Lift Pin Substrate Placement to Release Tapered Edge Catch
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate placing methods fail to accurately position substrates when horizontal displacement occurs, leading to issues such as chipping and deposition film formation due to edges catching on tapered surfaces during placement on placing tables.
Innovation Solution
A substrate placing method involving lift pins that lower and raise substrates by a short distance to release edges caught on tapered surfaces, ensuring accurate placement on the placing surface, and utilizing an electrostatic chuck to attract and correct warpage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the substrate is placed on the placing surface using a tapered surface for guidance, then the substrate positioning is improved, but the substrate edge may be caught on the tapered surface causing horizontal displacement
Solution Approach 1:
The lift pin is made movable between a raised position (where the substrate is transferred) and a lowered position (where the substrate is placed). This dynamic movement allows the substrate to be released from the lift pin and guided by the tapered surface without being caught, resolving the contradiction between positioning accuracy and placement reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The lift pin serves as an intermediary tool that temporarily holds the substrate during transfer and then releases it at the placing surface. This intermediary mechanism enables accurate positioning through the tapered surface while preventing the substrate edge from being caught, as the substrate is released rather than continuously supported during placement
2Measurement precision
If the substrate edge is caught on the tapered surface during placement, then the substrate may be held in position, but chipping and deposition film formation occur
Solution Approach 1:
The tapered surface, which originally caused harm by catching the substrate edge, is utilized beneficially to guide the substrate to the correct position. The lift pin mechanism ensures the substrate is released and guided smoothly by the tapered surface without being caught, converting the potentially harmful tapered surface into a beneficial guiding feature
Solution Approach 2:
By dynamically controlling the lift pin position (raised during transfer, lowered during placement), the system ensures the substrate is released at the optimal moment to be guided by the tapered surface without being caught, preventing chipping and deposition film formation while maintaining accurate positioning
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
Prevents chipping and deposition film formation by releasing edge catch on tapered surfaces, maintaining precise substrate positioning and reducing warpage-related processing issues.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing an electrostatic chuck to attract and correct warpage
Implementation Method 2
raising the lift pin by a short distance and then returning the lift pin to the substrate placing position
Data Source
AI summary
There is a substrate placing method for placing a substrate on a placing surface of a placing table in a chamber of a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, the placing table having the placing surface on which a substrate is placed and a tapered surface for guiding the substrate disposed at an outer periphery of the placing surface, the method comprising, locating a lift pin to a substrate transfer position over the placing surface, the lift pin being capable of protruding from and retracting below the placing surface, and transferring the substrate onto the lift pin; lowering the lift pin, on which the substrate is placed, to a substrate placing position lower than the placing surface; and raising the lift pin by a short distance and then returning the lift pin to the substrate placing position.