Process shutter arrangement

Abstract

A processing baffle device for a vacuum processing system is disclosed, the device comprising: a baffle plate (1) having a substantially circular outer diameter DDo, a thickness t, a first surface (2) and a second surface (3), the plate including at least three positioning mortises (4) in the first surface (2) adjacent to the outer diameter DDo, each mortise being centered relative to a radial axis ξ1-3 in an xy plane of the plate and having two long sides a positioned parallel to or perpendicular to the respective axis ξ1-3; a baffle arm (10) including a support scythe (11) having an inner periphery DSi, and at least three positioning tenons adjacent to or adjacent to the inner diameter DSi and corresponding to the positioning mortises (4) for positioning the plate when placed on the positioning tenons or an optional support surface of the scythe.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing baffle device as claimed in claim 1, a baffle plate as claimed in claim 15, a baffle arm as claimed in claim 17, a vacuum processing system as claimed in claim 18, and a method of using a processing baffle device as claimed in claim 20. [Previous Technology]

[0002] The processing baffle device includes a baffle disk, also known as a virtual disk, as it replaces the wafer typically processed on a chuck; and a baffle arm for rotating the disk from the recessed wall of the processing chamber or separation compartment toward a base or chuck that carries the wafer or other substrate during processing. It is widely used in vacuum equipment in the semiconductor and optics industries, for example, for conditioning or bonding processes to extend the replacement cycle of processing shields, or simply to cover the top of the chuck to protect it from dust or mechanical exposure during maintenance. Because such equipment is expensive and highly automated, maintenance intervals should be minimized, and the accuracy and reliability of any step should be optimized. Due to shorter processing times and a larger number of processing cycles, the number of conditioning and / or bonding operations per time unit is greater.

[0003] Definition:

[0004] A virtual disk or baffle disk is a disk used to replace a wafer in a processing position during maintenance, conditioning, or bonding steps to protect the underlying equipment, especially the highly sensitive wafer support surface of the chuck. In the case of target sputtering in a processing chamber, the disk should be able to receive a large amount of deposited material from the target, or allow a large amount of material to be removed during etching performed during so-called conditioning or bonding steps. Different disks are typically used for different sputtering or conditioning / bonding steps when they need to be performed.

[0005] The baffle sickle is the part of the baffle arm that carries the baffle disc, and is provided with at least a positioning tenon. The sickle can be substantially in the form of a sickle; however, it can also be a disc or paddle like itself, and has a groove to allow the pin of the chuck to pass through to and from the center position above the chuck during rotational movement. Therefore, the inner periphery DSi of the sickle can define the actual periphery of the sickle or the innermost position of at least one tenon, which is preferably located at a position having a substantially equal distance from the center of the sickle.

[0006] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20020088771A1 discloses a baffle plate with a notched area used together with a baffle arm assembly for fully automated handling. However, additional mounting components, such as modified cover rings, must be provided and connected to the shield to prevent mutual movement, which makes installation laborious and may affect placement accuracy due to the thermal expansion of the shield.

[0007] To center the position of the baffle disk, it is also known to apply sensors to the shaft coupled to the robot's drive arm to detect their respective rotational positions. To improve the respective sensing systems, the same applicant disclosed a sputtering disk in U.S. Patent No. 7,008,517,B1, which is centered by a central blind hole that mates with an alignment post on a rotating blade. This requires a relatively robust structure for both the disk and the blade. Simultaneously, it is suggested to use up to three different sensors to detect the disk within the housing.

[0008] Therefore, there is a need for a lightweight and minimally sized component that can be moved faster and achieve high placement accuracy of the baffle plate without the need for a complex multi-sensor system. [Summary of the Invention]

[0009] Surprisingly, it has been found that the processing accuracy and high repeatability, as well as the minimization of component size, can be achieved solely through the mechanical arrangement of novel processing baffle devices for vacuum processing systems.

