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:
Jun. 17, 2003
Filed:
Dec. 22, 2000
Randolph E. Treur, Pleasanton, CA (US);
Stephen M. Smith, Morgan Hill, CA (US);
Lam Research Corporation, Fremont, CA (US);
Abstract
A chuck assembly for use in a substrate spin, rinse, and dry (SRD) module is provided. The chuck assembly includes a wedge, a chuck body, and a plurality of grippers. The wedge has a sidewall and is designed to move from a lower position to an upper position and from the upper position to the lower position thus opening and closing the chuck assembly, respectively. The chuck body has a cylindrical shape and is designed to include a plurality of linkage arms. The chuck body is designed to enclose the wedge such that each linkage arm is substantially in contact with the sidewall of the wedge. The cylindrical shape of the chuck body is designed to reduce air disturbance around a surface of a substrate. The plurality of grippers are designed to be coupled to the chuck body via a plurality of rotation pins. Each of the grippers is configured to stand substantially upright so as to engage the substrate when the wedge is in a lower position, and each of the grippers is configured to lie substantially flat so as to disengage the substrate when the wedge is in the lower position.