TWI758337B - Pad raising mechanism in wafer positioning pedestal for semiconductor processing - Google Patents

Abstract

An assembly used in a process chamber for depositing a film on a wafer. A pedestal assembly includes a pedestal movably mounted to a main frame. A lift pad rests upon the pedestal and moves with the pedestal assembly. A raising mechanism separates the lift pad from the pedestal, and includes a hard stop fixed to the main frame, a roller attached to the pedestal assembly, a slide moveably attached to the pedestal assembly, a lift pad bracket interconnected to the slide and a pad shaft extending from the lift pad, and a lever rotatably attached to the lift pad bracket. The lever rests on the roller when not engaged with the upper hard stop. When the pedestal assembly moves upwards, the lever rotates about a pin when engaging the upper hard stop and roller, and separates the lift pad from the pedestal by a process rotation displacement.

Description

Pad Raising Mechanism in Wafer Positioning Base for Semiconductor Processing

Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and apparatus for semiconductor substrate processing, and more particularly, to wafer positioning pedestals that process wafers in different wafer-to-substrate orientations.

Improved film uniformity is important in plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (ALD) techniques. Chamber systems that perform PECVD and ALD are associated with hard features that result in uneven film deposition. For example, hardware features may be associated with chamber asymmetry and with base asymmetry. In addition, many processes experience azimuthal non-uniformity with many causes. The numerical contribution of this azimuthal non-uniformity to the overall non-uniformity increases as customers push to place the die closer to the wafer edge. Despite best efforts to minimize damage and/or non-uniform deposition profiles, conventional PECVD and plasma ALD schemes still need improvement.

In particular, multi-station modules performing PECVD and ALD are characterized by large open reactors that can cause azimuthal non-uniformity, such as non-uniformity in the theta direction (NU). For example, some non-uniformities may cause the characteristic film thickness to tilt towards the shaft transfer mechanism at the center of the reactor. Non-uniformity also exists within a single workstation module due to the inclusion of non-uniform physical chamber geometry caused by component and component manufacturing tolerances.

Traditionally, deposition non-uniformities have been compensated for by physically tilting the showerhead so that the showerhead is intentionally oriented non-parallel to the base. While not an excellent solution, it has historically worked. However, the effectiveness of this approach is limited, especially as the die size decreases and the edge of the wafer becomes the source of the die.

Processing wafers in multiple orientations without rotating hard features has been shown to be effective in filtering out azimuthal non-uniformities. The currently most basic method in the prior art involves partially processing the wafer, removing the wafer from the processing chamber, spinning the wafer in a separate wafer handler, and then reinserting the wafer to be in the new orientation further processing. The main advantage of this method is that it does not rotate the hardware inside the chamber. However, this prior art solution suffers from the disadvantages of productivity, pollution, and significant additional hardware.

Another solution in the prior art is to rotate the entire base during processing. However, this solution has the disadvantageous property of rotating with the wafer with respect to non-uniformity of the pedestal. In this case, the pedestal may have non-uniformity features that may not be offset during processing and may appear on the wafer. Also, edge effects of the wafer in the pocket are another type of non-uniformity that rotates directly with the wafer when the entire pedestal is rotated during processing. That is, in the case of pedestal rotation, such as in ALD oxide deposition, the non-uniformity is not significantly improved. Furthermore, in addition to limited efficacy, rotating the entire base comes at the expense of transmitting RF power through the rotating base. This requires expensive circuitry for impedance matching via slip rings to deliver sufficient RF power to the plasma. Rotating the entire base also complicates the delivery of fluids and gases, eg for cooling. In addition, the heating system present in the base also needs to be rotated, adding cost and complexity.

The disclosures are presented herein.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to providing improved film uniformity during PECVD and ALD processing in single station and multi-station systems. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for rotating the wafer without rotating the pedestal, which advantageously filters out both chamber and pedestal asymmetry.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include an assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber. The assembly includes a base assembly having a base removably mounted to the main frame. The assembly includes a lift pad configured to rest on a base top surface of the base and move with the base assembly. The assembly includes a lift pad raising mechanism configured to separate the lift pad from the base, the lift pad raising mechanism including an upper hard stop, a first roller, a slider, a lift pad bracket, and a lever. The upper hard stop is fixed relative to the main frame. The first roller is attached to the base assembly. The slider is movably attached to the base assembly. The lift pad bracket is interconnected to the slider and to a pad shaft, wherein the pad shaft extends from the lift pad along a central axis. The lever is rotatably attached to the lift pad bracket by a pin, wherein the lever rests on the first roller in a neutral position when the lever is not engaged with the upper hard stop. With regard to the lift pad raising mechanism, when the base assembly is moved upward, the lever is configured to rotate about the pin when engaging the upper hard stop and the first roller and to separate the lift pad from the base top surface by a process rotational displacement.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure include an assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber. The assembly includes a base assembly having a base removably mounted to the main frame. The assembly includes a lift pad configured to rest on a base top surface of the base and move with the base assembly. The assembly includes a lift pad raising mechanism configured to separate the lift pad from the base, the lift pad raising mechanism including an upper hard stop, a lower hard stop, a first roller, a second roller, a slide, a lift pad bracket , and leverage. The upper hard stop is fixed relative to the main frame. The lower hard stop is fixed relative to the main frame, and is arranged below the upper hard stop relative to the main frame. The first roller is attached to the base assembly. The second roller is attached to the base assembly. The slider is movably attached to the base assembly. The lift pad bracket is interconnected to the slider and to a pad shaft, wherein the pad shaft extends from the lift pad along a central axis. The lever is rotatably attached to the lift pad bracket by a pin, wherein the lever rests on the first roller in a neutral position when the lever is not engaged with the upper hard stop. With regard to the lift pad raising mechanism, when the base assembly is moved upward, the lever is configured to rotate about the pin when engaging the upper hard stop and the first roller and to separate the lift pad from the base top surface by a process rotational displacement. With regard to the lift pad raising mechanism, when the base assembly is moved downward, the lever system is configured to rotate about the pin when engaging the lower hard stop and the second roller and to separate the lift pad from the base top surface by an end effector Path displacement.

Still other embodiments of the present disclosure include an assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber. The assembly includes a base assembly including a base removably mounted to the main frame. The assembly includes a lift pad configured to rest on a base top surface of the base and move with the base assembly. The assembly includes a lift pin assembly including a plurality of lift pins extending through a plurality of base shafts disposed within the base. The assembly includes a lift pad raising mechanism configured to separate the lift pad from the base, wherein the lift pad raising mechanism includes an upper hard stop, a first roller, a slider, a lift pad bracket, and a lever. The upper hard stop is fixed relative to the main frame. The first roller train is configured to be attached to the base assembly. The slider is configured to be movably attached to the base assembly. The lift pad bracket is configured to be interconnected to the slider and to a pad shaft, wherein the pad shaft extends from the lift pad along a central axis. The lever is configured to be rotatably attached to the lift pad bracket by a pin, wherein when the lever is not engaged with the upper hard stop, the lever rests on the first roller in a neutral position. With regard to the lift pad raising mechanism, when the base assembly is moved upward, the lever is configured to rotate about the pin when engaging the upper hard stop and the first roller and to separate the lift pad from the base top surface by a process rotational displacement.

In another embodiment, an assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber is described. The assembly includes: a base assembly mounting device for movably mounting a base assembly including a base to the main frame; a lifting pad moving device for moving a lifting pad together with the base assembly, the lifting pad being configured to place on the base top surface of the base; and a lift pad separator for separating the lift pad from the base. The lift pad separation device for separating the lift pad from the base comprises: upper hard stop fixing means for fixing the upper hard stop relative to the main frame; first roller attachment means for attaching the first roller attached to the base assembly; slider attachment means for movably attaching the slider to the base assembly; lift pad bracket interconnection means for interconnecting the lift pad bracket to the slider and the pad shaft, wherein the pad shaft extends from the lift pad along a central axis; and lever attachment means for rotatably attaching the lever to the lift pad bracket by a pin, wherein the lever is not engaged with the upper hard stop when the lever is not engaged with the upper hard stop A lever is placed on the first roller in a neutral position; wherein when the base assembly is moved upward, the lever is configured to rotate about the pin when engaging the upper hard stop and the first roller and to separate the lift pad from the base top surface A process rotational displacement.

This assembly contains further embodiments. In one embodiment, the assembly further includes means for attaching the base bracket to the base, and means for movably attaching the base bracket to the main frame, wherein the base bracket is configured to be along the The central axis moves the base relative to the main frame; and the central shaft extension device is used to extend the central shaft from the base along the central axis, the central shaft is configured to move together with the base; wherein the pad shaft is configured to connect the lifting pad to the base. The base is separated and arranged in the central axis. Additionally, in one embodiment, when the lever is rotated about the pin, the lift pad bracket and slider move together upward relative to the base assembly such that the lift pad is configured to move upward along the central axis relative to the base top surface. Also, in one embodiment, the lift pad and base assembly moves in a 2 to 1 ratio as the lever rotates about the pin. Additionally, in one embodiment, there is no relative movement between the lever and the base assembly when the lever is tied in the neutral position and not engaged with the upper hard stop. Moreover, in one embodiment, the lifting pad moving device further comprises: a pad top surface extending means for extending the pad top surface from the central axis; and a pad bottom surface placing means for placing the pad bottom surface on the On the base top surface, the pad top surface is configured to support the wafer when placed thereon. Furthermore, in one embodiment, the diameter of the top surface of the pad is smaller than the diameter of the wafer. Also, in one embodiment, the diameter dimension of the top surface of the pad is approximately the diameter of the wafer. Furthermore, in one embodiment, the lift pad movement means rotates the lift pad between at least a first angular orientation and a second angular orientation relative to the base top surface when the lift pad is separated from the base. Also, in one embodiment, the lift pad bracket interconnection device for interconnecting the lift pad bracket to the slider and the pad shaft includes a ferromagnetic for interconnecting the lift pad bracket to the pad shaft An arrangement of seal interconnects wherein the ferromagnetic seal train is configured to provide a vacuum seal around the pad shaft when the pad shaft is rotated or not.

In yet other embodiments, another assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber is described. The assembly includes: base assembly mounting means for movably mounting the base assembly including the base to the main frame; lift pad placement means for placing the lift pad on the top surface of the base of the base, and for the lift pad to be connected to the base. the base assembly moves together; and a lift pad separator for separating the lift pad from the base. The lift pad separation device for separating the lift pad from the base comprises: lever assembly movement means for moving the lever assembly relative to the base assembly when the lever assembly is actuated; ferromagnetic seal assembly surrounding means for a ferromagnetic seal assembly surrounding the pad shaft, and a vacuum seal providing means for causing the ferromagnetic seal assembly to provide a vacuum seal around the pad shaft, the ferromagnetic seal assembly being interconnected to the lever assembly; and the yoke assembly interconnecting means for interconnecting the yoke assembly to the lever assembly, and equal force applying means for causing the yoke assembly to apply equal forces to opposite sides of the ferromagnetic seal assembly to counteract the application to the lever assembly when actuated Torque of ferromagnetic seal assembly.

This assembly contains further embodiments. In one embodiment, the lever assembly movement device includes: upper hard stop fixing means for fixing the upper hard stop relative to the main frame; first roller attachment means for attaching the first roller to the base assembly; slider attachment means for movably attaching the slider to the base assembly; lift pad bracket interconnection means for interconnecting the lift pad bracket to the slider and the pad shaft, wherein the pad shaft extending from the lift pad along a central axis; and lever attachment means for rotatably attaching the lever to the lift pad bracket by a pin, wherein the lever is in a neutral position when the lever is not engaged with the upper hard stop on the first roller; wherein as the base assembly moves upward, the lever rotation mechanism rotates the lever around the pin when the lever engages the upper hard stop and the first roller and separates the lift pad from the base top surface for a process rotation displacement. In one embodiment, the assembly further includes a ferromagnetic seal assembly attachment means for attaching the ferromagnetic seal assembly to the pad shaft at its first end, wherein the ferromagnetic seal assembly includes a a first connector arm and a second connector arm at a second end opposite the first end of the ferromagnetic seal assembly, the first and second connector arms being located on the ferromagnetic seal assembly on opposite sides and equidistant from the pad axis; and yoke assembly contact means for bringing the yoke assembly into contact with the ferromagnetic seal assembly at the first connector arm and the second connector arm; and for causing the yoke assembly to contact the first A device in which the connector arm and the second connector arm exert equal force, wherein the first connector arm and the second connector arm are arranged 180 degrees apart from the central axis. In one embodiment, the yoke assembly contacting means for contacting the yoke assembly with the ferromagnetic seal assembly comprises: yoke base attachment means for rotatably attaching the yoke base to the lift by means of a second pin pad bracket, wherein the yoke base is rotatable about the pin axis; yoke arm attachment means for attaching the yoke arm to the yoke base and extending parallel to the pin axis from the yoke base, the yoke arm by a diameter offset from the pin in the direction of displacement, wherein the yoke arm is rotatable about the pin axis; and fork end setting means for positioning the fork end on the yoke arm away from the yoke base, the fork end including the first A fork extension configured to contact the first connector arm and a second fork extension configured to contact the second connector arm. In one embodiment, the lift pad separating device for separating the lift pad from the base further comprises: a rotary motor attachment device for attaching the rotary motor to the pad shaft by means of a belt, the rotary motor and the belt are both The latter are configured to rotate the pad shaft about a central axis; and a disc attachment device for attaching the belt-driven disc of the ferromagnetic seal assembly to the belt and to the pad shaft. In one embodiment, the base assembly mounting apparatus for movably mounting the base assembly further comprises: means for attaching the base bracket to the base, and means for movably attaching the base bracket to the base Apparatus for a main frame, wherein the base bracket is configured to move the base relative to the main frame along a central axis; a central shaft extension means for extending a central shaft from the base along the central axis, the central shaft being configured to move with the base ; and a lift pad separating device for separating the lift pad from the base using a pad shaft, and wherein the pad shaft is arranged in the central shaft. In one embodiment, when the lever is rotated about the pin, the means for movably sliding the lift pad carrier upward relative to the base assembly such that the lift pad is configured to move up the central axis relative to the base top surface. In another embodiment, there is no relative movement between the lever and the base assembly when the lever is tied in the neutral position and not engaged with the upper hard stop. In another embodiment, the diameter of the top surface of the pad is smaller than the wafer diameter. In another embodiment, the lift pad separation means for separating the lift pad from the base includes lift pad rotation means for rotating the lift pad rotation means relative to the base top surface when the lift pad rotation means is separated from the base The lift pad rotates between at least a first angular orientation and a second angular orientation.

These and other advantages will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the entire specification and the scope of the claims.

While the following detailed description contains many specific details for the purpose of explanation, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that many changes and modifications to the following details are within the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure described below are set forth without any loss of generality and without limitation to the scope of the claims that follow.

In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure describe systems and methods that provide improved film uniformity during wafer processing, such as PECVD and ALD processing, in single-station and multi-station-style systems. In particular, embodiments of the present disclosure provide for rotating the wafer without rotating the pedestal to filter out both chamber and pedestal asymmetries. In this way, azimuthal non-uniformity due to chamber and submount asymmetry is minimized to achieve wafer-wide film uniformity during processing (eg, PECVD, ALD, etc.).

With the above general understanding of the embodiments, example details of the embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings. Like numbered parts and/or elements in one or more figures are intended to generally have the same configuration and/or function. Furthermore, the drawings may not be drawn to scale and are intended to illustrate and emphasize novel concepts. Obviously, embodiments of the invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known process operations have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure embodiments of the present invention.

1 illustrates a reactor system 100 that can be used to deposit films on substrates, such as those formed in an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. These reactors can use more than two heaters, and a configuration of common terminals can be used in this example reactor to control temperature for uniformity or custom settings. More specifically, FIG. 1 depicts a substrate processing system 100 for processing wafers 101 . The system includes a chamber 102 having a lower chamber portion 102b and an upper chamber portion 102a. The central column is configured to support a base 140 which, in one embodiment, is the powered electrode. The base 140 is electrically coupled to the power source 104 via the matching network 106 . The power supply is controlled by a control module 110 (eg, a controller). Control module 110 is configured to operate substrate processing system 100 by executing process input and control 108 . The process inputs and controls 108 may include process recipes, such as power levels, timing parameters, process gases, mechanical motion of the wafer 101 , etc., such as to deposit or form films on the wafer 101 .

The center column also includes lift pins (not shown), each of which is actuated by a corresponding lift pin actuation ring 120 as controlled by the lift pin control portion 122 . The lift pins are used to lift the wafer 101 from the base 140 to allow the end effector to pick up the wafer and to lower the wafer 101 after the end effector places the wafer. The substrate processing system 100 further includes a gas supply manifold 112 that is connected to a process gas 114, such as gas chemicals supplied from a facility. The control module 110 controls the delivery of the process gas 114 through the gas supply manifold 112 depending on the process being performed. The selected gas system then flows into the showerhead 150 and is distributed in the volume of space defined between the face of the showerhead 150 facing the wafer 101 and the wafer 101 placed above the pedestal 140 . In an ALD process, the gas may be the reactant selected for adsorption or reaction with the adsorbed reactant.

Additionally, the gases may or may not be premixed. Appropriate valve adjustment and mass flow control mechanisms can be used to ensure that the correct gas system is delivered during the deposition and plasma treatment stages of the process. The process gas leaves the chamber via the outlet. A vacuum pump (such as a one- or two-stage mechanical dry pump and/or a turbomolecular pump) draws the process gas out of the reactor by means of a closed-loop controlled flow restriction device (such as a throttle valve or a pendulum valve). Maintain proper low pressure inside.

The carrier ring 200 is also shown, which surrounds the outer area of the base 140 . The carrier ring 200 is configured to be positioned above the carrier ring support area, which is one step down from the wafer support area in the center of the base 140 . The carrier ring includes the outer edge side (eg, outer radius) of its disk structure, and the wafer edge side (eg, inner radius) of its disk structure, which is closest to where wafer 101 is located. The wafer edge side of the carrier ring includes a plurality of contact support structures configured to lift the wafer 101 when the carrier ring 200 is lifted by the spider yoke 180 . The carrier ring 200 is thus raised with the wafer 101 and can be rotated to another station, eg in a multi-station system. In other embodiments, the chamber is a single workstation chamber.

Figure 2 depicts a top view of a multi-station processing tool in which four processing stations are provided. This top view is a top view of the lower chamber portion 102b (with the upper chamber portion 102a removed for illustration) with the four workstations accessed by the spider forks 226 . Each spider (or fork) includes first and second arms, each of which is attached around a portion of each side of the base 140 . In this view, the spider yoke 226 is drawn in dashed lines to indicate that it is tied below the carrier ring 200 . The spider forks 226 using the engagement and rotation mechanism 220 are configured to simultaneously lift and raise the carrier rings 200 from the workstation (ie, from the lower surface of the carrier rings 200), and then before lowering the carrier rings 200 to the next position At least one or more workstations are rotated (with at least one of the carrier rings supporting wafers 101 ) so that further plasma processing, processing and/or film deposition can occur on each wafer 101 .

