The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 17, 2020
Filed:
Jul. 06, 2011
Ernst Hendrik August Granneman, Hilversum, NL;
Vladimir Kuznetsov, Utrecht, NL;
Ernst Hendrik August Granneman, Hilversum, NL;
Vladimir Kuznetsov, Utrecht, NL;
ASM INTERNATIONAL N.V., Almere, NL;
Abstract
A method of contactlessly advancing a substrate (), comprising: —providing a process tunnel (), extending in a longitudinal direction and bounded by at least a first () and a second () wall; —providing first and second gas bearings () by providing substantially laterally flowing gas alongside the first and second walls respectively; —bringing about a first longitudinal division of the process tunnel into a plurality of pressure segments (), wherein the gas bearings () in a pressure segment have an average gas pressure that is different from an average gas pressure of the gas bearings in an adjacent pressure segment; —providing a substrate () in between the first wall () and the second wall (); and 1—allowing differences in average gas pressure between adjacent pressure segments () to drive the substrate along the longitudinal direction of the process tunnel.