The present invention generally relates to the display technologies and, more particularly, relates to a pin structure, a method for using the same, and a supporting device containing the same.
In semiconductor fabrication, a plurality of pin structures is often disposed on a holder to support wafers or substrates. For example, as shown in
When an existing pin structure is supporting a substrate 3, the pressed areas on the substrate 3, i.e., area contacting and being pressed by the pins 1, are small. That is, the pressed areas only include a plurality of contacting points between the plurality of pins 1 and the substrate 3. It should be noted that, under gravity, the substrate 3 may undergo deformation. If the deformation causes the substrate 3 to completely attach and conform to a lower panel, subsequent fabrication processes, e.g., a heating process, may cause non-uniform process on the substrate 3. The processed substrate 3 may have impaired properties/functions.
Thus, a plurality of auxiliary supporting pins 2 are often disposed on the lower panel to provide auxiliary and supplementary support to the substrate 3, so as to avoid the bottom of the substrate 3 to attach onto the lower panel. Alternatively, the lower panel may also be roughened to avoid generating non-gap between the substrate 3 and the lower panel when they are in contact with each other.
However, the existing pin structure has some issues.
First, using the auxiliary supporting pins 2 and roughening the lower panel may prevent the substrate 3 from contacting the lower panel, but the substrate 3 may still undergo some deformation. Fabrication of the substrate 3 may be adversely affected.
Second, if using the auxiliary supporting pins 2 to provide complementary support to the substrate 3, it can be difficult to replace the auxiliary supporting pins 2. If the lower panel is roughened to avoid contact or conformal attachment between the lower panel and the substrate 3, friction may occur between the lower panel and the substrate 3, which may damage the substrate 3. Meanwhile, roughening the lower panel may also mirrorize the lower panel. As a result, it may be difficult to ensure gaps generated between the lower panel and the substrate 3 when they are in contact with each other. The fabrication of the substrate 3 may be adversely affected.
The present disclosure provides a pin structure and a supporting device containing the pin structure. The disclosed pin structure may reduce the deformation of the substrate so that the substrate has no contact with the lower panel. The fabrication of the substrate can be improved. Meanwhile, the replacement of upper supporting pins is easier.
One aspect of the present disclosure includes a pin structure for providing support to a substrate. The pin structure includes a first supporting unit and a second supporting unit over the first supporting unit. The first supporting unit includes at least one first supporting pin, each supporting pin being insertable through a pin hole of a lower panel. The second supporting unit includes at least two second supporting pins for supporting a substrate.
Optionally, the first supporting unit is connected to the second supporting unit through a connecting structure.
Optionally, the first supporting unit includes one first supporting pin, a top portion of a first supporting pin being connected to the connecting structure through fixed connections, and the at least two second supporting pins being fixed onto the connecting structure.
Optionally, a distance between a first location and a second location is between about 15 mm to about 35 mm, the first location being a location on the connecting structure for connecting with a second supporting pin and the second location being a geometric center of first locations.
Optionally, the at least two second supporting pins are distributed along a perimeter of one or more circles, each circle centering about the second location.
Optionally, a second supporting pin is symmetrically configured with another second supporting pin, and the at least two second supporting pins geometrically center about the first supporting pin at the second location.
Optionally, the first supporting unit is connected to the second supporting unit directly, and the first supporting unit includes one first supporting pin.
Optionally, a second supporting pin includes a first supporting portion and a second supporting portion over the first supporting portion, the second supporting portion contacting the substrate and being made of an insulating material.
Optionally, the second supporting portion has a hat shape over a corresponding first supporting portion.
Optionally, a second supporting pin is made of an insulating material.
Optionally, the insulating material is resin.
Optionally, the pin structure further includes a driving module flexibly connected with the first supporting unit to drive the first supporting unit to move upwardly and downwardly along a vertical direction.
Optionally, the driving module is a cylinder.
Optionally, a top portion of each second supporting pins are located in a same horizontal plane.
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a supporting device. The supporting device includes one or more of the disclosed pin structures.
