Arrangement for transporting a flat substrate in a vacuum chamber

US7837799B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Applied Materials GmbH & Co. KG · DE

Inventors

• Stefan Bangert · Lauentheil, DE
• Frank Fuchs · Rutesheim, DE
• Uwe Schuessler · Aschaffenburg, DE
• Ralph Lindenberg · Büdingen, DE
• Tobias Stolley · Oberursel, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 10, 2003
• Grant date: Nov 23, 2010
• Expiry date: Sep 23, 2024

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10S414/139
• WIPO field: Handling
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

An arrangement for transporting a flat substrate through a coating installation, wherein the coating installation comprises, e.g., several and different sputter cathodes, to which the flat substrate, for example a glass pane, is transported one after the other in vacuo. So that no abrasion is generated between glass pane and contact, the glass pane is kept spaced apart from the contact by means of gas pressure. The gas pressure is herein built up through relatively few and small holes in a gas channel. Since during flooding of the coating installation to atmospheric pressure or during evacuation, due to the small holes, no fast pressure equalization between gas channel and the remaining coating installation is possible, the gas channel is decoupled in terms of gas from the remaining coating installation and provided with a separate gas line, via which gas can be introduced into the gas channel or pumped out of it.