Patent · US Expired

Apparatus and method for uniformly coating a substrate in an evacuable chamber

US5229171A · kind A · utility

23Cited by
10References
37Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 23, 1991
Grant dateJul 20, 1993
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 23, 2011

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S430/136
  • WIPO fieldSurface technology, coating
  • WIPO sectorChemistry

Abstract

An apparatus and method including a droplet coating generator for generating a stream of electrically charged coating droplets within an evacuable chamber towards a substrate positioned within the evacuable chamber. A piezoelectric vibrator and orifice plate coupled thereto generate the stream of coating droplets. The coating droplets are urged to move in a sweeping motion across the substrate by at least one pair of opposing spaced apart electrodes powered by an electrical power supply. A uniform coating is thus produced while the evacuable chamber is maintained at subatmospheric pressure as required during typical semiconductor processing. Multiple applications of a photoresist coating may be applied by the coating apparatus without requiring that the evacuable chamber be repeatedly vented and pumped down to subatmospheric pressure.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.