Optionally, the supporting device further includes a lower panel with a plurality of trenches, dimensions of each trench matching dimensions of a corresponding second supporting unit such that at least a portion of the corresponding second supporting unit slides into the trench to contact the lower panel.
Optionally, the lower panel further includes a plurality of pin holes, at least one pin hole being located in a trench and having a size matching a corresponding first supporting pin such that a corresponding first supporting pin slides through the pin hole to be flexibly connected to the driving module.
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for using the disclosed pin structure. According to the method, when one or more of the second supporting pins in a second supporting unit require to be replaced, the corresponding pin structure is replaced.
Other aspects of the present disclosure can be understood by those skilled in the art in light of the description, the claims, and the drawings of the present disclosure.
The following drawings are merely examples for illustrative purposes according to various disclosed embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
For those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the invention, reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
According to the pin structure provided by the present disclosure, an upper supporting unit may include at least two upper supporting pins. Each upper supporting pin may function as a supporting point to the substrate. That is, each supporting device may include at least two supporting points. When the same number of pin structures is used in a fabrication process of the substrate, the disclosed pin structures may provide more supporting points to the substrate than existing pin structures. The substrate may be less susceptible to deformation and may not contact the lower panel. Thus, in the present disclosure, no additional auxiliary supporting pins or roughening the lower panel are needed. The lower panel would not be mirrorized. Meanwhile, when the disclosed upper supporting pins needs to be replaced, the corresponding pin structures may be replaced directly. The replacement of the upper supporting pins or the pin structures may be more convenient and faster. In addition, because the substrate is less susceptible to deformation, the substrate may have a flatter surface for further process. Better fabrication process of the substrate may be realized.
One aspect of the present disclosure provides a pin structure. The pin structure may be used for providing support to a substrate. The pin structure may include a first supporting unit and a second supporting unit over the first supporting unit. The first supporting unit includes at least one first supporting pin, each supporting pin being inserted through a pin hole of a lower panel. The second supporting unit includes at least two second supporting pins for supporting a substrate. A first supporting unit may be a lower supporting unit and a second supporting unit may be an upper supporting unit over the first supporting unit. A first supporting pin may be a lower supporting pin and a second supporting pin may be an upper supporting pin.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the upper supporting unit 20 may include at least two upper supporting pins 21. Each upper supporting pin 21 may be used as a supporting point for supporting a substrate or a wafer. Thus, each pin structure may include a plurality of supporting points. Compared to an existing pin structure having one pin point, e.g., shown in
Thus, the disclosed pin structure, having a plurality of supporting points, may provide increased contact area for supporting. As a result, each supporting point may be subjected to less pressure or less force compared with a supporting point in a conventional pin structure. That is, less pressure or force may be applied on the substrate 3 in areas where the substrate 3 contacts the upper supporting pins 21. Meanwhile, because more supporting points are used to support the substrate 3, the distribution of the supporting points may be denser, and the substrate 3 may be less susceptible to deformation. Contact between the substrate 3 and the lower panel 5 may be avoided. Auxiliary supporting pins may thus be optional. In one embodiment, no auxiliary supporting pins are needed. The lower panel 5 would not need to be roughened to prevent direct contact with the substrate 3. Mirrorization of the lower panel 5 may be avoided. Meanwhile, because the pin structures are flexibly connected to the driving module 40, when the upper supporting pins 21 need to be replaced, the corresponding pin structures may be replaced directly. For example, when the upper supporting pins 21 of a pin structure need to be replaced, the pin structure may be taken out from the lower panel 5 by sliding the lower supporting pins 11 of the pin structure from the corresponding pin holes 60 in the lower panel. The pin structure may thus be disconnected from the driving module 40. That is, a plurality of upper supporting pins 21 may be replaced all at once. The replacement of the upper supporting pins 21 may be more convenient. In addition, because the substrate 3 is less susceptible to deformation, in fabrication, the surface of the substrate 3 may have improved flatness. The fabrication of the substrate 3 may be improved.
It should be noted that, in the disclosure, a “flexible connection”, “being flexibly connected”, or the like refer to a connection with the connected parts being able to move, slide, and/or be disconnected at the connecting location. A “fixed connection”, “being fixed”, or the like refer to a connection with the connected parts not being able to move, slide, and/or be disconnected at the connecting location.