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a multi-station processing tool 300 having an inbound load lock 302 and an outbound load lock 304 . Robot 306 at atmospheric pressure is configured to move substrates from cassettes (loaded via pods 308 ) through atmospheric ports 310 into inbound load locks 302 . The inbound load lock 302 is coupled to a vacuum source (not shown) such that when the atmospheric port 310 is closed, the inbound load lock 302 can be evacuated. The inbound load lock 302 also includes a chamber transfer port 316 that interfaces with the processing chamber 102b. Thus, when the chamber transfer port 316 is opened, another robot (not shown) can move the substrate from the inbound load lock 302 to the base 140 of the first processing station for processing.

The depicted processing chamber 102b contains four processing stations, numbered 1 through 4 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 . In some embodiments, processing chamber 102b may be configured to maintain a low pressure environment such that substrates may be transferred between processing stations using carrier ring 200 without undergoing a breaking vacuum and/or air exposure. Each processing station depicted in Figure 3 includes a processing station substrate holder (shown as 318 for station 1) and a processing gas delivery line inlet.

FIG. 3 also depicts spider forks 226 for transferring substrates within processing chamber 102b. The spider forks 226 rotate and allow wafer transfer from one station to another. This transfer occurs by enabling the spider yoke 226 to lift the carrier ring 200 from the outer bottom surface to lift the wafer, and to rotate the wafer and carrier ring together to the next station. In one configuration, the spider fork 226 is made of a ceramic material to withstand high levels of heat during processing. Lift pad and base configuration for wafer positioning

4 depicts a substrate processing system including a lift pad and pedestal configuration 400, wherein the lift pad 430 is sized to approximately match a wafer (not shown) disposed thereon, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the lift pad 430 is sized substantially to allow integration with the carrier ring assembly. The lift pad and base configuration 400 may be implemented within the systems of FIGS. 1-3 including multiple workstations and single workstation type processing tools.

Lift pad and base arrangement 400 includes lift pad 430 controlled by lift pad control 455 and base 140' controlled by base control 450. The center shaft 510' is coupled to the base 140', and the pad shaft 560 is coupled to the lift pad 430. The base control part 450 controls the movement of the central shaft 510' to induce the movement of the base 140'. For example, base control 450 controls movement of base 140' (eg, up and down along a central axis) during preprocessing, processing, and postprocessing sequences. The lift pad control unit 455 controls the movement of the lift pad shaft 560 to induce the movement of the lift pad 430 . For example, lift pad control 455 controls movement of lift pad 430 (eg, up and down along central axis 471 and rotation about central axis 471 ) during preprocessing, processing, and postprocessing sequences. In particular, the lift pad and pedestal configuration 400 provides substantially reduced rotation of the wafer for hard rotation features compared to rotating the entire pedestal 140'. That is, because the pedestal 140' and/or the chamber (not shown) remain stationary relative to the lift pad 430 as the wafer is rotated, asymmetries based on both the pedestal and the chamber are filtered out, thereby significantly reducing Hard mount and chamber features that are exposed on the wafer during processing. That is, non-uniformities caused by pedestal features can be distributed symmetrically across the wafer during wafer processing by rotating the wafer using lift pads without rotating the pedestal.

Lifting pad and base arrangement 400 includes heating elements 470 for directly heating base 140' (eg, by conduction), and temporally heating lift pad 430 when disposed on base 140'. Additionally, in some process modules, the lift pad and base arrangement 400 optionally includes a plurality of cooling elements 480 for cooling the base 140'.

As previously mentioned, the lift pad and base configuration 400 includes a center post, which is shown as including a coaxial lift pin assembly 415 having a plurality of lift pins controlled by lift pin control 122 . For example, lift pins are used to lift wafers from lift pads 430 and base 140' to allow end effectors to pick up wafers during the wafer delivery sequence, and to lower wafers after wafers are placed by the end effectors .

The lift pad and base configuration 400 includes a bellows 420 . The bellows 420 are coupled to the lift pin assembly 415, the base, or the lift pad, respectively, and are configured for movement of the lift pin, base, or lift pad. Additionally, the lift pad and base configuration 400 includes a rotary motor 427 in a belt-pulley configuration. Additionally, the ferromagnetic seal 425 facilitates rotation of the lift pad 430 in a vacuum environment.

In one embodiment, the wafer-sized lift pads 430 are compatible with electrostatic chucks (ESCs). The ESC 570 is configured to include electrodes biased to a high voltage to induce electrostatic holding forces to hold the wafer in place when the ESC 570 acts. Additionally, in one embodiment, the lift pad and base arrangement 400 includes a compliant shaft portion 435 that promotes uniform clearance between the lift pad 430 and the base 140', especially when the lift pad 430 is moved to place When placed on the base 140'.

As shown in FIG. 4, in one embodiment, the ball screw 437 (eg, left-handed) is configured to drive the lift pins relative to the base 140' during one of the sequences of processing. For example, the ball screw 437 may be engaged during the wafer delivery sequence to extend the lift pins for wafer transfer as the base 140' moves near or at the bottommost position. A ball screw 443 (eg, right-handed) is used to move the base along the center axis in the Z direction. For example, ball screw 443 is configured to drive base 140' in the Z direction along the central axis using Z motor 445. Additionally, a short stroke coupling mechanism 440 is shown.

5A is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 4 in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 5A depicts a lift pad and base configuration 400 in which the lift pad 430 is sized approximately to match the wafer (not shown).

For illustrative purposes only, the base 140' is formed in three parts to accommodate the plurality of heating elements 470 and the plurality of cooling elements 480 during manufacture. It is understood that the base 140' is considered a component and may be formed using any suitable manufacturing process.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the base 140' and lift pads 430 are tied at a height that allows the lift pins 557 to extend for wafer delivery. Each of the lift pins 557 is coupled to a corresponding lift pin support 555 for movement, wherein the movement of the lift pin support 555 is controlled by the lift pin control portion 122 . In one embodiment, the base 140' is at the bottommost position along the central axis 471 along its Z travel direction.

As previously described, the base control portion 450 controls the movement of the central shaft 510'. Because the base 140' is coupled to the central shaft 510', the motion of the central shaft 510' is translated to the base 140'. Further, as described above, the lift pad control unit 455 controls the movement of the pad shaft 560 . Because the lift pad 430 is coupled to the pad shaft 560 , the motion of the pad shaft 560 is translated to the lift pad 430 .

5B is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 4 showing assembly 500B including the lift pad and base configuration 400 previously described in FIGS. 4 and 5A, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The dimensions of the lift pad 430 are approximately matched to the wafer (not shown). In yet another embodiment, the diameter of the lift pad 430 is sized to accommodate a carrier ring (not shown). The lift pad and pedestal configuration 500B provides improved film uniformity by rotating the wafer using the lift pad without rotating the pedestal during deposition processes (eg, PECVD, ALD, etc.) in single-station and multi-station systems, to Azimuth inhomogeneity due to chamber and base asymmetry is filtered out. In particular, the rotating lift pad 430 is much thinner than the entire base 140', and thus the rotating features of the lift pad 430 are thinner than those of the base 140' including the heater element 470 and the cooling element 480 (asymmetrically stiffer for non-uniformities). body contribution) much less. That is, non-uniformities caused by pedestal features can be distributed symmetrically across the wafer during wafer processing by rotating the wafer using lift pads without rotating the pedestal.

In assembly 500B, base 140' includes base top surface 533 extending from central axis 471 of base 140'. Top surface 533 may include one or more recesses to provide an interface between base 140 ′ and lift pad 430 , such as in the center of top surface 533 , centered about central axis 471 and configured to facilitate pad shaft 560 and lift pad 430 The concave portion coupled therebetween and the concave portion forming the outer edge 509 . While the base 140' may be described as having a generally circular shape when viewed from above and extending to the diameter of the base, the footprint of the base 140' may vary from a true circle to accommodate different features, such as carrier ring supports and tips Actuator access, etc.

As shown, the base 140' is connected to an actuator 515 configured to control the movement of the base 140'. In particular, base control 450 is coupled to actuator 515 to control movement of base 140'. That is, central shaft 510' is coupled to actuator 515 and base 140' such that central shaft 510' extends between actuator 515 and base 140'. The central axis 510' is configured to move the base 140' along the central axis 471. In this regard, movement of the actuator 515 is translated into movement of the central axis 510', which in turn is translated into movement of the base 140'.

Also, for illustrative purposes only, the base 140' is shown with three portions 140a', 140b', and 140c'. For example, the base 140' may be formed in three parts to structurally accommodate the plurality of heating elements 470 and/or the plurality of cooling elements 480 during manufacture. As previously disclosed, it is understood that the base 140' is considered a component and may be formed using any suitable manufacturing process.

In assembly 500B, lift pad 430 includes a pad top surface 575 extending from central axis 471 . In one embodiment, the pad top surface 575 extends to the pad diameter 577 . Lifting pad 430 includes a pad bottom surface 543 configured to rest on base top surface 533 . Additionally, the pad top surface 575 is configured to support the wafer when placed thereon.

Additionally, the lift pad 430 is electrostatic chuck (ESC) compatible, as previously described. For example, the ESC assembly 570 is disposed below the top surface 575 of the pad. The electrostatic chuck assembly 570 prevents wafer movement due to chamber flow disturbances and maximizes wafer contact with the chuck (ie, lift pad top surface 575). The benefits of the lift pad 430 combined with the full wafer ESC result in minimal wafer backside deposition for approximately wafer sized lift pads 430 . Furthermore, the entire wafer ESC does not need to be declamped for twisting and/or rotation.

As shown, the lift pad 430 is connected to an actuator 515 configured to control the movement of the lift pad 430 . The lift pad control part 455 is coupled to the actuator 515 to control the movement of the lift pad 430 . That is, the shim 560 is coupled to the actuator 515 and the base 140' such that the shim 560 extends between the actuator 515 and the base 140'. The pad shaft 560 is disposed within the central shaft 510' connected to the base 140'. In particular, the pad shaft 560 is configured to move the base 140' along the central axis 471. In this regard, movement of the actuator 515 translates into movement of the pad shaft 560 , which in turn translates into movement of the lift pad 430 . In one embodiment, the actuator 515 controls the movement of both the lift pad 430 and the base 140'.

In particular, as will be described more fully below with respect to FIGS. 9A-9C, pad shaft 560 is configured to separate lift pad 430 from base 140'. For example, lift pad 430 is configured to move upward relative to base top surface 533 along central axis 471 when base 140' is tied in the up position, such that lift pad 430 is separated from base top surface 533 by a process rotational displacement for Rotation of lift pad 430 . In one embodiment, when the base 140' has reached the highest upward position, the lift pad 430 is moved upward relative to the base top surface 533. Furthermore, when the lift pad 430 is separated from the base top surface 533, the lift pad 430 is configured to be between at least a first angular orientation and a second angular orientation (eg, between 0 degrees and 180 degrees) with respect to the base top surface 533 of the base 140' degrees) rotation. The pad shaft 560 is also configured to lower the lift pad 430 to rest on the base 140'. In particular, flexible coupler 435 (shown in FIG. 5C ) is configured within pad shaft 560 and is configured to place lift pad 430 evenly on base 140'.

To prepare for rotation of the lift pad 430, in one embodiment, the lift pad 430 is moved upward relative to the base 140'. That is, the lift pad 430 is configured to move upward relative to the base top surface 533 along the central axis 471 when the base 140' is in an upward position (eg, the highest up position) during wafer processing, such that the lift pad 430 and the base The top surface 533 is separated by a process rotational displacement 940 (see FIG. 9B ), and causes the wafer disposed on the lift pad 430 to also be separated from the pedestal 140 ′. In particular, when the lift pad 430 is separated from the base 140', the lift pad 430 is configured to rotate relative to the base top surface 533 between at least a first angular orientation and a second angular orientation. This rotation reduces the impact of hardware features of the base during processing, and also reduces the impact of hardware features of the chamber during processing. Additionally, the focus ring (not shown) does not rotate with the wafer, thereby reducing hard features on the wafer during processing.

Assembly 500B includes a lift pin assembly including a plurality of lift pins 557 . For illustrative purposes, the base 140' and lift pads 430 are tied at a height that allows the lift pins 557 to extend for wafer delivery in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In particular, lift pins 557 extend from lift pad 430 through pedestal shafts 518 disposed in pedestal 140' and through plurality of lift pad shafts 519 in lift pad 430, in such a way that wafers (with or without carrier rings) are carried ) of the end effector arm (not shown) is movable to a position for delivering wafers to or for receiving wafers from lift pins 557 . Respective base shafts 518 and pad shafts 519 are aligned and configured to receive corresponding lift pins 557 . As shown, one or more lift pins and corresponding lift pins may be configured within the lift pin assembly to lift and place or remove wafers during wafer delivery. As shown, each lift pin 557 is coupled to a corresponding lift pin mount 555 for movement. Lift pin mount 555 is coupled to lift pin actuator 550 . In addition, the lift pin control part 122 controls the movement of the lift pin actuator 550 to realize the movement of the lift pin 557 .

The lift pin mounts 555 may have any shape (eg: annular washers, arms extending from an annular base, etc.). In particular, during operation of the lift pin assembly, lift pins 557 are attached to lift pin supports 555 and are configured to move within lift pins to lift wafers on lift pad top surfaces 575 during wafer delivery and processing over and/or lower the wafer to rest on the pad top surface 575 .

5C is a diagram of the interface between the lift pad 430 and the base 140' including a pad gap setting minimum contact area (MCA) to control especially during a processing sequence, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure and/or mechanically set the gap. This results in uniform temperature and impedance control of the pad. The interface shown in Figure 5C is an example of the interface between the lift pad and the base shown in Figures 5A and 5B.

For the deposition process, it is advantageous for the gap between the lift pad 430 and the base 140' to be uniform and small. For example, PECVD and ALD processes may exhibit non-uniformity characteristics due to, for example, temperature and plasma resistance. Both of these factors are sensitive to the gap between the wafer and the submount. Minimizing the size of the gap and controlling the uniformity of the gap across the lift pad and base configuration reduces characteristics caused by temperature and plasma resistance.

In particular, the small gap allows for low impedance coupling of radio frequency (RF) energy between lift pad 430 and base 140'. Additionally, the small gap provides lower thermal resistance, allowing heating and/or cooling to be easily conducted from the base 140' to the lift pad 430. Additionally, the uniform gap between lift pad 430 and base 140' ensures uniform heat transfer and uniform RF coupling.

As shown, the base top surface 533 includes a plurality of pad supports 595 (eg, a pad clearance setting MCA) defined thereon, wherein the pad supports are configured to support the lift pad 430 at a pad support height above the base top surface 533 . Portions 140a' and 140b' of base 140' are shown in Figure 5C. As previously mentioned, the pad support 595 provides a uniform and small gap between the lift pad 430 and the base 140', thereby ensuring uniform heat transfer and uniform RF coupling between the lift pad 430 and the base 140'. More particularly, the bottom surface 543 of the lift pad 430 is configured to rest on the plurality of pad supports 595 of the base 140'. For example, the pedestal 140' and the lift pads 430 may be configured in a processing position (eg, when performing plasma processes, processing, and/or film deposition), or in a pre-coating position, such that the lift pads 430 are placed in a plurality of on the pad support 595. Additionally, the lift pad 430 is configured to move with the base 140' when the base 140' is placed on the pad support 595. The pad support may be conductive for DC, low frequency, and radio frequency transmission.

6 depicts a substrate processing system including a lift pad and pedestal configuration 600, wherein the lift pad 630 is smaller than a wafer (not shown), according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The lift pad and base configuration 600 may be implemented within the systems of FIGS. 1-3 including multiple workstations and single workstation type processing tools.

Lift pad and base arrangement 600 includes lift pad 630 controlled by lift pad control 455 and base 140" As previously discussed, base control 450 controls movement of base 140'' along central axis 471', while lift pad control 455 controls movement (e.g., up, down, and rotation) of lift pad 630 about central axis 471'. Lift pad and pedestal configuration 600 provides rotation of the wafer (not shown) with lift pad 630 having substantially reduced hardware rotation characteristics when compared to processing tools with or without pedestal rotation.

Lift pad and base configuration 600 includes small lift pads 630 that are smaller than the wafer footprint. Lift pad and base configuration 600 may be suitable for some deposition processes when ESC is not selected. In this case, the small lift pad 630 is preferred because it allows the base minimum contact area (MCA) that supports the wafer to not rotate with the wafer during processing. In this case, the gap of the wafer does not nominally rotate with the wafer, which reduces exposure to hardware asymmetry. In addition, the smaller lift pad 630 also provides a further benefit, which provides less mechanical stress to the system because of the reduced mass that needs to be rotated.

Lifting pad and base arrangement 600 includes a plurality of heating elements 470' and a thermocouple 607 included in the pad shaft 560' of the lifting pad 630 to match at the surface of the lifting pad 630 to the surface of the base 140'' temperature. Cooling elements in base 140'' may be included in some process modules.

In one embodiment, although not shown, the lift pad and base arrangement 600 optionally includes a lift pin assembly having a plurality of lift pins controlled by lift pin control 122 for wafer delivery as described above. Flange 605 is included in a coaxial lift pin assembly (not shown). In another embodiment, small lift pads 630 may be used to provide lift pin functionality, eliminating the need for lift pin assemblies, and thus providing cost and packaging advantages.

Lift pad and base configuration 600 includes bellows 420', each of which is coupled to an optional lift pin assembly, base 140'', or lift pad 630, respectively, and is configured for lift pin assembly, base 140, respectively '', or the movement of the lift pad 630. In addition, the lift pad and base arrangement 600 also includes a rotary motor similar to that shown in FIG. 4 in a belt-pulley arrangement (not shown). Ferromagnetic seal 425' facilitates rotation of lift pad 630 in a vacuum environment.

Additionally, the Z motor 445' is configured to drive the base 140'' in the Z direction along the central axis 471'. Additionally, a coupling mechanism driven slide 603 is attached to the base and center shaft 510", and to a ball screw attached to the Z motor 445', both of which are used to facilitate the centering of the base 140" Movement of axis 471'.

7A is a perspective view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 6 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 7A includes a lift pad and base configuration 600, wherein the lift pad 630 is smaller than the wafer (not shown). As shown in FIG. 7A, the pedestal 140" and lift pads 630 are shown at positions and/or heights that allow wafer processing.

As described above, the base control portion 450 controls the movement of the central axis 510''. Because the base 140'' is coupled to the central shaft 510'', the motion of the central shaft 510'' is translated to the base 140''. Also, as described above, the lift pad control section 455 controls the movement of the pad shaft 560'. Because the lift pad 630 is coupled to the pad shaft 560', the motion of the pad shaft 560' is translated to the lift pad 630.