[0010] Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a processing baffle device, comprising: a baffle plate having a substantially circular outer diameter DDo, a thickness t, a first surface and a second surface, the plate including at least three positioning tenons in the first surface adjacent to the outer diameter DDo, each tenon being centered relative to a radial axis ξ1-3 in an xy plane of the plate, and having two long sides a positioned parallel to or perpendicular to the respective axis ξ1-3, such that each of the axes ξ1-3 intersects at least one of the other axes at the center of the outer diameter DDo. As an example, the mortises can be positioned at 120° to each other or within a 180° portion of the disk, such as at 0°, 90°, and 180°, at the same or different radial distances from the center of the disk; a baffle arm includes a support scythe having an inner perimeter DSi, and at least three positioning tenons adjacent to or adjacent to the inner diameter DSi and corresponding to the positioning mortises, for positioning the disk when placed on the positioning tenons or an optional support surface of the scythe. Thus, depending on the height of the tenons, the depth of the mortises, and the arrangement of a support plane, the disk can be located directly on the support plane or on top of the tenons.

[0011] The support surface may extend radially from the inner periphery DSi of the sickle, for example, in the outward direction and / or in the central direction. The tenons are positioned adjacent to or adjacent to the inner diameter DSi.

[0012] The disk may further comprise a circumferential edge extending in a horizontal lateral direction and / or a vertical downward direction.

[0013] The mortises may be configured within an inner diameter DRi of the edge or within a protrusion of the inner positioning edge, and are adjacent to the edge or the protrusion, for example, directly adjacent to it. The mortises may have a basic rectangular geometry.

[0014] Depending on the type of processing to be performed when protecting the chuck, the material, coating, or plating of the chuck can be selected. If only a coating or plating of the chuck is provided, at least the second side of the chuck should be coated or plating, and if it is not protected by a clamp or support on the chuck during the bonding or adjustment step, the second side of the edge, and the respective periphery of the chuck and the edge, should also be coated. For adjusting or repairing stainless steel or for lightweight structures, titanium or ceramic materials are feasible, whereby the ceramic can be any dense sintered ceramic, such as alumina, silicon nitride, or silicon carbide. However, if bonding processing should be performed, respective bonding materials (such as titanium or aluminum) and more specialized bonding materials (such as ZrFe or Pt) can be used.

[0015] The novel baffle arm may include a sidewall to enhance the rigidity of the sickle when space is limited. This sidewall may at least partially form an outer periphery DSo of the sickle, wherein the outer diameter DDo of the disk engages with the inner periphery DWi of the sidewall. The chuck size is directly related to the size of the wafer to be processed in the vacuum process, which, for example, may be PVD, CVD, or etching. Referring to the relationship between the disk to be processed at the chuck and the chuck, for example, a disk with a flat first side, as shown in Figure 2 below, is very small or even not excessively large. This can also be applied to a disk as shown in Figure 3, which includes an edge with a vertically extending portion on a first surface. However, when located on top of the chuck, to avoid any contact with the wafer support surface, a few millimeters can be added radially outward for the edge of the wafer support surface, and a fraction of a millimeter for the vertical extension is sufficient to prevent the disk from contacting the fully flat wafer support surface of the chuck.

[0016] The sidewalls of the sickle may surround the support surface within an angle range of approximately 180° or less, and may be continuous or discontinuous sidewalls, such as a series of pins. The support surface of the sickle may extend within an angle range of 180° to 360° of the inner diameter DSi, and is typically within an angle range of 230 ± 30° of the inner diameter DSi.

[0017] The tenons may have a basic rectangular, circular, or elliptical geometry and must be symmetrical with respect to the intermediate plane extending along axis η1-3 and the height direction z of the tenon. When the tenons have a rectangular or square base, they are usually provided with a rounded corner or a rounded end geometry.

[0018] The chuck may further include a flat portion and / or a notch at or within its outer diameter DDo, and the sickle may include, for example, a corresponding flat side and / or a pointed tip at the inner diameter DWi of the sidewall. This feature may be provided when the chuck to be protected has a positioning tip or flat side for the respective wafer to be processed.

