Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080210258 | SCRUBBER BOX AND METHODS FOR USING THE SAME - 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. | 09-04-2008 |
20080279658 | BATCH EQUIPMENT ROBOTS AND METHODS WITHIN EQUIPMENT WORK-PIECE TRANSFER FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC FACTORY - The present invention generally comprises equipment for an automated high volume batch work-piece manufacturing factory comprising work-piece handling and work-piece processing in a high productivity factory architecture capable of producing 1,000 or more work-piece an hour. The work-pieces may be presented to the equipment from a stacked supply to a parallel array. Additionally, the work-pieces may be transferred between manufacturing architectures by an array to array batch transfer. The work-pieces may be transferred within the manufacturing architecture in a parallel to parallel batch transfer operation. The robotic operations may be between robotic devices, between robotic devices and processing equipment, and within processing equipment. | 11-13-2008 |
20080279672 | BATCH EQUIPMENT ROBOTS AND METHODS OF STACK TO ARRAY WORK-PIECE TRANSFER FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC FACTORY - The present invention generally comprises equipment for an automated high volume batch work-piece manufacturing factory comprising work-piece handling and work-piece processing in a high productivity factory architecture capable of producing 1,000 or more work-piece an hour. The work-pieces may be presented to the equipment from a stacked supply to a parallel array. Additionally, the work-pieces may be transferred between manufacturing architectures by an array to array batch transfer. The work-pieces may be transferred within the manufacturing architecture in a parallel to parallel batch transfer operation. The robotic operations may be between robotic devices, between robotic devices and processing equipment, and within processing equipment. | 11-13-2008 |
20080292433 | BATCH EQUIPMENT ROBOTS AND METHODS OF ARRAY TO ARRAY WORK-PIECE TRANSFER FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC FACTORY - The present invention generally comprises equipment for an automated high volume batch work-piece manufacturing factory comprising work-piece handling and work-piece processing in a high productivity factory architecture capable of producing 1,000 or more work-piece an hour. The work-pieces may be presented to the equipment from a stacked supply to a parallel array. Additionally, the work-pieces may be transferred between manufacturing architectures by an array to array batch transfer. The work-pieces may be transferred within the manufacturing architecture in a parallel to parallel batch transfer operation. The robotic operations may be between robotic devices, between robotic devices and processing equipment, and within processing equipment. | 11-27-2008 |
20100021273 | CONCRETE VACUUM CHAMBER - The present invention embodies processing systems and vacuum chambers equipped to process substrates for flat panel displays, solar cells, or other electronic devices. The processing system and/or the vacuum chambers as well as their components and supporting structure are constructed of less costly materials and in a more energy efficient manner than that of current large area substrate processing systems. In one embodiment, the processing system chamber bodies and their supporting structures are constructed of reinforced concrete. In one embodiment, system processing chambers include a vacuum tight lining disposed inside reinforced concrete chamber bodies. | 01-28-2010 |
20110014396 | RECIRCULATING LINEAR ROLLING BUSHING - A method and apparatus for a linear motion device is described. In one embodiment, linear motion device includes a housing having a bore formed therethrough along a longitudinal axis and at least two raceways formed at least partially in the housing having a plurality of bearing elements movably disposed therein. Each of the at least two raceways include a first channel disposed in a first radial plane relative to the longitudinal axis, and a second channel connected to the first channel and disposed in the first radial plane inward of the first channel, the second channel including a longitudinal slit allowing at least a portion of the plurality of bearing elements to extend into the bore. | 01-20-2011 |
20110033620 | COMPOUND LIFT PIN TIP WITH TEMPERATURE COMPENSATED ATTACHMENT FEATURE - A method and apparatus for a lift pin is described. In one embodiment, a lift pin head is described. The lift pin head includes a base member having a body made of a first material having a first coefficient of thermal expansion, and a tip disposed on the base member, the base member having a body made of a second material that is flexible at room temperature and having a second coefficient of thermal expansion, the first coefficient of thermal expansion being less than the second coefficient of thermal expansion. | 02-10-2011 |
