Substrate table and coating equipment
By designing a detachable support table on the substrate table, the problem that the substrate table cannot adapt to multiple coating processes is solved, and the equipment is versatile and cost savings are achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202422203944.0
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-09-06
- Publication Date
- 2025-07-04
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-09-06
AI Technical Summary
In the prior art, the substrate stage cannot adapt to a variety of coating processes, resulting in waste of resources and poor equipment versatility.
A substrate table is designed, including multiple removable support tables, each with different functional modules, such as heating, cooling or radio frequency bias, and the appropriate support table can be selected according to the coating requirements to improve the versatility of the equipment.
Through the design of the detachable support table, the versatility of the substrate table under different coating processes is achieved, saving coating costs.
Smart Images
Figure CN223061069U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of coating, in particular to a substrate stage and a coating device. Background Art
[0002] During the process of substrate coating, it is necessary to support the substrate through a substrate stage. With the continuous development of the photovoltaic and semiconductor industries, the requirements for film uniformity and film thickness error are constantly increasing. For different processes, in order to improve the film thickness uniformity of the substrate, the functional requirements of the substrate stage are also different. For example, the substrate stage needs to have one or more of the functions such as heating, cooling, back pressure or radio frequency bias. Therefore, in the prior art, a variety of substrate stages have been derived for different coating processes. Each process R & D change is accompanied by its own substrate stage, and the substrate stages developed by different equipment are also different, resulting in non-universality and waste of resources. Summary of the Utility Model
[0003] The utility model aims to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. For this purpose, the utility model provides a substrate stage which can be applicable to the substrate coating of a variety of different processes, saving the manufacturing cost and...
[0004] The utility model also provides a coating device including the above-mentioned substrate stage.
[0005] The substrate stage according to the first aspect embodiment of the utility model includes: a mounting frame and a support platform
[0006] A support stage having a support surface for supporting a substrate. The support stage includes a first functional module. The substrate stage includes a plurality of the support stages, and the types of the first functional modules of each support stage are different. The support stage is detachably connected to the mounting frame, and each support stage can be separately connected to the mounting frame so that the substrate stage has a plurality of processing modes with different functions.
[0007] The substrate stage according to the embodiment of the utility model has at least the following beneficial effects:
[0008] The substrate stage of this embodiment includes a plurality of support stages, and each support stage has different types of first functional modules. The support stage is detachably connected to the mounting frame. Therefore, when coating the substrate with different processes, different support stages can be selected according to the coating requirements without replacing the entire substrate stage, thereby improving the universality of the substrate stage and saving the coating cost.
[0009] According to some embodiments of the utility model, the first functional module is set as any one of a back pressure system, a heating system, a cooling system or a radio frequency bias.
[0010] According to some embodiments of the present utility model, the support table further includes an expansion interface for connecting to a second functional module, and the second functional module may be of the same type or different type from the first functional module.
[0011] According to some embodiments of the present utility model, the substrate table further includes a lifting mechanism connected to the support table for driving the support table to move up and down.
[0012] According to some embodiments of the present utility model, the lifting mechanism is detachably connected to the support table.
[0013] According to some embodiments of the present utility model, the substrate table further includes a guiding mechanism, which includes a first guiding member and a second guiding member. The first guiding member is connected to the mounting frame, the second guiding member is connected to the support table, and the first guiding member is slidably connected to the second guiding member;
[0014] Wherein, at least one of the connection between the first guiding member and the mounting frame, the connection between the second guiding member and the support table, and the connection between the first guiding member and the second guiding member is a detachable connection.
[0015] A coating device according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present utility model includes the substrate table of the first aspect embodiment.
[0016] The coating device according to an embodiment of the present utility model has at least the following beneficial effects:
[0017] By using the substrate table of the first aspect embodiment, the substrate table includes a plurality of support tables, and each support table has different types of first functional modules. The support table is detachably connected to the mounting frame. Therefore, when coating the substrate with different processes, different support tables can be selected according to the coating requirements without replacing the entire coating device, thereby improving the versatility of the substrate table of the coating device and saving the coating cost.
[0018] According to some embodiments of the present utility model, the coating device further includes a coating chamber, which has a coating cavity and a first mounting hole communicating with the coating cavity. The support table includes a support portion and a connecting portion. The support portion has the support surface, the support portion is located in the coating cavity, the mounting frame is located outside the coating cavity, and the connecting portion passes through the first mounting hole and is connected to the support portion at one end and the mounting frame at the other end.
