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KR-20260063498-A - SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND POWER TRANSMISSION METHOD IN VACUUM CHAMBER

KR20260063498AKR 20260063498 AKR20260063498 AKR 20260063498AKR-20260063498-A

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus for processing a substrate. The substrate processing apparatus comprises at least one transfer chamber; and a transfer robot capable of linear movement within the transfer chamber and transferring a substrate, wherein the transfer robot comprises a receiving unit for receiving power, and the transfer chamber comprises a chamber base; and a power supply unit provided in the chamber base and wirelessly transmitting power to the receiving unit, wherein the power supply unit may comprise a plurality of power supply cables; a plurality of terminal units connected to the plurality of power supply cables; and at least one connecting member connected to at least one of the plurality of terminal units and switching the direction of the current flowing through the power supply cables at least twice.

Inventors

  • 최재원
  • 김교봉
  • 변희재
  • 김상오

Assignees

  • 세메스 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241030

Claims (20)

  1. In a device for processing substrates, At least one transfer chamber; and It includes a transfer robot capable of linear movement within the above transfer chamber and transferring a substrate, The above-mentioned transfer robot includes a power receiving unit that receives power, and The above transfer chamber is, Chamber base; and A power supply unit provided on the chamber base and wirelessly transmitting power to the receiving unit, comprising: The above power supply unit is, Multiple power supply cables; A plurality of terminal units connected to the above plurality of power supply cables; and A substrate processing device comprising at least one connecting member connected to at least one of the plurality of terminal units above, which switches the direction of the current flowing through the power supply cable at least twice.
  2. In paragraph 1, The above plurality of terminal units are, A front terminal unit electrically adjacent to the power supply unit; and It includes a rear terminal unit electrically further from the power supply unit than the front terminal unit, and The above-mentioned front terminal unit has a plurality of terminals, A substrate processing device having a plurality of terminals, some of which are connected to a supply cable that receives the current supplied by the power supply device, and other parts are connected to the connecting member.
  3. In paragraph 2, The above-mentioned front terminal unit is, A first front terminal portion adjacent to the above power supply device; and It includes a second front terminal that is electrically further from the power supply device than the first front terminal, and The first front terminal section and the second front terminal section include the plurality of terminals, A substrate processing device in which the terminal included in the first front terminal section and the terminal included in the second front terminal section are provided as a pair and electrically connected.
  4. In paragraph 3, The supply cable is connected to some of the plurality of terminals having the first front terminal section, and The connecting member is connected to another part of the plurality of terminals having the first front terminal part, and A substrate processing device having a return cable connected to another part of the plurality of terminals having the first front terminal portion to return the current to the power supply device.
  5. In paragraph 4, The above plurality of connecting members are, First connecting member; and Includes a second connecting member, The first connecting member above is, When the current supplied from the supply cable flows into the rear terminal unit through the front terminal unit, it is connected to a terminal of the rear terminal unit to return the current to the front terminal unit, The second connecting member above is, A substrate processing device configured to have a connecting member connected to the first front terminal, and to return the current returned by the first connecting member to the rear terminal unit.
  6. In paragraph 2, The above power supply device is positioned outside the transfer chamber, and The above transfer chamber is provided with a feedthrough, and The above power supply device and the above feedthrough are connected by an external cable, and The above feedthrough and the above front terminal unit are connected by the above supply cable to a substrate processing device.
  7. In paragraph 1, A substrate processing device in which the atmosphere within the above-mentioned transfer chamber is controlled as a vacuum atmosphere.
  8. In paragraph 1, The above power supply cable is, Placed on a first ferrite core, and The above-mentioned faucet unit is, A substrate processing apparatus comprising a second ferrite core having a shape symmetric to the first ferrite core and facing the first ferrite core.
  9. In paragraph 2, The above power supply device is, Power; and It includes a primary side converter unit connected to the above power source, and The above robot is, A secondary converter unit that converts power received by the above-mentioned receiving unit; and A substrate processing device including an actuator that receives power from the above secondary side converter unit.
  10. In paragraph 2, The above transfer chambers are provided in multiple numbers, and A plurality of connection terminal units are provided between the front terminal unit and the rear terminal unit, and One of the above connection terminal units is provided in one of a plurality of transfer chambers, and Another of the above connection terminal units is a substrate processing device provided to another of the plurality of transfer chambers.
  11. In Paragraph 10, The above transfer robot is a substrate processing device provided to be continuously linearly movable between the plurality of transfer chambers.
  12. In a method for transmitting power to a robot that moves linearly within a vacuum chamber, A step of connecting a supply cable to only some of the multiple terminals of the front terminal unit; A step of supplying current through the supply cable to cause the current to flow in a first direction to a first group of supply cables among a plurality of supply cables provided between the front terminal unit and the rear terminal unit; When the current flows into the rear terminal unit, the first connecting member returns the current from the rear terminal unit to the front terminal unit in a first manner using the second group of power supply cables among the plurality of power supply cables; and A method comprising the step of, when the first returned current flows into the front terminal unit, the second connecting member secondarily returns the current from the front terminal unit to the rear terminal unit using the third group of power supply cables among the plurality of power supply cables.
  13. In Paragraph 12, A method in which a connecting member connected to the above-mentioned front terminal unit implements the above-mentioned secondary return.
  14. In Paragraph 12, A method comprising the step of, when the second returned current flows into the rear terminal unit, the third connecting member returns the current from the rear terminal unit to the front terminal unit a third time using the fourth group of feed cables among the plurality of feed cables.
  15. In Paragraph 14, A method in which, when the above-mentioned third-returned current flows into the above-mentioned front terminal unit, the incoming current flows to a device outside the vacuum chamber through a return cable.
  16. In Paragraph 12, A method in which the above-mentioned power supply cable is placed on an E-shaped first ferrite core and the above-mentioned current flows.
  17. In Paragraph 16, A method for receiving power transmitted wirelessly by the power supply cable, wherein the E-shaped second ferrite core of the receiving unit equipped with the robot is in a state facing the first ferrite core.
  18. In a device for processing substrates, At least one transfer chamber; Process chamber; and It includes a transfer robot capable of linear movement within the transfer chamber and transferring a substrate to the process chamber, The above-mentioned transfer robot includes a power receiving unit that receives power, and The above transfer chamber is, Chamber base; and Includes a power supply unit provided in the above-mentioned chamber base, The above power supply unit is, Multiple power supply cables; and It includes a plurality of terminal units connected to one end and the other end of the plurality of power supply cables, and The above plurality of terminal units are, A front terminal unit connected to a power supply unit; and It includes a rear terminal unit that is electrically further from the power supply unit than the front terminal unit, and The above-mentioned front terminal unit is, A first front terminal portion electrically adjacent to the above power supply device; and It includes a second front terminal that is electrically further from the power supply device than the first front terminal, and The first front terminal section and the second front terminal section include the plurality of terminals, The terminal included in the first front terminal section and the terminal included in the second front terminal section are provided as a pair and are electrically connected, and A substrate processing device having a supply cable that supplies the current of the power supply device connected to some of the plurality of terminals having the first front terminal unit, and a second connecting member that returns the current flowing from the rear terminal unit to the front terminal unit to the rear terminal unit.
  19. In Paragraph 18, A substrate processing device having a return cable connected to another part of the plurality of terminals having the first front terminal portion to return the current to the power supply device.
  20. In Paragraph 18, It further includes a first connecting member, The first connecting member above is, When current supplied from the above supply cable flows into the rear terminal unit through the front terminal unit, it is connected to a terminal of the rear terminal unit to return the said current to the front terminal unit, and The above power supply device is positioned outside the transfer chamber, and The above transfer chamber is provided with a feedthrough, and The above power supply device and the above feedthrough are connected by an external cable, and The above feedthrough and the above front terminal unit are connected by the above supply cable to a substrate processing device.