[0019] The baffle arm can be made of a material having an elastic modulus of at least 100 to 500 GPa to provide high stiffness and avoid disturbance vibration. Densely sintered ceramic materials such as alumina, silicon nitride, or silicon carbide are preferred due to their light weight.

[0020] In an alternative embodiment, the positions of the tenon and the mortise can be reversed, meaning that the tenon can be located on the first surface of the disc and the mortise can be located on the supporting surface of the sickle.

[0021] Another object of the present invention is to provide a baffle plate having a substantially circular outer diameter DDo, a thickness t, a first surface, and a second surface, the plate including at least three positioning mortises in the first surface adjacent to the outer diameter DDo, each mortise being centered and symmetrical with respect to a plane between a radial axis ξ1-3 in an xy plane of the plate and its respective vertical direction, and having two long sides a positioned parallel to or perpendicular to the axis ξ1-3. The mortises also have a short dimension b and a depth dimension d, where b < a. It should be mentioned that the position of the mortises does not need to be regular, nor does the dimensions a1-3, b1-3, d1-3 need to be the same for a, b, or d. However, some regular positions, such as 0°, 90°, 180°, and / or the same dimensions a, b, d for the mortises and the same dimensions m, n, h for the tenons, can facilitate the manufacture and / or separate handling of the plate and the sickle.

[0022] Another object of the present invention is to provide a baffle arm comprising: a shaft having a mounting means, a support scythe having an inner periphery DSi, and at least three positioning tenons adjacent to or adjacent to the inner diameter DSi of the scythe, wherein the positioning tenons are operatively connected to the positioning mortises for positioning a disc when placed on the positioning tenons or on an optional support surface of the scythe. Thus, depending on the height of the tenons, the depth of each mortise, and the arrangement of the support surface, the disc can be located directly on the support surface or on top of the tenons.

[0023] The support surface can extend radially from the inner periphery DSi of the sickle, for example, in an outward direction and / or in a central direction. The tenons are positioned adjacent to or adjacent to the inner diameter DSi. The baffle arm further includes: a shaft having a mounting means for the support sickle, having a support surface extending radially from an inner periphery DSi of the sickle; and optionally a semi-circular sidewall surrounding the support surface. Each tenon has an axis η1-3 radially positioned in an xy-plane of the sickle, and a long dimension m, a short dimension n, and a height dimension h, when n ≤ m. When n = m, the tenon may have a circular or square base. The tenons are centered relative to a plane containing the radially oriented axis η1-3 and their respective vertical directions.

[0024] When the disc is mounted on the support surface of the sickle or on the top of the tenon, the tenon is located in its respective mortise. Therefore, the angular direction and radial position of the mortise and tenon must be the same. As mentioned above, the mortise and tenon can be interchanged from the disc to the arm, and vice versa.

[0025] Due to the positioning means, which can be provided on a chuck to position a wafer with a notch or a flat portion, the respective positioning means such as a flat portion and a flat side, a notch and a tip, can be used to replace the wafer for repair, adjustment or bonding steps, and the sickle-shaped object to support the respective chuck. As an example, the flat portion and / or the notch can be provided at or within the outer diameter DDo of the chuck, wherein the flat side and / or the tip can be provided at the inner periphery DWi of the sidewall.

[0026] Another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum processing system comprising a vacuum processing chamber housing a chuck having a pin movably mounted in the z-direction to a pin driver, and a processing baffle device as described above, which will be further discussed below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Thus, the arm of the processing baffle device is mounted to a vacuum side of a rod having a vertical axis of rotation R, the rod being mounted to the chamber via a feedthrough and operatively connected to a baffle driver on the atmospheric side of the rod, so as to rotate the arm in a horizontal plane from a recessed wall or a separation compartment of the processing chamber at a central position above the chuck, so that the pin of the chuck can take over the chuck.