[0019] According to some embodiments of the present utility model, the substrate table further includes a lifting mechanism and a first sealing sleeve. The lifting mechanism is connected to the support table and is used to drive the support table to move up and down. The first sealing sleeve can expand and contract in the vertical direction. The first sealing sleeve is sleeved outside the connecting portion, with one end sealingly connected to the edge of the first mounting hole and the other end sealingly connected to the outside of the connecting portion.
[0020] According to some embodiments of the present utility model, one end of the first sealing sleeve is detachably connected to the coating chamber, and the other end is detachably connected to the connecting portion.
[0021] Additional aspects and advantages of the present utility model will be given in part in the following description, become apparent in part from the following description, or be learned through the practice of the present utility model. Description of the Drawings
[0022] The following further describes the present utility model in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments, where:
[0023] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the substrate table according to the first aspect embodiment of the present utility model;
[0024] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a cross-sectional view in
[0025] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the coating equipment according to the second aspect embodiment of the present utility model.
[0026] Reference Numerals:
[0027] Mounting frame 100, mounting plate 110, plate body 111, guiding portion 112, basic frame 120, guiding column 130;
[0028] Support table 200, support surface 210, first functional module 220, support portion 230, connecting portion 240;
[0029] Lifting mechanism 300, driving member 310, connecting member 320;
[0030] Docking panel 400;
[0031] Coating chamber 500, coating cavity 510, first mounting hole 520, second mounting hole 530;
[0032] First sealing sleeve 600, second sealing sleeve 700. Detailed Embodiments
[0033] Embodiments of the present utility model will be described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, where the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present utility model and should not be construed as a limitation to the present utility model.
[0034] In the description of the present utility model, it should be understood that for the orientation description, such as the orientation or positional relationship indicated by up, down, front, back, left, right, etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the present utility model and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation to the present utility model.
[0035] In the description of the present utility model, the meaning of several is more than one, the meaning of multiple is more than two, greater than, less than, exceeding, etc. are understood as not including the present number, and above, below, within, etc. are understood as including the present number. If the first and second are described only for the purpose of distinguishing technical features, they should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the quantity of the indicated technical features or the sequence relationship of the indicated technical features.
[0036] In the description of the present utility model, unless otherwise clearly defined, words such as setting, installing, connecting, etc. should be understood in a broad sense, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meanings of the above words in the present utility model in combination with the specific content of the technical solution.
[0037] During the substrate coating process, the substrate needs to be supported by a substrate stage. With the continuous development of the photovoltaic and semiconductor industries, the requirements for film uniformity and film thickness error are constantly increasing. For different processes, in order to improve the substrate film thickness uniformity, the functional requirements of the substrate stage are also different. For example, the substrate stage needs to have one or more functions such as heating, cooling, back pressure, or radio frequency bias. Therefore, in the prior art, a variety of substrate stages have been derived for different coating processes. Each process R & D change is accompanied by its own substrate stage, and the substrate stages developed for different equipment are also different, resulting in non - universality and waste of resources.
[0038] Based on the above problems, the present utility model proposes a substrate stage that can be used in coating equipment to improve the universality of the coating equipment, thereby saving costs. Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the substrate stage according to the first - aspect embodiment of the present utility model, Figure 2 is Figure 1 the cross - sectional view in , the substrate stage of this embodiment includes: a mounting frame 100 and a support platform.
[0039] Among them, the support table 200 has a support surface 210 for supporting a substrate, such as a glass substrate, a silicon substrate, or a ceramic substrate. The support table 200 includes a first functional module 220, which can be any one of a back pressure system, a heating system, a cooling system, or a radio frequency bias. The substrate table includes a plurality of support tables 200. The types of the first functional modules 220 of the respective support tables 200 are different. The support tables 200 are detachably connected to the mounting frame 100 by means of threaded connection, snap connection, or plug connection, etc. Each support table 200 can be individually connected to the mounting frame 100, so that the substrate table has multiple processing modes with different functions. For example, when the coating process needs to be carried out in a low-temperature environment, the support table 200 with a cooling system can be selected. When coating is required in a high-temperature environment, the support table 200 with a heating system can be selected. Exemplarily, the substrate table further includes a docking panel 400, which has various types of docking ports. Taking the heating system and the cooling system as examples, the docking panel 400 includes a heating docking port and a cooling docking port. Some support tables 200 are internally provided with cooling pipes. When using the support table 200 with a cooling function, the cooling pipes are connected to the cooling docking port, and the coolant can enter the cooling pipes through the corresponding docking port, thereby achieving the purpose of cooling. Correspondingly, some support tables 200 are internally provided with electric heating resistance wires. When it is necessary to use the support table 200 with a heating function, the electric heating resistance wires are connected to the heating docking port, and the external power supply is energized to the electric heating resistance wires through this docking port, thereby achieving the purpose of heating.
