Substrate Holder Restriction Grooves to Prevent Wafer Floating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional substrate processing apparatuses face issues where substrates float and separate from supporting grooves during liquid circulation or gas introduction, leading to disorder and potential contamination.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing apparatus with a substrate holding unit that includes a supporting body with grooves, an elevating device, and a restriction unit. The restriction unit moves up and down to prevent substrates from floating by accommodating their upper portions in restriction grooves, maintaining them in a vertically standing posture within the processing tub.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If substrates are immersed in processing tub with liquid circulation or gas introduction, then processing effectiveness is improved, but substrates float and separate from supporting grooves causing disorder
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate holding unit is divided into two functional parts: a supporting body with supporting grooves that holds substrates from below, and a restriction unit with restriction grooves that prevents upward movement. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function - support and restriction - without interfering with each other, resolving the contradiction between processing effectiveness and position stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The restriction unit is positioned above the supporting body, with restriction grooves nested over the supporting grooves. The restriction grooves are formed to accommodate the upper portions of substrates that are already supported by the supporting grooves. This nested arrangement creates a coordinated system where the upper restriction grooves work in conjunction with the lower supporting grooves to fully constrain substrate movement while allowing effective processing.
2Manufacturing precision
If substrates are held vertically standing posture, then processing uniformity is improved, but substrates may float up during liquid circulation or gas introduction
Solution Approach 1:
The restriction unit acts as a counterbalancing mechanism against the upward buoyant force generated during liquid circulation or gas introduction. By providing downward restriction through the restriction grooves, the system counteracts the floating tendency of substrates, maintaining their vertical standing posture and ensuring processing uniformity without the harmful effect of substrate displacement.
Data Source
AI summary
Substrates can be suppressed from being separated from supporting grooves. A substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holding unit and a processing tub. The substrate holding unit is configured to hold multiple substrates. The processing tub is configured to store a processing liquid therein. The substrate holding unit comprises a supporting body, an elevating device and a restriction unit. The supporting body has multiple supporting grooves and is configured to support the multiple substrates with a vertically standing posture from below in the multiple supporting grooves, respectively. The elevating device is configured to move the supporting body between a standby position above the processing tub and a processing position within the processing tub. The restriction unit is configured to be moved up and down along with the supporting body by the elevating device and configured to restrict an upward movement of the substrates with respect to the supporting body.