[0027] The pin driver of the chuck can be mounted to the processing chamber on either the atmospheric or vacuum side. To lift the chuck after it has been rotated to its center position above the chuck, the driver can extend the pin in a uniform, coordinated motion at an upper position, which can be between 5 and 30 mm above the horizontal top of the chuck, for example, 10 to 20 mm above the horizontal top of the chuck. Therefore, when the chuck is in the center position, the pin must be positioned within the inner diameter DSi of the chuck.

[0028] The processing system may further include: a control unit connected to the pin driver and the baffle driver to cooperate with the rotational movement of the arm and the linear z-movement of the pin to rotate the arm and the disk and lift or lower the disk when the arm is in the center position.

[0029] The chuck of the processing system can be a static chuck or a dynamic chuck, which can move vertically from the loading position to the processing position and vice versa.

[0030] For static chucks, when only a recessed wall for the static or idle position of the chuck-shaped object is anticipated, at least one transport slit can be provided in the processing shield having a drivable movable mesh baffle. Additionally, when a separation compartment should be anticipated, the chuck transport openings can each be provided with a lock in the compartment wall. The chuck transport slits and chuck transport openings are aligned and customized to allow transport of plate-shaped chucks. This is similar to the substrate transport apparatus disclosed in PCT patent application publication No. 2017 / 215806 of the same applicant. Particular reference is made to Figure 1 and its respective description.

[0031] A similar arrangement can be made for the dynamic chuck shown in FIG1 and the respective descriptions of PCT Patent Application Publication No. 2017 / 207144 A1. In this case, the opening and closing of the transport slits in the handling shields can be performed by at least two telescopic cylindrical shields surrounding the outer diameter of the chuck, one of which is mounted to the chuck and moves with it, thereby opening or closing each slit by its respective other shield.

[0032] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for using a novel processing baffle device in a chamber of a novel vacuum processing system as described above, wherein the method comprises the steps of: rotating the device in a horizontal plane from the recess or the separation compartment at a central position above the chuck; extending the isolating pin to lift the disk from the support surface at a horizontal plane above the baffle arm; rotating the empty arm back to the recess or the separation compartment; lowering and retracting the isolating pin to the top surface of the chuck to cover the chuck with the disk; and performing adjustment, bonding, or maintenance operations in the processing chamber.

[0033] The method may further include the following steps: extending the pin to lift the disc from the chuck in a plane above the baffle arm; rotating the empty arm from the recess or the separation compartment at a center position above the chuck and below the disc; lowering the pin to the support surface of the sickle and precisely positioning it by inserting the tenons into the mortises; retracting the pin in a horizontal plane below the baffle arm; and rotating the loaded arm back to the recess or the separation compartment.

Implementation Method

[0035] The components and related functional principles of the processing system operating in adjustment or bonding mode are shown in Figure 1. The exemplary processing system 30 shown has a vacuum pump 33 attached to a vacuum chamber 31, which houses a chuck 20 for processing wafers or other planar substrates; and a novel processing baffle assembly consisting of a baffle plate 1 and a baffle arm 10. The baffle arm is a rod 26 mounted to a baffle driver 28 to rotate the baffle plate from the recessed wall 34 or separation compartment 34 of the processing chamber 31 at a central position above the chuck. Typically, the rod extends through the vacuum feedthrough 27. When positioned above the chuck 20, a pin 21 lifts the baffle plate 1 from the support surface 12 of the sickle 11 in the z-direction according to the double arrow. This is precisely the position where the pin 21 is in its fully extended position as shown in Figure 1. It should be noted that the pin does not necessarily need to be lifted above the sidewall as schematically shown. A lift of 1 mm or a few mm may be sufficient, as long as the sidewalls do not rotate more than 180° around the support surface. This allows the sickle to rotate in and out of the center position without its sidewalls contacting the lifted disk. Pin 21 may be a pin used to lift the wafer from the wafer blade. Subsequently, the sickle 11 rotates back into the recess 34 or the separation compartment 34 and the pin retracts in the chuck surface to position the disk on the chuck to protect its surface during subsequent adjustment, bonding, or maintenance operations. The baffle disk and baffle arm can be designed to be very flat, so that only a short lift is needed to reverse the rotation of the arm while the disk is being unloaded from the sickle 11. Control unit 31 can be used to trigger and control the rotational movement of arm 10 and the vertical movement of pin 21, respectively. This can be initiated by the operator for maintenance or by system control (not shown) into which control unit 31 can be integrated. The pin drive 22, which can be positioned on the atmospheric or vacuum side of the processing chamber 31, also houses the pin drive and other components (not shown) for the operation of the chuck.

