Gate Valve Movement in Minimum-Space Wet Process Environment
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wet process environments for semiconductor chip fabrication, the configuration of the chamber wall reduces space available for gate valve movement, causing interference with wafer transfer equipment when fluid collection apparatus is adjacent to the access opening.
Innovation Solution
A gate valve system with an offset wall and fluid collection groove, along with a bladder-driven mechanism, allows for the movement of the gate relative to the opening without interfering with wafer transfer units, even when fluid collection occurs adjacent to the access opening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fluid collection apparatus is placed adjacent to the access opening in a wet process chamber, then fluid collection functionality is achieved, but space available for gate valve movement is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an offset wall that extends in the access direction, creating a three-dimensional fluid collection groove structure. This dimensional change allows the fluid collection apparatus to be positioned in the offset region rather than directly adjacent to the opening, thereby collecting fluids without occupying the primary gate movement space in front of the opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall structure is segmented into a main wall and an offset wall portion. The offset wall creates a separate fluid collection groove that is spatially distinct from the gate movement path. This segmentation allows independent optimization of fluid collection and gate movement functions without mutual interference.
2Productivity
If the gate valve is moved to allow wafer transfer through the opening, then wafer transfer is enabled, but fluid collection capability is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The offset wall extends in the access direction to create a fluid collection groove that runs parallel to the gate movement path. This spatial arrangement in another dimension ensures that the gate can move freely in front of the opening for wafer transfer while the groove continuously collects fluids along the offset wall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The offset wall acts as an intermediary structure that mediates between the gate valve and the fluid collection requirement. It provides a separate pathway for fluid collection that does not interfere with the gate's movement, allowing both functions to coexist without direct conflict.
3Area of stationary object
If chamber wall is configured with offset and fluid collection groove, then gate movement space is preserved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The offset wall and fluid collection groove are merged into a single integrated structural feature of the chamber wall. Rather than adding separate fluid collection equipment, the design combines the wall structure itself to perform both structural support and fluid collection functions, thereby reducing overall device complexity despite the modified wall geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The offset wall structure serves multiple functions: it maintains the structural integrity of the chamber wall, creates the fluid collection groove, and preserves gate movement space. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, offsetting the complexity of the modified wall configuration with functional consolidation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables effective gate movement and wafer transfer in a minimum-space wet process environment by reducing space constraints while maintaining fluid collection functionality, preventing interference with transfer equipment.
Implementation Method 1
The other drive is configured with a bladder extendable in the access direction away from the transfer unit and from the frame and beyond the lip toward the access surface. The extendable bladder is configured as a hollow member with an invaginated shape supporting a coupling.
Data Source
AI summary
Improved gate movement is provided in a wet process environment in which fluid collecting from a gate occurs adjacent to an access opening provided in a wall of a process chamber while the gate is moved relative to the opening. A minimum space environment is adjacent to the chamber due to a requirement for fluid collection next to the opening, yet the gate movement is provided without interference with a wafer transfer unit that moves the wafer through the access opening. Drives are configured within the minimum space environment to move the gate into and out of alignment with the opening and when aligned, to move the gate into and out of a gate closure position. The configuration of the drives avoids interference with the wafer transfer unit and the gate is received in a fluid collector during the gate movement to provide fluid collection during the wafer transfer.