The base 140'' of the lift pad and base arrangement 600 includes a base top surface 720 extending from the central axis 471' of the base 140''. A plurality of wafer supports 760 are disposed on the top surface 720 . Additionally, a raised edge 710 is provided on the outer edge of the pedestal top surface 720, wherein the raised edge 710 is configured to block lateral movement of a wafer placed on the pedestal 140''.

7B is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 6 showing an assembly 700B including the lift pad and base arrangement 600 previously described in FIGS. 6 and 7A, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the size of the lift pad 630 is smaller than that of the wafer. For illustrative purposes only, the base 140'' and lift pads 630 are shown at positions and/or heights that allow wafer handling. The lift pad and pedestal configuration assembly 700B provides improved film uniformity by rotating the wafer using the lift pad without rotating the pedestal during deposition processes (eg, PECVD, ALD, etc.) in single-station and multi-station systems, to filter out azimuthal inhomogeneities due to chamber and base asymmetry. In particular, the rotating lift pad 630 is much smaller and thinner than the entire base 140", and thus the rotating characteristics of the lift pad 630 are much smaller than those of the base 140" including the heating element 470' (for non-uniformity the asymmetric hardware contribution) is much less. That is, non-uniformities caused by pedestal features can be distributed symmetrically across the wafer during wafer processing by rotating the wafer using lift pads without rotating the pedestal.

In assembly 700B, base 140'' includes a base top surface 720 extending from a central axis 471' of base 140''. The base top surface 720 is configured to support the wafer when the wafer is placed thereon. Top surface 720 may include one or more recesses to provide an interface between base 140 ″ and lift pad 630 , such as recess 705 configured to facilitate coupling between pad shaft 560 ′ and lift pad 630 , and forming outer edge 710 recess. Although the base 140" may be described as having a generally circular shape when viewed from above and extending to the diameter of the base, the footprint of the base 140" may vary from round to accommodate different features, such as carrier ring mounts and End effector pathways, etc.

As shown, the base 140'' is connected to an actuator 515' configured to control the movement of the base 140''. In particular, base control 450 is coupled to actuator 515' to control movement of base 140''. In particular, central shaft 510'' is coupled to actuator 515' and base 140'' such that central shaft 510'' extends between actuator 515' and base 140''. The central axis 510'' is configured to move the base 140'' along the central axis 471'. In this regard, movement of the actuator 515' translates into movement of the central axis 510'', which in turn translates into movement of the base 140''.

In one embodiment, the submount top surface 720 includes a plurality of wafer supports (not shown) defined thereon, wherein the wafer supports are configured to support the wafer at a wafer support height above the submount top surface 720 590. The wafer support provides a uniform and small gap between the pedestal 140" and any wafers 590 disposed thereon.

The base 140'' includes a recess 705 centrally positioned on the base top surface 720 and extending from the central axis 471', the recess 705 having a recess height, and wherein the recess 705 has a recess bottom surface 706. That is, the recess 705 is located on the central portion of the base top surface 720 . In one embodiment, the recess bottom surface 706 includes a plurality of pad supports defined thereon, wherein the pad supports (eg, MCAs) are configured to support the lift pad 630 on the pad support height above the recess bottom surface 706 . In another embodiment, the MCA is disposed on the bottom surface of the lift pad 630, as described further with respect to FIG. 7F.

Also, for illustrative purposes only, the base 140'' is shown with two parts 140a'' and 140b''. For example, base 140'' may be formed in two parts to structurally accommodate heating elements 470' and/or cooling elements (not shown) during manufacture. As previously disclosed, it is understood that the base 140'' is considered a component and may be formed using any suitable manufacturing process.

In assembly 700B, lift pad 630 includes a lift pad top surface 775 extending from central axis 471' to pad diameter 777. When the lift pad 630 is positioned within the recess 705 , the lift pad 630 is configured to rest on the recess bottom surface 706 , wherein the recess 705 is configured to receive the lift pad 630 . In particular, lift pad top surface 775 is below wafer 590 when wafer 590 is positioned on the wafer support of pedestal 140 ″, such as at a processing location (eg, when performing plasma processing, processing, and/or film deposition). Time). That is, when the pad bottom surface 632 of the lift pad 630 is placed on a plurality of pad supports (eg, MCA 745), the lift pad top surface 775 is positioned below the wafer support height. Additionally, the lift pad 630 is configured to move with the base 140'' when the base 140'' is placed on the pad support.

As shown, the lift pad 630 is connected to an actuator 515' that is configured to control the movement of the lift pad 630. For example, the lift pad control 455 is coupled to the actuator 515' to control the movement of the lift pad 630. In particular, shim 560' is coupled to actuator 515' and base 140'' such that shim 560' extends between actuator 515' and base 140''. The pad shaft 560' is disposed within the central shaft 510'' connected to the base 140''. In particular, pad shaft 560' is configured to move lift pad 630 along central axis 471'. In this regard, movement of actuator 515' is translated into movement of pad shaft 560', which in turn is translated into movement of lift pad 630. In one embodiment, the actuator 515' controls the movement of both the lift pad 630 and the base 140''.

Specifically, as will be described more fully below with respect to Figures 10A-10D, the pad shaft 560' is configured to separate the lift pad 630 from the base 140'' for lift pad rotation. For example, when the base 140'' is in the up position, the lift pad 630 is configured to move upward relative to the base top surface 720 along the central axis 471' such that the lift pad 630 is separated from the base top surface 720 by a process rotational displacement for The lift pad 630 is rotated. The pad shaft 560' is also configured to lower the lift pad 630 to rest on the base 140''. In one embodiment, to prepare the lift pad for rotation, the lift pad 630 is moved upward relative to the base 140". That is, when the base 140'' is in the up position, the lift pad 630 is configured to move upward relative to the base top surface 720 along the central axis 471' such that the lift pad 630 is separated from the base top surface 720 by a process rotational displacement of 1040 ( 10B and 10C ), and the wafer disposed on the lift pad 630 is separated from the pedestal 140 ″. In one embodiment, the base 140" is tied in the uppermost upward position during rotation of the lift pad 630. In particular, when the lift pad 630 is separated from the base 140 ″, the lift pad 630 is configured to be between at least a first angular orientation and a second angular orientation (eg, between 0 degrees and 180 degrees) relative to the base top surface 720 rotate. This rotation reduces the impact of hardware features of the base during processing, and also reduces the impact of hardware features of the chamber during processing.

In other embodiments, lift pads 630 provide lift pin functionality to lift and lower wafers during wafer delivery and processing. Specifically, when the base is tethered in the bottom-most downward position, the lift pad 630 is configured to move upward relative to the center base top surface 720 such that the lift pad 630 is separated from the center base top surface 720 by a sufficient distance for the end effector The displacement of the arm entry.

As shown in Figure 7B, the base 140" of the lift pad and base arrangement 600 includes a raised edge 710 disposed on the outer edge of the base top surface 720, wherein the raised edge 710 is configured to block placement on the base Lateral movement of the wafer on 140". That is, the edge 710 is tied a step above the base top surface 720 at a height sufficient to block wafer movement. For example, when the wafer is placed on the submount top surface 720, the raised edge 710 forms a groove that blocks lateral movement of the wafer.

7C is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 6 showing assembly 700C including lift pad and base configuration 600' based on the configurations previously described in FIGS. 6, 7A, and 7B, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein , the lift pad 630 is smaller than the wafer. Lifting pad and base configuration 600' includes base 140''' and lifting pad 630. More specifically, the lift pad and pedestal configuration 600' of Figure 7C is similar to the lift pad and pedestal configuration 600 of Figure 7B, and provides the same benefits and advantages previously described with respect to Figure 7B (eg, improved filling during the deposition process). uniformity). That is, non-uniformities caused by pedestal features can be distributed symmetrically across the wafer during wafer processing by rotating the wafer using lift pads without rotating the pedestal. However, lift pad and base configuration 600' also includes lift pin assemblies configured for delivery of respective wafers (eg, wafer 590).

The lift pin assembly of assembly 700C includes a plurality of lift pins 557'. For illustrative purposes, the base 140''' and lift pads 630 are at a height that allows the lift pins 557' to extend for wafer delivery in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. In particular, lift pins 557' extend from pedestal shafts 518' that are translated from central axis 471' and are disposed in pedestal 140"' in such a way as to carry wafers (with or without carrier rings) The arms (not shown) of the end effector are movable to positions for delivering wafers to or for receiving wafers from lift pins 557'. A corresponding base shaft 518' is configured to receive a corresponding lift pin 557'. As shown, one or more pedestal shafts 518' and corresponding lift pins 557' may be configured within the lift pin assembly to lift and place or remove wafers during wafer delivery. As shown, each lift pin 557' is coupled to a corresponding lift pin holder 555' and is configured to move within the pedestal shaft 518' to lift the wafer on the pedestal top surface 720 during wafer delivery and processing up and/or lower the wafer to the submount top surface 720 . Lift pin support 555' is configured to move relative to base top surface 720 parallel to central axis 471'. Additionally, lift pin mount 555' is coupled to lift pin actuator 550'. In addition, the lift pin control section 122 described earlier controls the movement of the lift pin actuator 550' to effect the movement of the lift pin 557'. Lift pin mounts 555' may have any shape (eg: annular washers, arms extending from annular bases, etc.).

7D is a cross-sectional view of a lift pad to base interface in the substrate processing system of FIG. 6 including the lift pad and base configuration 600 or 600' of FIGS. 7A-7C, wherein the lift pad is smaller than a wafer.

High temperature bearings 755 are disposed within pad shaft 560' and are configured to uniformly position lift pad 630 within recess 705 of base 140'' or 140'''. To handle high temperatures, the wear-resistant surface is preferably made of a hard chemically compatible material such as sapphire. Bearing centering systems are insensitive to the relative thermal expansion of the bearing element, shaft, and base material. In one embodiment, the tapered clamping surface of the sapphire bearing ring may be spring loaded using the assembly of load distribution washers, spring washers, and retaining rings of materials suitable for high temperature and corrosive operations. The bearing train is clamped with minimal energy at its center position and remains centered under temperature changes. Sapphire contact ring prevents denting of softer base materials.

In particular, the interface between the lift pad 630 and the base 140''/140''' is shown and includes a pad gap setting MCA to control and/or mechanically set the gap, particularly during the processing sequence. For example, FIG. 7D shows sapphire balls 740 and 745 (eg, MCA) pressed into lift pad 630 . In particular, balls 740 and 745 protrude slightly from the operating system on the corresponding surface by the order of a few millimeters at process temperatures. The sapphire balls operate to contact the base 140''/140''' with a minimal contact area to minimize heat transfer by contact with poor heat transfer materials. Additionally, the sapphire contact ring prevents dents from softer base materials.

For example, FIG. 7E is a perspective view of the top surface 631 of the lift pad 630 shown in FIG. 7D including the MCA 740 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, wafer fiducial MCA 740 is disposed 0.002 inches above top surface 631 such that when lift pad 630 is placed on recess bottom surface 706, pad top surface 631 is below the wafer support height. In one embodiment, the wafer fiducial MCA 740 does not contact the wafer 590 when the lift pad 630 is placed on the pedestal 140"/140"" because the separate pedestal wafer on the top surface 720 of the pedestal Round supports (eg MCA) are more than about 0.002 inch taller. The wafer supports disposed on the pedestal top surface 720 of the pedestals 140"/140"" are configured to support the wafer 590 when the wafer 590 is placed thereon at the wafer support height on the top surface 720.

Additionally, FIG. 7F is a perspective view of the bottom surface 632 of the lift pad 630 shown in FIG. 7D including the MCA 745 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the wafer reference MCA 745 is 0.004 inches above the bottom surface 632. This ensures a uniform, repeatable gap between the lift pad 630 and the base 140''/140''' to provide a uniform, repeatable thermal resistance to the base 140''/140'''. In one embodiment, MCA 745 operates in conjunction with a plurality of pad supports (not shown) disposed on recess bottom surface 706 that are configured to support lift pad 630 at the height of the pad support on recess bottom surface 706 .

8 depicts a flowchart 800 of a method for operating a processing chamber configured for depositing films on wafers, wherein the method is provided within the processing chamber in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure The wafer is rotated without rotating the pedestal during processing, which advantageously filters out both chamber and pedestal asymmetries. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, flowchart 800 is implemented within the system and lift pad and base configuration of FIGS. 1-7. The operations in flowchart 800 are applied to lift pad and pedestal configurations such as those shown in FIGS. 4 and 5A-5C in one embodiment, and in other embodiments, such as those shown in FIGS. 6 and 7A-7F A lift pad and base configuration including lift pads, which are smaller in size than a wafer, is shown in .

At operation 805, the method includes moving the lift pad and pedestal configuration to a bottom-facing position to receive a wafer. In one embodiment, the base is tied in its bottom-most downward position. In lift pad and pedestal configurations that include lift pin assemblies, lift pins may be extended for wafer delivery. In a lift pad and pedestal configuration that does not include a lift pin assembly, the lift pad (eg, smaller than the wafer) may be separated from the pedestal top surface by a displacement large enough for the arm of the end effector to enter for wafer delivery. At operation 810, a wafer train is placed on an assembly comprising a lift pad and a pedestal configuration, wherein the lift pad train is configured to be placed on the pedestal. For example, this may involve placing wafers on extended lift pins, or placing wafers on extended lift pads. Lowering the lift pins or lift pads allows the wafer to rest on the wafer support on the top surface of the submount, the top surface of the lift pad, or the surface of the ESC chuck.

The base movement is controlled so that the base moves up and down along the central axis of the base. In one embodiment, the coupling mechanism translates the motion of the base to the lift pad in the lift pad and base configuration. For example, after delivering the wafer, the lift pad and pedestal configuration is moved to the processing position at operation 820 . In this processing position, the lift pad is tethered to the base as previously described. Furthermore, the lift pad is tied in a first orientation relative to the base and/or the chamber. This first orientation can be arbitrary. For example, both the lift pad and the base may be configured within the chamber at an angular orientation of 0 degrees.

At operation 825, the method includes processing the wafer at the first orientation for a first number of processing cycles. For example, deposition of one or more films may be performed using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, also known as atomic layer chemical vapor deposition (ALCVD). ALD produces very thin films that are highly conformal, smooth, and have excellent physical properties. ALD uses the sequential introduction (or pulse delivery) of volatile gases, solids, or vapors on a heated substrate. In an ALD cycle, four operations are performed and can be defined as an A-P-B-P sequence. In step A, a first precursor is introduced as a gas, which is absorbed (or adsorbed) into the substrate. In step P, immediately following step A, the reactor chamber is purged of gaseous precursors. In step B, a second precursor system is introduced as a gas, which reacts with the absorbed precursor to form a monolayer of the desired material. In step P immediately following step B, the reactor chamber is again purged of the gaseous second precursor. By tuning this A-P-B-P sequence, films produced by ALD deposit monolayers at a time by switching the sequential flow of two or more reactive gases over and over the substrate. In this way, the thickness of the film can be adjusted depending on the number of cycles performed for the A-P-B-P sequence. The first number of cycles can be defined as the value X. To illustrate an embodiment of the invention that discloses a lift pad and pedestal configuration that advantageously filters out both chamber and pedestal asymmetries capable of rotating the wafer during processing within the processing chamber without rotating the pedestal, the X number of cycles may be 50 cycles.

At operation 830, the method includes raising the base to an up position. In one embodiment, the base is raised to its highest upward position. By moving the pedestal to the upward position, the lift pads are also lifted upward relative to the pedestal (eg, the top surface of the pedestal) so that the wafers disposed on the lift pads are separated from the pedestal. In one embodiment, the coupling mechanism lifts the lift pad when the base is near the top of its travel. That is, the surface contact of the lift pad to the base is broken, which allows the lift pad to rotate freely. In particular, the lift pads are separated from the base by a process rotational displacement (eg 1 mm class). In this way, the wafer supported by or disposed on the lift pad is also separated from the base.

At operation 840, the method includes rotating the lift pad relative to the base (eg, a top surface of the base) when the lift pad is separated from the base. In particular, the lift pad is rotated relative to the base from a first orientation to a second orientation. For example, the second orientation may be 180 degrees different from the first orientation (eg, the first orientation is at 0 degrees).

At operation 845, the method includes lowering the lift pad to place on the base. Also, at operation 850, the method includes moving the base and corresponding lift pad back to the processing position. In one embodiment, the operations performed at 845 and 850 occur simultaneously by the action of a coupling mechanism such that by lowering the base back to the processing position, the lift pad is also lowered until the lift pad is placed on the base.

At operation 855, the method includes processing the wafer for a second number of processing cycles (eg, each cycle including an A-P-B-P sequence) with the lift pads tied in a second orientation relative to the pedestal. This second number of cycles can be defined as the value Y. To illustrate an embodiment of the invention that discloses a lift pad and pedestal configuration that advantageously filters out both chamber and pedestal asymmetries capable of rotating the wafer during processing within the processing chamber without rotating the pedestal, the Y number of cycles may be 50 cycles.

In this way, the thickness of the film can be adjusted depending on the total number of cycles (eg X+Y) performed by the A-P-B-P sequence. Because the wafer is also rotated with respect to the pedestal for the second number of cycles, both chamber and pedestal asymmetries are filtered out, which provides improved film uniformity during wafer processing.

In the example provided above, the first number of loops is X and the second number of loops is Y, where both X and Y comprise 50 loops that perform the total number of 100 loops of the A-P-B-P sequence. That is, the first number of processing cycles (X) may be half the total number of cycles performed in the first orientation, and the second number of processing cycles (Y) may be the total number of cycles performed in the second orientation half. In this regard, 50 cycles are performed with a first angular orientation (eg, 0 degrees), and another 50 cycles are performed with a second angular orientation (eg, 180 degrees).

Although embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to first and second orientations, other embodiments are well suited for performing wafer processing using one or more orientations (eg, 1, 2, 3, etc.). The orientations may be separated by equal angles in one embodiment, or by unequal angles in another embodiment. Additionally, in each direction, one or more cycles of wafer processing (eg, ALD, PECVD, etc.) are performed. The number of loops executed in each orientation may be distributed equally in one embodiment, or may be distributed unequally in another embodiment. That is, other embodiments are well suited for two or more sets of cycles in two or more opposing angular orientations (eg, between the lift pad and the base), where each set may contain an equal number of processing cycles (eg, each Cycles contain A-P-B-P sequences) or a different number of processing cycles.

At operation 860, the method includes moving the lift pad and pedestal arrangement to a bottom-facing position to remove the wafer from the assembly including the lift pad and pedestal arrangement. In one embodiment, the base is tied in its bottom-most downward position. As previously discussed, in lift pad and base configurations that include lift pin assemblies, the lift pins may be extended for wafer delivery. In a lift pad and pedestal configuration that does not include a lift pin assembly, the lift pad (eg, smaller than the wafer) may be separated from the pedestal top surface by a displacement large enough for the arm of the end effector to enter for wafer delivery. In this regard, wafers may be removed from extended lift pins or extended lift pads using the arms of the end effector.

