substrate (20) within the vacuum chamber (62); A rotating mechanism (42) coupled to the support body (40) to move the substrate (20) about a rotation axis (44) by an angle (12) to change the orientation of the substrate from a horizontal transfer orientation (I) to a vertical processing orientation (II), wherein the rotating mechanism (42) extends along the rotation axis (44) below the support body (40) within the vacuum chamber (62); A linear motion mechanism (46) is coupled to the support body (40) in the vacuum chamber and located below the rotation mechanism to laterally translate the substrate (20) relative to the longitudinal axis (31) of the vertical linear deposition source (30) when the substrate (20) is in the processing orientation (II). and A protection unit (50) protects both the rotating mechanism (42) and the linear motion mechanism (46) for reducing particles in the processing area (72).

16. A vacuum processing system (90) for processing a substrate (20), the system (90) comprising: At least one processing chamber (70) includes a vertically linear deposition source (30) having a longitudinal axis (31) for processing the substrate (20); At least one swing module (60) is operatively coupled to the processing chamber (70) for positioning the substrate (20) in the processing area (72) of the processing chamber (70); and A transfer chamber (80), operably coupled to the swing module (60), is used to move the substrate (20) to the swing module (60). The swing module (60) includes: Vacuum chamber (62); A support body (40) is provided for holding the substrate (20) within the vacuum chamber (62); A rotating mechanism (42) coupled to the support body (40) to move the substrate (20) about a rotation axis (44) by an angle (12) to change the orientation of the substrate from a horizontal transfer orientation (I) to a vertical processing orientation (II), wherein the rotating mechanism (42) extends along the rotation axis (44) below the support body (40) within the vacuum chamber (62); A linear motion mechanism (46), coupled to the support body (40) within the vacuum chamber and located below the rotation mechanism, laterally translates the substrate (20) relative to the longitudinal axis (31) of the deposition source (30) when the substrate (20) is in the processing orientation (II); and A protection unit (50) protects both the rotating mechanism (42) and the linear motion mechanism (46) for reducing particles in the processing area (72).

17. The system (90) of claim 16, further comprising at least one loading locking chamber (92) coupled to the transfer chamber (80).

18. The system (90) according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the transfer chamber (80) has a polygonal shape and is coupled to two or more swing modules (60).

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