[0040] As can be seen from the above, the substrate table of this embodiment includes a plurality of support tables 200, each support table 200 has a different type of first function 220, and the support table 200 is detachably connected to the mounting frame 100. Therefore, when coating the substrate with different processes, different support tables 200 can be selected according to the coating requirements, without replacing the entire substrate table, thereby improving the versatility of the coating equipment and saving the coating cost.
[0041] In some embodiments, the support table 200 further includes an expansion interface for connecting to a second functional module, and the second functional module may be the same as or different from the type of the first functional module 220. For example, for a process that requires both a low-temperature environment and back pressure, the support table 200 with a cooling function can be selected, and a back pressure device can be installed on the support table 200 to further improve the diversity of the functions of the substrate table, thereby improving the versatility of the substrate table and saving the use cost.
[0042] Refer to Figure 2, in some embodiments, the substrate table further includes a lifting mechanism 300. The lifting mechanism is, for example, fixedly connected to the mounting frame or other components of the coating equipment. The lifting mechanism 300 is connected to the support table 200 and is used to drive the support table 200 to move up and down. Specifically, for different types of substrates, different coating processes, different coating targets, and different coating times, there are certain differences in the distance between the substrate and the target. Based on this, in order to improve the versatility of the substrate table, the present embodiment also has a lifting mechanism 300. The lifting mechanism 300 includes, for example, driving members 310 such as motors, cylinders, or hydraulic cylinders, which are used to drive the support table 200 to move up and down to adjust the distance between the substrate placed on the support table 200 and the target.
[0043] Based on the above embodiments, the lifting mechanism 300 is detachably connected to the support table 200. Thus, when replacing the support table 200, there is no need to replace the lifting mechanism 300, so that each support table 200 can share a lifting mechanism 300, thereby saving costs.
[0044] In some embodiments, the substrate table further includes a guiding mechanism. The guiding mechanism includes a first guiding member and a second guiding member. The first guiding member is directly connected or indirectly connected to the mounting frame 100 through other components (such as the coating chamber 500 in the following embodiments). The second guiding member is connected to the support table 200. The first guiding member is slidably connected to the second guiding member to improve the stability of the movement of the support table 200, thereby improving the stability of the substrate, improving the position accuracy of the substrate, and improving the coating accuracy. The first guiding member is, for example, provided as a guiding sleeve, and the second guiding member is, for example, provided as a guiding rod. The guiding rod is slidably disposed within the sleeve. The first guiding member can also be a slide rail, and the second guiding member is a slider. The slider is slidably connected to the slide rail.
[0045] In addition, at least one of the connections between the first guiding member and the mounting frame 100, between the second guiding member and the support table 200, and between the first guiding member and the second guiding member is a detachable connection. Exemplarily, the first guiding member is detachably connected to the mounting frame 100, thereby realizing the detachable connection between the support table 200 and the mounting frame 100. Preferably, the second guiding member is detachably connected to the support table 200. Thus, when replacing the support table 200, there is no need to replace the guiding mechanism together, thereby saving costs.
[0046] Refer to Figure 3 , Figure 3A cross-sectional view of the coating equipment according to the second aspect of the present utility model. The coating equipment according to the second aspect of the present utility model includes: a substrate stage of the first aspect of the embodiment. The substrate stage includes a plurality of support stages 200, and each support stage 200 has different types of first functional modules. The support stage 200 is detachably connected to the mounting frame 100. Therefore, when coating the substrate using different processes, different support stages 200 can be selected according to the coating requirements without replacing the entire coating equipment, thereby improving the versatility of the coating equipment and saving the coating cost.
[0047] It should be noted that since this embodiment adopts all the technical features of the substrate stage of the first aspect of the embodiment, this embodiment has all the beneficial effects brought by the first aspect of the embodiment, which will not be elaborated here.
[0048] Refer to Figure 3 , in some embodiments, the coating equipment further includes a coating chamber 500. The coating chamber 500 has a coating cavity 510 and a first mounting hole 520 communicating with the coating cavity 510. The support stage 200 includes a support portion 230 and a connecting portion 240. The support portion 230 has a support surface 210. The support portion 230 is located inside the coating cavity 510, and the mounting frame 100 is located outside the coating cavity 510. The connecting portion 240 passes through the first mounting hole 520, with one end connected to the support portion 230 and the other end connected to the mounting frame 100. Specifically, it can be known that during the coating process, the target material will not only cover the surface of the substrate but also cover the surfaces of other components inside the coating cavity 510. When the film layer reaches a certain thickness, it will detach and contaminate the coating cavity 510. Therefore, the coating cavity 510 needs to be cleaned and maintained regularly. Based on this, in order to make the cleaning of the coating cavity 510 more convenient, in this embodiment, only the part of the substrate stage that supports the substrate, that is, the support portion 230, is arranged inside the coating cavity 510 to reduce the number of components inside the coating cavity 510, thereby reducing the cleaning difficulty of the coating cavity 510. At the same time, the volume of the coating cavity 510 can be reduced to make the structure of the coating chamber 500 more compact.