9A and 9B are diagrams depicting the sequence of motion of a lift pad and pedestal configuration wherein the lift pad is sized to approximately match the wafer and includes rotation of the wafer during processing within the processing chamber without Rotation of the base, which advantageously filters out both the chamber and the base asymmetry.

In particular, FIG. 9A shows the wafer-sized lift pad and pedestal configuration 400 first introduced in FIGS. 4 and 5A-5B. The lift pad and base configuration 400 includes a base 140', a lift pad 430, and a lift pin assembly including lift pins 557. In the delivery position, the lift pad and base arrangement 400 are configured such that the base 140' is tied in a bottom-facing position with the lift pad resting on the base. As shown in the dashed circle labeled "A", lift pins 557 extend from the top surface of lift pad 430 for wafer delivery. FIG. 9A also shows the lift pad and pedestal configuration 400 in the precoating position, where precoat and undercoat layers of the film are deposited within the processing chamber prior to processing the wafer. As shown in the dashed circle marked "B", the lift pad 430 rests on the base 140'. Additionally, lift pins 557 are configured such that when precoat deposition occurs, the tops of lift pins 557 just fill the holes corresponding to the pad shafts in lift pad 430, which are in place during chamber precoat, And there are no wafers on the lift pad and pedestal configuration 400 . FIG. 9A also shows a lift pad and pedestal configuration 400 in a processing position where one or more films can be deposited during wafer processing (eg, PECVD and ALD processes) in single-station and multi-station systems. For example, wafer processing may perform an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, also known as atomic layer chemical vapor deposition (ALCVD). ALD produces highly conformal, smooth very thin films with excellent physical properties. As before, four operations are performed in an ALD cycle (eg, A-P-B-P sequence). As shown in the dashed circle marked "C", the lift pad 430 is placed on the base 140' and the lift pin 557 has been retracted into position within the body of the base 140'. FIG. 9A also shows the lift pad and base configuration 400 in a rotated position, with the base tied in an up position (eg, the highest up position). As shown in the dashed circle marked "D", the lift pad 430 is separated from the base 140' by a process rotational displacement such that the lift pad can be rotated relative to the base 140' to a second angular orientation.

9B provides more detail of FIG. 9A and depicts the sequence of motion of the lift pad and base arrangement 400 first introduced in FIGS. 4 and 5A-5B, wherein the lift pad is sized approximately to match the crystal, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The circle and includes rotation of the wafer during processing within the processing chamber without rotation of the pedestal, which advantageously filters out both chamber and pedestal asymmetries.

In the delivery position, the lift pad and base arrangement 400 are tied so that the base 140' is tied in a bottom-facing position with the lift pad 430 resting on the base 140'. In particular, lift pad and pedestal configuration 400 is tied in a delivery position ready to receive and/or remove wafers such that the bottom of pedestal 140' is tied at the height indicated by line 901 within the corresponding chamber. In particular, in one embodiment, the base 140' is tied at its bottom-most height and is below the pre-coating position (where the base of the base 140' is tied at the height indicated by line 902), and the associated processing position by line The height indicated by 903, and the height indicated by line 904 of the associated rotational position. As shown, the lift pad 430 is placed on the base 140', as previously described. Additionally, lift pins 557 extend beyond the top surface of lift pad 430, eg, in a position to receive wafers delivered by the arms of the end effector.

FIG. 9B shows the lift pad and base configuration 400 at the pre-coating level, with the bottom of the base 140' tied at the height indicated by line 902 within the corresponding chamber. It is important to note that this pre-coating location can be defined anywhere within the chamber and is not limited to the height indicated by line 902 . For example, the pre-coating location may be the same as the processing location, where the lift pad and pedestal configuration is configured for wafer processing (eg, ALD, PECVD, etc.). As shown, the lift pad 430 is placed on the base 140', as previously described. In addition, lift pins 557 are configured so that when precoat deposition occurs, the tops of the lift pins just fill the holes in lift pad 430, which are in place during chamber precoat, and are in place between the lift pad and the base. There are no wafers on the configuration.

In particular, precoat and undercoat layers of the film are deposited within the processing chamber prior to processing the wafer. This precoat and/or undercoat film may also coat the carrier ring when the carrier ring is included in a lift pad and pedestal configuration in contact with the wafer. We believe that pre-coat layers, and optionally pre-coat films with films similar to those formed on wafers during processing, are applied to the chamber and lift pad and pedestal configurations (eg, contact support structures such as MCA) The carrier ring improves film formation on the wafer. In this regard, the precoat film is formed prior to introducing the wafer onto the lift pad and pedestal arrangement. In addition, pre-coating of the wafer processing environment and any further primer layers are used in combination to improve wafer film uniformity. For example, a typical primer coating thickness may be about 3 microns, and a precoat thickness is about 0.5 microns.

FIG. 9B also shows a lift pad and pedestal configuration 400 in a processing position, where one or more films can be deposited during wafer processing (eg, PECVD and ALD processes) in single-station and multi-station systems. In particular, base 140' is tied within the corresponding chamber at the height indicated by line 903. As shown, the base 140' is tied within the chamber near its highest position or height. It is important to note that depending on the chamber and/or the process performed, the processing location may be defined at any location and/or height within the chamber and is not limited to the height indicated by line 903 . As shown, the lift pad 430 is placed on the base 140', as previously described. Additionally, lift pins 557 are configured such that the tops of the lift pins are tied within the body of the base 140', so that the tops can also be placed anywhere within the base 140' Additionally, the lift pad 430 is tied in a first angular orientation relative to the base 140'.

Figure 9B also shows the lift pad and base configuration 400 in a rotated position, with the base tied in an up position. In one embodiment, the bottom of the base 140' is tied within the corresponding chamber at the highest height indicated by line 904. Lifting pad 430 is separated from base 140' by a process rotational displacement of 940 (eg, on the order of 1 mm). In one embodiment, as the base 140' approaches the top of its travel, the coupling mechanism lifts the lift pad 430 such that the lift pad is a rotational displacement 940 away from the base top surface. In particular, when the base 140' reaches the top of its travel through a certain distance "d" traveled by the base 140', the lift pad 430 moves a larger distance that may be a factor of "d". For example, when the base 140' reaches the top of its travel, the lift pad 430 is separated from the base 140' by twice the rotational displacement 940 by a distance "d". Thereafter, the lift pad 430 may be rotated, for example, relative to the base 140' from the first angular orientation to the second angular orientation. Thereafter, the lift pad and pedestal arrangement 400 may be returned to the processing station for additional processing cycles, or to the delivery position for wafer delivery.

9C is a diagram depicting the orientation of the lift pad 430 relative to the lift pad and base 140' in the base configuration 400 during the first processing sequence, the rotation sequence, and the second processing sequence, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein The size of the lift pad is similar to that of a wafer. In particular, FIG. 9C depicts processing when the lift pad and base configuration 400 is tied in the processing position for the first number of processing cycles, when the configuration 400 is tied in the rotational position, and when the configuration 400 is tied in the processing position for the second number of processing cycles The relative orientation of the lift pad 430 and the base 140' (with respect to each other and/or with respect to the coordinate system 950 within the chamber) when in position.

As shown, during a first number of processing cycles, the lift pad and base arrangement 400 is tied in a processing position. In particular, both lift pad 430 and base 140' have an angular orientation of 0 degrees with respect to coordinate system 950 within the chamber. Also, lift pad 430 has a first angular orientation of 0 degrees relative to base 140' (ie, base 140' provides a coordinate system).

Furthermore, Figure 9C depicts the rotation of the lift pad 430 relative to the base 140' when the lift pad and base arrangement 400 are tethered in a rotated position. In particular, when the lift pad 430 is rotated from an angular orientation of 0 degrees to 180 degrees, the base 140' remains stationary at an angular orientation of 0 degrees (eg, relative to the coordinate system 950). That is, the base 140' does not rotate. As shown, the lift pad 430 is tied halfway through its orientation at an angular orientation of 71 degrees.

Furthermore, during the second number of processing cycles, the lift pad and base arrangement 400 is again in the processing position. However, due to the rotation of the lift pad, the base 140' still has an angular orientation of 0 degrees relative to the coordinate system 950 within the chamber, while the lift pad has an angular orientation of 180 degrees. In other words, when processing a first number of cycles, lift pad 430 has an angular orientation of 0 degrees relative to base 140', while when processing a second number of cycles, lift pad 430 has, eg, relative to base 140 after rotation ' of 180 degree angle orientation.

10A-10C are diagrams illustrating a sequence of motion for a lift pad and pedestal configuration, wherein the lift pad is smaller than the wafer and includes rotation of the wafer during processing within the processing chamber without rotation of the pedestal, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure , which advantageously filters out both chamber and base asymmetry. More specifically, Figure 10B shows the lift pad and base configuration 600 first introduced in Figures 6 and 7A-7B. Figure 1OC shows the lift pad and base configuration 600' first introduced in Figure 7C and additionally including a lift pin assembly.

In particular, FIG. 10A shows a lift pad and base configuration 600 including a base 140" and a lift pad 630. Lift pad and base arrangement 600 is configured such that lift pad 630 provides lift action and eliminates the need for lift pin assemblies. Specifically, in the delivery position, the lift pad and base arrangement 600 are configured such that the base 140" is tied in a bottom-facing position with the lift pad 630 separated from the base 140" by a sufficient distance for the end effector arm to enter. displacement. FIG. 10A also shows a lift pad and pedestal configuration 600 in a processing position where one or more films can be deposited during wafer processing (eg, PECVD and ALD processes) in single-station and multi-station-type systems. FIG. 10A also shows the lift pad and base configuration 600 in a rotated position, with base 140 ″ tied in an up position (eg, the highest up position), and lift pad 630 separated from base 140 ″ by a process rotational displacement (eg, 1 mm).

10B provides more detail of FIG. 10A and depicts the sequence of motion of the lift pad and base arrangement 600, wherein the lift pad is smaller than the wafer and involves rotation of the wafer during processing within the processing chamber, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. There is no rotation of the base, which advantageously filters out both the chamber and the base asymmetry.

In the delivery position of the lift pad and base configuration, the bottom of the base 140" In particular, in one embodiment, the base 140'' is tied at its bottommost level. In one embodiment, the delivery position is below the pre-coating position indicated by line 902 , the processing position indicated by line 903 , and the rotational position indicated by line 904 . As shown, the lift pad 630 is separated from the base 140" by a displacement 969 sufficient to allow the arm of the end effector to deliver (place on or remove a wafer from the lift pad 630) displacement 969, as in Figure 10B shown. In one embodiment, the coupling mechanism lifts the lift pad 630 such that the lift pad 630 is displaced 969 away from the base top surface as the base 140" approaches the bottom of its travel.

Figure 10B also shows the lift pad and pedestal configuration 600 in the precoating position, where precoat and undercoat layers of the film are deposited within the processing chamber prior to processing the wafer. For example, in the pre-coating position, the bottom of the base 140" is tied within the corresponding chamber at the height indicated by line 902. The pre-coating location can be defined anywhere within the chamber and is not limited to the height indicated by line 902 . As shown, the lift pad 630 rests on the base 140", as previously described.

In the processing position of the lift pad and base arrangement 600, the bottom of the base 140" In one embodiment, the pedestal 140'' is positioned within the chamber near its highest position or height, however, as previously discussed, the processing position may be at any height within the chamber depending on the chamber and/or the process being performed. As shown, the lift pad 630 rests on the base 140". Additionally, the lift pad 630 is in a first angular orientation relative to the base 140".

In the rotated position of the lift pad and base arrangement 600, in one embodiment, the bottom of the base 140" The lift pad 630 is separated from the base 140" by a process rotational displacement 1040 (eg, on the order of 1 mm). In one embodiment, as the base 140'' approaches the top of its travel, the coupling mechanism lifts the lift pad 630 via the pad shaft 560' such that the lift pad 630 is rotationally displaced 1040 apart from the base top surface. In one embodiment, when the base 140" is near the top of its travel, the coupling mechanism lifts the lift pad 630 such that the lift pad 630 is rotationally displaced 1040 apart from the base top surface. For example, when the base 140" reaches the top of its travel through a certain distance "f" traveled by the base 140", the lift pad 630 can move by a factor of "f" (eg, twice "f") larger distance. Thereafter, lift pad 630 may be rotated from a first angular orientation to a second angular orientation (eg, relative to pedestal 140 ″), and then returned to the processing position for additional processing cycles or to the delivery position for wafer delivery .

FIG. 10C provides more detail of FIG. 10A and depicts the sequence of motion of a lift pad and base configuration 600 ′ including lift pin assemblies, where lift pad 630 is smaller than a wafer and contained within a processing chamber in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Rotation of the wafer during processing without rotation of the pedestal 140"" advantageously filters out both chamber and pedestal asymmetries. As previously described, the lift pad and base configuration 600' includes lift pad 630, base 140''', and lift pin assemblies.

In the delivery position of the lift pad and base configuration 600', the bottom of the base 140''' is tied within the corresponding chamber at the height indicated by line 901. In particular, in one embodiment, the base 140''' is tied at its bottommost level. In one embodiment, the delivery position is below the pre-coating position indicated by line 902 , the processing position indicated by line 903 , and the rotational position indicated by line 904 . As shown, the lift pad 630 is placed on the base 140"", as previously described. In addition, the lift pins 557' extend beyond the top surface of the base 140''' and lift pads 630, such as in a position to receive wafers delivered by the arms of the end effector or for removal of wafers by the end effector.

Figure 1OC also shows a lift pad and pedestal configuration 600' in a precoating position, where precoat and undercoat layers of the film are deposited within the processing chamber prior to processing the wafer. For example, in the pre-coating position, the bottom of the base 140''' is tied within the corresponding chamber at the height indicated by line 902. The pre-coating location can be defined anywhere within the chamber and is not limited to the height indicated by line 902 . As shown, the lift pad 630 is placed on the base 140"", as previously described. Additionally, lift pins 557' are configured such that when precoat deposition occurs, the tops of the lift pins just fill the holes in lift pad 630, which is in place during chamber precoating and is in place between the lift pad and the lift pad 630. There are no wafers on the base configuration.

In the processing position of the lift pad and base configuration 600', the bottom of the base 140" As shown, the base 140''' is tied within the chamber near its highest position or height, however, as previously discussed, the processing position may be at any height within the chamber. As shown, the lift pad 630 is placed on the base 140"", as previously described. Additionally, lift pins 557' are configured such that the tops of the lift pins are tied within base 140"', although the tops may be configured anywhere within base 140"'.

In the rotated position of the lift pad and base configuration 600', in one embodiment, the bottom of the base 140"' is tied at the highest height within the corresponding chamber as indicated by line 904. The lift pad 630 is separated from the base 140''' by a process rotational displacement 1040 (eg, on the order of 1 mm). In one embodiment, as the base 140''' approaches the top of its travel, the coupling mechanism lifts the lift pad 630 via the pad shaft 560' such that the lift pad 630 is rotationally displaced 1040 apart from the base top surface. In one embodiment, when the base 140"" is near the top of its travel, the coupling mechanism lifts the lift pad 630 such that the lift pad 630 is rotationally displaced 1040 apart from the base top surface. For example, when the base 140"" reaches the top of its travel through a certain distance "f" traveled by the base 140"", the lift pad 630 can move by a factor of "f" (eg, twice "f" ) larger distance. Thereafter, lift pad 630 may be rotated from a first angular orientation to a second angular orientation (eg, relative to pedestal 140"), and then returned to the processing position for additional processing cycles or to the delivery position for wafers deliver.

10D depicts lift pad 630 in relation to lift pad and base 140 ″ in lift pad and base configuration 600 or relative to lift pad and A diagram of the orientation of the pedestal 140"' in the pedestal configuration 600', where the lift pad 630 is smaller than the wafer. In particular, Figure 10D depicts the lift pad 630 and base 140 when the lift pad and base configuration 600/600' is tied in the processing position for the first number of processing cycles, when in the rotational position, or the processing position for the second number of processing cycles ''/the relative orientation of the base 140''' (eg, relative to each other and/or relative to the coordinate system 1050 within the chamber).

As shown, during the first number of processing cycles, the lift pad and base configuration 600/600' is tied in the processing position. In particular, both the lift pad 630 and the base 140''/140''' have an angular orientation of 0 degrees relative to the coordinate system 1050 within the chamber. Also, the lift pad 630 has a first angular orientation of 0 degrees relative to the base 140''/140''' (ie, the base 140''/140''' provides a coordinate system.

Additionally, Figure 10D depicts the rotation of the lift pad 630 relative to the base 140''/140''' when the lift pad and base arrangement 600/600' are tied in the rotated position. In particular, when the lift pad 630 is rotated from an angular orientation of 0 degrees to 180 degrees, the base 140''/140''' remains stationary at an angular orientation of 0 degrees (eg, relative to the coordinate system 1050). That is, the bases 140'' and 140''' do not rotate. As shown, the lift pad 630 is tied halfway through its orientation at an angular orientation of 71 degrees.

Furthermore, during the second number of processing cycles, the lift pad and base arrangement 600/600' is again in the processing position. However, due to the rotation of the lift pad, the base 140"/140"" still has an angular orientation of 0 degrees with respect to the coordinate system 1050 within the chamber, while the lift pad has an angular orientation of 180 degrees. In other words, when processing the first number of cycles, the lift pad 630 has an angular orientation of 0 degrees relative to the base 140"/140"", while when processing the second number of cycles, the lift pad 630 after rotation With eg an angular orientation of 180 degrees relative to the base 140"/140"". Lifting pad lifting mechanism

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the lift pad raising mechanisms disclosed in Figures 11-17 are generally applied to the lift pad and base configurations previously described in Figures 1-10. That is, various embodiments of the disclosed lifter pad raising mechanisms can be used to separate the lifter pad from the base in a lifter pad and base configuration that includes lifter pads having diameters that approximate the diameter of a wafer and/or or lift pads with a diameter smaller than the wafer diameter.

11A is a perspective view of a substrate processing system including a lift pad and base configuration 1100, and depicts a short-stroke pad lift mechanism 440 configured to separate lift pads (not shown) from base 140-A, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure -A. The lift pad and base arrangement 1100 is positioned within the main frame 1105, which is placed into the processing chamber (eg, secured within the processing chamber). The movement of the base 140-A is provided relative to the main frame, and the movement of the lift pad is relative to the main frame 1105 (the lift pad moves with the base 140-A) and the base 140-A (the lift pad is separate from the base 140-A) ) to provide both. The lift pads may be spaced apart from the base 140-A for purposes of rotating the lift pads (and wafers disposed thereon) relative to the base 140-A. The lift pads may also be spaced for purposes of allowing access by end effectors for wafer delivery (eg, wafer placement or removal from the lift pads).

