HK1165079B - Corner chamber with heater - Google Patents

Description

Corner chamber with heater

Technical Field

Embodiments described herein relate to the field of disk processing systems, and more particularly to corner chambers (chambers) with heaters for disk processing systems.

Background

Various processing systems are used in the manufacture of magnetic recording disks. One such processing system is the ANELVAC-3050 disk sputtering system available from CanonaNELVA, Inc. of Japan. The ANELVAC-3050 disk sputtering system has a sputtering station, a heating station, a cooling station, loading and unloading stations, and an angle station. The corner stage connects two portions of the linearly arranged stage in different orientations (e.g., right angles) to each other. The corner stand on the anevac-3050 system includes a bake heater mounted in the ceiling of the cavity. The bake heater is used during system maintenance to remove moisture from the mechanical components in the chamber to achieve an increased substrate pressure in the vacuum of the system.

The bake heater is not utilized in production operations during media processing. The ANELVAC-3050 system utilizes a dedicated heating stage to heat the disk. Dedicated heating stations occupy the same space as other stations (e.g., sputtering stations), and the use of dedicated heating stations increases the overall footprint of the disk sputtering system and, thus, the cost of the sputtering system.

Disclosure of Invention

Drawings

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a disk processing system having a corner chamber with a heater assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a cut-away view illustrating one embodiment of a corner cavity with a heater assembly;

FIG. 2B is a plan view of a portion of a disk carrier according to one embodiment;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view illustrating a heater assembly according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a cut-away view illustrating an alternative embodiment of a corner cavity having a heater assembly;

fig. 5A is a perspective view and fig. 5B is a cross-sectional view illustrating a heater assembly according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the method are described herein below with reference to the drawings. However, particular embodiments may be practiced without one or more of these specific details, or in combination with other known methods, materials, and apparatuses. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth, such as specific materials, dimensions, and processing parameters etc. to provide a thorough understanding. In other instances, well-known manufacturing processes and equipment have not been described in particular detail in order to avoid obscuring the claimed subject matter. Reference throughout this specification to "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Thus, appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

Embodiments of a disk processing system having a corner chamber with a heater assembly for heating disks passing through the corner chamber during production. In one embodiment, a heater assembly in the corner chamber is coupled to the carrier rotation assembly to rotate the heater assembly about an axis of rotation of the carrier rotation assembly while the carrier holding the disks is rotated by the rotation assembly. The development of advanced media typically requires the addition of layers in the stack of conventional media. The deposition of such additional layers may require additional stations in the disk processing system. Conventional disk handling systems may perform a heating operation in one of the linear stages. By utilizing embodiments of the present invention for disk heating in the corner stage, the linear stage previously used for heating operations may no longer be occupied for use as a sputtering stage or other type of operation. It should be noted that although embodiments of the present invention may be discussed herein with respect to media or magnetic recording disks, the apparatus and methods discussed herein may also be used with other types of disks, for example, optical recording disks such as Compact Disks (CDs) and Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs). Disk sputtering systems are known in the art and, therefore, further details are not provided herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates a disk processing system having a corner chamber with a heater assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention. The disk processing system 100 includes multiple processing chambers located in different linear sections. Various types of processing chambers may be provided at any station, such as, but not limited to, Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), etching, cooling, heating, loading, unloading, etching, and the like. The example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 includes processing stations P1-P20, corner stations C1-C4, etch chamber P0, load chamber 101, and unload chamber 102. Treatment stations P1-P3 are located in the first linear section. Treatment stations P4-P12 are in a second linear section perpendicular to the first linear section. Processing stations P13-P15 are in a third linear section perpendicular to the second linear section. Processing stations P16-P20 are in a fourth linear section perpendicular to the third linear section. Disk changer system 105 is used to transfer disks to and from disk processing system 100.

The disk transport system transports one or more disks (e.g., disks 120) on a disk carrier (stored in a carrier storage 119) in the process stream 111 between stations. In one embodiment, each disk carrier holds two disks (e.g., disks 120 and 121) so that both disks are processed within a particular station. Alternatively, the disk carrier may hold more or less than two disks.

