Patent Application
20230326783
The present disclosure relates generally to a substrate processing apparatus. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a substrate processing apparatus including a substrate transfer robot.
Substrate processing apparatuses are widely used to process substrates, for example, to form thin films on a substrate. The semiconductor processing apparatus often includes (i) a plurality of process modules; (ii) a substrate handling chamber having a substrate handling robot; and (iii) a load lock chamber for loading or unloading the substrate.
Each process module may include 4 reaction chambers. An exemplary substrate processing apparatus including 4 reaction chambers, which is known as a Quad Chamber Module (QCM), is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,777,445, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Each chamber may include a susceptor to support a substrate. Processing, such as film formation, film modification, etching, or the like, may be performed on the substrate in each chamber. The substrate may be transferred from a certain chamber of the QCM to another chamber by a substrate transfer robot.
Misalignment of the substrate may occur in the chamber. There is a need to detect the misalignment to prevent any errors in the processing of the substrate.
Any discussion, including discussion of problems and solutions, set forth in this section, has been included in this disclosure solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present disclosure, and should not be taken as an admission that any or all of the discussion was known at the time the invention was made or otherwise constitutes prior art.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form. These concepts are described in further detail in the detailed description of example embodiments of the disclosure below. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, a substrate processing apparatus is provided. The substrate processing apparatus may comprise a plurality of reaction chambers; a plurality of susceptors disposed within the reaction chambers and configured to support a substrate; a substrate transfer robot disposed within the substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a rotation arm comprising a plurality of arms, the arms configured to transfer the substrate between the reaction chambers; and a rotation shaft connected to the plurality of arms; a motor configured to rotate the rotation shaft; a motor controller configured to drive the motor; and a first sensor with a portion disposed on at least one of the plurality of arms.
In various embodiments, the first sensor may comprise a target object disposed on the at least one of the plurality of arms. The target object may be conical in shape.
In various embodiments, the substrate processing apparatus may further comprise a capacitive sensor disposed on a bottom of the reaction chamber.
In various embodiments, the substrate processing apparatus may further comprise a center plate; a plurality of screws; wherein the rotation arm is connected to the rotation shaft via the center plate by screws.
In various embodiments, the capacitive sensor may be configured to generate an electrostatic field to the target object when the motor rotates the rotation shaft, and the substrate is not on the susceptor.
In various embodiments, the substrate processing apparatus may further comprise a sensor controller configured to alert a signal based on an output of the capacitive sensor.
In various embodiments, the motor controller may be configured to stop the motor based on an output of the capacitive sensor.
In various embodiments, the substrate processing apparatus may further comprise a photoelectric sensor disposed between the center plate and the motor, wherein the photoelectric sensor is configured to detect a phase angle of the motor.
In various embodiments, the first sensor may comprise a capacitive sensor.
In various embodiments, the capacitive sensor may be configured to generate an electrostatic field to the substrate on the susceptor when the motor rotates the rotation shaft.
In various embodiments, the substrate processing apparatus may further comprise a sensor controller configured to alert a signal based on an output of the capacitive sensor.
In various embodiments, the motor controller may be configured to stop the motor based on an output of the capacitive sensor.
A more complete understanding of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the following illustrative figures.
It will be appreciated that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help understanding of illustrated embodiments of the present disclosure.
Although certain embodiments and examples are disclosed below, it will be understood by those in the art that the disclosure extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments and/or uses of the disclosure and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. Thus, it is intended that the scope of the disclosure should not be limited by the particular embodiments described herein.
The illustrations presented herein are not meant to be actual views of any particular material, apparatus, structure, or device, but are merely representations that are used to describe embodiments of the disclosure.
In this disclosure, “gas” may include material that is a gas at normal temperature and pressure, a vaporized solid and/or a vaporized liquid, and may be constituted by a single gas or a mixture of gases, depending on the context. A gas introduced without passing through a gas supply unit, such as a shower plate, or the like, may be used for, e.g., sealing the reaction space, and may include a seal gas, such as a rare or other inert gas. The term inert gas may refer to a gas that does not take part in a chemical reaction to an appreciable extent and/or a gas that can excite a precursor when plasma power is applied.
As used herein, the term “substrate” may refer to any underlying material or materials that may be used, or upon which, a device, a circuit, or a film may be formed, which is typically a semiconductor wafer.
As used herein, the term “film” and “thin film” may refer to any continuous or non-continuous structures and material deposited by the methods disclosed herein. For example, “film” and “thin film” could include 2D materials, nanorods, nanotubes, or nanoparticles or even partial or full molecular layers or partial or full atomic layers or clusters of atoms and/or molecules. “Film” and “thin film” may comprise material or a layer with pinholes, but still be at least partially continuous.
In some embodiments, a controller (not shown) may store software programmed to execute sequences of substrate transfer, for example. The controller may also: check the status of each process chamber; position substrates in each process chamber using sensing systems, control a gas box, and an electric box for each module; control a front end robot 56 in an equipment front end module based on a distribution status of substrates stored in FOUP 52 and the load lock chamber 40; control the back end robots 32; and the control gate valves and other valves.
A skilled artisan may appreciate that the apparatus includes one or more controller(s) programmed or otherwise configured to cause the deposition and reactor cleaning processes described elsewhere herein to be conducted. The controller(s) may communicate with the various power sources, heating systems, pumps, robotics, gas flow controllers, or valves, as will be appreciated by the skilled artisan.
In some embodiments, the apparatus may have any number of reaction chambers and process modules greater than one (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7). In
The substrate processing apparatus further includes a capacitive sensor 53 disposed on a bottom of the reaction chamber. The capacitive sensor 53 may be configured to generate an electrostatic field to the target object 51 when the motor 13 rotates the rotation shaft 11, and the substrate is not on the susceptor.
As shown in
As well as the first embodiment, the capacitive sensors can include a sensor controller configured to alert a signal based on a variation of the output. The motor controller may be configured to stop the motor based on a variation of the output.
The example embodiments of the disclosure described above do not limit the scope of the invention, since these embodiments are merely examples of the embodiments of the invention. Any equivalent embodiments are intended to be within the scope of this invention. Indeed, various modifications of the disclosure, in addition to those shown and described herein, such as alternative useful combinations of the elements described, may become apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. Such modifications and embodiments are also intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/329,605 filed Apr. 11, 2022 titled SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS INCLUDING SUBSTRATE TRANSFER ROBOT, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63329605 | Apr 2022 | US |