In an embodiment, the lift pad and base configuration 1100, including the short-stroke pad lift mechanism 440-A, is configured to support a wafer substantially similar in size (eg, substantially similar to the diameter dimensions of the lift pad and wafer). A lift pad, such as the lift pad and base configurations shown in Figures 4, 5A-5C, and 9A-9C. Furthermore, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the lift pad and base configuration 1100 including the short-stroke pad lift mechanism 440-A is configured to support lift pads that are smaller than a wafer (eg, lift pads that are smaller in diameter than the wafer) diameter), such as the lift pad and base configurations shown in Figures 6, 7A-F, and 10A-10D. In some embodiments, the lift pad and base arrangement 1100 allows integration with a carrier ring assembly (not shown). In yet other embodiments, the lift pad and base arrangement 1100 may be implemented within a single workstation and/or a multi-station processing tool.

Base 140-A of lift pad and base arrangement 1100 can be controlled by base control 450 of FIGS. 4 and 6 such that movement of base 140-A is by base and lift pad actuator 515 of FIG. 5B and/or FIG. Base and lift pad actuator 515' of 7B-7C is implemented. In particular, the central shaft 510-A is interconnected to the base 140-A and to the base bracket 1101 such that movement of the base bracket relative to the main frame 1105 translates into movement of the base 140-A. For example, base control 450 controls movement of the base carriage to induce movement of base 140-A via central axis 510-A (eg, along the central axis shown in FIG. 14C ) during preprocessing, processing, and postprocessing sequences 471-A up and down). In particular, Z motor 445-A is configured to drive a ball screw (not shown) (eg, ball screw 443 of FIG. 4) that is interconnected to a slider/carrier (not shown) via a ball screw nut so that the balls Rotation of the screw translates into motion of the carrier (eg, in the z-direction) parallel to the central axis 471-A. The Z motor 445-A and ball screw (and other necessary accessories) remain fixed relative to the main frame 1105 so that the motion of the carrier is relative to the main frame 1105. Furthermore, the base bracket 1101 is interconnected to the carrier such that the movement of the carrier is translated into the movement of the base bracket 1101 . Flex bladder 420-A facilitates movement of base 140-A.

The lift pads of lift pad and base arrangement 1100 can be controlled by lift pad control section 455 of FIGS. 4 and 6 such that movement of the lift pads is via base and lift pad actuators 515 of FIG. 5B and/or FIGS. 7B-7C The base and lift pad actuator 515' is implemented. In particular, the lift pad control part 455 controls the movement of the lift pad shaft 560-A to induce the movement of the lift pad. In particular, pad shaft 560-A extends from the lift pad along central axis 471-A, as shown in Figure 14C. For example, pad shaft 560-A is interconnected to ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A, which is interconnected to base bracket by short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-A . Pad lift mechanism 440-A was first introduced in FIG. 4 and further shown in FIG. 11A as a short stroke coupling mechanism 440 configured to provide movement of the lift pad relative to base 140-A. Ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A is movably attached to base bracket 1101 by short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-A. In this regard, movement of the base bracket 1101 translates into movement of the base 140-A and associated lift pads, as previously described. In particular, movement of the base bracket 1101 without engaging the short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-A provides movement of the base 140-A and lift pad such that there is no separation between the lift pad and base 140-A. When the lift pad raising mechanism 440-A is engaged, the lift pad performs additional movement relative to the base 140-A to create the separation. The ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A includes a short stroke bellows configured to facilitate movement of the lift pad via the pad shaft. The ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A is configured to provide a vacuum seal around the pad shaft when the pad shaft 560-A is rotating and when the pad shaft 560-A is not rotating.

Additionally, the ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A facilitates rotation of the lift pad shaft 560-A contained in a vacuum environment. For example, ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A includes rotation/theta motor 427-A in a belt-pulley configuration for rotation of lift pad shaft 560-A and lift pad relative to the base Corresponding rotation of 140-A. The electrical slip ring 1125 is configured to provide power and/or electrical signal transmission through the lift pad shaft 560-A for rotation.

Additionally, the lift pad and base arrangement 1100 includes an upper bearing assembly 755-A (introduced first in FIG. 7D as a high temperature bearing 755 and will be discussed more fully with respect to FIGS. 16-17 ), and a lower bearing assembly 1120 . The upper bearing assembly 755-A and the lower bearing assembly 1120 are arranged in the center of the lift pad shaft 560-A within the central shaft 510-A.

11B is a perspective view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 11A including a lift pad and base configuration 1100, and further depicts elements of a short stroke pad lift mechanism 440-A, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In particular, the pad raising mechanism 440 -A includes an upper hard stop 1210 and a lower hard stop 1211 , both of which are fixed relative to the main frame 1105 . The carriage rollers 1221 and 1222 are fixed relative to the base carriage so that the motion of the slider/pallet (not shown) interconnected to the ball screw (not shown) in the Z direction is translated into the carriage rollers 1221 and 1222 Corresponding movement in the Z direction. The motion of the short-stroke pad raising mechanism 440-A is more fully described with respect to FIGS. 12-13.

When the short-stroke pad raising mechanism 440-A is not engaged, it is in a neutral position and is configured to provide simultaneous movement of the base 140-A and the lift pad such that there is a gap between the lift pad and the base 140-A. There are no gaps. In this neutral position, upper hard stop 1210 and lower hard stop 1211 are disengaged (eg, not engaged with lever 1225 ), and lever 1225 is loosely restrained between carriage rollers 1221 and 1222 .

On the other hand, when the lift pad raising mechanism 440-A is engaged, the lift pad performs additional movement relative to the base 140-A to create a separation between the lift pad and the base 140-A. In particular, lever 1225 engages upper hard stop 1210 to induce movement of the lift pad relative to base 140-A, thereby providing rotation of the lift pad relative to base 140-A. In addition, lever 1225 engages lower hard stop 1211 to induce movement of the lift pad relative to base 140-A to allow entry of the end effector for wafer delivery. Additionally, the pivoting yoke 1240 is configured to counteract and/or cancel the moment applied to the upper and lower bearings of the pad shaft 560-A due to actuation of the lift pad raising mechanism 440-A. More particularly, the lift pad raising mechanism 440-A is configured to repeatedly separate the lift pad relative to the base 140-A in a manner that maximizes the life of each element. For example, a bearing assembly on pad shaft 560-A (eg, high temperature bearing assembly 755-B) would fail prematurely without any moment being counteracted or eliminated. In this regard, the yoke assemblies implemented within the lift pad raising mechanism 440-A are configured to counteract and/or cancel the moment applied to the bearings of the pad shaft 560-A due to the lift of the lift pad to increase the Wear is minimized.

12A is a perspective view of a short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-A of a substrate processing system including the lift pad and base configuration 1100 of FIGS. 11A-11B, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The lift pad and base configuration 1100 including the short stroke pad lift mechanism 440-A is configured to support lift pads substantially similar to the wafer size (eg, diameter), or smaller than the wafer size (eg, diameter).

In one embodiment, the lift pad raising mechanism 440-A shown in FIG. 12A is configured for raising the lift pad for rotation relative to the base 140-A by engagement with the upper hard stop 1210, and by Engagement with lower hard stop 1211 raises the lift pad relative to base 140-A for end effector access. In other embodiments, the lift pad and base configuration 1100 may be modified to provide one of a plurality of lift pad raising actions provided by the short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-A. For example, the lift pad raising mechanism 440-A may be modified to include only the upper hard stop 1210 provided for raising the lift pad for rotation relative to the base 140-A. In this case, a lift pin assembly may be configured within the lift pad and base arrangement 1100 to allow end effector access.

As shown in FIG. 12A, the lift pad and base arrangement 1100 is positioned within a main frame 1105, which is placed into the processing chamber (eg, secured within the processing chamber). The upper hard stop 1210 and the lower hard stop 1211 are fixed relative to the main frame 1105 . For example, the upper hard stop 1210 may be directly fixed to the main frame 1105 or fixed to the main frame 1105 through one or more intervening elements. In particular, main frame extension 1106 is attached to main frame 1105 , and both upper hard stop 1210 and lower hard stop 1211 are attached to main frame extension 1106 . In this way, the upper hard stop 1210 and the lower hard stop 1211 do not move relative to the main frame 1105 .

Lift pad and base configuration 1100 includes base bracket 1101 movably interconnected to main frame 1105 by a slider/pallet and ball screw/Z motor 445-A configuration, as previously described . For example, base bracket 1101 is attached to central axis 510-A of base 140-A (eg, by bellows 420-A) such that actuation by a ball screw/Z motor 445-A configuration is initiated Any movement of the base bracket 1101 is translated into movement of the base 140-A. Additionally, the slider 1235 is fixed relative to the base bracket 1101 . In this way, the slider 1235 moves together with the base bracket 1101 in the same linear Z direction.

The base bracket extensions 1231/1232 are fixed relative to the base bracket 1101. For example, the base bracket extensions 1231 / 1232 can be attached directly to the base bracket 1101 . Additionally, carrier rollers 1221 are attached to base carrier extensions 1231 . Also, the carriage roller 1222 is attached to the base carriage extension 1232 . In this way, the carriage rollers 1221/1222 move together with the base carriage 1101 in the same linear z-direction.

Lift pad and base configuration 1100 includes lift pad bracket 1230 movably attached to slider 1235 . Because the slider 1235 is fixed relative to the base bracket 1101, any motion of the base bracket 1101 is translated into the same movement of the slider 1235 in the linear z-direction. Furthermore, because the lift pad bracket 1230 is movably attached to the slider 1235, the lift pad bracket 1230 may have additional motion relative to the base bracket 1101 (eg, to create the lift pad separation from the base 140-A). The interface between base bracket 1101 , slider 1235 , and lift pad bracket 1230 will be more fully described with respect to FIG. 13 .

Lift pad and base configuration 1100 includes a yoke 1240 rotatably attached to lift pad bracket 1230 . When the short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-A is engaged (eg, lever 1225 is engaged with upper hard stop 1210 or lower hard stop 1211), yoke 1240 is connected to ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A via rollers 1255/1256 intermediary. The ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A first introduced in Figures 4 and 6 includes connector arms 1251/1252 disposed on opposite sides of the ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A. Roller 1255 is attached to one end of connector arm 1251 and roller 1256 is attached to one end of connector arm 1252 such that rollers 1255/1256 are disposed on opposite sides of ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A. When the pad raising mechanism 440-A is actuated to separate the lift pad from the base 140-A, the yoke 1240 is configured to counteract and/or cancel the moment applied to the pad shaft 560-A. The interface between the yoke and the ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A will be described more fully with respect to FIG. 13 .

Lift pad and base arrangement 1100 includes lever 1225 rotatably attached to lift pad bracket 1230 by pin 1226 . In this regard, any movement of pin 1226 will translate into similar movement of ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A relative to base 140-A and base bracket 1101. Movement of pin 1226 is induced by engagement between lever 1225 and upper hard stop 1210 or lower hard stop 1211, for example. Accordingly, any movement of pin 1226 translates into similar movement of pad shaft 560-A and the attached lift pad relative to base 140-A. The interface between pin 1226, lever 1225, lift pad bracket 1230, ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A, and pad shaft 560-A will be more fully described with respect to Figures 13 and 14A-14D.

12B is a diagram depicting the sequence of motion of the short-stroke pad raising mechanism 440-A of the lift pad and base configuration 1100 of FIGS. 11A-11B and 12A, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the short stroke pad raising mechanism 440-A may be implemented in a lift pad and pedestal configuration 1100 where the diameter of the lift pad is smaller than the wafer diameter, such that the lift pad may be raised to allow the lift pad to be relative to the pedestal 140- The rotation of A also provides lift of the lift pad to allow access of the end effector for wafer delivery. Also, in another embodiment, the short stroke pad raising mechanism 440-A may be implemented in a lift pad and base configuration 1100 where the lift pad is approximately the same diameter as the wafer diameter, such that the lift pad may be raised to allow for lift Rotation of the pad relative to base 140-A. In this case, wafer delivery can be accomplished by lift pin assemblies.

The lift pad and base configuration 1100 is shown in state 1203 with the short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-A tied in a neutral state. The short stroke pad raising mechanism 440-A when disengaged is in a neutral position and is configured to provide simultaneous movement of the base 140-A and the lift pad, wherein the lift pad utilizes the base referencing force (eg, during processing). about 1 pound, and about 15 pounds when the chamber is at atmosphere) and placed on the base 140-A so that there is no separation between the lift pad and the base 140-A. For example, the base reference force is applied in part by the weight of the pad shaft 560-A, and the ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A, and the spring (eg, the force exerted by its spring constant) such that when the pad is raised When the mechanism 440-A is in the neutral state, the lift pad is constantly referenced to the base 140-A. Because the theta motor 427-A is offset from the pad shaft 560-A, the spring 1411 is used to compensate and/or cancel any torque induced by the theta motor 427-A acting on the pad shaft 560-A.

More specifically, when the pad raising mechanism 440-A is in the neutral state, the lever 1225 rotationally attached to the pin 1226 is not engaged with the upper hard stop 1210 or the lower hard stop 1211, which is the upper hard stop Both 1210 or the lower hard stop 1211 are fixed relative to the main frame 1105. That is, lever 1225 is loosely constrained between carriage rollers 1221 and 1222, both of which are fixed relative to base carriage 1101 and also movably attached to the balls The slider/carrier of the screw moves together. In this regard, when the short stroke pad raising mechanism 440-A is tied in the neutral position, the pin 1226 moves with the base bracket 1101, and the movement of the base bracket 1101 by actuation of the Z motor 445-A and the ball screw Any movement is translated into simultaneous movement of the base 140-A and the lift pad. For example, when the base 140-A moves with the base bracket 1101 attached to the slider/carrier in response to the ball screw, the lift pad moves with the base 140-A because it is tethered to the base .

On the other hand, when the lift pad raising mechanism 440-A is engaged, the lift pad performs additional movement relative to the base 140-A to create a separation between the lift pad and the base 140-A. In particular, states 1204 and 1205 of the lift pad and base configuration 1100 show the engagement of an upper hard stop 1210 (eg, a roller) that separates the lift pad from the base 140-A to allow rotation of the lift pad. The states 1201 and 1202 of the lift pad and base configuration 1100 show the engagement of the lower hard stop 1211 (eg, a roller) that separates the lift pad from the base 140-A to allow the arm of the end effector to enter for wafer delivery.

In state 1204 of the lift pad and base configuration 1100 , the short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440 -A begins to engage the upper hard stop 1210 . Specifically, the base bracket 1101 is near the highest point it travels upwards in the z-direction. As shown, the lift pad and base arrangement 1100 approaches its uppermost position as it travels upward in the z-direction relative to the main frame 1105 . That is, as base 140-A and base bracket 1101 move upward (eg, base 140-A approaches its uppermost position), lever 1225 begins to engage upper hard stop 1210. In this regard, the pad raising mechanism 440-A is about to or beginning to leave the neutral state.

In state 1205, the lift pad and base configuration 1100 is configured to raise the lift pad (eg, about 1 mm) by upward movement of the base to create a separation between the lift pad and base 140-A to allow the lift pad to be raised by an upward movement of the base (eg, about 1 mm). Rotation of the lift pad for actuation of the short stroke pad lift mechanism 440-A. In particular, the short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-A is fully engaged with the upper hard stop 1210. That is, the base 140-A and the base bracket 1101 continue to move upward until the base bracket 1101 reaches its highest position. In this case, the lever 1225 is fully engaged with the upper hard stop 1210 and the lever 1225 is fully rotated about the pin 1226. That is, the upper hard stop 1210 applies a downward force to the lever 1225 and the carriage roller 1222 applies an upward force to the lever 1225, causing the lever 1225 to rotate (eg, clockwise) about the pin 1226. Because the lever train is rotationally fixed to pin 1226 and the pin train is movably attached to slider 1235 (fixed relative to base bracket 1101), the rotation of lever 1225 translates into pin 1226 relative to base 140-A and the base bracket Linear motion (z-direction) of 1101. Also, because the resulting force (from the interaction of the lever with upper hard stop 1210 and carriage roller 1222) is relatively close to pin 1226, the linear motion of pin 1226 is small (eg, about 1 mm). Additionally, the linear motion of pin 1226 translates into linear motion of pad shaft 560-A through interaction with yoke 1240 and ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A to create spacing between lift pad and base 140-A, such as This is more fully described with respect to Figures 14A-14D.

In state 1201 of the lift pad and base configuration 1100, the short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-A begins to engage the lower hard stop 1211. Specifically, the base bracket 1101 is near the bottommost point where it travels downward in the z-direction. As shown, the lift pad and base arrangement 1100 approaches its bottommost position as it travels downward in the z-direction relative to the main frame 1105 . That is, as the base 140-A and base bracket 1101 move downward (eg, the base 140-A approaches its bottommost position), the lever 1225 begins to engage the lower hard stop 1211. In this regard, the pad raising mechanism 440-A will or begin to leave the neutral state.

In state 1202, the lift pad and base configuration 1100 is configured to raise the lift pad (eg, about 14-18 mm) by downward movement of the base to create a separation between the lift pad and base 140-A, To facilitate entry of the end effector by actuation of the short stroke pad raising mechanism 440-A for wafer delivery. In particular, the short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-A is fully engaged with the lower hard stop 1211. That is, the base 140-A and the base bracket 1101 continue to move downward until the base bracket 1101 reaches its bottommost position. In this case, the lever 1225 is fully engaged with the lower hard stop 1211 and the lever 1225 is fully rotated about the pin 1226. That is, the lower hard stop 1211 applies an upward force to the lever 1225 and the carriage roller 1221 applies a downward force to the lever 1225 to cause the lever 1225 to rotate (eg, clockwise) about the pin 1226 . Because the lever train is rotationally fixed to pin 1226 and the pin train is movably attached to slider 1235 (fixed relative to base bracket 1101), the rotation of lever 1225 translates into pin 1226 relative to base 140-A and the base bracket Linear motion (z-direction) of 1101. Because the resulting force (from the interaction of the lever with the lower hard stop 1211 and carriage roller 1221) is relatively far from the pin 1226, the linear motion of the pin 1226 is significant (eg, about 14-18 mm). In addition, the linear motion of pin 1226 is translated into linear motion of pad shaft 560-A by interaction with yoke 1240 and ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A to create spacing between lift pad and base 140-A, As will be described more fully with respect to Figures 14A-14D.

13 is a perspective view of the short-stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-A of FIG. 12A, and more particularly showing the slider 1235 and the yoke 1240 that provides movement of the lift pad relative to the base 140-A, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure interface between. In particular, slider 1235 is fixed relative to base bracket 1101. For example, slider 1235 may be attached directly to base bracket 1101 , or by one or more intervening elements, such as by base bracket extension 1233 directly attachable to base bracket 1101 . Base bracket 1101. In this regard, any linear movement of the base bracket 1101 (eg, in the z-direction) translates into similar movement of the slider 1235 (eg, in the z-direction).

