Vacuum processing apparatus with low particle generating vacuum seal
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A wafer processing apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of evacuatable chambers;
a separating wall between adjacent ones of the chambers, the wall having an aperture therethrough;
a sealing member adjacent the aperture and having an elastomeric seal, the sealing member being moveable away from the aperture to permit passage of a wafer through the aperture and moveable toward the aperture to engage the wall to seal the aperture;
a sealing member actuator effective to move the sealing member to and from an open position away from the aperture and move the sealing member to and from each of at least two sealing positions at each of which the seal is compressed to a differing degree of compression against the wall around the aperture; and
a sealing member position sensor that measures the distance between the sealing member actuator and the separating wall, said sensor generating a signal in relation to the distance of the sealing member actuator and said wall defining at least one of the two sealing positions at which the sealing member is compressed less than at another one of the sealing positions, the sealing member actuator moves the sealing member to and stops the sealing member in the at least one of the sealing positions in response to a signal from the sealing member position sensor.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A wafer processing apparatus is provided with sealing ports between adjacent evacuatable chambers that are actuated to compress elastomeric seals carried by the valve sealing elements to differing degrees of compression, based on the amount of pressure differential between the chambers when sealed. The degree of compression is controlled so that less compression of the seal takes place when less is required to seal, such as with lower pressure differentials, thereby avoiding unnecessary fatigue and wear of and around the seals that would otherwise increase the generation of particulate contamination.
-
Citations
6 Claims
-
1. A wafer processing apparatus comprising:
-
a plurality of evacuatable chambers; a separating wall between adjacent ones of the chambers, the wall having an aperture therethrough; a sealing member adjacent the aperture and having an elastomeric seal, the sealing member being moveable away from the aperture to permit passage of a wafer through the aperture and moveable toward the aperture to engage the wall to seal the aperture; a sealing member actuator effective to move the sealing member to and from an open position away from the aperture and move the sealing member to and from each of at least two sealing positions at each of which the seal is compressed to a differing degree of compression against the wall around the aperture; and a sealing member position sensor that measures the distance between the sealing member actuator and the separating wall, said sensor generating a signal in relation to the distance of the sealing member actuator and said wall defining at least one of the two sealing positions at which the sealing member is compressed less than at another one of the sealing positions, the sealing member actuator moves the sealing member to and stops the sealing member in the at least one of the sealing positions in response to a signal from the sealing member position sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
-
-
4. A method of processing wafers comprising the steps of:
-
selectively moving a sealing member having an elastomeric seal thereon among selected ones of a plurality of sealing positions at which the seal is compressed to two different degrees of compression to seal a wafer transport aperture in a wall between two adjacent evacuatable chambers of a wafer processing apparatus, to seal the adjacent chambers from each other; generating a signal that measures the distance between the sealing member and the wall the moving of the plurality of sealing member among the sealing positions including maintaining the sealing member at one of the sealing positions in response to the measured distance generated by signal and the selection of the one of the sealing positions; and moving the member away from the aperture and transferring a wafer through the opening. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
-
Specification