[0036] To reload the disc 1 onto the sickle 11, the process is reversed. The pin 21 is extended to lift the baffle disc 1 from the chuck 20, and the sickle 11 rotates in the central position, such that the support surface 12 is positioned between the chuck 20 and the lifted disc 1. For long-term processing stability with a series of hundreds or more processing / attaching / adjustment cycles, it is crucial to perform the positioning of the sickle and the pickup of the disc from the chuck with the highest accuracy. Therefore, the arm and sickle should be made of lightweight but high-rigidity materials with a high modulus of elasticity (e.g., at least 100 to 500 GPa) to avoid any material deformation due to temperature or load variations. In this case, alumina is used as the material for the baffle arm with the sickle; however, other materials with similar properties, such as those shown above, can also be used. The baffle drive motor 28 is coupled to the rod 26 and the encoder to ensure high positional accuracy.

[0037] However, most importantly, the disk is picked up by the sickle of the arm, supported by respective positioning features on the disk and the sickle. Therefore, when the disk is lowered by retracting the pin toward the sickle and the pin 21 is further retracted to a position at least below the support surface 12, precise positioning is achieved by the three positioning tenons 14 in the sickle surface 12, which enter their respective mortises 4 in the lower disk surface 2. Thus, the position of the disk 1 is perfectly defined on the support surface 12 of the sickle 11 before the sickle 11 rotates back to its rest position. Therefore, for the next adjustment or bonding operation, the baffle actuator can rotate the arm while the disk is positioned above the chuck, transferring the disk to the pin in the exact correct position without further action.

[0038] It should be mentioned that, in particular, the thickness dimensions of the arm and sickle-shaped object and the disc, as well as the dimensions of the precise positioning features, are larger than normal in the drawings in order to better demonstrate functionality.

[0039] More obviously, the vacuum processing system shown in FIG1 typically has additional features, such as air inlets for PVD or CVD processing, sputtering targets for depositing materials, etching apparatus for processing wafers or other planar substrates, etc., which only make adjustment, bonding, or maintenance cycles necessary. However, since the present invention focuses on improving sputtering apparatus, only the respective related apparatuses are discussed and shown in the figures.

[0040] Figure 2 shows a baffle plate 1 having three locating mortises 4 in a first surface 2 and an edge 6 optionally provided with a flat portion 8 and / or a recess 9. The baffle plate, having a thickness t, has mortises of length a, width b, and depth d (see also Figure 3), and its longitudinal axis ξ1-3 is radially positioned in peripheral positions at 0°, 90°, and 180° of the plate circumference. The plate also includes three notches 5 in the second surface 3 of the plate 1, which are located on the inner extension of the protrusion of the axis ξ1-3, adjacent to the mortises 4. These notches can be used for a first placement step, for example, during a first manual placement of the plate. Similar notches and / or bevels can be used with any other embodiment of the baffle plate. The mortises may have circumferential bevels 4', and the tenons may have circumferential chamfers 14', each individually or mating with each other to facilitate the matching of the two locating elements. The mortise 4 can be positioned parallel to and symmetrical to it on the axis ξ1-3, as shown by the solid line, or at a right angle to the axis ξ1-3, as shown by the dashed line and component symbol 4". It is usually symmetrical, as mentioned before.

[0041] A similar baffle plate 1 is shown in FIG3, having three positioning tenons 4 in the first surface 2 and an edge 6 where a flat portion 8 is provided. In the case of the plate in FIG3, the edge 6 also has a vertically extending portion that slightly protrudes from the first surface 2 and thereby surrounds the wafer support surface of the chuck 20 and is located on the peripheral chuck surface.