[0049] Refer to Figure 3, in some embodiments, the substrate table further includes a lifting mechanism 300 and a first seal 600. The lifting mechanism 300 is connected to the support table 200 and is configured to drive the support table 200 to move up and down. The first seal 600 is capable of telescoping in the vertical direction. The first seal 600 is sleeved outside the connecting portion 240, with one end sealingly connected to the edge of the first mounting hole 520 and the other end sealingly connected to the outside of the connecting portion 240. Specifically, in some coating processes, coating needs to be performed in a vacuum environment, such as chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, ion etching, or plasma etching. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure the sealing performance of the coating chamber 510. For this purpose, in this embodiment, a first seal 600 is provided. One end of the first seal 600 is sealingly connected to the edge of the first mounting hole 520, and the other end is sealingly connected to the connecting portion 240, so that the space between the connecting portion 240 and the coating chamber 500 is sealed. Exemplarily, the mounting frame 100 includes a mounting plate 110 and a base frame 120. The mounting plate 110 is movably connected to the base frame 120. The connecting portion 240 is sealingly connected to the mounting plate 110, and the first seal 600 is sealingly connected to the mounting plate 110, thereby realizing the sealing connection between the first seal 600 and the connecting portion 240. For example, the first seal 600 includes a telescoping portion and sealing portions located at both ends of the telescoping portion. The sealing portions at both ends protrude from the telescoping portion. One sealing portion is in contact with the surface of the coating chamber 500 and is fixed by flange pressing, and the other sealing portion is in contact with the surface of the mounting plate 110 and is fixed by flange pressing, which makes the installation of the first seal 600 simpler. In addition, since the two ends of the first seal 600 are respectively connected to the coating chamber 500 and the mounting plate 110, when replacing the support table 200, it is not necessary to disassemble the first seal 600, making the replacement of the support table 200 more convenient.
[0050] Specifically, the connecting portion 240 moves relative to the coating chamber 500. Therefore, if a seal is directly provided in the first mounting hole 520, the movement of the connecting portion 240 will cause friction to the seal, and the seal will be worn out and fail after long-term use. In this embodiment, through the provision of the first seal 600, the first seal 600 is, for example, a bellows or a flexible tube or any other telescopic sealing pipe fitting. During use, it can telescope as the connecting portion 240 moves. Therefore, there is no friction between the connecting portion 240 and the first seal 600, thereby extending the service life of the first seal 600.
[0051] Similarly, in some embodiments, the lifting mechanism 300 includes a driving member 310, a connecting member 320, and a second seal sleeve 700. The coating chamber 500 further has a second mounting hole 530 communicating with the coating cavity 510. The connecting member 320 passes through the second mounting hole 530, one end is connected to the support portion 230, and the other end is connected to the driving member 310. The seal sleeve can expand and contract in the vertical direction. The second seal sleeve 700 is sleeved outside the connecting member 320, one end is hermetically connected to the edge of the second mounting hole 530, and the other end is hermetically connected to the connecting member 320, which will not be elaborated here.
[0052] Referring Figure 3 , on the basis of the above embodiments, there is a gap between the connecting portion 240 and the inner wall of the first mounting hole 520, which can not only make the connecting portion 240 move more smoothly, but also avoid frictional damage between the connecting portion 240 and the coating chamber 500, and improve the service life of the coating chamber 500 and the connecting portion 240.
[0053] In some embodiments, one end of the first seal sleeve 600 is detachably connected to the coating chamber 500, and the other end is detachably connected to the connecting portion 2420. As in the above embodiments, both ends of the first seal sleeve 600 are connected to the coating chamber 500 and the mounting portion through flanges and screws, so that both ends of the first seal sleeve 600 are detachably connected. After the target material accumulates in the first seal sleeve 600 after long-term use, the first seal sleeve 600 can be disassembled for cleaning or replacement, so as to avoid affecting the movement of the connecting portion 240 due to excessive film layers accumulated in the first seal sleeve 600, thereby improving the reliability of the coating equipment in this embodiment. At the same time, it can also prevent the connecting portion 240 from driving the film layers falling off in the first seal sleeve 600 into the coating cavity 510 during movement.