Description

Substrate Processing Apparatus and Power Transmission Method in Vacuum Chamber The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a method for power transmission in a vacuum chamber. The semiconductor manufacturing process involves various stages and requires highly precise microfabrication. Among these microfabrication processes, plasma-based processes play a crucial role in semiconductor manufacturing. Plasma processes electrically ionize reactive or deposition gases to generate a plasma state containing high-energy ions, electrons, and neutral particles, which is then used to perform various functions, such as forming desired patterns on wafers or removing impurities. In some cases, plasma processes can also perform the function of depositing films on wafers. To perform plasma processes, semiconductor manufacturing equipment is equipped with a process chamber that generates plasma to process wafers. The interior of this chamber is designed to convert reactive/depositing gases into a plasma state, and the process is carried out under a highly controlled vacuum to ensure that the plasma is uniformly distributed across the wafer surface. Plasma processes involve various steps, such as etching and deposition, and are an essential technology for forming the microstructures of semiconductor devices. Meanwhile, the process of transporting substrates, such as wafers, in semiconductor manufacturing equipment is also critical. The plasma process chamber and the transfer chamber that transports the substrates are interconnected, and the transfer chamber must also be maintained under a vacuum atmosphere (VE) identical or similar to that of the process chamber. This is an essential condition to prevent the ingress of external air and to maintain the high level of cleanliness required for the plasma process. The vacuum state within the transfer chamber ensures the smooth movement of the substrate into the plasma process chamber and minimizes contamination or damage to the substrate during the process. Therefore, in order to stably perform the plasma process in semiconductor manufacturing, maintaining the vacuum between the transfer chamber and the plasma process chamber, the reliability of substrate transfer, and the power transfer efficiency during the process are considered very important factors. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a power transmission structure that transmits power to the transfer robot of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure in which a power supply device located outside the transfer chamber supplies power via the power supply cable of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of the power supply device of Figure 3 circulating current in the power supply cable. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view illustrating a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure in which a power supply device circulates current through a power supply cable in another embodiment of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view illustrating a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating a method of extending a power supply line using a base plate. Figure 9 is a drawing showing the end of the base plate of Figure 8. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a communication method between an external controller located outside the transfer chamber of FIG. 1 and a robot controller located inside the transfer chamber. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a heat dissipation method for discharging heat generated by an active element located inside the transfer robot of FIG. 1 to the outside. FIGS. 12 and FIGS. 13 are drawings illustrating a method for a transfer robot of FIG. 1 to transfer a substrate to a process chamber. The various features and benefits of the non-limiting embodiments of this specification may become more apparent from a review of the detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the claims. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the accompanying drawings are not to be drawn to scale. For clarity, various dimensions in the drawings may be exaggerated. Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Exemplary embodiments are provided to ensure that the present disclosure is thorough and will fully convey its scope to those skilled in the art. To provide a complete understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, many specific details, such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, are presented. It will be apparent to those skilled in the