[0042] Although, in reality, the disks shown in Figures 2 and 3 can be designed to be very flat with a thickness t of 2 to 20 mm, or 3 to 10 mm, the edge 6 provided with a lower thickness tR, which should refer to the thickness of the wafer to be processed, allows the disk to be easily clamped onto the chuck using conventional wafer jigs, for example, during sputtering processes. As provided, the edge 6 can be small, but wide enough to provide a location for positioning the flat portion 8 or the notch 9. As an example, the disk size for a 300 mm chuck, which is a commonly used chuck size for processing 300 mm wafers, can be: 300.2 ≤ DDO ≤ 305 mm, 293 ≤ DRi ≤ 298 mm.

[0043] The baffle arm 10 can be mounted to the rod 26 of the rotating unit via a shaft 15 having a flange and a positioning groove 16 to flatten the sickle-shaped object, as shown in FIG4. Alternatively or additionally, a center mounting member on the shaft as shown in FIG1 is foreseeable.

[0044] The arm 10 further includes a sickle 11 having a support surface 12 and sidewalls 13. Three positioning tenons 14, each offset 90° from the next tenon, are placed on the support surface 11 adjacent to the inner diameter of the sickle, and their axes η1-3 are radially arranged toward the inner periphery DSi of the sickle. Therefore, when the disk 1 is positioned on the sickle 11, the axes ξ1-3 of the mortise 4 and η1-3 of the tenon 14 coincide, and the inner periphery DWi of the sidewall 13 surrounds the outer diameter DDo of the disk 1 on the support surface 12. To ensure the highest positioning accuracy, the smaller dimension b of the mortise 4 and the respective dimensions n of the tenons 14 should be very similar in size, such that, for example, in a 300mm wafer configuration, the difference should be approximately b–n = 0.1 ± 0.05 mm. Conversely, the longer dimension a of the mortise 4 should be set much longer than the respective dimensions m of the tenons 14 to achieve thermal compensation. As an example, also for a 300mm wafer configuration, when using metal disks and ceramic sickles, the difference should be at least 1 to 3 mm depending on the maximum heat load during processing. When using pointed or flat sides to position the wafer on the chuck, flat side 8' and / or pointed side 9' are foreseeable, as shown by the dashed lines. Component symbol 17 refers to an optional notch to allow an optical sensor (not shown) to confirm the correct positioning of the disk. The optical sensor can be mounted in the recessed wall or separation quiescent chamber for the arm and disk, or it can be integrated into the arm 10. One or more openings 18, as shown by the dotted lines, can be provided in the lower part of the support surface 11 and sidewall 13 to allow protrusions from the chuck or pins positioned further outward on the chuck to pass through. The width w of the support surface should be at least about 1.5 times to about 30 mm of the length m of the tenon to allow the pin 21 to pass through the interior when the disk 1 is lifted.

[0045] The magnifying glass in the upper half of the attached figure shows a view on the left side from the center of the sickle 11 toward the tenon 14 on the support surface 12 and a side view with a 90° perspective to the left.

[0046] The tenon can have a maximum length dimension m, a maximum width dimension n and a height h, wherein: 2≤m<20mm 2≤n<20mm 1≤h<10mm.

[0047] Accordingly, a mortise having a maximum length dimension a and a maximum width dimension b can be used with the following dimensions: 2<a≤20mm 2<b≤20mm 1<d≤10mm.

[0048] Figure 5 shows further details of the positioning tenon 14 in a top view. The tenon 14 comprises two circular edge portions with radius r, an upright middle portion of length l, and an upper portion with a circumferential chamfer 14'. As an example, r can be 2 mm, and the height h of the tenon can also be 2 mm. This allows for minimized size and good positioning characteristics. The length l of the upright middle portion can vary from approximately 0 to 4r or greater, which may depend on the width w = (DWi - DSi) / 2 of the supporting surface 12. Alternatively, a circular tenon, a tenon with an elliptical base, or a tenon with other convenient base forms, as known to those skilled in the art, can be used.