20110164955 | PROCESSING CHAMBER WITH TRANSLATING WEAR PLATE FOR LIFT PIN - Embodiments of a method and apparatus for processing large area substrates including a translational wear plate and/or bushing assembly are provided for reducing the stress on a lift pin used to space substrates from a substrate support in a processing or other type of chamber. In another embodiment, an apparatus for processing substrates includes processing chamber comprising a substrate support disposed in a chamber body. A bushing assembly is disposed in the substrate support. A lift pin is disposed through the bushing assembly. A wear plate is provided that is coupled to the chamber body and aligned with the lift pin. The wear plate is movable laterally relative to a centerline of the chamber body to accommodate lateral motion of the lift pin when contacting the wear plate. | 07-07-2011 |
20130059092 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GAS DISTRIBUTION AND PLASMA APPLICATION IN A LINEAR DEPOSITION CHAMBER - A method and apparatus for processing a substrate is described. One embodiment of the invention provides an apparatus for forming thin films. The apparatus comprises a chamber defining an internal volume, a plasma source disposed within the internal volume, and at least one gas injection source disposed adjacent the plasma source within the internal volume, wherein the at least one gas injection source comprises a first channel and a second channel for delivering gases to the internal volume, the first channel delivering a gas at a first pressure or a first density and the second channel delivering a gas at a second pressure or a second density, the first pressure or the first density being different than the second pressure or the second density. | 03-07-2013 |
20130104996 | METHOD FOR BALANCING GAS FLOW SUPPLYING MULTIPLE CVD REACTORS | 05-02-2013 |
20130171757 | ADVANCED PLATFORM FOR PASSIVATING CRYSTALLINE SILICON SOLAR CELLS - The present invention generally provides a high throughput substrate processing system that is used to form one or more regions of a solar cell device. In one configuration of a processing system, one or more solar cell passivating or dielectric layers are deposited and further processed within one or more processing chambers contained within the high throughput substrate processing system. The processing chambers may be, for example, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) chambers, low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) chambers, atomic layer deposition (ALD) chambers, physical vapor deposition (PVD) or sputtering chambers, thermal processing chambers (e.g., RTA or RTO chambers), substrate reorientation chambers (e.g., flipping chambers) and/or other similar processing chambers. | 07-04-2013 |
20130273262 | STATIC DEPOSITION PROFILE MODULATION FOR LINEAR PLASMA SOURCE - Methods and apparatus for controlling film deposition using a linear plasma source are described herein. The apparatus include a showerhead having openings therein for flowing a gas therethrough, a conveyor to support one or more substrates thereon disposed adjacent to the showerhead, and a power source for ionizing the gas. The ionized gas can be a source gas used to deposit a material on the substrate. The deposition profile of the material on the substrate can be adjusted, for example, using a gas-shaping device included in the apparatus. Additionally or alternatively, the deposition profile may be adjusted by using an actuatable showerhead. The method includes exposing a substrate to an ionized gas to deposit a film on the substrate, wherein the ionized gas is influenced with a gas-shaping device to uniformly deposit the film on the substrate as the substrate is conveyed proximate to the showerhead. | 10-17-2013 |
20140034454 | TEMPERATURE ACTUATED TENSIONING MECHANISM - Aspects of the present invention generally provide tensioner for varying tension applied to a continuous drive member based on temperature changes. In one embodiment, a temperature compensating chain tensioner is provided. The temperature compensating chain tensioner includes a fixed support member, a first idler sprocket coupled to the fixed support member, a support arm having a proximal end pivotably coupled to the fixed support member, a second idler sprocket coupled to a distal end of the support arm, and a spring form coupled intermediate of the fixed support member and the support arm, wherein the spring form has a spring constant that increases with increasing temperature, which causes the distal end of the support arm to move relative to the fixed support member. | 02-06-2014 |
20140079514 | LOAD LOCK CHAMBER DESIGNS FOR HIGH-THROUGHPUT PROCESSING SYSTEM - Methods and apparatus for transferring one or more substrates from a first pressure environment to a second pressure environment is provided. In one embodiment, a load lock chamber is provided. The load lock chamber comprises a first circular housing, and a second circular housing disposed within and movable relative to the first circular housing, one of the first circular housing or the second circular housing comprising a plurality of discrete regions, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of discrete regions are in selective fluid communication with one of at least two vacuum pumps based on the angular position of the second circular housing relative to the first circular housing. | 03-20-2014 |