It should be noted that in alternative embodiments, disk processing system 100 may have more or less stations than those shown in FIG. 1. In one embodiment, the disk sputtering system 100 is an ANELVA disk sputtering system (e.g., C-3010, C-3040, C-3050, etc.) having one or more corner cavities modified to have one or more heaters used in transporting the disks through the corner cavities in a production mode according to embodiments described herein. In alternative embodiments, the system 100 may be another type of sputtering system or a magnetic disk processing system.

Corner blocks C1-C4 work to connect differently oriented linear sections of the processing system. More specifically, corner stations C1-C4 connect the previous station with outlets angled (e.g., perpendicular) relative to the inlet with the background station within process stream 111. For example, the outlet 131 of the loading station 101 is oriented vertically with respect to the inlet 141 of station P1. Corner station C1 includes a rotating assembly that reorients a disk carrier received from the load chamber 101 in one direction to a vertical direction for transport to station P1. Further details of the corner cavities are discussed below. It should be noted that the corner cavities discussed with respect to the embodiments of fig. 2A-5B may represent any one or more of the corner cavities C1-C4.

FIG. 2A is a cut-away view illustrating one embodiment of a corner cavity with a heating assembly. In this embodiment, the disk carrier 210 enters the corner cavity 200 through an entrance slot 207 in the side wall of the corner cavity 200. The carrier 210 passes through an entrance slot 207 in the disk transport mechanism 213 and is secured to the spin pack 250. In one embodiment, the disk carrier 210 has a magnetic transmission mount 211 that enables the carrier to be coupled to the disk carrier rotation assembly 250 using magnetic force. Alternatively, the disk carrier 210 may be coupled to the disk carrier rotation assembly 250 using other mechanisms. Disk transport mechanisms for transporting disk carriers between stations are known in the art and therefore a description thereof will not be provided herein.

The disc carrier exit direction 202 of the carrier 210 is perpendicular to the entrance direction 201. Thus, the disk carrier 210 is rotated 255 about the axis of rotation 256 by the rotation assembly 250 by approximately 90 degrees to enable the disk carrier 210 to exit the angled cavity 200 through the exit slot 208. Carrier rotating assemblies are known in the art and, therefore, no further description is provided. In one embodiment, a carrier rotation assembly such as used in the ANELVAC-3040 disk sputtering system may be used. Alternatively, other types of carrier rotation assemblies may be used.

The heater assembly 260 is also coupled to the carrier rotation assembly 250 such that the disk carrier rotation assembly 250 is utilized in conjunction with the rotation of the disk carrier 210 to rotate the heater assembly 260. Thus, while the carrier is rotating from the inlet direction 201 to the outlet direction 202, the magnetic disks held within the carrier 210 may be heated in the corner chamber. It should be noted that when the disk carrier 210 begins to enter the corner cavity through the inlet slot 207, heating may be initiated by activating power to the heater element. The heating process continues while the carrier 210 is secured to the rotating assembly 250 (at the same or different temperature) during the rotation 255 of the disk carrier 210. The heating process may also continue until the disk carrier 210 exits the corner cavity 200 through the exit slot 208.

In this embodiment, the heater assembly 260 is supported from below by being mounted to the top of the carrier rotation assembly. In alternative embodiments, the heater assembly may be mounted to the rotating carrier assembly in other configurations, such as described below with reference to fig. 4.

The heater assembly 260 may include heating element shields 261 and 262, the heating element shields 261 and 262 being mounted in the heater assembly to shield components from heat generated by heating elements (see, e.g., fig. 3A and 3B) disposed adjacent to disks secured in the disk carrier. Corner cavity 200 also includes power connector 259 to provide a power connection to the heating element. The power supply connectors may be arranged on different corner cavities than illustrated in fig. 2A. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2A, the heater shields 261 and 262 are at least the same size as the heating elements and the disks held within the carrier 210. Thus, the heating element and the disk held within the carrier 210 are obscured from view in the view provided in FIG. 2A. FIG. 2B provides a plan view of a portion of a disk carrier 210 showing a disk 120 secured within a disk receptacle 190 of the carrier by a clamp (also referred to as a detent) 203. Although 3 grippers are illustrated in fig. 2B, more or fewer grippers may be used. Alternatively, the disk carrier 210 may use other types of disk securing mechanisms. In one embodiment, each receptacle of the disk carrier holds a single disk (which may be a single-sided disk or a double-sided disk, for example). Alternatively, each receiver (e.g., receiver 190) may hold two single-sided disks (i.e., each side being processed facing outward) in a back-to-back fixture in the disk carrier 210.

