Cleanspace Fabricator Tool Support Chassis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cleanroom designs face challenges with increased tool size and density, leading to higher construction and maintenance costs, complex and costly robotics, and difficulties in installing or removing processing tools, while also limiting the ability to efficiently process single substrates due to the need for batching.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a support mechanism for processing tools with a chassis system that allows tools to be placed with ports inside the clean space and bodies outside, enabling easy installation, removal, and maintenance, along with a substrate carrier that maintains a clean environment for single substrates and facilitates their transfer between tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If processing tools are placed with bodies outside the cleanspace and only ports inside, then installation and maintenance become easier, but the complexity of the support mechanism increases
Solution Approach 1:
The processing tool is divided into two separate parts: the tool body located outside the cleanspace and the tool port located inside the cleanspace. This segmentation allows the tool body to be easily maintained and replaced outside the clean environment while the port remains sealed within the cleanspace, resolving the contradiction between ease of repair and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The tool body is extracted from the cleanspace environment and positioned outside, with only the essential port component remaining inside. This extraction simplifies maintenance operations by allowing technicians to access and service the tool body in a non-clean environment, while maintaining cleanspace integrity through the sealed port interface.
2Productivity
If tools are densely placed within the cleanspace, then productivity increases, but installation and removal of tools becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the tool into an external body and an internal port, the system enables dense tool placement within the cleanspace while maintaining easy installation. The port can be pre-installed in the cleanspace wall, and tool bodies can be quickly connected externally, allowing high tool density without compromising installation ease.
3Extent of automation
If complex robotics are used for substrate handling, then automation increases, but cost and error rates increase
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate handling function is extracted from complex robotic systems and integrated directly into the tool port mechanism. The port includes built-in substrate transfer capabilities that work with simple carriers, eliminating the need for expensive, complex robotics while maintaining automated substrate handling through a simpler, more reliable system.
4Productivity
If batching is used to process substrates, then productivity increases, but the ability to process single substrates efficiently decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The tool port and carrier system are designed with universal functionality to handle both batch processing and single substrate processing equally efficiently. The port can accommodate carriers of various sizes and configurations, allowing the system to adapt to different production needs without sacrificing productivity in either batch or single-substrate modes.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides various aspects of support for a fabrication facility capable of routine placement and replacement of processing tools. Support aspects include support structure for processing tools, a clean environment carrier for a single substrate, and a quick disconnect flange which facilitates connecting and disconnect of electrical, liquid and gas utilities to a processing tool placed in the fabricator.