Liquid Supply Unit Motion Sensor for Substrate Treating Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
The substrate treating apparatus experiences deformation and process defects due to operator maintenance, which is difficult to detect visually, especially in the nozzle unit with a cantilever structure, leading to contamination and maintenance challenges.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a motion sensor combination of 3-axis gyro and acceleration sensors to monitor and detect deflection, distortion, and vibration of the liquid supply unit, with an alarm system to notify corrections when deviations exceed allowable ranges, ensuring real-time data collection and comparison for abnormality diagnosis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If operator maintenance is performed by inserting hand into apparatus, then cleaning and maintenance can be done, but apparatus components (especially nozzle unit) become deformed and distorted
Solution Approach 1:
The motion sensor detects deformation before it significantly affects substrate treatment quality. By monitoring the nozzle unit's position and orientation in real-time, the system can alert operators to correct deformation before it causes process defects, preventing rather than reacting to precision loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The motion sensor provides continuous feedback on the nozzle unit's posture during and after maintenance operations. This feedback loop allows operators to immediately recognize and correct any deformation caused by manual maintenance, ensuring the apparatus returns to its precise operational state.
2Adaptability or versatility
If nozzle unit with cantilever structure is used, then liquid supply flexibility is improved, but deformation is difficult to recognize by naked eye
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces visual inspection with electronic sensing. Motion sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes, or position sensors) electronically measure the nozzle unit's position and orientation, substituting the unreliable human eye with precise electronic detection that can identify even微小的 deformations in the cantilever structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system monitors changes in physical parameters (position, orientation, acceleration) of the nozzle unit to detect deformation. By tracking these parameters before and during maintenance operations, the system can identify when the cantilever structure has deformed beyond acceptable limits.
3Productivity
If treatment liquid is supplied to rotating substrate, then substrate treatment efficiency is improved, but treatment liquid contaminates apparatus components
Solution Approach 1:
The motion sensor continuously monitors the nozzle unit's position during substrate treatment. By providing real-time feedback on nozzle alignment, the system can detect and correct deviations that might cause liquid to miss the substrate and contaminate the apparatus, maintaining both efficiency and cleanliness.
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 process defects by detecting and correcting apparatus posture deformation, diagnoses abnormalities through vibration data monitoring, and standardizes substrate quality by maintaining the apparatus's optimal operational state.
Implementation Method 1
a motion sensor that detects any one or more of a deflection, a distortion, and a vibration of the liquid supply unit
Data Source
AI summary
The inventive concept provides a substrate treating apparatus. According to an embodiment, the substrate treating apparatus may include a liquid supply unit that supplies a treatment liquid onto a to-be-treated surface of the substrate, and the liquid supply unit may include a support shaft spaced apart from the spin chuck by a specific distance, and extending to have a specific length in a direction that is perpendicular to a ground surface, a nozzle support, one end of which is coupled to an upper end of the support shaft, and extending to have a specific length in a direction that is parallel to the ground surface, a nozzle installed at an opposite end of the nozzle support and that supplies the treatment liquid to the substrate, and a motion sensor that detects any one or more of a deflection, a distortion, and a vibration of the liquid supply unit.