In one embodiment, the distribution of the supporting points may be symmetric about the geometric center of the supporting points so that the upper supporting pins 21 may provide a more uniformed support to the substrate.
In the present disclosure, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Further, as shown in
In one embodiment, the second location A may be the geometric center of the first locations B. For example, if the lower supporting unit 10 includes only one lower supporting pin 11, the lower supporting pin 11 may be connected to the supporting structure 30 at the second location A. That is, the first locations B may be distributed to be symmetric about the second location A. In certain embodiments, first locations B may be symmetrically distributed about the second location A.
In one embodiment, in the pin structure shown in
In one embodiment, the connecting portion 30 is optionally configured to connect the upper supporting unit 20 with the lower supporting unit 10. In other various embodiments of the present disclosure, the upper supporting unit 20 may also be disposed on the lower supporting unit 10 directly, as shown in
In some embodiments, only one lower supporting pin 11 is included in the lower supporting unit 10 as shown in
In
In certain embodiments, for a pin structure shown in
Referring to
Further, the second supporting portion 211 may have a hat shape. The second supporting portion 211 may cover the top portion of the first supporting portion 210.
In certain embodiments, the first supporting portion 210 and the second supporting portion 211 of an upper supporting pin 21 may both be made of one or more suitable insulating materials, e.g., resin.
In the embodiments provided by the present disclosure, the upper supporting unit 20 may include a plurality of upper supporting pins 21. Each upper supporting pin 21 may function as a supporting point to the substrate. That is, each supporting device may include a plurality of supporting points. When the same number of pin structures is used in a fabrication process of the substrate, the disclosed pin structures may provide more supporting points to the substrate than existing pin structures. The substrate may be less susceptible to deformation and may not contact the lower panel. Thus, in the present disclosure, no additional auxiliary supporting pins or roughening the lower panel are needed. The lower panel would not be mirrorized. Meanwhile, when the disclosed upper supporting pins 21 needs to be replaced, the corresponding pin structures may be replaced directly. The replacement of the upper supporting pins 21 or the pin structures may be more convenient and faster. In addition, because the substrate is less susceptible to deformation, the substrate may have a flatter surface for further process. Better fabrication process of the substrate may be realized.
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a supporting device. The supporting device may include one or more of the pin structures provided by the present disclosure.
The disclosed supporting device may include the pin structures provided by the present disclosure. The supporting device may include a lower panel with a plurality of trenches and a plurality of pin holes. The dimensions of a trench may match the dimensions of the corresponding upper supporting unit such that a least a portion of the upper supporting unit may slide into the trench. In this way, the substrate would not contact the lower panel, and the operating of the pin structures may be more stable. In addition, the driving module may drive the pin structures to move in a greater range. Even when the pin structures are moved to the closest position, the substrate still would not contact the lower panel. The size of each pin hole may match a corresponding lower supporting pin such that the corresponding lower supporting pins may slide through the pin hole to be flexibly connected to the driving module. Thus, the lower supporting unit of a pin structure may be properly arranged vertically.
By using the disclosed supporting device, the substrate may be less susceptible to deformation and may not contact the lower panel. Better fabrication process of the substrate may be realized. In addition, the pin structures may be replaced to more conveniently replace the corresponding upper supporting pins, which are used as the supporting points for the substrate.
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for using the disclosed pin structure. The method comprises placing a substrate on the plurality of second supporting pins having pin points in the same horizontal plane to process the substrate.
In addition, according to the method, when one or more of the upper supporting pins in an upper supporting unit require replacement, the corresponding pin structures may be replaced.
It should be understood that the above embodiments disclosed herein are exemplary only and not limiting the scope of this disclosure. Without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention, other modifications, equivalents, or improvements to the disclosed embodiments are obvious to those skilled in the art and are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201510519811.7 | Aug 2015 | CN | national |
This PCT patent application claims priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 201510519811.7, filed on Aug. 21, 2015, the entire content of which is incorporated by reference herein.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2016/082887 | 5/20/2016 | WO | 00 |