Additionally, the lift pad bracket 1230 is movably attached to the slider 1235 . When the short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-A is tied in its neutral state, the lift pad bracket 1230 moves with the slider 1235 so that no relative motion is experienced between the lift pad bracket 1230 and the base bracket 1101 . In this regard, any linear movement of the base bracket 1101 (eg, in the z-direction) is translated into similar movement of the lift pad bracket 1230 (eg, in the z-direction). On the other hand, when the pad raising mechanism 440-A is engaged with the upper hard stop 1210 or the lower hard stop 1211, the lift pad bracket moves upward relative to the base bracket 1101 by the action of the slider 1235. Also, FIG. 13 depicts yoke 1240 rotatably attached to lift pad bracket 1230 by pin 1227 .

14A is a perspective view of the lift pad raising mechanism 440-A of FIG. 12A, and more particularly showing the yoke 1240 and the ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A that provides movement of the lift pad relative to the base, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure interface between. In particular, yoke 1240 is rotatably attached to lift pad bracket 1230 by pin 1227 . Yoke 1240 is configured to interface with ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A. In this regard, any linear motion of pin 1226 is translated to lift pad bracket 1230 as previously described, further translated to yoke 1240 by pin 1227, and further translated to ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A. In particular, any linear motion of yoke 1240 is further translated into similar linear motion of pad shaft 560-A and lift pad by ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A.

14B is a perspective view of yoke 1240 interfacing with ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Yoke 1240 is rotatably attached to lift pad bracket 1230 by pins 1247 . As shown, yoke base 1245 is rotatably attached to lift pad bracket 1230 . Yoke arms 1246 extend from yoke base 1245 . In addition, both the yoke extension 1241 and the yoke extension 1242 extend from the yoke arm 1246 . More specifically, Figure 14B depicts the extension of the yoke yoke assembly of the ferromagnetic seal assembly of the lift pad raising mechanism 440-A of Figure 13A that provides movement of the lift pad relative to the base 140-A, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure The interface between the parts 1241/1242 and the connector arms 1251/1252. In particular, upward movement of yoke 1240 engages yoke fork extensions 1241/1242 with rollers 1255/1256. That is, the yoke extension 1241 engages the roller 1255 attached to the ferromagnetic seal connector arm 1251 and the yoke extension 1242 engages the roller 1256 attached to the ferromagnetic seal connector arm 1252 . Because the pins 1226 are fixed relative to the yoke 1240, and the yoke 1240 is through the ferromagnetic seal assembly when the pad raising mechanism 440-A is engaged (eg, by the engagement of the yoke yoke extensions 1241/1242 with the rollers 1255/1256) 425-A is fixed relative to pad shaft 560-A, so when pin 1226 experiences linear motion in the z-direction relative to base 140-A and base bracket 1101 (eg when lever 1225 interacts with upper hard stop 1210 or When the lower hard stop 1211 is engaged), this translates into linear motion of the pad shaft 560-A in the z-direction to create a separation between the lift pad and the base 140-A.

In addition, the pivoting yoke 1240 is configured to counteract and/or cancel the moment applied to the upper and lower bearings of the pad shaft 560-A due to actuation of the lift pad raising mechanism 440-A. In particular, yoke 1240 pivots about pin 1247 and is configured to balance forces along central axis 471-A of travel such that no or insignificant moments are applied to the upper and lower bearings of pad shaft 560-A. That is, by means of the contact system of the yoke 1240 via the fork extensions 1241/1242 to counteract and/or cancel the moment applied to the upper and lower bearings of the pad shaft 560-A, equal forces are used on the rollers 1255/1255/ 1256, the rollers 1255/1256 are fixed relative to the ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A via the respective connector arms 1251/1252.

14C is a perspective view of a clamping mechanism that provides a connection between the elements of the ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A and the pad shaft 560-A extending from the lift pad, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In this regard, any linear motion (eg, in the z-direction) of the ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A is translated into similar linear motion (eg, in the z-direction) of the lift pad. In particular, the bottom of the ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A includes a disk 1440 and a clamp 1430 extending from the disk 1440. Clamp 1430 is clamped to pad shaft 560-A such that any rotation of disk 1440 is translated into rotation of pad shaft 560-A. For example, rotation of disk 1440 is accomplished via belt-pulley 1420 motion as provided by theta motor 427-A. 14D is a perspective view of the clamp 1430 of FIG. 14C with the disk 1440 and clamp 1430 securely attached to the pad shaft 560-A by the clamping mechanism provided by the clamp 1430, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

15A is a perspective view of a substrate processing system including a lift pad and pedestal configuration 1500 with lift pin assemblies (not shown) providing wafer delivery, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 15A depicts another short stroke pad raising mechanism 440-B that provides lift of the lift pad relative to the base by upward movement of the base to allow rotation of the lift pad, wherein the lift pad can substantially Similar in size to a wafer or smaller than a wafer.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the short-stroke pad raising mechanism 440-B is configured to separate a lift pad (not shown) from the base 140-A. The lift pad and base arrangement 1500 is positioned within the main frame 1105, which is placed into the processing chamber (eg, secured within the processing chamber). The movement of the base 140-A is provided in relation to the main frame, and the movement of the lifting pad is relative to the main frame 1105 (eg, the lifting pad moves with the base bracket 1101) and the base 140-A (the lifting pad and the base 140-A move together) separately) both are provided. The lift pads may be spaced apart from the base 140-A for purposes of rotating the lift pads (and wafers disposed thereon) relative to the base 140-A.

The base 140-A of the lift pad and base arrangement 1500 can be controlled by the base controls 450 of FIGS. 4 and 6 such that the movement of the base 140-A is by the base and lift pad actuator 515 of FIG. 5B and/or the movement of the base 140-A. Base and lift pad actuator 515' of 7B-7C is implemented. The lift pads of lift pad and base arrangement 1500 can be controlled by lift pad control 455 of FIGS. 4 and 6 such that movement of the lift pads is via base and lift pad actuators 515 of FIG. 5B and/or FIGS. 7B-7C The base and lift pad actuator 515' is implemented.

15B is a perspective view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 15A including a lift pad and base configuration 1500, and depicts elements of a short stroke pad lift mechanism 440-B, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In particular, the pad raising mechanism 440-B includes a base support roller 1521 fixed with respect to the base bracket 1101. Additionally, lever 1525 is rotatably attached to ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A by pin 1526, such as by connector arms 1251/1252. Pad raising mechanisms 440-B are included on opposite sides of the ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A and function together as two levers 1525 that raise the ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A relative to the base bracket 1101.

Figure 15C is a perspective view of the lift pad raising mechanism 440-B of Figure 15A, and more particularly showing one of the levers 1525 and the iron that provides the movement of the lift pad relative to the base 140-A, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure Interface between magnetic seal assemblies 425-A. In particular, the pad raising mechanism 440-B includes a hard stop 1510 attached to the main frame 1105. As the base bracket 1101 moves upward relative to the main frame 1105, the lever 1525 also moves with the base bracket 1101 until it engages the hard stop 1510. When the lever 1525 is engaged with the hard stop 1510, the lever 1525 rotates about the pin 1526 and causes linear movement of the pin 1526 relative to the base bracket 1101 (eg, in the z-direction). For example, lever 1525 experiences forces due to hard stop 1510 and base support roller 1521 . Because pin 1526 is fixed relative to ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A, linear motion of pin 1526 translates into similar linear motion of ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A and corresponding pad shaft 560-A. In this regard, when the pad raising mechanism 440-B is engaged with the hard stop 1510, the lift pad is separated from the base 140-A for purposes of its rotation relative to the base 140-A.

Figure 15D is a perspective view of the lift pad raising mechanism 440-B of Figure 15A, and more particularly showing the interface between the yoke 1540 and the base bracket 1101 that provides movement of the lift pad relative to the base, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure . As shown, yoke 1540 is rotatably attached to base bracket 1101 . The yoke 1540 provides a balanced force to the ferromagnetic seal connector arms 1251/1252. That is, the yoke 1540 balances the forces by its rotation to exert equal forces on either side of the ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A. In this regard, there is no moment or insignificant moment (eg, no effective radial force on the bearing) exerted on the pad shaft 560-A by any actuation of the pad raising mechanism 440-B.

16A is a diagram depicting the motion of the lift pad raising mechanism 440-B of FIG. 15A at a point in time just before separating the lift pad from the base, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, in the lift pad and base configuration 1500, the short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-B is beginning to engage the hard stop 1510. Specifically, the base bracket 1101 is near the highest point it travels upwards in the z-direction. As shown, the lift pad and base arrangement 1500 approaches its uppermost position when traveling upward in the z-direction with respect to the main frame 1105 . That is, as base 140-A and base bracket 1101 move upward (eg, base 140-A approaches its uppermost position), lever 1525 begins to engage hard stop 1510. In this regard, the pad raising mechanism 440-B is about to or beginning to leave the neutral state. At this point in time, the lift pad 630-A is placed on the base 140-A. For example, the reference base MCA 595-A is still in contact with the lift pad 630-A.

16B is a diagram depicting the movement of the lift pad raising mechanism 440-B of FIG. 15A at a point in time after the lift pad 630-A is separated from the base 140-A, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Lift pad and base configuration 1500 is configured to raise lift pad 630-A (eg, about 1 mm) by upward movement of base 140-A to create a separation between lift pad 630-A and base 140-A, To allow rotation of lift pad 630-A by actuation of short stroke pad lift mechanism 440-B. In particular, the short stroke lift pad raising mechanism 440-B is fully engaged with the hard stop 1510. That is, the base 140-A and the base bracket 1101 continue to move upward until the base bracket 1101 reaches its highest position. In this case, the lever 1525 is fully engaged with the hard stop 1510 and the lever 1525 is fully rotated about the pin 1526. That is, the hard stop 1510 applies a downward force to the lever 1525, while the base support roller 1521 applies an upward force to the lever 1525, causing the lever 1525 to rotate (eg, clockwise) about the pin 1526. Because the lever is rotationally fixed to pin 1526, and pin 1526 is movably attached to slide 1531 (fixed relative to base bracket 1101), the rotation of lever 1525 translates into pin 1526 relative to base 140-A and base Linear movement of carriage 1101 (z-direction). In addition, linear motion of pin 1526 is translated into linear motion of pad shaft 560-A through ferromagnetic seal assembly 425-A to create a separation between lift pad and base 140-A.

17A is a diagram depicting the lift pad and base arrangement 1100 of FIGS. 11-14 and a high temperature bearing assembly 755-A suitable for use in the lift pad and base arrangement 1500 of FIGS. 15-16 in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. A high temperature bearing assembly 755-A is first described in relation to Figure 7D. While FIG. 17A is described with respect to a small lift pad 630-A having a diameter smaller than the wafer diameter, the high temperature bearing assembly 755-A is implemented using lift pads having a diameter substantially similar to the wafer diameter. In an embodiment, the high temperature bearing assembly 755-A is configured to operate in a high temperature environment, such as a chamber above 300 degrees Celsius.

The high temperature bearing assembly 755-A of FIG. 17A is similar in configuration to the high temperature bearing assembly 755-B of FIGS. 16A-16B and the high temperature bearing assembly 755 of FIG. 7D, except for the length of the inner sapphire bushing 1724. In particular, the length of the inner sapphire bushing 1724 of FIG. 17A is configured to accommodate the spacing of the lift pads from the base 140-A for purposes of rotating the lift pad (and wafer disposed thereon) relative to the base 140-A, and To allow access of end effectors for wafer delivery purposes such as placing or removing wafers from lift pads. The travel of the lift pad relative to the rotation of the base 140-A is about 1 mm, and the travel of the lift pad for the passage of the end effector is about 14-18 mm. In this regard, the length L of the high temperature bearing assembly 755-A of Figure 17A is configured to accommodate the longer travel of the lift pads for the end effector passage. On the other hand, the high temperature bearing assembly 755-B of FIGS. 16A-16B is configured to accommodate only the lift pad spacing from the base 140-A for the purpose of rotating the lift pad (and the wafers disposed thereon) relative to the base 140-A . For example, lift pin assemblies are provided for access to the end effector. In this regard, the length of the high temperature bearing assembly 755-B need not accommodate the longer travel of the lift pads for the end effector passage, and is much shorter than the length of the high temperature bearing assembly 755-A. The description provided for high temperature bearing assembly 755-A applies to each of the high temperature bearing assemblies described throughout this application.

Furthermore, the previously described configuration of the lift pad raising mechanism 440-A produces no moment or insignificant moment (eg, radial force) on the high temperature bearing assembly 755-A (eg, A hot high temperature bearing assembly). Specifically, when the lift pad raising mechanism 440-A raises the pad shaft 560-A to separate the lift pad 630-A from the base 140-A, no significant or no moment is applied to the high temperature bearing assembly on the 755-A.

As shown in Figure 17A, the high temperature bearing assembly 755-A includes an outer stack on the inner wall of the central shaft 510-A of the base 140-A, and an inner stack on the outer diameter of the pad shaft 560-A.

In particular, the inner stack includes a retaining/retaining ring 1720 , a load distribution washer 1721 , a spring wave washer 1722 , a load centering and distribution washer 1723 , and an inner sapphire bushing 1724 . The inner sapphire bushing 1724 has a top edge surface 1791 and a bottom edge surface 1792, wherein the two surfaces have conical, angled, or push-pull surfaces. In one embodiment, Figure 17D shows an inner sapphire bushing 1724 having the annular shape of the high temperature bearing assembly 755-A. In this regard, the inner sapphire bushing 1724 has a conical cross-section. Additionally, the load centering and distribution washer 1723 has wedge-shaped, conical, angled, or push-pull surfaces. The conical surfaces for load centering and distribution washer 1723 and inner sapphire bushing 1724 facilitate centering of pad shaft 560-A within central shaft 510-A.

Additionally, the outer stack includes a retaining/retaining ring 1710 , a load distribution washer 1711 , a spring wave washer 1712 , a load centering and distribution washer 1713 , and an outer sapphire bushing 1714 . The outer sapphire bushing 1714 has a top edge surface 1781 and a bottom edge surface 1782, wherein the two surfaces have conical, angled, or push-pull surfaces. Figure 17C shows the outer sapphire bushing 1714 having the annular shape of the high temperature bearing assembly 755-A, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In this regard, the outer sapphire bushing 1714 has a conical cross-section. Additionally, the load centering and distribution washer 1713 has wedge-shaped, conical, angled, or push-pull surfaces. The conical surfaces for load centering and distribution washer 1713 and outer sapphire bushing 1714 facilitate centering of pad shaft 560-A within central shaft 510-A. The outer sapphire bushing 1714 is configured to contact (eg, rub) the inner sapphire bushing 1724 when the lift pad 630-A is separated from the base 140-A.

The lift pad and base configuration shown in FIG. 17A includes centering chamfers 1751/1752 configured together to support the high temperature bearing assembly. For example, the centering chamfer 1751 is located on the inner wall of the center shaft 510-A, and can provide a securing capability to stack and hold the high temperature bearing assembly 755-A within the center shaft 510-A outside the stack. Additionally, the centering chamfer 1752 is tethered to the outer diameter of the pad shaft 560-A and can provide a securement capability for stacking and retaining the high temperature bearing assembly 755-A within the pad shaft 560-A.

High temperature bearing assembly 755-A is configured to provide constant centering of pad shaft 560-A within central shaft 510-A during operation (eg, rotation, lift, movement, etc.) of pad shaft 560-A. Additionally, the high temperature bearing assembly 755-A is configured to provide constant centering when exposed to changing temperatures. That is, the high temperature bearing assembly 755-A can tolerate different thermal expansion rates between the base 140-A and the pad shaft 560-A and other components. For example, the sapphire composition of the inner sapphire bushing 1724 and outer sapphire bushing 1714 within the high temperature bearing assembly 755-A allows for a thermal mismatch between the pad shaft 560-A and the base 140-A to provide at the base 140 - Constant centering of pad shaft 560-A within central shaft 510-A of A. More specifically, due to thermal expansion, the inner and outer stacked metal elements provide a preload force causing the corresponding conical elements (eg gaskets and bushings) to remain centered.

17B is a perspective view of the high temperature bearing assembly 775-A of FIG. 17A, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In particular, the inner stack of high temperature bearing assemblies 755-A disposed on the outer diameter of the pad shaft 560-A is shown. The inner stack includes retaining/retaining rings 1720 , load distribution washers 1721 , spring wave washers 1722 , load centering and distribution washers 1723 , and inner sapphire bushings 1724 . Additionally, the chamfer 1752 is shown on the inner sapphire bushing 1724.

In one embodiment, the wave washer 1722 in the inner stack has three points of contact to facilitate the load distribution washer 1721 to evenly distribute the force throughout the snap ring 1720 . Additionally, the wave washer 1712 in the outer stack has three points of contact to facilitate the load distribution washer 1711 to evenly distribute the force throughout the snap ring 1710 .

FIG. 18 shows a control module 1800 for controlling the system described above. In one embodiment, the control module 110 of FIG. 1 may include some example elements of the control module 1800 . For example, control module 1800 may include a processor, memory, and one or more interfaces. The control module 1800 may be used to control devices within the system based in part on the sensed values. For example only, the control module 1800 may control one or more valves 1802, filter heaters 1804, pumps 1806, and other devices 1808 based on sensed values and other control parameters. For example only, control module 1800 receives sensed values from pressure gauge 1810 , flow meter 1812 , temperature sensor 1814 , and/or other sensors 1816 . The control module 1800 can also be used to control process conditions during precursor delivery and deposition of the film. Control module 1800 generally includes one or more memory devices and one or more processors.

The control module 1800 can control the activity of the precursor delivery system and deposition equipment. The control module 1800 executes a computer program that includes a set of instructions for controlling: process timing, temperature of the delivery system, and differential pressure across filters, valve positions, mixing of gases, chamber pressure, chamber temperature , substrate temperature, RF power levels, substrate chuck or base position, and other process-specific parameters. The control module 1800 can also monitor the differential pressure and automatically switch the delivery of the gaseous precursor from one or more paths to one or more other paths. Other computer programs stored in the memory device associated with the control module 1800 may be used in some embodiments.

Typically there will be a user interface for the control module 1800 . The user interface may include a display 1818 (eg, a display screen and/or a graphical software display of equipment and/or process conditions), and user input devices 1820 (eg, a pointing device, keyboard, touch screen, microphone, etc.).

Computer programs that control the delivery, deposition, and other processes of precursors in the processing sequence can be written in any conventional computer-readable programming language: e.g., assembly language, C, C++, Pascal, Fortran language, or otherwise. The compiled object code or script is executed by the processor to perform the tasks identified in the program.

The control module parameters are related to process conditions such as: filter differential pressure, process gas composition and flow rate, temperature, pressure, plasma conditions (such as RF power level and low frequency RF frequency), cooling gas pressure, and chamber wall temperature.

System software can be designed or configured in many different ways. For example, subroutines or control objects for various chamber elements can be written to control the operation of the chamber elements necessary to perform the deposition process of the present invention. Examples of programs or portions of programs for this purpose include substrate positioning codes, process gas control codes, pressure control codes, heater control codes, and plasma control codes.

