Evatec Ag

Oerlikon Advanced Technologies Ag

Evatec Advanced Technologies Ag

Rolf Bazlen

Rogier Lodder

Bart Scholte Von Mast

Wolfgang Rietzler

Daniel Rohrer

Juergen Weichart

An electrical radiation heater arrangement for a vacuum enclosure includes at least two sets of linear heating sources, arranged in a corresponding number of concentric heating zones. The heating sources are arranged directly on the vacuum side of the vacuum enclosure and electrically connected to current rails arranged on the vacuum side with each of the current rails being connected to one electrical feedthrough from vacuum to ambient. Preferably, the heating sources are arranged in a polygon approaching a circle, essentially radially or a combination of both.

Radiation heater arrangement

To reduce pumping time of a vacuum treatment chamber served by a transport arrangement in a transport chamber. The vacuum treatment chamber is split in a workpiece treatment compartment and in a pumping compartment in mutual free flow communication and arranged opposite each other with respect to a movement path of the transport arrangement serving the vacuum treatment chamber. The pumping compartment allows providing a pumping port of a flow cross-section area freely selectable independently from the geometry of the treatment compartment.

Vacuum treatment apparatus

To reduce pumping time of a vacuum treatment chamber served by a transport arrangement in a transport chamber the vacuum treatment chamber is split into a workpiece treatment compartment and a pumping compartment in mutual free flow communication and arranged opposite each other with respect to a movement path of the transport arrangement serving the vacuum treatment chamber. The pumping compartment allows a pumping port to have a flow cross-section area that is freely selectable independently from the geometry of the treatment compartment.

A vacuum treatment apparatus and method for manufacturing has a plurality of treatment chambers for treating workpieces, in particular silicon wafers, a transfer chamber attached to the treatment chambers communicating via respective openings and having handling zones located adjacent to each of the treatment chambers. A workpiece carrier is arranged within the transfer chamber and configured to transfer the workpieces between the handling zones, and one or more handlers for moving the workpieces between the handling zones and the treatment chambers. The transfer chamber is ring-shaped about an axis and the openings have opening substantially parallel thereto. This way, forces on the transfer chamber are redirected to a large support structure and thus, a cost-effective, light and still rigid mechanical construction can be achieved.

Vacuum treatment apparatus and a method for manufacturing

An exhaust opening of a process chamber () contained in a vacuum chamber () is connected to an exhaust line () by a connector comprising a bellows () with one end which is connected to the exhaust line () fixed to a housing and its opposite end carrying a coupling tube () for connecting to a coupling ring () which surrounds the exhaust opening, the coupling tube () being elastically biased towards the same. The coupling tube () can be moved between a connected state where it is in contact with the coupling ring () and a disconnected state by an actuator reciprocatable in an axial direction perpendicular to the exhaust opening. To enable a gas-tight connection with the process chamber () the coupling tube () has lateral play such that it can align with the coupling ring () when a conical surface of the coupling tube () contacts a complementary conical surface on the coupling ring () in the connected state. The actuator comprises two rods () which extend through drill holes of an outward extending holding ring () of the coupling tube () and interact with the same in such a way that the lateral position of the coupling tube () is fixed in the disconnected state.

Growing community of inventors

Rorschach, Switzerland

Rolf Bazlen