Fig. 3A is a perspective view and fig. 3B is a cross-sectional view illustrating a heater assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, heater assembly 260 includes 4 heating elements 261, 262, 263, and 264. The heater assembly 260 is configured to position the heating elements 261 and 262 on one side of the disk carrier 210 and the heating elements 263 and 264 on the opposite side of the disk carrier 210. Thus, the gap 267 between the opposing heating elements is at least large enough to fit the disk carrier 210 between them. In one embodiment, the gap 267 may be approximately in the range of 5 millimeters (mm) to 20 mm. Alternatively, the gap 267 can have other dimensions.

Heating elements 261 and 262 are coupled to heater holder 330, and heating elements 263 and 264 are coupled to heater holder 331. In one embodiment, the heating element is a Pyrolytic Boron Nitride (PBN) heating element. Alternatively, the heater assembly 260 may have other types of heating elements, such as infrared, quartz lamps, resistors, and the like.

The heater shield 341 is coupled to the heater holder 330 between the heating element 261 and the holder 330. A heater shield 342 is coupled to the heater holder 330 between the heating element 262 and the holder 330. Similarly, a heater shield 343 is coupled to the heater holder 331 between the heating element 263 and the holder 331, and a heater shield 344 is coupled to the heater holder 331 between the heating element 264 and the holder 331. The heater shields 341 and 344 operate to protect other component parts from the heat generated by the heating elements 261 and 264. In one embodiment, the material used to construct the heater retainers 330, 331 and the heater shields 341 and 344 is titanium because it is capable of withstanding high temperatures and vacuum environments. Alternatively, the heater retainers 330, 331 and the heater shield 341 and 344 may be constructed of other materials, such as molybdenum or tantalum. In another embodiment, the heater assembly may not include a heater shield.

The heater assembly 260 also includes a power connector (e.g., power connector 360) for each heating element 261 and 264 passing through the respective heater shield and connected to the respective heating element. The power connector is connected to the power feedthrough 259 with an electrical lead coupled to a corresponding ring terminal (e.g., ring terminal 361) of the power connector. Each power connector is surrounded by a sleeve (e.g., 368) and terminated by an insulator (e.g., 369) where it is coupled to a heating element. In one embodiment, the sleeve and insulator may be comprised of ceramic. Alternatively, other electrically insulating and heat resistant materials may be used.

The heater holders 330 and 331 are coupled to a mounting block 380 that provides a support structure for the assembly. Heater holders 330 and 331 are coupled to mounting plates 310 and 311 using mounting posts 320 and 321, respectively. The height of the mounting posts 320 and 321 is designed to position the heating element adjacent the disks of the disk carrier 210 when the heater assembly 260 is mounted to the spin assembly 250. Mounting plates 310 and 322 are used to couple heater assembly 260 to carrier rotation assembly 250. It should be noted that the structural components of the heater assembly 260, such as the mounting plate, mounting posts and mounting bracket and heater retainer, may each be constructed of a single piece or multiple pieces. Additionally, one or more of the structural components of the heater assembly 260 may be formed as a unitary piece. The components of heater assembly 260 may be coupled together using techniques known in the art, such as welding, riveting, screwing, welding, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a cut-away view illustrating an alternative embodiment of a corner cavity with a heater assembly. In this embodiment, the disk carrier 210 enters the corner chamber 400 through an entry slot 407 in the sidewall of the corner chamber 400. The carrier 210 is transported by a disk transport structure (not shown) through the entrance slot 407 and secured to the rotating assembly 450. The disk carrier 210 operates in a similar manner as discussed above with reference to FIG. 2A.