Substrate positioning routines may include code that controls chamber elements for loading substrates onto pedestals or chucks, and for controlling movement between substrates and other parts of the chamber, such as gas inlets and/or objects spacing. The process gas control program may include code for controlling gas composition and flow rate, and optionally for flowing gas into the chamber to stabilize the gas pressure within the chamber prior to deposition. The filter monitoring program includes code for comparing the measured differential pressure to a predetermined value, and/or code for switching paths. The pressure control program may include code for controlling the pressure in the chamber by adjusting, for example, a throttle valve in the chamber exhaust system. The heater control program may include code that controls the flow of electrical current to the heating unit for heating components within the precursor delivery system, substrates and/or other parts of the system. Alternatively, the heater control program may control the delivery of a heat transfer gas, such as helium, to the substrate chuck.

Examples of sensors that can be monitored during deposition include, but are not limited to, mass flow control modules, pressure sensors (such as pressure gauge 1810), and thermocouples (eg, temperature) located within the delivery system, mount, or chuck. sensor 1814/607). Appropriately programmed feedback and control algorithms can be used with data from these sensors to maintain desired process conditions. The foregoing describes implementation of embodiments of the present disclosure within a single or multi-chamber semiconductor processing tool.

In some implementations, the controller is part of a system, which may be part of the above example. Such systems may include semiconductor processing equipment including a processing tool or tools, a chamber or chambers, a platform or platforms for processing, and/or specific processing elements (substrate pedestals, gas flow systems, etc.). These systems may be integrated with electronic equipment used to control the operation of these systems before, during, and after semiconductor wafer or substrate processing. Electronic devices may be referred to as "controllers" that control elements or subsections of a system or systems. Depending on the processing needs and/or type of system, the controller may be programmed to control any of the processes disclosed herein, including: delivery of process gases, temperature settings (eg, heating and/or cooling), pressure settings, vacuum settings, power settings , radio frequency (RF) generator settings, RF matching circuit settings, frequency settings, flow rate settings, fluid delivery settings, location and operation settings, access to a tool and other transfer tools and/or load locks for connection or interface with specific systems Part of the substrate transfer.

Broadly speaking, a controller can be defined as an electronic device having numerous integrated circuits, logic, memory, and/or software that receive commands, issue commands, control operations, enable cleaning operations, enable endpoint measurements, and the like. An integrated circuit may include a chip in the form of firmware that stores program instructions, a digital signal processor (DSP), a chip defined as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and/or one or more chips that execute program instructions (eg, software). Multiple microprocessors or microcontrollers. Program commands may be commands that communicate with the controller in the form of individual settings (or program files) that define operating parameters for the execution of a particular process on a semiconductor substrate or system. In some embodiments, the operating parameters may be part of a recipe defined by a process engineer for one or more layers, materials, metals, oxides, silicon, silicon dioxide, surfaces, circuits, and/or crystals One or more processing steps are completed during die fabrication of the circle.

In some embodiments, the controller may be part of or coupled to a computer that is integrated with the system, coupled to the system, otherwise networked to the system, or a combination thereof. For example, the controller may be in the "cloud" of all or part of the fab's host computer system, allowing remote access to substrate processing. The computer may allow remote access to the system to monitor the current progress of manufacturing operations, examine the history of past manufacturing operations, examine trends or performance metrics from multiple manufacturing operations, to change the parameters of the current process, to set the current operation after the current operation. process steps, or start a new process. In some examples, a remote computer (eg, a server) may provide recipes to the system via a network, which may include a local area network or the Internet.

The remote computer may include a user interface that allows entry or programming of parameters and/or settings, which are then passed from the remote computer to the system. In some examples, the controller receives instructions in the form of data that explicitly specifies parameters for various processing steps to be performed during one or more operations. It should be understood that parameters may be specific to the type of process to be performed and the type of tool to which the controller is interfaced or controlled by the configuration. Thus, as described above, a controller may be distributed, such as by including one or more distributed controllers linked together by a network and directed toward a common purpose (such as the process and control described herein) Operation. An example of a distributed controller for such purposes would be one or more integrated circuits in a chamber that communicate with one or more circuits located remotely (such as at the platform level or as part of a remote computer). The bulk circuit is combined to control the process in the chamber.

Without limitation, example systems may include plasma etch chambers or modules, deposition chambers or modules, spin-rinse chambers or modules, metal plating chambers or modules, cleaning chambers or modules, Bevel Etching Chamber or Module, Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) Chamber or Module, Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Chamber or Module, Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) Chamber or Module, Atomic Layer Etching (ALE) chambers or modules, ion implantation chambers or modules, orbital chambers or modules, and any other semiconductor processing system that may be associated or used in the fabrication and/or production of semiconductor wafers.

As mentioned above, depending on the process step or process steps to be performed by the tool, the controller may communicate with more than one of the following: other tool circuits or modules, other tool components, group tools, other tool interfaces, adjacent tools, phase Adjacent tools, tools located throughout the fab, host computer, another controller, or tools for material transfer that carry containers of wafers into and out of tool locations within a semiconductor production fab and/or or load side.

The foregoing descriptions of the embodiments have been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, under appropriate circumstances, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The elements or features described above can also be varied in many ways. Such changes are not considered to be a departure from this disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure.

Although the above-described embodiments have been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that several changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and such embodiments are not limited to the details provided herein, but may be modified within the scope of the claims and equivalents.

100‧‧‧Reactor System/Substrate Processing System 101‧‧‧Wafer 102‧‧‧Chamber 102a‧‧‧Upper Chamber Part 102b‧‧‧Lower Chamber Part 104‧‧‧Power Supply 106‧‧‧Matching Network 108 ‧‧‧Process Input and Control 110‧‧‧Control Module 112‧‧‧Gas Supply Manifold 114‧‧‧Process Gas 120‧‧‧Elevator Pin Actuator Ring 122‧‧‧Elevator Pin Control 140‧‧‧Base 140'‧‧‧Base 140''‧‧‧Base 140'''‧‧‧Base 140a'‧‧‧Part 140a''‧‧‧Part 140b'‧‧‧Part 140b''‧‧‧Part 140c'‧ ‧‧Part 140-A‧‧‧Base 150‧‧‧Sprinkler 180‧‧‧Spider Fork 200‧‧‧Carrier Ring 220‧‧‧Joining and Rotating Mechanism 226‧‧‧Spider Fork 300‧‧‧Multi-station Processing Tool 302‧‧‧Inbound Load Lock 304‧‧‧Outbound Load Lock 306‧‧‧Robot 308‧‧‧Wafer Cassette 310‧‧‧Atmosphere Port 316‧‧‧Chamber Transfer Port 318‧‧ ‧Substrate bracket 400‧‧‧Lifting pad and base configuration 415‧‧‧Lifting pin assembly 420‧‧‧Retractable capsule 420'‧‧‧Retractable capsule 420-A‧‧‧Retractable capsule 425‧‧‧Ferrous magnetic seal 425' ‧‧‧Ferro Magnetic Seal 425-A‧‧‧Ferro Magnetic Seal Assembly 427‧‧‧Rotary Motor 427-A‧‧‧Rotation/Theta Motor 430‧‧‧Lifting Pad 435‧‧‧Compliant Shaft/Flex Sex Coupler 437‧‧‧Ball Screw 440‧‧‧Short Stroke Coupling Mechanism 440-A‧‧‧Pad Raising Mechanism/Short Stroke Coupling Mechanism 440-B‧‧‧Pad Raising Mechanism 443‧‧‧Ball Screw 445‧‧‧Z Motor 445'‧‧‧Z Motor 445-A‧‧‧Z Motor 450‧‧‧Base Control 455‧‧‧Lifting Pad Control 470‧‧‧Heating Element 470'‧‧‧Heating Element 471 ‧‧‧Central axis 471'‧‧‧Central axis 471-A‧‧‧Central axis 480‧‧‧Cooling element 500B‧‧‧Assembly 509‧‧‧Outer edge 510'‧‧‧Central axis 510''‧‧‧ Center Shaft 510-A‧‧‧Centre Shaft 515‧‧‧Actuator 515'‧‧‧Actuator 518‧‧‧Base Shaft 518'‧‧‧Base Shaft 519‧‧‧Pad Shaft 533‧‧‧Top Surface 543‧‧‧Bottom surface 550‧‧‧Elevator pin actuator 550'‧‧‧Elevator pin actuator 555‧‧‧Elevator pin support 555'‧‧‧Elevator pin support 557‧‧‧Elevator pin 557' ‧‧‧Elevator Pin 560‧‧‧Pad Shaft 560'‧‧‧Pad Shaft 560-A‧‧‧Pad Shaft 570‧‧‧ESC/ESC Assembly 575‧‧‧Pad Top Surface 577‧‧‧Pad Diameter 590‧‧ ‧Wafer 595‧‧‧Pad Support 595-A‧‧‧MCA600‧‧‧Lifting Pad and Base Configuration 600'‧‧ ‧Lifting Pad and Base Configuration 603‧‧‧Slider 605‧‧‧Leg 607‧‧‧Thermocouple 630‧‧‧Lifting Pad 630-A‧‧‧Lifting Pad 631‧‧‧Top Surface 632‧‧‧Bottom Surface 700B‧‧‧Component 700C‧‧‧Component 705‧‧‧Recess 706‧‧‧Recess Bottom Surface 710‧‧‧Edge 720‧‧‧Top Surface 740‧‧‧Sapphire Ball/MCA745‧‧‧Sapphire Ball/MCA755‧‧ ‧High Temperature Bearing 755-A‧‧‧Bearing Assembly 755-B‧‧‧High Temperature Bearing Assembly 760‧‧‧Wafer Holder 775‧‧‧Lifting Pad Top Surface 777‧‧‧Pad Diameter 800‧‧‧Flowchart 805‧ ‧‧Operation 810‧‧‧Operation 820‧‧‧Operation 825‧‧‧Operation 830‧‧‧Operation 840‧‧‧Operation 845‧‧‧Operation 850‧‧‧Operation 855‧‧‧Operation 860‧‧‧Operation 901‧ ‧‧Line 902‧‧‧Line 903‧‧‧Line 904‧‧‧Line 940‧‧‧Rotation Displacement 950‧‧‧Coordinate System 969‧‧‧Displacement 1040‧‧‧Rotation Displacement 1050‧‧‧Coordinate System 1100‧‧ ‧Lifting pad and base configuration 1101‧‧‧Base bracket 1105‧‧‧Main frame 1106‧‧‧Main frame extension 1120‧‧‧Lower bearing assembly 1125‧‧‧Electrical slip ring 1201‧‧‧Condition 1202‧‧‧ Status 1203‧‧‧Status 1204‧‧‧Status 1205‧‧‧Status 1210‧‧‧Upper Hard Stop 1211‧‧‧Lower Hard Stop 1221‧‧‧Bracket Roller 1222‧‧‧Bracket Roller 1225‧‧‧ Lever 1226‧‧‧Pin 1227‧‧‧Pin 1230‧‧‧Lifting Pad Bracket 1231‧‧‧Sled Bracket Extension 1232‧‧‧Sled Bracket Extension 1233‧‧‧Sled Bracket Extension 1235‧‧‧ Slider 1240‧‧‧Yoke 1241‧‧‧Yoke Extension/Yoke Extension 1242‧‧‧Yoke Yoke Extension/Yoke Extension 1245‧‧‧Yoke Base 1246‧‧‧Yoke Arm 1247‧‧‧ Pin 1251‧‧‧Connector Arm 1252‧‧‧Connector Arm 1255‧‧‧Roller 1256‧‧‧Roller 1411‧‧‧Spring 1420‧‧‧Belt-Pulley 1430‧‧‧Clamp 1440‧‧‧Disk 1500‧‧ ‧Lifting Pad and Base Configuration 1510‧‧‧Hard Stop 1521‧‧‧Base Support Roller 1525‧‧‧Lever 1526‧‧‧Pin 1531‧‧‧Slider 1540‧‧‧Yoke 1710‧‧‧Fixing/Catching Ring 1711 ‧‧‧Load sharing washer 1712‧‧‧Wave washer 1713‧‧‧Load centering and distribution washer 1714‧‧‧Outer sapphire bushing 1720‧‧‧Retaining/retaining ring 1721‧‧‧Load sharing washer 1722‧‧‧Wave Washer 1723‧‧‧Load Centering and Distribution Washer 1724‧‧‧Inner Sapphire Bushing 175 1‧‧‧Chamfer 1752‧‧‧Chamfer 1781‧‧‧Top edge surface 1782‧‧‧Bottom edge surface 1791‧‧‧Top edge surface 1792‧‧‧Bottom edge surface 1800‧‧‧Control module 1802‧‧ ‧Valve 1804‧‧‧Filter heater 1806‧‧‧Pump 1808‧‧‧Other devices 1810‧‧‧Pressure gauge 1812‧‧‧Flowmeter 1814‧‧‧Temperature sensor 1816‧‧‧Other sensor 1818 ‧‧‧Display 1820‧‧‧Input Device

These embodiments can be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a substrate processing system for processing wafers to form films thereon, for example.

2 illustrates a top view of a multi-station processing tool in which four processing stations are provided, according to an embodiment.

3 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a multi-station processing tool having an inbound load lock and an outbound load lock, according to an embodiment.

4 depicts a substrate processing system including a lift pad and pedestal configuration, wherein the lift pad is sized approximately to match the wafer, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

5A is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 4 in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

5B is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 4 showing a lifter pad and pedestal configuration, wherein the lifter pad is sized approximately to match the wafer, and wherein the pedestal and lifter pad are attached to allow The height the lift pins extend for wafer delivery purposes.

5C is a diagram of an interface between a lift pad and a base including a pad gap setting minimum contact area (MCA) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

6 depicts a substrate processing system including a lift pad and pedestal configuration, wherein the lift pad is smaller than the wafer, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

7A is a perspective view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 6 including a lift pad and base configuration, wherein the lift pad is smaller than the wafer, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

7B is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 6 including a lift pad and pedestal configuration, wherein the lift pad is smaller than the wafer, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

7C is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 6 including a lift pad and base configuration including lift pin assemblies, wherein the lift pad is smaller than the wafer, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

7D is a cross-sectional view of the lift pad to base interface in the substrate processing system of FIG. 6 including lift pad and base configurations, wherein the lift pad is smaller than the wafer, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

7E is a perspective view of a top surface of a lift pad in the substrate processing system of FIG. 6 including a lift pad and base configuration, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

7F is a perspective view of the bottom surface of a lift pad in the substrate processing system of FIG. 6 including a lift pad and base configuration, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

8 is a flowchart depicting a method for operating a processing chamber configured for depositing films on wafers, wherein the method provides for on-site processing within the processing chamber, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure During rotation of the wafer without rotating the pedestal, it advantageously filters out both chamber and pedestal asymmetries.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams depicting the sequence of motion of a lift pad and base configuration, wherein the lift pad is sized to approximately match the wafer, and includes rotation of the wafer during processing within the processing chamber, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. There is no rotation of the base, which advantageously filters out both the chamber and the base asymmetry.

9C is a diagram depicting the orientation of the lift pad relative to the lift pad and the base in a base configuration during a first processing sequence, a rotation sequence, and a second processing sequence, wherein the lift pad dimensions are in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure similar to a wafer.

10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the sequence of motion of a lifter pad and base configuration, wherein the lifter pad is smaller than the wafer, wherein the lifter pad is configured to allow delivery of the wafer (eg, by tip The arm of the actuator) and contains rotation of the wafer during processing within the processing chamber without rotation of the pedestal, which advantageously filters out both chamber and pedestal asymmetries.

10C is a diagram illustrating the sequence of motion of a lift pad and base configuration and including lift pin assemblies, wherein the lift pad is smaller than the wafer and includes rotation of the wafer during processing within the processing chamber without Rotation of the base, which advantageously filters out both the chamber and the base asymmetry.

10D is a diagram depicting the orientation of the lift pad relative to the lift pad and base in a base configuration during a first processing sequence, a rotation sequence, and a second processing sequence, wherein the lift pad is smaller than the wafer in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure round.

11A is a perspective view of a substrate processing system including a lift pad and base configuration and depicting a short stroke lift pad raising mechanism, wherein the lift pad may be substantially similar in size to a wafer or smaller than a wafer, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

11B is a perspective view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 11A including a lift pad and base configuration and depicting elements of a short stroke lift pad raising mechanism, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

12A is a perspective view of a lift pad raising mechanism of a substrate processing system including the lift pad and base configuration of FIGS. 11A-11B in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

12B is a diagram depicting the sequence of motion of the short-stroke pad raising mechanism of the lift pad and base configuration of FIGS. 11A-11B and 12A, and depicts the lift of the lift pad by the upward movement of the base, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Rotation of the lift pad is allowed, and lift of the lift pad by downward motion of the base facilitates entry of the end effector for wafer delivery.

13 is a perspective view of the lift pad raising mechanism of FIG. 12A, and more particularly showing the interface between the slider and the yoke that provides movement of the lift pad relative to the base, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

14A is a perspective view of the lift pad raising mechanism of FIG. 12A, and more particularly showing the interface between the yoke and the ferromagnetic seal assembly that provides movement of the lift pad relative to the base, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

14B is a perspective view of the yoke of FIG. 14A interfaced with a ferromagnetic seal assembly, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

14C is a perspective view of a clamping mechanism that provides a connection between the ferromagnetic seal assembly and the pad shaft of the lift pad so that movement of the ferromagnetic seal assembly is translated into movement of the lift pad, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

14D is a perspective view of a clamp in the clamping mechanism of FIG. 14C according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

15A is a perspective view of a substrate processing system including a lift pad and pedestal configuration, wherein the lift pin assembly provides wafer delivery, and depicts another short stroke pad lift mechanism by upward movement of the pedestal in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure The movement provides a lift of the lift pad relative to the base to allow rotation of the lift pad, which may be substantially similar in size to the wafer or smaller than the wafer.

15B is a perspective view of the substrate processing system of FIG. 15A including a lift pad and base configuration, and depicts elements of a short stroke pad lift mechanism, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

15C is a perspective view of the lift pad raising mechanism of FIG. 15A, and more particularly showing the interface between the lever and the ferromagnetic seal assembly that provides movement of the lift pad relative to the base, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

15D is a perspective view of the lift pad raising mechanism of FIG. 15A, and more particularly showing the interface between the yoke and the base bracket that provides movement of the lift pad relative to the base, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

16A is a diagram depicting the motion of the lift pad raising mechanism of FIG. 15A at a point in time just before separating the lift pad from the base, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

16B is a diagram depicting the motion of the lift pad raising mechanism of FIG. 15A at a point in time after the lift pad is separated from the base, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

17A depicts a high temperature bearing assembly in a lift pad and base configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

17B is a perspective view of the high temperature bearing assembly of FIG. 17A according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

17C shows an outer sapphire bushing having an annular shape of a high temperature bearing assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

17D shows an inner sapphire bushing having an annular shape of a high temperature bearing assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 18 shows a control module for controlling the above system.

