Process apparatus with on-the-fly substrate centering
View Patent ↗A substrate processing apparatus including a frame defining a chamber with a substrate transport opening and a substrate transfer plane defined therein, a valve mounted to the frame and being configured to seal an atmosphere of the chamber when closed, the valve having a door movably disposed to open and close the substrate transport opening, and at least one substrate sensor element disposed on a side of the door and oriented to sense substrates located on the substrate transfer plane.
1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
a frame defining a chamber with a substrate transport opening and a substrate transfer plane defined therein;
a valve mounted to the frame and being configured to seal an atmosphere of the chamber when closed, the valve having a door movably disposed to open and close the substrate transport opening; and
at least one substrate sensor element disposed on a side of the door and oriented and positioned by the door so that the at least one substrate sensor element senses substrates passing through the substrate transport opening and located on the substrate transfer plane.
2. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor element is facing the substrate transfer plane.
3. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the valve includes a housing with the substrate transfer plane being disposed therethrough.
4. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the at least one substrate sensor element comprises a first sensor element disposed on the side of the door and a second sensor element disposed on the housing to form a sensor pair configured to sense the substrates travelling along the substrate transfer plane.
5. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the first sensor element is a reflector and the second sensor element comprises at least one of a beam emitter or beam receiver.
6. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the second sensor element is a reflector and the first sensor element comprises at least one of a beam emitter or beam receiver.
7. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the valve includes a door drive configured to position the door relative to the wafer transfer plane so that the at least one substrate sensor element is located at a predetermined sensing position for sensing substrates located on the substrate transfer plane.
8. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the door drive includes mechanical stops configured to position the door within the housing so that the at least one substrate sensor element is located at the predetermined sensing position.
9. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising a controller communicably connected to the door drive where the door drive includes at least one encoder configured to effect, along with the controller, positioning the door within the housing so that the at least one substrate sensor element is located at the predetermined sensing position.
10. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one substrate sensor element includes one or more of an optical beam sensor element, an optical reflective sensor element, an inductive sensor element, or a capacitive sensor element.
11. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the substrate processing apparatus comprises a linearly arranged substrate processing tool.
12. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the substrate processing apparatus comprises a cluster substrate processing tool.
13. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a second isolation valve having a second door, wherein the door is opposingly arranged with the second door and the at least one substrate sensor element comprises a first sensor element disposed on the side of the door and a second sensor element disposed on a side of the second door facing the substrate transfer plane, the first and second sensor element forming a sensor pair configured to sense the substrates travelling along the substrate transfer plane.
14. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the first sensor element is a reflector and the second sensor element comprises at least one of a beam emitter or beam receiver.
15. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the second sensor element is a reflector and the first sensor element comprises at least one of a beam emitter or beam receiver.
16. A method of aligning a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus, the method comprising:
providing an isolation valve having at least one substrate sensing element mounted to a door of the isolation valve;
positioning the at least one substrate sensing element with the door so that the at least one substrate sensing element is located in a predetermined sensing position relative to a wafer transfer plane;
sensing a substrate located on and traversing along the wafer transfer plane with the at least one substrate sensing element located in the predetermined sensing position; and
receiving data from the at least one substrate sensing element with a controller for effecting alignment of the substrate relative to a substrate holding location.
17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising positioning the door with mechanical stops so that the at least one substrate sensing element is located at a predetermined sensing position.
18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising electronically positioning the door so that the at least one substrate sensing element is located at a predetermined sensing position.
19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the at least one substrate sensing element includes one or more of an optical beam sensor element, an optical reflective sensor element, an inductive sensor element, or a capacitive sensor element.
20. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
a substrate station having an aperture closure for sealing a loading and unloading aperture of the station where the aperture is configured for loading and unloading substrates from a substrate cassette along a substrate transfer plane;
an apparatus including a door drive configured to remove a door of the substrate cassette to open the substrate cassette and for operating the aperture closure to open the aperture; and
at least one substrate sensing element disposed on a side of the aperture closure, the door drive being configured to move the aperture closure and position, with the aperture closure, the at least one substrate sensing element in a predetermined sensing position and orientation so that the at least one substrate sensing element senses substrates, from the predetermined sensing position and orientation, located on and traversing along the substrate transfer plane.
21. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the at least one substrate sensing element is facing the substrate transfer plane.
22. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the door drive is configured to position the aperture closure so that the at least one substrate sensing element is located, relative to the substrate transfer plane, at the predetermined sensing position for sensing substrates located on the substrate transfer plane.
23. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the door drive includes mechanical stops configured to position the aperture closure so that the at least one substrate sensing element is located at the predetermined sensing position.
24. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 20 , further comprising a controller communicably connected to the door drive where the door drive includes at least one encoder configured to effect, along with the controller, positioning the aperture closure so that the at least one substrate sensing element is located at the predetermined sensing position.
25. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the at least one substrate sensing element includes one or more of an optical beam sensor element, an optical reflective sensor element, an inductive sensor element, or a capacitive sensor element.
26. A valve assembly for a substrate processing apparatus, the valve assembly comprising:
a housing configured to cover a substrate transport opening of a substrate holding chamber;
a door assembly having a door configured to open and close the substrate transport opening; and
at least one substrate sensor element located on a side of the door and oriented and positioned by the door so that the at least one substrate senor element senses substrates passing through the substrate transport opening and located on and traversing along a substrate transfer plane associated with the substrate transport opening.
27. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the door assembly includes a door drive configured to position the door so that the at least one substrate sensor element is located, relative to the substrate transfer plane, at a predetermined sensing position for sensing substrates located on the substrate transfer plane.
28. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 26 , the door and the at least one substrate sensor element are removable as a unit from the valve assembly.
29. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the door is configured to seal an atmosphere of the substrate holding chamber when the door is closed where the atmosphere is an ultra-high vacuum.