[0049] Figure 6 shows another embodiment of the novel baffle arm. In this case, contrary to the aforementioned arm embodiment, the circular tenon 14 mounted on the inner end of the cantilever 19 is used to position and hold the respective discs, meaning that the discs are located only on the tenon. The cantilever extends radially from the sidewall 13 toward the center of the sickle 7. To keep the discs balanced, the tenons are positioned at 120° to each other at only the virtual inner periphery DSi of the sickle, so that the support surface 12 shown in Figure 4 or Figure 7 is no longer needed. The axes η1-3 are tangent to each other at the center point of the sickle. When the tenons are configured in their respective 120° positions, this baffle arm can be combined with any previous disc embodiment.

[0050] Figure 7 shows another novel baffle arm in the form of a cut-off disc. In this embodiment, the baffle arm 10" again has three locating tenons, and the axes η1-3 are configured at 0°, 90°, and 180°. In this case, the support surface 12 may include all or part of the upper surface of the sickle 7, up to its outer perimeter DSo, which also includes the cut-off line, when the thickness of the sickle and the support surface can be chosen to be sufficiently large to provide stability and rigidity, which is easier for paddle-shaped or disc-shaped sickles, as shown in Figure 7. Alternatively, the edge 13 may also be provided with this type of sickle to ensure the mechanical properties as described above. In order to allow the pins 21 of the chuck 20 to remain in their positions after they have been taken from the baffle disc assembly to the chuck 1. The extended end position, and the sickle-shaped arm must rotate back to its rest position, is provided with three openings 18 that allow the arm to rotate without contacting the pin 21. Again, the inner perimeter DSi of the sickle is only virtual here, and as an example, can be defined by the inner perimeter of the innermost position contacting the two tenons 14, where a third tenon can be positioned away from its respective perimeter, here in a more outward direction. However, in principle, for any embodiment of the invention, each tenon can be located on the same or different perimeters, and due to ease and precision of positioning, it is preferable to be closer to the interior, at the inner perimeter, or particularly between the inner perimeter and the edge.

[0051] For different tenons / mortises, other positions of the tenons and mortises can be selected by referring to different angle configurations and / or different distances from the center in any embodiment, up to the specific geometric needs of the vacuum processing chamber. Therefore, tenons and mortises of different geometries can be combined with any of the baffle arms or baffle plates described in the examples.

[0052] Finally, it should be mentioned that the combination of features mentioned by one embodiment, example or type of the present invention can be combined with any other embodiment, example or type of the present invention, unless there is obvious contradiction. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0034] The invention will now be further illustrated by way of the accompanying drawings. The drawings are shown by way of illustration only to summarize the key features of the invention. The dimensions and geometric relationships of the different features shown may differ from actual embodiments of the invention. The drawings show: Figure 1: A processing system including a novel processing baffle device; Figure 2: A novel baffle disc; Figure 3: Another novel baffle disc; Figure 4: A novel baffle arm; Figure 5: Details of the novel baffle arm; Figure 6: Another novel baffle arm; Figure 7: Another embodiment of the novel baffle arm.