In this embodiment the disc carrier exit direction 402 of the disc carrier is perpendicular to the entrance direction 401. Thus, the disk carrier 410 is rotated 455 approximately 90 degrees about the axis of rotation 456 by the spin assembly 450 to enable the disk carrier 210 to exit the angled cavity 400 through the exit slot 408. In one embodiment, a carrier rotation assembly such as used in ANELVAC-3010 disk sputtering systems may be used. Alternatively, other types of carrier rotation assemblies may be used.

The heater assembly 460 is also coupled to the carrier rotation assembly 450 using the mounting post 420. Thus, the disk carrier rotation assembly 450 may be utilized in conjunction with the rotation of the disk carrier 210 to rotate the heater assembly 460. In this embodiment, the heater assembly 260 is supported from the side by using an angle mounting post 420 mounted on top of the carrier rotation assembly 450. In alternative embodiments, the heater assembly 460 may be mounted to the rotating carrier assembly 450 in other configurations.

Corner cavity 400 also includes power connector 459 to provide a power connection to the heating element of heater assembly 460. The power supply connectors may be arranged at different locations than the corner cavities illustrated in fig. 4. In the embodiment illustrated in fig. 4, the heater shield (e.g., 462) is at least the same size as the heating element and the magnetic disk secured within the carrier 210. Thus, the heating element and the disk secured within the carrier 210 are obscured from view in the view provided in FIG. 4.

Fig. 5A is a perspective view and fig. 5B is a cross-sectional view illustrating a heater assembly according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, heater assembly 460 includes 4 heating elements 461, 462, 463 and 464. Heater assembly 460 is configured to position heating elements 461 and 462 on one side of disk carrier 210 and heating elements 463 and 464 on the opposite side of disk carrier 210. Similar to the heater assembly 260 discussed above, the gap between the opposing heating elements is at least large enough for the disk carrier 210 to fit between them.

Heating elements 461 and 462 are coupled to heater holder 430, and heating elements 463 and 464 are coupled to heater holder 431. In one embodiment, the heating element is a Pyrolytic Boron Nitride (PBN) heating element. Alternatively, heater assembly 460 may have other types of heating elements, such as infrared, quartz lamps, resistors, and the like.

The heater shield 441 is coupled to the heater holder 430 between the heating element 461 and the holder 430. The heater shield 442 is coupled to the heater holder 430 between the heating element 462 and the holder 430. Similarly, the heater shield 443 is coupled to the heater holder 431 between the heating element 463 and the holder 431, and the heater shield 444 is coupled to the heater holder 431 between the heating element 464 and the holder 431. The heater shields 441-444 operate to protect other component parts from the heat generated by the heating elements 461-464. In one embodiment, the material used to construct the heater retainers 430, 431 and the heater shields 441-444 is titanium because it is capable of withstanding high temperatures and vacuum environments. Alternatively, the heater retainers 430, 431 and the heater shields 441 and 444 may be constructed of other materials, such as molybdenum or tantalum.

The heater assembly 460 also includes a power connector (e.g., power connector 460) for each heating element 461-464 passing through the respective heater shield and connecting to the respective heating element. The power connector is connected to the power connector 459. Each power connector is surrounded by a sleeve (e.g., 468) and terminated by an insulator (e.g., 469), where it is coupled to a heating element. In one embodiment, the sleeve and insulator may be comprised of ceramic. Alternatively, other electrically insulating and heat resistant materials may be used.

The heater holders 430 and 431 are coupled to a mounting bracket 480 (illustrated in fig. 5A) that provides a support structure for the assembly, and in this embodiment, the mounting bracket 480 enables the heater holder 431 to be coupled to the mounting post 420. The heater holders 430 and 431 are coupled to the mounting plate 410 using the mounting posts 320, 420. The height of the mounting posts 420 is designed to position the heating element adjacent the disks of the disk carrier when the heater assembly 460 is mounted to the spin assembly 450. The mounting plate 420 is used to couple the heater assembly 460 to the carrier rotation assembly 450. It should be noted that the structural components of heater assembly 460 (such as the mounting plate, mounting post and mounting bracket and heater retainer) may each be constructed of a single piece or multiple pieces. Additionally, one or more of the structural components of heater assembly 460 may be formed as a unitary piece. The components of heater assembly 460 may be coupled together using techniques known in the art, such as welding, riveting, screwing, welding, and the like.