425-A‧‧‧Ferromagnetic seal assembly

440-A‧‧‧Pad Raising Mechanism/Short Stroke Coupling Mechanism

1101‧‧‧Pedestal bracket

1105‧‧‧Main frame

1106‧‧‧Main frame extension

1210‧‧‧On the hard stop

1211‧‧‧Lower hard stop

1221‧‧‧Carrier Roller

1222‧‧‧Carrier Roller

1225‧‧‧Leverage

1226‧‧‧pins

1230‧‧‧Lifting pad bracket

1231‧‧‧Sled bracket extension

1232‧‧‧Sled bracket extension

1235‧‧‧Sliding

1240‧‧‧Yoke

1251‧‧‧Connector Arm

1252‧‧‧Connector Arm

1255‧‧‧Rollers

1256‧‧‧Rollers

Claims (50)

An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber, comprising: a base assembly including a base removably mounted to a main frame; a lift pad configured to rest on top of the base of the base on the surface and moving with the base assembly; and a lift pad raising mechanism configured to separate the lift pad from the base, the lift pad raising mechanism comprising: an upper hard stop fixed relative to the main frame; a first roller attached to the base assembly; a slide movably attached to the base assembly; a lift pad bracket interconnected to the slide and interconnected to a shim, wherein the shim extending from the lift pad along a central axis; and a lever rotatably attached to the lift pad bracket by a pin, wherein the lever is placed in a neutral position when the lever is not engaged with the upper hard stop on the first roller; wherein when the base assembly moves upward, the lever is configured to rotate about the pin when engaging the upper hard stop and the first roller and to separate the lift pad from the base top surface A process rotational displacement. The assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base assembly further comprises: a base bracket attached to the base and movably attached to the base a main frame, wherein the base bracket is configured to move the base relative to the main frame along the central axis; and a central shaft extending from the base along the central axis, the central shaft being configured to move with the base; And wherein, the pad shaft is configured to separate the lift pad from the base, and is configured in the central shaft. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lift pad carrier and slider move up together relative to the base assembly when the lever is rotated about the pin Movement such that the lift pad is configured to move upwardly along the central axis relative to the base top surface. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lift pad and the base move in a 2 to 1 ratio of travel distance as the lever is rotated about the pin . An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lever engages the base when the lever is tied in the neutral position and not engaged with the upper hard stop There is no relative movement between components. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lift pad further comprises a pad top surface extending from the central axis, and is configured to rest on top of the pedestal A pad bottom surface on the surface, the pad top surface configured to support a wafer when the wafer is placed thereon. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 6, wherein the diameter of the top surface of the pad is smaller than the diameter of the wafer. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 6, wherein the diameter dimension of the top surface of the pad is approximately the diameter of the wafer. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the lift pad is separated from the pedestal, the lift pad is configured to rotate relative to the pedestal top surface at At least between the first angular orientation and the second angular orientation. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lift pad is located in a recess in the top surface of the base. An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lift pad carrier is interconnected with a ferromagnetic seal interconnected to the pad shaft, wherein when the The ferromagnetic seal is configured to provide a vacuum seal about the pad shaft when the pad shaft is rotating or not. An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber, comprising: a base assembly including a base removably mounted to a main frame; a lift pad configured to rest on top of the base of the base on the surface and moving with the base assembly; and a lift pad raising mechanism configured to separate the lift pad from the base, the lift pad raising mechanism comprising: an upper hard stop fixed relative to the main frame; a lower hard stop fixed relative to the main frame and disposed below the upper hard stop in relation to the main frame; a first roller attached to the base assembly; a second roller attached to the base assembly ; a slider movably attached to the base assembly; a lift pad bracket interconnected to the slider and interconnected to a pad shaft, wherein the pad shaft extends from the lift pad along a central axis; and a a lever rotatably attached to the lift pad bracket by a pin, wherein when the lever is not engaged with the upper hard stop, the lever rests on the first roller in a neutral position; wherein when the base When the assembly moves upward, the lever is configured to rotate about the pin when engaged with the upper hard stop and the first roller and to separate the lift pad from the base top surface by a process rotational displacement; Wherein when the base assembly moves downward, the lever is configured to rotate about the pin when engaging the lower hard stop and the second roller and displace the lift pad from the base by an end effector path. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 12, wherein the second roller is laterally offset from the first roller relative to the base assembly and relative to the base The assembly is vertically offset from the first roller parallel to the central axis. The assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 12, wherein the base assembly further comprises: a base bracket attached to the base and movably attached to the base a main frame, wherein the base bracket is configured to move the base relative to the main frame along the central axis; and a central shaft extending from the base along the central axis, the central shaft being configured to move with the base; And wherein, the pad shaft is configured to separate the lift pad from the base, and is configured in the central shaft. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as in claim 12, wherein the lift pad carrier and slider move upward relative to the base assembly when the lever is rotated about the pin Movement such that the lift pad is configured to move upwardly along the central axis relative to the base top surface. An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber, comprising: a base assembly mounting device for movably mounting a base assembly including a base to a main frame; a lift pad moving device for moving a lift pad with the base assembly, the lift pad being configured to rest on the top surface of the base of the base; and lift pad separation means for separating the lift pad from the base, the lift pad separation means Including: an upper hard stop fixing device for fixing an upper hard stop relative to the main frame; first roller attachment means for attaching a first roller to the base assembly; slider attachment means for movably attaching a slider to the base assembly; lift pad bracket interconnection means , for interconnecting a lift pad bracket to the slider and a pad shaft, wherein the pad shaft extends from the lift pad along a central axis; and lever attachment means for rotatable a lever by a pin is attached to the lift pad bracket, wherein when the lever is not engaged with the upper hard stop, the lever rests on the first roller in a neutral position; wherein when the base assembly moves upward, the lever is is configured to rotate about the pin when engaged with the upper hard stop and the first roller and to separate the lift pad from the base top surface by a process rotational displacement. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 16, wherein the base assembly further comprises: means for attaching a base bracket to the base, and for means for movably attaching the base bracket to the main frame, wherein the base bracket is configured to move the base relative to the main frame along the central axis; and central shaft extension means for extending a central shaft Extending from the base along the central axis, the central shaft is configured to move with the base; and wherein the pad shaft is configured to separate the lift pad from the base and is disposed within the central shaft. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as in claim 16, wherein the lift pad carrier and slider move up together relative to the base assembly when the lever is rotated about the pin Movement such that the lift pad is configured to move upwardly along the central axis relative to the base top surface. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as in claim 16, wherein the lift pad and the base move in a 2 to 1 ratio of travel distance as the lever is rotated about the pin . An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 16, wherein the lever engages the base when the lever is tied in the neutral position and not engaged with the upper hard stop There is no relative movement between components. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 16, wherein the lifting pad moving device further comprises: a pad top surface extending device for extending the pad top surface from the central axis and pad bottom surface placement means for placing a pad bottom surface on the base top surface, the pad top surface being configured to support a wafer when placed thereon. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as in claim 21, wherein the diameter of the top surface of the pad is smaller than the diameter of the wafer. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as in claim 21, wherein the diameter dimension of the top surface of the pad is approximately the diameter of the wafer. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 16, wherein when the lift pad is separated from the pedestal, the lift pad movement device lifts and lowers the lift pad relative to the top surface of the pedestal The pad rotates between at least a first angular orientation and a second angular orientation. An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 16, wherein a lift pad bracket for interconnecting a lift pad bracket to the slider and a pad shaft Interconnecting means, including means for interconnecting the lift pad carrier with a ferromagnetic seal interconnected to the pad shaft, wherein the ferromagnetic seal is configured when the pad shaft rotates or does not rotate A vacuum seal is provided around the pad shaft. An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber, comprising: a base assembly including a base removably mounted to a main frame; a lift pad configured to rest on the base top surface of the base and move with the base assembly; and a lift pad raising mechanism configured to separate the lift pad from the base, the lift pad raising mechanism comprising : a lever assembly configured to move relative to the base assembly when actuated; a ferromagnetic seal assembly surrounding a pad shaft and configured to provide a vacuum seal about the pad shaft, the ferromagnetic seal assembly interconnected to the lever assembly; and a yoke assembly interconnected to the lever assembly and configured to apply equal forces to opposite sides of the ferromagnetic seal assembly to counteract the application to the ferromagnetic seal when the lever assembly is actuated torque of the component. An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 26, wherein the lever assembly comprises: an upper hard stop fixed relative to the main frame; a first roller attached to the main frame connected to the base assembly; a slider movably attached to the base assembly; a lift pad bracket interconnected to the slider and interconnected to the pad shaft, wherein the pad shaft is raised and lowered from the pad shaft along a central axis pad extension; and a lever rotatably attached to the lift pad bracket by a pin, wherein when the lever is not engaged with the upper hard stop, the lever rests on the first roller in a neutral position ; wherein when the base assembly moves upward, the lever is configured to rotate about the pin when engaging the upper hard stop and the first roller and to separate the lift pad from the base top surface by a process rotational displacement. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber, as claimed in claim 27, further includes: wherein the ferromagnetic seal assembly is attached to the shim shaft at a first end thereof, wherein the ferromagnetic seal assembly includes a ferromagnetic seal assembly at a second end opposite the first end of the ferromagnetic seal assembly a first connector arm and a second connector arm tethered on opposite sides of the ferromagnetic seal assembly and equidistant from the pad shaft; and wherein the The yoke assembly contacts the ferromagnetic seal assembly at the first connector arm and the second connector arm, wherein the yoke assembly applies equal force to the first connector arm and the second connector arm, wherein the The first connector arm and the second connector arm are disposed 180 degrees apart from the central axis. An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 28, wherein the yoke assembly comprises: a yoke base rotatably attached to the lifter by a second pin a pad bracket wherein the yoke base is rotatable about a pin axis; a yoke arm attached to the yoke base and extending from the yoke base parallel to the pin axis, the yoke arm being displaced from the yoke by a radial the second pin offset, wherein the yoke arm is rotatable about the pin axis; and a fork end portion disposed on the yoke arm away from the yoke base, the fork end portion including a first fork extension and A second fork extension configured to contact the first connector arm and the second fork extension configured to contact the second connector arm. An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 27, wherein the lift pad raising mechanism further comprises: a rotary motor attached to the pad shaft by a belt, Both the rotary motor and the belt are configured to rotate the pad shaft about the central axis; wherein the ferromagnetic seal assembly includes a belt-driven disc attached to the belt and to the pad axis. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 27, wherein the base assembly further comprises: a base bracket attached to the base and movably attached to the main frame, wherein the base bracket is configured to move the base relative to the main frame along the central axis; and a central axis along the center An axis extends from the base, the central shaft is configured to move with the base; and wherein the pad shaft is configured to separate the lift pad from the base and is disposed within the central shaft. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as in claim 27, wherein the lift pad carrier and slider move up together relative to the base assembly when the lever is rotated about the pin Movement such that the lift pad is configured to move upwardly along the central axis relative to the base top surface. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 27, wherein the lever engages the base when the lever is tied in the neutral position and not engaged with the upper hard stop There is no relative movement between components. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as in claim 27, wherein the diameter of the top surface of the pad is smaller than the diameter of the wafer. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as in claim 27, wherein when the lift pad is separated from the pedestal, the lift pad is configured to rotate relative to the pedestal top surface by At least between the first angular orientation and the second angular orientation. An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber, comprising: a base assembly including a base removably mounted to a main frame; a lift pad configured to rest on top of the base of the base on the surface and moving with the base assembly; and a lift pad raising mechanism configured to separate the lift pad from the base, the lift pad raising mechanism comprising: an upper hard stop fixed relative to the main frame; a lower hard stop fixed relative to the main frame and disposed below the upper hard stop in relation to the main frame; a first roller attached to the base assembly; a second roller attached to the base assembly ; a slide movably attached to the base assembly; a lift pad bracket interconnected to the slide and interconnected to a pad shaft, wherein the pad shaft extends from the lift pad along a central axis; a lever , rotatably attached to the lift pad bracket by a pin, wherein the lever rests on the first roller in a neutral position when the lever is not engaged with the upper hard stop; a ferromagnetic seal an assembly surrounding the pad shaft and configured to provide a vacuum tight seal about the pad shaft when the pad shaft is stationary or rotating; and a yoke assembly interconnected to the lift pad carrier and configured to provide the ferromagnetic seal Opposite sides of the assembly apply an equal force to counteract the moment applied to the ferromagnetic seal assembly as the lever rotates about the pin; wherein the lever is configured to hard stop with the upper when the base assembly moves upward The member rotates about the pin when engaged with the first roller and separates the lift pad from the base top surface by a process rotational displacement; wherein the lever is configured to engage the lower hard stop when the base assembly moves downward and the second roller rotates about the pin when engaged and displaces the lift pad and the base by an end effector path. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber of claim 36, further comprising: wherein the ferromagnetic seal assembly is attached to the shim at its first end, wherein the The ferromagnetic seal assembly includes a first connector at a second end opposite the first end of the ferromagnetic seal assembly arm and a second connector arm tethered on opposite sides of the ferromagnetic seal assembly and equidistant from the pad axis; and wherein the yoke assembly is on the first A connector arm and a second connector arm contact the ferromagnetic seal assembly, wherein the yoke assembly applies equal force to the first connector arm and the second connector arm, wherein the first connector arm And the second connector arms are arranged 180 degrees apart from the central axis. An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 37, wherein the yoke assembly comprises: a yoke base rotatably attached to the lifter by a second pin a pad bracket wherein the yoke base is rotatable about a pin axis; a yoke arm attached to the yoke base and extending from the yoke base parallel to the pin axis, the yoke arm being displaced from the yoke by a radial the second pin offset, wherein the yoke arm is rotatable about the pin axis; and a fork end portion disposed on the yoke arm away from the yoke base, the fork end portion including a first fork extension and A second fork extension configured to contact the first connector arm and the second fork extension configured to contact the second connector arm. The assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber of claim 36, wherein the base assembly further comprises: a base bracket attached to the base and movably attached to the base a main frame, wherein the base bracket is configured to move the base relative to the main frame along the central axis; and a central shaft extending from the base along the central axis, the central shaft being configured to move with the base; And wherein, the pad shaft is configured to separate the lift pad from the base, and is configured in the central shaft. An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber as in claim 36, wherein the lift pad carrier and slider are relative to the base set when the lever is rotated about the pin The members move upward together such that the lift pad is configured to move upward along the central axis relative to the base top surface. An assembly for depositing films on wafers in a processing chamber, comprising: a base assembly mounting device for movably mounting a base assembly including a base to a main frame; a lift pad placement device for For placing a lift pad on the top surface of the base of the base, and to move the lift pad and the base assembly together; and a lift pad separation device for separating the lift pad from the base, the lift pad separation device comprising : a lever assembly movement device for moving the lever assembly relative to the base assembly when a lever assembly is actuated; a ferromagnetic seal assembly surrounding device for surrounding a ferromagnetic seal assembly around a pad shaft, and vacuum seal providing means for allowing the ferromagnetic seal assembly to provide a vacuum seal around the pad shaft, the ferromagnetic seal assembly being interconnected to the lever assembly; and yoke assembly interconnecting means for enabling a yoke An assembly is interconnected to the lever assembly, and equal force applying means for causing the yoke assembly to apply an equal force to opposite sides of the ferromagnetic seal assembly to counteract the application to the ferromagnetic when the lever assembly is actuated Torque of seal assembly. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 41, wherein the lever assembly moving means comprises: an upper hard stop fixing device for relating an upper hard stop to the main frame is fixed; first roller attachment means for attaching a first roller to the base assembly; slide attachment means for movably attaching a slide to the base assembly; lift pads bracket interconnection means for interconnecting a lift pad bracket to the slider and a pad shaft, wherein the pad shaft extends from the lift pad along a central axis; and Lever attachment means for rotatably attaching a lever to the lift pad bracket by a pin, wherein when the lever is not engaged with the upper hard stop, the lever is placed in a neutral position on the first on a roller; wherein as the base assembly moves upward, the lever rotation means rotates the lever around the pin when the lever engages the upper hard stop and the first roller and causes the lift pad to contact the base top surface Separate a process rotational displacement. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 42, further comprising: a ferromagnetic seal assembly attachment means for attaching the ferromagnetic seal assembly to the the pad shaft at a first end, wherein the ferromagnetic seal assembly includes a first connector arm and a second connector at a second end opposite the first end of the ferromagnetic seal assembly arms, the first connector arm and the second connector arm are located on opposite sides of the ferromagnetic seal assembly and equidistant from the pad axis; and yoke assembly contact means for causing the yoke assembly in the first a connector arm and the second connector arm contacting the ferromagnetic seal assembly; and means for causing the yoke assembly to apply an equal force to the first connector arm and the second connector arm, wherein the The first connector arm and the second connector arm are disposed 180 degrees apart from the central axis. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 43, wherein the yoke assembly contacting means for contacting the yoke assembly with the ferromagnetic seal assembly comprises: a yoke base Attachment means for rotatably attaching a yoke base to the lift pad bracket by a second pin, wherein the yoke base is rotatable about a pin axis; yoke arm attachment means for Attaching a yoke arm to the yoke base and extending from the yoke base parallel to the pin axis, the yoke arm being offset from the second pin by a radial displacement, wherein the yoke arm can be about the pin axis rotate; and The fork-shaped end part setting device is used to set the fork-shaped end part on the yoke arm and away from the yoke base, the fork-shaped end part comprises a first fork extension part and a second fork extension part, the first fork extension part The extension is configured to contact the first connector arm and the second fork extension is configured to contact the second connector arm. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 42, wherein the lift pad separating means for separating the lift pad from the base further comprises: a rotary motor attachment means , for attaching a rotary motor to the pad shaft by a belt, both the rotary motor and the belt being configured to rotate the pad shaft about the central axis; and disc attachment means for the iron A belt-driven disc of the magnetic seal assembly is attached to the belt and to the pad shaft. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 42, wherein the base assembly mounting device for movably mounting a base assembly further comprises: a base assembly for attaching a base Means for attaching a bracket to the base, and means for movably attaching the base bracket to the main frame, wherein the base bracket is configured to move the base relative to the main frame along the central axis ; central shaft extension means for extending a central shaft along the central axis from the base, the central shaft being configured to move with the base; and separation means for using the pad shaft to separate the lift pad from the base separated, and wherein the pad shaft is disposed within the central shaft. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as in claim 42, wherein when the lever is rotated about the pin, the means for movably sliding the lift pad carriage is associated with With the base assembly up, the lift pad is configured to move upward along the central axis relative to the base top surface. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as in claim 42, wherein the lever engages the base when the lever is tied in the neutral position and not engaged with the upper hard stop There is no relative movement between components. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as in claim 42, wherein the diameter of the top surface of the pad is smaller than the diameter of the wafer. An assembly for depositing a film on a wafer in a processing chamber as claimed in claim 42, wherein the lift pad separating means for separating the lift pad from the base comprises lift pad rotation means for When the lift pad rotation device is separated from the base, the lift pad rotation device rotates the lift pad between at least a first angular orientation and a second angular orientation relative to the base top surface.

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