Pin Lifting Bellows Sealing for Clean Vacuum Substrate Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pin lifting devices in vacuum chamber systems face issues with particle contamination and disturbed movement of support pins due to volume changes and gas leaks, which can affect the precise positioning and handling of substrates during processing.
Innovation Solution
A sealed pin lifting device design with a tight connecting device and a bellows-shaped sealing element ensures minimal volume changes and prevents particle escape, using a filter or compensation vessel to maintain a gas-tight environment, and a mechatronic drive unit for precise control of the support pins.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the support pin is moved through a housing opening in a conventional pin lifting device, then the support pin can be actuated to position the substrate, but volume changes in the housing cause gas leaks and particle contamination in the process chamber
Solution Approach 1:
The housing interior is segmented into a first inner region (drive side) and a second inner region (process chamber side) separated by a diaphragm. This segmentation isolates the process chamber from volume changes and particle generation in the drive region, resolving the contradiction between enabling pin movement and preventing contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
A diaphragm acts as an intermediary barrier between the drive region and process chamber. It transmits mechanical movement from the support pin while preventing gas leaks and particle escape, thus maintaining positioning precision without causing contamination.
2Ease of operation
If the support pin moves relative to the housing, then the substrate can be positioned, but lubricant particles may escape into the process chamber causing contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into isolated regions, with the drive region containing lubricant-separated moving parts separated from the process chamber by a diaphragm. This allows smooth substrate handling while containing lubricant particles within the sealed drive region.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a tight seal is implemented to prevent particle escape, then contamination is reduced, but volume changes still cause disturbed movement of the support pin
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into a sealed second inner region (process chamber side) and a first inner region (drive side). The diaphragm seal prevents particle escape while the connecting channel equalizes pressure, ensuring stable support pin movement without compromising sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
A connecting channel acts as an intermediary pressure equalization path between the two sealed regions. It allows pressure balancing to maintain reliable support pin movement while the diaphragm maintains the gas-tight seal.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the housing is made gas-tight to prevent leaks, then particle escape is prevented, but pressure changes during pin movement cause disturbed operation
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into two gas-tight regions separated by a diaphragm. This segmentation allows each region to be independently pressure-managed, preventing gas leaks to the process chamber while accommodating pressure changes in the drive region without disturbing operation.
Solution Approach 2:
A connecting channel serves as a pressure equalization intermediary between the two sealed regions. It allows pressure changes during pin movement to be compensated, maintaining operational stability while the overall system remains gas-tight.
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
The solution ensures undisturbed movement of support pins, prevents particle contamination in the process chamber, and allows for precise and efficient handling of substrates, maintaining a clean environment suitable for sensitive semiconductor processing.
Implementation Method 1
a bellows-shaped sealing element (55) which is tightly connected to the housing end (33) and to the adjusting device (15), in particular to the movable part (21)
Implementation Method 2
using a filter or compensation vessel to maintain a gas-tight environment
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a pin lifting device which includes a housing extending along an adjustment axis, a housing end at a first end region of the housing and has a housing opening, a drive part arranged at a second end region of the housing, an adjusting device having a part which can move in the housing in the direction of the adjustment axis, a guide section for the adjusting device formed on the inside of the housing between a first stop at the frontal housing end and a second stop remote therefrom, a tight connecting device formed inside the housing between the frontal housing end and the adjusting device, and a connecting channel extending from the first stop to the second stop at the guide section. A contiguous second inner region leads to minimal changes in the volume of the second inner region even during movements of the movable part.