It should be noted that if the receptacles of the disk carrier 210 each hold a single double-sided disk or two single-sided disks, both sides may be heated in the corner chambers 200 and 400 as the carrier 210 rotates. In an alternative embodiment, the heater assemblies 260 and 460 may be configured with only half of the components illustrated in fig. 3A and 5A to provide only single-sided heating of the disk carrier.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader scope of embodiments of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. For example, although the steps of an embodiment of the method of the present invention are described in a particular order, those skilled in the art will appreciate that some of the steps described may occur simultaneously, in overlapping time frames, and/or in a different order than that described and claimed and fall within the embodiments of the present invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Claims (13)

1. A disk processing system comprising:

a corner cavity, comprising:

a mounting assembly, comprising:

mounting a plate;

a mounting post coupled to the mounting plate; and

a first heater holder coupled to the mounting post, wherein a first heating element and a second heating element are coupled to the first heater holder;

a heater assembly coupled to the mounting assembly, wherein the heater assembly includes a first heating element, a second heating element, a third heating element, and a fourth heating element;

a first shield disposed between the first heating element and the first heater holder; and

a second shield disposed between the second heating element and the first heater holder;

a mounting bracket coupled to the first heater holder; and

a second heater holder coupled to the mounting frame, wherein the third heating element and the fourth heating element are coupled to the second heater holder at positions adjacent to the first heating element and the second heating element, respectively, with a gap therebetween; and

a carrier rotation assembly coupled to a mounting plate of the mounting assembly, the carrier rotation assembly rotating the heater assembly about an axis of rotation of the carrier rotation assembly.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the first heating element and the second heating element comprises a pyrolytic boron nitride heating element.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the first heating element, the second heating element, the third heating element, and the fourth heating element comprises a pyrolytic boron nitride heating element.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

a third shield disposed between the third heating element and the second heater retainer; and

a fourth protective cover disposed between the fourth heating element and the second heater retainer.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a disk transport system for transporting a disk carrier to the corner cavity in a first direction, the disk transport system transporting the disk carrier out of the corner cavity in a second direction.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a loading chamber;

a plurality of processing chambers; and

a disk transfer system coupled to the load chamber, the corner chamber, and the plurality of processing chambers to transfer disks therebetween.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the disk transfer system is configured to sequentially transfer disks from the load chamber to the corner chamber and then to the plurality of process chambers.

9. The system of claim 4, further comprising first, second, third, and fourth power connectors coupled to the first, second, third, and fourth heating elements, respectively, through corresponding first, second, third, and fourth heater shields.

10. A disk processing method, comprising:

transferring a disk carrier holding one or more disks into a corner cavity; and

heating the one or more disks in the corner cavity using a heater assembly, wherein the corner cavity comprises:

a mounting assembly, comprising:

mounting a plate;

a mounting post coupled to the mounting plate; and

a first heater holder coupled to the mounting post, wherein a first heating element and a second heating element are coupled to the first heater holder;

the heater assembly coupled to the mounting assembly, wherein the heater assembly comprises a first heating element, a second heating element, a third heating element, and a fourth heating element;

a first shield disposed between the first heating element and the first heater holder;

a second shield disposed between the second heating element and the first heater holder;

a mounting bracket coupled to the first heater holder; and

a second heater holder coupled to the mounting frame, wherein the third heating element and the fourth heating element are coupled to the second heater holder at positions adjacent to the first heating element and the second heating element, respectively, with a gap therebetween; and

a carrier rotation assembly coupled to a mounting plate of the mounting assembly, the carrier rotation assembly rotating the heater assembly about an axis of rotation of the carrier rotation assembly.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising rotating the one or more magnetic disks and the heater assembly about a same axis of rotation in the corner cavity, and wherein heating comprises heating the one or more magnetic disks while rotating.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the heating elements comprises a pyrolytic boron nitride heating element.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more disks and the heater assembly rotate about an axis of rotation of the carrier rotation assembly.