Apparatus for treating surfaces of wafer-shaped articles
AssigneeLam Research Corporation
InventorsDieter Frank, Robert Rogatschnig, Andreas Gleissner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device and method for processing wafer-shaped articles comprises a process chamber and a rotary chuck located within the process chamber. The rotary chuck is adapted to be driven without physical contact through a magnetic bearing. The rotary chuck comprises a series of gripping pins adapted to hold a wafer shaped article in a position depending downwardly from the rotary chuck. The rotary chuck further comprises a plate that rotates together with the rotary chuck. The plate is positioned above an area occupied by the wafer-shaped article, and shields upper surfaces of the process chamber from liquids flung off of a wafer-shaped article during use of the rotary chuck.
Claims15
Device for processing wafer-shaped articles, comprising a process chamber and a rotary chuck located within said process chamber, wherein said rotary chuck is adapted to be driven without physical contact through a magnetic bearing, said rotary chuck comprising a series of gripping pins adapted to hold a wafer shaped article in a position depending downwardly from said rotary chuck, said rotary chuck further comprising a plate that rotates together with said rotary chuck, said plate being positioned above an area occupied by a wafer-shaped article when said rotary chuck is in use, and said plate shielding upper surfaces of said process chamber from liquids flung off of a wafer-shaped article during use of said rotary chuck.
A method for processing wafer-shaped articles, comprising positioning a wafer-shaped article on a rotary chuck within a process chamber such that the wafer-shaped article is held by the rotary chuck in a position depending downwardly from the rotary chuck, and forming a film of liquid in a gap between an upper side of the wafer-shaped article and a plate carried by the rotary chuck, the plate overlying and extending parallel to the wafer-shaped article, thereby to define a gap of a predetermined width.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.