Claims
- 1. Apparatus for supporting a substrate in a chamber having at least one substrate support member disposed in the chamber, comprising:
a support surface; and a roller disposed on the support surface and adapted to move laterally thereon, the roller adapted to contact and support the substrate in a spaced apart relation to the substrate support member, the roller biased to one side of the support surface.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support surface is oriented at an angle between about 0.5 to about 2 degrees from horizontal.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
a cage retaining the roller to the support surface, the cage having an upwardly facing slot through which a portion of the roller extends.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising:
a washer disposed between the roller and the top of the cage and having an outer diameter greater than a width of the slot.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the roller support surface is disposed in a heated support member.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the roller support surface is curved.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
a support member having an upper surface; a plurality of spacers disposed on the upper surface, at least one of the spacers having the roller support surface formed therein and supporting the roller thereon.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the spacers are keyed to the support member to fix the orientation of the spacers relative to the support member.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising:
a cage coupled to the spacer and retaining the roller to the support surface, the cage having an upwardly facing slot through which a portion of the roller extends.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising:
a washer disposed between the roller and the top of the cage and having a diameter greater than a width of the slot.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the roller is biased toward a center of the substrate support member.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
a biasing member contacting the roller and urging the ball laterally.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the biasing member further comprises:
a spring; and a contact member urged against the ball by the spring.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the roller is a sphere, an elliptical pin or a cam.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support surface further comprises:
a first inclined surface; and a second inclined surface coupled to the first inclined surface where the second inclined surface has a shorter ball supporting length than the first inclined surface.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first and second inclined surfaces are coupled by a curved surface.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the ball can travel along the first and second inclined surfaces.
- 18. Apparatus for supporting a substrate comprising:
a support member having a top surface; and a plurality of rollers disposed around a perimeter of the top surface and adapted to support the substrate thereon in a spaced-apart relation relative to the top surface, the rollers biased away from the perimeter of the top surface.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising:
a plurality of inclined roller support surfaces respectively supporting one of the rollers.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the roller support surface is formed in the support member.
- 21. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising:
a plurality of spacers, each spacer having a lower end coupled to the support-member and an upper end having the roller support surface formed therein.
- 22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the roller support surface is curved.
- 23. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising:
a cage capturing the roller to the roller supporting surface and having a slot formed therein, a portion of the roller extending through the slot and movable laterally across the roller support surface.
- 24. The apparatus of claim 23 further comprising:
a washer that is disposed between the roller and cage, the washer having an outer diameter greater than a width of the slot.
- 25. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising:
a plurality of spacers coupled to the support member; a roller supporting surface formed in each spacer and supporting one of the rollers; and a cage coupled to each spacer and capturing the roller to the spacer, wherein the cage has a slot formed therethrough, wherein a portion of the roller extends through the slot.
- 26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the cage and spacer mate to align the roller supporting surface and the slot in a predefined orientation.
- 27. The apparatus of claim 25 further comprising:
a washer that is disposed between the roller and cage, the washer having an outer diameter greater than a width of the slot.
- 28. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the rollers are coated, plated or electropolished.
- 29. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the rollers are coated or plated chromium, an aluminum alloy, silicon nitride, or tungsten nitride.
- 30. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising:
a heating element thermally coupled to the support member.
- 31. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising:
a plurality of spacers, each spacer having recess formed therein, the recess having a bottom surface that urges the ball into a first position closer to one side of the recess, wherein the ball when in first position is spaced from walls of the recess.
- 32. Apparatus for supporting a glass substrate, comprising:
a chamber body; at least one support member disposed within the chamber body; a plurality of spacers each having a lower portion disposed on the support member and an upper portion; a recess formed in the upper portion of at least one of the spacers; and a roller disposed in the recess and adapted to roll laterally across the recess.
- 33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the support member further comprises a heating element thermally coupled thereto.
- 34. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the recess further comprises an inclined roller support surface.
- 35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the roller support surface is curved.
- 36. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the rollers disposed in the recesses are adapted to move laterally in directions aligned through a common reference point.
- 37. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the lower portion is keyed to the support member to rotationally align the spacer in a predefined orientation.
- 38. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the chamber body is a thermal treatment chamber.
- 39. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the chamber body further comprises:
a first substrate transfer port disposed on a first sidewall; and a second substrate transfer port disposed on a second sidewall.
- 40. The apparatus of claim 32 further comprising:
a cage capturing the roller to the spacer; and a slot formed through the cage and having a portion of the roller extending therethrough.
- 41. The apparatus of claim 40 further comprising:
a washer that is disposed between the roller and cage, the washer having an outer diameter greater than a width of the slot.
- 42. Apparatus for supporting a glass substrate, comprising:
a processing chamber; a plurality of heated support members have an upper surface disposed in the chamber; a plurality of spacers disposed on each support member, each of the spacers having an upper portion and a lower portion, the lower portion coupled to the upper surface support member; and a roller disposed on the upper portion of at least two of the spacers disposed on opposite sides of the upper surface of the support member and biased toward a center of the support member, the roller adapted to support the glass substrate in a spaced-apart relation to the support member.
- 43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the processing chamber is thermal treatment chamber.
- 44. The apparatus of claim 42 further comprising:
a cage capturing the roller to the spacer and having an upwardly facing slot formed therein allowing a portion of the roller to extend therethrough and move laterally away from the center of the support member.
- 45. The apparatus of claim 43 further comprising:
a washer that is disposed between the roller and cage, the washer having an outer diameter greater than a width of the slot.
- 46. Apparatus for supporting a glass substrate, comprising:
a load lock chamber having a first substrate transfer port disposed in a first sidewall and second substrate transfer port disposed in a second sidewall; at least one support member disposed in the load lock chamber; a plurality of spacers disposed on the support member, each of the spacers having an upper portion and a lower portion, the lower portion coupled to the support member; and a recess formed in the upper portion of at least one of the spacers; and a roller disposed. in the recess and adapted to roll laterally across the recess.
- 47. The apparatus of claim 46 further comprising:
a cage capturing the roller to the upper portion of the spacer and having an upwardly facing slot formed therein allowing a portion of the roller to extend therethrough and move laterally across the roller.
- 48. The apparatus of claim 47 further comprising:
a washer that is disposed between the roller and cage, the washer having an outer diameter greater than a width of the slot.
- 49. A method for supporting a substrate comprising:
biasing a roller toward a side of a roller support surface of a support member assembly; placing a substrate on the roller; and thermally treating the substrate wherein the thermally treating step causes the substrate to expand or contract, thereby rolling the roller away from the side of the roller support surface.
- 50. The method of claim 49, wherein the step of thermally treating further comprises:
heating the substrate.
- 51. The method of claim 49, wherein the step of thermally treating further comprises:
changing a pressure within a load lock chamber containing the support member assembly.
- 52. A method for supporting a substrate comprising:
supporting a substrate on a plurality of balls each respectively disposed on a roller support surface; and changing the temperature of the substrate to cause the roller to roll laterally across the roller support surface from a starting position.
- 53. The method of claim 52 further comprising:
removing the substrate from the rollers; and biasing the balls to return to the starting position.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application relates to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/963,020 (Attorney Docket No. 6181/AKT/BG), filed Sep. 24, 2001, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/982,406 (Attorney Docket No. 6199/DISPLAY/AKT/BG), filed Oct. 17, 2001, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.