Claims

1. A processing baffle device for a vacuum processing system, comprising: a baffle plate (1) having a substantially circumferential outer diameter DDo, a thickness t, a first surface (2) and a second surface (3), the plate including at least three positioning mortises (4) in the first surface (2) adjacent to the outer diameter DDo, each mortise being centered relative to a radial axis ξ1-3 in an xy plane of the plate and having two long sides a positioned parallel to or perpendicular to the respective axis ξ1-3; a baffle arm (10) including a support scythe (11) having an inner periphery DSi, and at least three positioning tenons adjacent to or adjacent to the inner diameter DSi and corresponding to the positioning mortises (4) for positioning the plate when placed on the positioning tenons or an optional support surface of the scythe.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the support surface (12) extends radially from the inner periphery DSi of the sickle, and the tenons are positioned adjacent to or adjacent to the inner diameter DSi.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the disk further includes a circumferential edge (6, 6') extending in a horizontal lateral direction and / or in a vertical downward direction.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the mortises are disposed within an inner diameter DRi of the edge or within a protrusion of the inner positioning edge, and are adjacent to the edge or the protrusion.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the mortises have a basic rectangular geometry.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the disk is coated with a metallic material or a ceramic material, or the disk is made of the metallic material or the ceramic material.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the baffle arm includes a sidewall that at least partially forms an outer periphery DSo of the sickle, wherein the outer diameter DDo of the disc engages with the inner periphery DWi of the sidewall.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the sidewall is approximately semi-circular around the support surface.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein the tenons are mounted on a cantilever extending from the side wall.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support surface of the sickle extends over an angular range of 180 to 360° of the inner diameter DSi of the sickle.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the tenons have a basic rectangular, circular or elliptical geometry.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the tenons have a rectangular or square base geometry having rounded corners or a rounded end.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the arm is made of a material having an elastic modulus of at least 100 GPa, particularly of a ceramic material.

14. The device of any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the tenons are provided on the first surface of the disc and the mortises are provided on the support surface of the sickle or on a cantilever protruding from the side wall.

15. A baffle plate having a substantially circular outer diameter DDo, a thickness t, a first surface (2) and a second surface (3), the plate including at least three positioning mortises (4) in the first surface (2) adjacent to the outer diameter DDo, each mortise being centered and symmetrical with respect to a plane between a radial axis ξ1-3 in an xy plane of the plate and its respective vertical direction, and having two long sides a positioned parallel to or perpendicular to the axis ξ1-3, a short dimension b, and a depth dimension d, wherein b < a.

16. The baffle plate of claim 15, wherein the second surface includes at least one control groove.

17. A baffle arm (10) comprising: a shaft (15) having mounting means, a support scythe (11) having an inner periphery DSi, and at least three positioning tenons adjacent to or adjacent to the inner diameter DSi of the scythe, each tenon being positioned on a radial axis η1-3 in an xy plane of the scythe and symmetrical with respect to an intermediate plane extending along the respective axis η1-3 and the height direction z, each tenon having a long dimension m, a short dimension n, and a height dimension h, wherein n ≤ m.

18. A vacuum processing system comprising a vacuum processing chamber (31) housing a chuck having a pin (21) movably mounted in the z-direction to a pin driver (22) and a processing baffle device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14, wherein an arm 10 of the device is mounted to a vacuum side of a rod having a vertical axis of rotation R, is mounted to the chamber by a feedthrough, and is operatively connected to a baffle driver on the atmospheric side of the rod to rotate the arm from a recessed wall or a separation compartment of the processing chamber at a central position above the chuck.

19. The processing system of claim 18, wherein the pin actuator is mounted to the processing chamber on the atmospheric side or the vacuum side.

20. The processing system of claim 18 or 19 further includes: a control unit connected to the pin driver and the baffle driver to cooperate with the rotational movement of the arm and the linear z-movement of the pin to rotate the arm and the disk and to lift or lower the disk when the arm is in the center position.

21. A method of using a processing baffle device of any one of claims 1 to 14 in a chamber of a vacuum processing system as claimed in claims 18 to 20, comprising the steps of: rotating the device in a horizontal plane from the recess or the separation compartment at a central position above the chuck; extending the pin to lift the disk from the support surface in a horizontal plane above the arm; rotating the empty arm back to the recess or the separation compartment; lowering and retracting the pin to the top surface of the chuck to cover the chuck with the disk; and performing adjustment, bonding, or maintenance operations in the processing chamber.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprises the following steps: extending the pin to lift the disc from the chuck in a plane above the arm; rotating the empty arm from the recess or the separation compartment at a central position above the chuck and below the disc; lowering the pin to the support surface of the sickle and precisely positioning it by inserting the tenons into the mortises; retracting the pin in a horizontal plane below the arm; and rotating the loaded arm back to the recess or the separation compartment.

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