Over clamp sensor
First Claim
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1. A rotatable substrate support comprising:
- a rotatable base;
at least one moveable end effector coupled to rotate with the rotatable base and configured to selectively move between a clamped position wherein a properly positioned substrate is held in place by the end effector and an unclamped position wherein a substrate may be extracted from or received by the rotatable substrate support; and
a sensing system having a first part coupled to the moveable end effector and a second part coupled to the rotatable base, the first part and the second part being positioned so that the sensing system detects when the moveable end effector is in an overclamp position.
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Abstract
A substrate support is provided that comprises a sensing system configured to detect when a moveable end effector is in an over clamp position. The sensing system may comprise various sensors such as an inductive sensor, a light emitter and a detector, and a pressure sensor, etc. Use of such an over clamp sensor may prevent substrate damage that results from improper substrate gripping.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A rotatable substrate support comprising:
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a rotatable base;
at least one moveable end effector coupled to rotate with the rotatable base and configured to selectively move between a clamped position wherein a properly positioned substrate is held in place by the end effector and an unclamped position wherein a substrate may be extracted from or received by the rotatable substrate support; and
a sensing system having a first part coupled to the moveable end effector and a second part coupled to the rotatable base, the first part and the second part being positioned so that the sensing system detects when the moveable end effector is in an overclamp position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A substrate support comprising:
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a base;
at least one moveable end effector coupled to the base and configured to selectively move between a clamped position wherein a properly positioned substrate is held in place by the moveable end effector and an unclamped position wherein a substrate may be extracted from or received by the substrate support; and
a sensing system having a first part coupled to the moveable end effector and a second part coupled to the base, the first part and the second part being positioned so that the sensing system detects when the end effector is in an overclamp position. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A substrate support comprising:
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a base;
at least one end effector coupled to the base and configured to selectively move between a clamped position wherein a properly positioned substrate is held in place by the end effector and an unclamped position wherein a substrate may be extracted from or received by the substrate support; and
a sensing system coupled to the base and configured to detect when the end effector is in an over clamp position. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A method comprising:
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providing a base;
providing an end effector coupled to the base and configured to selectively move between a clamped position wherein a properly positioned substrate is held in place by the end effector and an unclamped position wherein a substrate may be extracted from or received by the rotatable substrate support; and
detecting when the end effector is in an overclamp position. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
providing a flag;
providing a sensor configured to detect when the flag is within a predetermined distance from the sensor; and
monitoring the sensor to determine whether the flag is within a predetermined distance from the sensor.
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17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:
generating an alarm if the flag is within a predetermined distance from the sensor.
Specification