# US 11,898,238 B2 · Shielding device and thin-film-deposition equipment with the same > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,898,238 B2 - Document ID: US11898238B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/494,017 - Filed: 2021-10-05 - Published: 2022-12-29 - Granted: 2024-02-13 - Earliest claimed: 2021-06-29 - Assignees: Sky Tech Inc. - Applicants: Sky Tech Inc. - Inventors: Jing-Cheng Lin; Yu-Te Shen - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11898238B2 ## CPC - C23C 14/564: {Means for minimising impurities in the coating chamber such as dust, moisture, residual gases} - C23C 14/021: {Cleaning or etching treatments} - C23C 14/50: Substrate holders - H01J 37/3441: {Dark space shields} - H01J 37/3447: {Collimators, shutters, apertures} - H10P 72/0471: {comprising at least one ion or electron beam chamber} - H10P 72/0432: {mainly by conduction} - C23C: COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL (making metal-coated products by extrusion B21C23/22; covering with metal by connecting pre-existing layers to articles, see the relevant places, e.g. B21D39/00, B23K; metallising of glass C03C; metallising mortars, concrete, artificial stone, ceramics or natural stone C04B41/00; enamelling of, or applying a vitreous layer to, metals C23D; treating metal surfaces or coating of metals by electrolysis or electrophoresis C25D; single-crystal film growth C30B; by metallising textiles D06M11/83; decorating textiles by locally metallising D06Q1/04) - H01J: ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS (spark-gaps H01T; electric arc lamps H05B31/00; particle accelerators H05H) - H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 ## Abstract The present disclosure provides a thin-film-deposition equipment with shielding device, which includes a reaction chamber, a carrier and a shielding device. The shielding device includes a first-shield member, a second-shield member and a driver. The first-shield member has a first-inner-edge surface disposed with a protrusion. The second-shield member has a second-inner-edge surface disposed with a cavity. The driver interconnects and drives the first-shield member and the second-shield member to sway in opposite directions. During a cleaning process, the driver swings the shield members toward each other into a shielding state for covering the carrier, such that to prevent polluting the carrier during the process of cleaning the thin-film-deposition equipment. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A thin-film-deposition equipment, comprising: a reaction chamber comprising a containing space; a carrier disposed within the containing space for carrying at least one substrate thereon; and a shielding device comprising: a first-shield member that is disposed within the containing space and that has a first-inner-edge surface disposed with at least one protrusion; a second-shield member that is disposed within the containing space and that has a second-inner-edge surface disposed with at least one cavity corresponding to the at least one protrusion of the first-inner-edge surface of the first-shield member; and a driver that interconnects and drives the first-shield member and the second-shield member to respectively sway in opposite directions between an open state and a shielding state, wherein in the shielding state, the first-inner-edge surface of the first-shield member and the second-inner-edge surface of the second-shield member are adjacent to each other with the at least one protrusion of the first-shield member entering the at least one cavity of the second-shield member, such that the first-shield member and the second-shield member together cover the carrier. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The thin-film-deposition equipment according to claim 1, wherein the driver comprises a shaft seal and at least one motor, and the at least one motor is connected to the first-shield member and the second-shield member via the shaft seal. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The thin-film-deposition equipment according to claim 2, wherein the shaft seal comprises an outer tube and a main shaft; the outer tube has an inner space for containing the main shaft; the at least one motor is connected to the first-shield member via the outer tube, and connected the second-shield member via the main shaft, such that to synchronously drive the outer tube and the main shaft to rotate in the opposite directions respectively. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The thin-film-deposition equipment according to claim 1, further comprising two sensor areas connected to the reaction chamber, wherein each of the sensor areas has a sensing space fluidly connected to the containing space of the reaction chamber for respectively and partially containing the first-shield member and the second-shield member in the open state; each of the sensor areas is formed with a height shorter than that of the reaction chamber; and each of the sensor areas is disposed with at least one position sensor for respectively detecting the first-shield member and the second-shield member within the sensing spaces of the sensor areas. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The thin-film-deposition equipment according to claim 1, further comprising at least one position sensor that is disposed on the reaction chamber, for detecting locations of the first-shield member and the second-shield member. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The thin-film-deposition equipment according to claim 1, wherein the first-shield member is formed with an area size larger than that of the second-shield member. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The thin-film-deposition equipment according to claim 1, wherein the shielding device further comprises a first-guard plate disposed on the first-shield member; and a second-guard plate disposed on the second-shield member; and when the first-shield member and the second-shield member approach each other into the shielding state, the first-guard plate and the second-guard plate approach each other, for guarding the first-shield member and the second-shield member. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The thin-film-deposition equipment according to claim 7, wherein in the shielding state, the first-shield member and the second-shield member have a first gap space therebetween, the first-guard plate and the second-guard plate have a second gap space therebetween; and the first gap space and the second gap space do not spatially overlap. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The thin-film-deposition equipment according to claim 8, wherein in the shielding state, the first-guard plate and the second-guard plate form the second gap space in an inclined manner relative to the first gap space. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The thin-film-deposition equipment according to claim 1, wherein the driver comprises a shaft seal, a first motor and a second motor; the shaft seal comprises an outer tube and a main shaft; the first motor is connected to the first-shield member via the outer tube of the shaft seal; and the second motor is connected to the second-shield member via the main shaft of the shaft seal. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The thin-film-deposition equipment according to claim 1, wherein the driver comprises two shaft seals and two motors; and the two motors are connected to the first-shield member and the second-shield member via the two shaft seals respectively. ### Claim 12 A shielding device adapted to a thin-film-deposition equipment, comprising: a first-shield member that has a first-inner-edge surface disposed with at least one protrusion; a second-shield member that has a second-inner-edge surface disposed with at least one cavity corresponding to the at least one protrusion of the first-shield member; and a driver that interconnects and drives the first-shield member and the second-shield member to respectively sway in opposite directions between an open state and a shielding state, wherein in the shielding state, the first-shield member and the second-shield member are adjacent to each other with the at least one protrusion of the first-shield member entering the at least one cavity of the second-shield member. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The shielding device according to claim 12, wherein the driver comprises a shaft seal and at least one motor, and the at least one motor is connected to the first-shield member and the second-shield member via the shaft seal. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The shielding device according to claim 13, wherein the shaft seal comprises an outer tube and a main shaft; the outer tube has an inner space for containing the main shaft; the at least one motor is connected to the first-shield member via the outer tube, and connected the second-shield member via the main shaft, such that to synchronously drive the outer tube and the main shaft to rotate in the opposite directions respectively. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The shielding device according to claim 12, wherein the first-shield member is formed with an area size larger than that of the second-shield member. ### Claim 16 (depends on 12) The shielding device according to claim 12, further comprises a first-guard plate that is disposed on the first-shield member, and a second-guard plate that is disposed on the second-shield member, wherein when the first-shield member and the second-shield member approach each other into the shielding state, the first-guard plate and the second-guard plate approach each other, for guarding the first-shield member and the second-shield member. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The shielding device according to claim 16, wherein in the shielding state, the first-shield member and the second-shield member have a first gap space therebetween, the first-guard plate and the second-guard plate have a second gap space therebetween; and the first gap space and the second gap space do not spatially overlap. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The shielding device according to claim 17, wherein in the shielding state, the first-guard plate and the second-guard plate form the second gap space in an inclined manner relative to the first gap space. ### Claim 19 (depends on 12) The shielding device according to claim 12, wherein the driver comprises a shaft seal, a first motor and a second motor; the shaft seal comprises an outer tube and a main shaft; the first motor is connected to the first-shield member via the outer tube of the shaft seal; and the second motor is connected to the second-shield member via the main shaft of the shaft seal. ### Claim 20 (depends on 12) The shielding device according to claim 12, wherein the driver comprises two shaft seals and two motors; and the two motors are connected to the first-shield member and the second-shield member via the two shaft seals respectively.