Ceramic Lift Pin Actuator Geometry for Compact Wafer Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mechanical actuators in semiconductor processing systems are often larger than desired due to mechanical tolerances and tolerance stack-up, necessitating a need for improved lift pin actuators and actuator arrangements.
Innovation Solution
A lift pin actuator design featuring a ceramic actuator body with a hub portion, arm portions, and a pad portion, configured for precise movement and integration with an actuator tube member, allowing for efficient substrate handling in semiconductor processing systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional mechanical actuators are used to ensure mechanical tolerances and tolerance stack-up, then reliability is improved, but device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical actuators with a lift pin actuator system that uses a pin extending through a substrate support. The pin is actuated by a drive mechanism that moves the pin vertically to engage and disengage substrates, eliminating the need for complex mechanical linkages and reducing actuator size while maintaining precision through direct vertical motion control
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the actuation parameter from rotational motion in traditional actuators to linear vertical motion of the lift pin. The pin moves between engaged and disengaged positions along a vertical axis, allowing precise substrate handling with reduced mechanical complexity and smaller overall actuator dimensions
2Ease of manufacture
If larger actuator components are used to accommodate mechanical tolerances, then manufacturing ease is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lift pin actuator system is segmented into distinct functional components: the lift pin itself, the substrate support with aperture, the drive mechanism, and the actuator tube member. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently with simplified geometry, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining ease of manufacture for individual parts
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the essential function of substrate engagement from complex mechanical actuators, isolating it to a simple lift pin that extends through the substrate support. This extraction eliminates unnecessary mechanical components and reduces assembly complexity while maintaining manufacturing ease for the core functional elements
Data Source
AI summary
A lift pin actuator includes an actuator body having a hub portion, a first arm portion and second arm portion, and a pad portion. The actuator body is arranged along a rotation axis, the hub portion extends about the rotation axis, and the arm portions extend outward from the hub portion in a direction opposite the rotation axis and parallel to one another. The pad portion is radially separated from the hub portion by the arm portions, the pad portion coupling the first arm portion to the second arm portion, and the pad portion has an engagement surface orthogonal relative to the rotation axis and coplanar with the arm portions to drive a lift pin above the engagement surface along the rotation axis. Chamber arrangements and semiconductor processing systems having lift pin actuators, as well as related methods of making lift pin actuators and actuator arrangements, are also described.