Door systems for low contamination, high throughput handling of workpieces for vacuum processing

A door system for sealing a doorway between two chambers in a workpiece processing system, the door system comprising:

• a door sized to seal the doorway;
• means for moving the door against the doorway to seal the doorway;
• means for retracting the door from the doorway to unseal the doorway;
• and means for rotating the door in a vertical direction around an axis substantially parallel to the orientation of the doorway such that workpieces may pass through the doorway, wherein the means for rotating comprises:
• a shaft coupled to the door;
• a linkage member coupled to the shaft;
• and
• a piston coupled to the linkage such that actuation of the piston causes rotation of the shaft.

A door system for sealing a doorway between two chambers in a workpiece processing system, the door system comprising:

• a door sized to seal the doorway, the door having an open position that allows workpieces to pass through the doorway and a sealing position that orients the door to seal the doorway;
• a housing having an open position rotation stop and a sealing position rotation stop;
• a shaft coupled to the door and rotationally coupled to the housing;
• a rotation gear coupled to the shaft wherein the rotation gear includes a rotary stop which contacts the open position rotation stop when the door is in the open position and which contacts the sealing position rotation stop when the door is in the sealing position;
• a linear gear operatively engaged with the rotation gear such that linear motion of the linear gear relative to the rotation gear causes rotation of the door in a vertical direction between the open position and the sealed position.

A door system for sealing a doorway between a first chamber and a second chamber, the door system comprising:

• a door having an area larger than the doorway;
• a shaft coupled to the door, the shaft configured to rotate the door in a vertical direction between an open position that allows workpieces to pass through the doorway and a closed position that orients the door to seal the doorway;
• and
• a rotable drive, coupled to the shaft, configured to rotatably actuate the shaft to rotate the door between the open position and the closed position and to linearly translate the door between a sealed position and an unsealed position, the sealed position compressing the door against the doorway when the door is in a closed position and the unsealed position allowing the door to move between the closed position and the open position.