Dynamic electrical and fluid delivery system with indexing motion for batch processing chambers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11950384-B2
Application number	US-202318103812-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 31, 2023
Priority date	Sep 1, 2020
Publication date	Apr 2, 2024
Grant date	Apr 2, 2024

Abstract

Process assemblies and cable management assemblies for managing cables in tight envelopes. A processing assembly includes a top chamber having at least one substrate support, a support shaft, a robot spindle assembly, a stator and a cable management system. The cable management system includes an inner trough assembly and an outer trough assembly configured to move relative to one another, and a plurality of chain links configured to house at least one cable for delivering power to the process assembly.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cable management system comprising:
an outer trough assembly comprising an outer guide having a semi-cylindrical shape with a central axis, an inner surface and an outer surface; and
an inner trough assembly positioned within the outer trough assembly, the inner trough assembly comprising a mounting bracket having an inner surface and an outer surface,
wherein a channel is formed between the inner surface of the outer guide of the outer trough assembly and the outer surface of the mounting bracket, and
wherein the mounting bracket of the inner trough assembly has a top portion and a bottom portion connected to a base, the base having a top surface and a bottom surface, the bottom surface of the base connected to a top surface of a bottom plate.

2. The cable management system of claim 1 , wherein the outer trough assembly further comprises an outer trough boundary having a semi-cylindrical shape with a central axis, an inner surface and an outer surface.

3. The cable management system of claim 2 , wherein a central axis of the outer guide of the outer trough assembly is coaxial with a central axis of the outer trough boundary.

4. The cable management system of claim 1 , wherein the inner trough assembly further comprises a semi-cylindrical inner guide connected to the base of the inner trough assembly, the semi-cylindrical inner guide having an inner surface and an outer surface, and an axis normal to the base.

5. The cable management system of claim 1 , wherein the top portion of the mounting bracket has a connector plate and a shaft coupling configured to receive a hollow support shaft.

6. The cable management system of claim 5 , wherein the inner trough assembly further comprises a hard stop disposed on an outer surface of the shaft coupling, the hard stop configured to limit rotation of the inner trough assembly relative to the outer trough assembly.

7. The cable management system of claim 2 , further comprising a stator bracket connected to the outer guide.

8. The cable management system of claim 7 , wherein the stator bracket is connected to the outer trough boundary.

9. The cable management system of claim 8 , further comprising a stator positioned on the stator bracket, and a rotor positioned around the stator and connected to the inner trough assembly, the rotor and stator configured to cooperatively interact to cause the inner trough assembly to rotate within the outer trough assembly.

10. The cable management system of claim 2 , wherein the outer trough assembly further comprises a semi-circular base plate connected to a bottom of the outer trough boundary.

11. The cable management system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of chain links configured to receive two or more cables within.

12. The cable management system of claim 11 , the plurality of chain links further comprising a fixed end and a moving end, the fixed end connected to one or more of a power source, relay or controller, the moving end connected to the mounting bracket.

13. The cable management system of claim 12 , wherein the channel is configured to guide the moving end of the plurality of chain links relative to the outer trough assembly.

14. The cable management system of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of chain links are made of plastic or a polymer.

15. The cable management system of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of chain links is configured to account for mechanical properties of two or more cables.

16. The cable management system of claim 5 , further comprising a hollow shaft extending from the shaft coupling.

17. The cable management system of claim 16 further comprising a rotary fluid union within the mounting bracket configured to deliver fluid to a plurality of fluid tubes extending through a cavity of the hollow shaft.

18. The cable management system of claim 17 , wherein the rotary fluid union comprises a top portion and a bottom portion, the top portion comprising a bracket configured to connect to the mounting bracket of the inner trough assembly.

19. The cable management system of claim 18 , wherein the bracket is rotatable relative to the bottom portion of the rotary fluid union.

Assignees

• Applied Materials Inc

Inventors

• Gunaji Akshay
• Pai Uday
• Roggenbuck Timothy J
• Baluja Sanjeev
• Karadi Kalesh Panchaxari
• Ulavi Tejas

Classifications

• H05K5/0247 Primary

  Electrical details of casings, e.g. terminals, passages for cables or wiring · CPC title

• C23C16/45544

  characterized by the apparatus · CPC title

• C23C16/4588 Primary

  the substrate being rotated · CPC title

• H02G3/0437

  Channels · CPC title

• C23C16/4586

  Elements in the interior of the support, e.g. electrodes, heating or cooling devices · CPC title