[0054] In referring Figure 3 , in some embodiments, the mounting frame 100 further includes a guide post 130. The two ends of the guide post 130 are connected to the base frame 120 and extend in the vertical direction. The mounting plate 110 includes a plate body 111 and a guide portion 112. The guide portion 112 is connected to the plate body 111 and protrudes from the plate body 111 in the vertical direction. The guide portion 112 and the plate body 111 are of an integral structure or a split structure. The guide portion 112 is sleeved outside the guide post 130 to realize the movability of the mounting plate 110 and the base frame 120. And the guide portion 112 protruding from the plate body 111 can increase the contact area between the mounting plate 110 and the guide post 130, thereby improving the stability of the movement of the mounting plate 110.
[0055] In some embodiments, the coating device further includes a vacuum pump. The driving member 310 is a cylinder, and both the cylinder and the coating chamber 500 are connected to the vacuum pump. Specifically, as can be seen from the above embodiments, some coating processes need to be carried out in a vacuum environment. Therefore, this embodiment is equipped with a vacuum pump, which is connected to the coating chamber 500 and used to suck the air in the coating cavity 510, so as to achieve a vacuum environment. In addition, the driving member 310 is set as a cylinder, and the vacuum pump is connected to the cylinder and used for the expansion and contraction of the cylinder to realize the lifting of the support table 200. That is, in this embodiment, a single vacuum pump can be used to achieve the vacuum environment of the coating cavity 510 and the lifting of the support table 200, making the structure of this embodiment simpler and the cost lower.
[0056] In some embodiments, the cross-section of the support portion 230 is larger than that of the connecting portion 240. The mounting frame 100 is connected to the outside of the coating chamber 500. The first guide member is connected to the inner wall of the coating cavity 510 and indirectly connected to the mounting frame 100. The second guide frame is connected to the edge of the support portion 230, thereby improving the stability of the support portion 230.
[0057] The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Within the scope of knowledge possessed by those of ordinary skill in the art, various changes can be made without departing from the purpose of the present invention. In addition, in the description of the present invention, the description with reference to terms such as "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "illustrative embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.
Claims
1. Substrate stage, characterized in that, Comprising: Mounting bracket; Support table, having a support surface for supporting a substrate. The support table includes a first functional module. The substrate table includes a plurality of such support tables, and the types of the first functional modules of each support table are different. The support table is detachably connected to the mounting bracket, and each support table can be individually connected to the mounting bracket so that the substrate table has multiple processing modes with different functions.
2. The substrate stage according to claim 1, wherein The first functional module is set to any one of a backpressure system, a heating system, a cooling system, or a radio frequency bias.
3. The substrate stage according to claim 1, characterized in that, The support table further includes an expansion interface for connecting to a second functional module, and the second functional module is the same as or different from the first functional module in type.
4. The substrate stage according to claim 1, characterized in that, The substrate table further includes a lifting mechanism connected to the support table for driving the support table to move up and down.
5. The substrate stage according to claim 4, characterized in that, The lifting mechanism is detachably connected to the support table.
6. The substrate stage according to claim 4, characterized in that, The substrate table further includes a guiding mechanism, which includes a first guiding member and a second guiding member. The first guiding member is connected to the mounting bracket, the second guiding member is connected to the support table, and the first guiding member is slidably connected to the second guiding member; Wherein, at least one of the connection between the first guiding member and the mounting bracket, the connection between the second guiding member and the support table, and the connection between the first guiding member and the second guiding member is a detachable connection.
7. Coating equipment, characterized in that, Comprising the substrate table according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
8. The coating device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The coating equipment further includes a coating chamber, which has a coating cavity and a first mounting hole communicating with the coating cavity. The support table includes a support portion and a connecting portion. The support portion has the support surface, the support portion is located in the coating cavity, the mounting bracket is located outside the coating cavity, and the connecting portion passes through the first mounting hole, with one end connected to the support portion and the other end connected to the mounting bracket.
9. The coating equipment according to claim 8, characterized in that The substrate table further includes a lifting mechanism and a first sealing sleeve. The lifting mechanism is connected to the support table for driving the support table to move up and down. The first sealing sleeve can expand and contract in the vertical direction. The first sealing sleeve is sleeved outside the connecting portion, with one end sealingly connected to the edge of the first mounting hole and the other end sealingly connected to the outside of the connecting portion.
10. The coating equipment according to claim 9, characterized in that, One end of the first sealing sleeve is detachably connected to the coating chamber, and the other end is detachably connected to the connecting portion.