Aligner Station Lift Mechanism for Independent Ring Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Substrates or objects are often misaligned when initially placed on an aligner station, leading to issues during transport and placement in processing chambers, causing equipment downtime and misalignment complications.
Innovation Solution
An aligner station with a rotatable aligner stage and lift mechanism that corrects the alignment of carriers and process kit rings by rotating and lifting them independently to achieve a target orientation, using sensors and controllers to determine and correct angular orientation errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a robot arm transports a substrate from the aligner station to the processing chamber, then the substrate can be moved to the target location, but the substrate may be misaligned causing equipment downtime and inefficiencies
Solution Approach 1:
The aligner stage performs preliminary alignment of the substrate before it is picked up by the robot arm. The stage rotates to a first target orientation to correct angular orientation error of the substrate, and then rotates to a second target orientation to correct angular orientation error of the carrier, ensuring proper alignment is established before transport occurs
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment process is segmented into two independent rotational operations: first rotating the aligner stage to correct substrate orientation, then rotating the carrier independently to correct its orientation. This segmentation allows each component to be aligned separately, preventing misalignment issues during transport
2Manufacturing precision
If the aligner stage rotates to correct alignment of both carrier and process kit ring together, then alignment can be achieved, but the carrier and process kit ring cannot be aligned independently if one is misaligned relative to the other
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment system is divided into two independent rotational operations: first rotation of the aligner stage to correct substrate orientation while the substrate is held by lift pins, and second rotation of the carrier to correct its orientation. This segmentation enables independent alignment of each component, allowing the system to handle cases where either the substrate or carrier is misaligned
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the alignment process based on which component is misaligned. The controller determines whether to first rotate the substrate or the carrier based on detected angular orientation errors, making the alignment process adaptable to different misalignment scenarios
Data Source
AI summary
An aligner station includes an aligner stage configured to support a carrier of a process kit ring. The aligner stage is configured to rotate to correct an alignment of the carrier and of the process kit ring supported by the carrier relative to a target orientation. The aligner station further includes a lift mechanism configured to lift the process kit ring from the carrier. The aligner stage is further configured to rotated while the process kit ring is lifted from the carrier by the lift mechanism to align the carrier with respect to the process kit ring. The lift mechanism is further configured to lower the process kit ring back onto the carrier that is aligned with the process kit ring.