Vacuum Substrate Transport Arm With Telescopic Duct Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vacuum processing apparatuses lack the capability to transport substrates in both horizontal and vertical directions within a vacuum chamber, especially when load-lock modules and process modules are arranged in multiple stages, leading to limitations in substrate handling and positional accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A substrate transport system with a transport arm that includes a horizontal movement mechanism and a vertical movement mechanism, both with extendable/contractible duct arm mechanisms, allowing for flexible movement within the vacuum chamber and accommodating normal pressure atmosphere sections to prevent contamination and facilitate precise positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a transport arm is used to transport substrates in a vacuum chamber, then substrate transportation capability is provided, but the system size increases and calibration time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The duct arm mechanism employs a nested telescopic structure where inner duct arm sections are inserted within outer sections, allowing the mechanism to extend and contract along the transport arm's movement path. This nesting approach enables the duct arm to accommodate the transport arm's horizontal and vertical movements without significantly increasing the overall system footprint, thus resolving the contradiction between transportation capability and system size.
Solution Approach 2:
The duct arm mechanism is designed as a dynamic, extendable structure that actively adapts its length during substrate transport operations. The duct arm extends when the transport arm moves horizontally or vertically and contracts when the transport arm returns to its initial position. This dynamic behavior allows the system to maintain a compact size when not in use while providing full transportation capability when needed, reducing both system size and calibration time.
2Device complexity
If duct arm mechanisms are made extendable/contractible to reduce system size, then system compactness is improved, but airtightness maintenance becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The duct arm mechanism utilizes flexible bellows structures as sealing elements between the extendable and contractible sections. These bellows are made of flexible materials that can expand and contract while maintaining airtight seals, allowing the duct arm to change length without compromising the vacuum chamber's airtightness. This flexible sealing approach resolves the contradiction between system compactness and airtightness maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The duct arm mechanism maintains a normal pressure atmosphere environment within its accommodation portion, isolating the vacuum environment from the extendable mechanism. This atmospheric isolation allows the duct arm to extend and contract freely without affecting the vacuum chamber's airtightness, as the normal pressure environment acts as a buffer between the moving mechanism and the vacuum space.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple staged load-lock and process modules are arranged vertically, then substrate handling flexibility is improved, but positional accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates sensors that detect the position of the transport arm and duct arm mechanism during substrate transport operations. This feedback information is used to dynamically adjust the transport arm's movement and the duct arm's extension/contraction, ensuring precise positioning of the substrate at each staged load-lock and process module. The feedback mechanism compensates for positional deviations that occur during multi-directional transport, thereby maintaining high positional accuracy despite the complex vertical staging arrangement.
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate transport system for transporting a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere includes a vacuum chamber, inside of which is configured to be capable of being set to a vacuum atmosphere, a transport arm provided inside the vacuum chamber and configured to hold and transport the substrate, a horizontal movement mechanism configured to move the transport arm in a horizontal direction inside the vacuum chamber, a horizontal duct arm mechanism including therein an accommodation portion having a normal pressure atmosphere, the horizontal duct arm mechanism being configured to be extendable/contractible as the transport arm moves horizontally, a vertical movement mechanism configured to move the transport arm in a vertical direction inside the vacuum chamber, and a vertical duct arm mechanism including therein an accommodation portion having a normal pressure atmosphere, the vertical duct arm mechanism being configured to be extendable/contractible as the transport arm moves vertically.