Stacked Slit-Pocket Chamber for High-Throughput Substrate Degassing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing batch degassing and heat treatment processes for workpieces are limited by the physics of the outgassing process and require extended heating or cooling times, which can impact throughput in inline processing systems, and current solutions with individual heater plates are costly and space-intensive.
Innovation Solution
A batch heat treatment chamber with a single metal block or thermally coupled metal parts featuring parallel slit-pockets for workpiece accommodation, providing efficient heat exchange and gas flow to enhance degassing and cooling processes without the need for multiple individual heaters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If extended heating or cooling times are used to improve degassing and heat treatment quality, then treatment effectiveness is improved, but throughput is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The chamber is divided into multiple independent heating zones, each capable of processing workpieces simultaneously. This segmentation allows extended treatment times to be applied to multiple workpieces in parallel, maintaining throughput while achieving thorough degassing and heat treatment for each piece.
2Reliability
If multiple individual heater plates are used for each workpiece, then heating effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple heating zones are merged into a single integrated chamber structure with shared walls and coordinated control system. This combining approach maintains the effectiveness of individual heating zones while reducing overall device complexity and cost compared to using separate heater plates for each workpiece.
Solution Approach 2:
The chamber walls serve multiple functions: they act as heating elements, thermal insulation barriers, and structural supports. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate heater plates while maintaining effective heating capability across all workpieces simultaneously.
3Reliability
If multiple individual heater plates are used for each workpiece, then heating effectiveness is improved, but space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple heating zones are nested within the chamber structure, with each zone utilizing the chamber walls as shared boundaries. This nesting arrangement allows multiple heating zones to occupy overlapping spatial volumes, significantly reducing the total space required compared to separate heater plates that would each require dedicated space.
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 enables longer heat treatment times without sacrificing throughput, reduces costs and space requirements, and maintains thermal equilibrium across the chamber, improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of degassing and cooling processes.
Implementation Method 1
A batch heat treatment chamber with a single metal block or thermally coupled metal parts featuring parallel slit-pockets for workpiece accommodation, providing efficient heat exchange
Implementation Method 2
providing efficient heat exchange and gas flow to enhance degassing and cooling processes
Data Source
AI summary
A heater and/or cooler chamber includes a heat storage block or chunk. In the block a multitude of parallel, stacked slit pockets are each dimensioned to accommodate a single plate shaped workpiece. Workpiece handling openings of the slit pockets are freed and respectively covered by a door arrangement. The slit pockets are tailored to snugly surround the plate shaped workpieces therein so as to establish an efficient heat transfer between the heat storage block or chunk and the workpieces to be cooled or heated.