Applied Materials, Inc.

Haochuan Zhang

Hui W Chen

Joseph Yudovsky

Avi Tepman

Dan A Marohl

Steve G Ghanayem

Gary C Ettinger

Alexander S Polyak

Younes Achkire

Kenneth Reese Reynolds

Noel Manto

In a first aspect, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes a through-beam sensor coupled to a scrubber and adapted to detect a notch or flat of a substrate in the scrubber during processing. The through-beam sensor has (1) an emitter facing a first major surface of a substrate in the scrubber and adapted to transmit a beam toward an edge of the first major surface; and (2) a receiver facing a second major surface of the substrate and adapted to receive the beam transmitted from the emitter when the edge of the substrate does not obstruct the beam. Numerous other aspects are provided.

Methods and apparatus for detecting a substrate notch or flat

A scrubber box is provided that includes a tank adapted to receive a substrate for cleaning, supports outside of the tank and adapted to couple to ends of scrubber brushes disposed within the tank, a motor mounted to each of the supports and adapted to rotate the scrubber brushes, a base to which the supports are pivotally mounted via spherical bearings adapted to permit toe-in of the scrubber brushes, a brush gap actuator adapted, via a crank and rocker mechanism, to substantially simultaneously pivot the supports toward or away from each other so as to permit the scrubber brushes to substantially simultaneously achieve or break contact with the substrate, and a toe-in actuator adapted to move two of the spherical bearings toward or away from each other so as to adjust a toe-in angle between the scrubber brushes.

Scrubber box and methods for using the same

Scrubber box

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Milpitas, CA, United States of America

Haochuan Zhang