Substrate Positioning with Tilt-Adjusted Susceptor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate processing apparatuses struggle to accurately position substrates at the central portion of a susceptor when the susceptor's tilt angle or tilt direction changes, leading to uneven heat transfer and process inconsistencies.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing apparatus equipped with a tilt adjustment unit and a controller that adjusts the susceptor's tilt and changes the substrate's loaded position using a robot arm, based on pre-stored tilt-changed position information, ensuring accurate central positioning of the substrate regardless of susceptor tilt.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the susceptor tilt angle or tilt direction is adjusted during processing, then the substrate processing can be adapted to different process conditions, but the substrate cannot be accurately positioned at the central portion of the recessed portion
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by calculating and storing the relationship between susceptor tilt angles/directions and corresponding robot arm position adjustments before actual substrate processing. When a tilt adjustment is needed, the controller simply retrieves the pre-calculated position information from storage and executes the robot arm movement, avoiding real-time complex calculations and ensuring accurate substrate positioning at the center of the recessed portion regardless of susceptor orientation.
2Ease of operation
If the substrate is loaded in line with the central line of the horizontal susceptor, then the loading process is simple, but the substrate becomes biased to one side when the susceptor is tilted
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates the robot arm position adjustments needed for various susceptor tilt angles and directions, storing these relationships in advance. This allows the loading process to remain simple - the controller only needs to retrieve pre-stored position information and execute the corresponding robot arm movement, while achieving accurate substrate positioning even when the susceptor is tilted.
3Manufacturing precision
If the distance between substrate edge and recessed portion changes due to susceptor tilt, then the heat transfer rate becomes uneven, but adjusting the robot arm position dynamically adds system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The system resolves the complexity issue by performing all position calculations in advance and storing the results. The controller simply retrieves pre-stored position information corresponding to the desired susceptor tilt angle and direction, then executes the robot arm movement. This approach ensures uniform heat transfer by accurately positioning the substrate while keeping the control system simple - no real-time complex calculations or additional sensors are needed during actual processing.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method, and more particularly, to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for accurately accommodating a substrate at a central portion of a susceptor even when a tilt angle or a tilt direction of the susceptor on which the substrate is accommodated changes for each substrate or for each substrate process.