Substrate Edge Holder With Flow Guides for Uniform Wet Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate holding devices for non-immersive wet-chemical treatment suffer from non-uniform flow fields near the edge of the substrate, leading to issues like skip plating and eddies, which affect the uniformity of treatment.
Innovation Solution
The device features protruding engagement features located opposite to the edge direction, with a space accessible to liquid, and flow guide surfaces that constrain the liquid flow to a single direction, ensuring uniform film flow across the substrate's major surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If discrete pins are used to hold the substrate, then the substrate can be secured during treatment, but eddies and turbulent flow occur leading to non-uniform plating
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the harmful discrete pins from the system and replaces them with a continuous flow guide surface that extends to the substrate edge. This extraction of the problematic element eliminates the source of eddies and turbulent flow while maintaining substrate holding capability through the flow guide surface alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow guide surface is designed with specific local characteristics: it extends directly to the substrate edge without interruptions, and its surface properties are optimized to guide liquid flow uniformly. This local quality enhancement at the critical edge region prevents eddies and ensures uniform plating while maintaining reliable substrate holding.
2Manufacturing precision
If flow guidance parts extend close to the substrate edge, then liquid flow can be directed uniformly onto the substrate, but the space for liquid flow becomes restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The flow guide surface utilizes the third dimension (depth/thickness) by being positioned at a controlled distance from the substrate edge while extending in the lateral dimensions. This dimensional arrangement allows the flow guide to direct liquid uniformly onto the substrate while maintaining adequate liquid flow space between the flow guide and substrate edge, resolving the contradiction between flow uniformity and flow space availability.
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
This configuration minimizes eddies and ensures a uniform flow field, preventing skip plating and promoting laminar flow, thereby enhancing the consistency of wet-chemical treatments.
Implementation Method 1
ensuring uniform film flow across the substrate's major surfaces
Implementation Method 2
flow guide surfaces that constrain the liquid flow to a single direction
Implementation Method 3
at least one first array of protruding engagement features and at least one second array of protruding engagement features, protruding towards each other
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
A device for holding at least one planar substrate (1,2) in an apparatus for non-immersive wet-chemical treatment of the substrate (1,2) comprises a pair of flow guide surfaces (23,24;50,51;88,89) on opposite sides of a space (28;55;93) for accommodating an edge region of at least one substrate (1). The flow guide surfaces (23,24;50,51;88,89) extend in a first direction (-z) to respective edges (25,26;52,53;90,91) and extend in a second direction (y) transverse to the first direction (-z). Each of the edges (25,26;52,53;90,91) bounds a gap (27;54;92) for insertion of an edge region of at least one substrate (1) into the space (28;55;93). A dimension of the space (28;55;93) in a third direction (x) transverse to the first and second directions (-z,y) decreases in the first direction (-z) over at least part of an extent in the first direction (-z) of the space (28;55;93). The device comprises at least one first array (15;44;76) of protruding engagement features and at least one second array (16;45;77) of protruding engagement features, protruding towards each other from first and second engagement feature supports (19;20;47;49;81;84), respectively. The first and second arrays (15,16;44,45;76,77) extend in the second direction (y). The engagement feature supports (19;20;47;49;81;84) are at least partially movable with respect to each other to move the first and second arrays (15,16;44,45;76,77) in the third direction (x). The protruding engagement features are located in the space (28;55;93) at a distance from the edges (25,26;52,53;90,91) in opposite direction (z) to the first direction (-z). The space (28;55;93) is accessible to liquid at a distance from the edges (25,26;52,53;90,91) in opposite direction (z) to the first direction (-z).