Drive mechanism for a vacuum treatment apparatus

US7153367B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Applied Materials GmbH & Co. KG · DE

Inventors

• Ralph Lindenberg · Büdingen, DE
• Michael König · Frankfurt, DE
• Uwe Schussler · Aschaffenburg, DE
• Stefan Bangert · Lauentheil, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 23, 2004
• Grant date: Dec 26, 2006
• Expiry date: Jul 26, 2025

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01L21/67742
• WIPO field: Surface technology, coating
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

The invention relates to a drive mechanism for a vacuum treatment apparatus by which substrate holders can be transported around an axis (A—A) from an entrance airlock to an exit airlock. A stationary supporting column (1) is disposed in the center and on it a rotatory drive chamber (6) is borne which has control rods (9) for a rotation and a radial displacement of the substrate holders. In the rotatory drive chamber (6), a motor (4) and rotatory displacement drives for the control rods (9) are arranged on the supporting column (1), the control rods being in active connection each with a corresponding substrate holder. To solve the problem of carrying substrates through the vacuum treatment apparatus, even substrates of great area, smoothly, at a slight angle to the vertical, not fastened to the substrate holders, it is provided that a) the motor (4) is joined to a stationary bearing carrier (5) in which a rotatory star-shaped array of cantilevers (14) is mounted, b) the cantilevers (14) are articulated at one end to bell-crank levers (16), each of which has a pivot pin (17), c) the other end of each of the bell-crank levers (16) is articulated to one of the control rods (9), and t…