Conveyor device for a substrate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018179631-A1
Application number	US-201615739108-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 20, 2016
Priority date	Jun 23, 2015
Publication date	Jun 28, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

A device for transporting a strip-type substrate through a reactor includes transport elements for holding the substrate. The transport elements are displaceable by a drive unit in a transport direction. The transport elements have first transport beams and second transport beams that engage in alternation on the substrate, in which the transport beams that engage the substrate move in the transport direction and the transport beams that do not engage the substrate move in a reverse direction opposite to the transport direction. The device further includes transport carriages that are arranged in pairs in the transport direction respectively upstream and downstream of the reactor.

First claim

1 . A device for transporting a strip-shaped substrate ( 1 ) through a reactor ( 20 ), the device comprising:
a horizontal drive ( 15 , 15 ′) for displacing the substrate ( 1 ) in a transport direction (V); transport elements ( 3 , 3 ′, 4 , 4 ′, 5 , 5 ′, 6 , 6 ′) for holding the substrate ( 1 ), wherein the transport elements comprise first transport beams ( 3 , 3 ′, 4 , 4 ′) and second transport beams ( 5 , 5 ′, 6 , 6 ′) that alternately engage the substrate ( 1 ), wherein when the first transport beams engage the substrate ( 1 ) and move in the transport direction (V), the second transport beams are configured to not engage the substrate and move in a reverse direction (R) opposite to the transport direction (V), and wherein the first transport beams and second transport beams ( 3 , 3 ′, 4 , 4 ′, 5 , 5 ′, 6 , 6 ′) feature clamping surfaces ( 9 , 9 ′, 10 , 10 ′, 11 , 11 ′, 12 , 12 ′) for clamping an edge ( 2 , 2 ′) of the substrate ( 1 ) between two of the clamping surfaces.

2 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a first pair of transport carriages ( 13 , 14 ) arranged upstream of the reactor ( 20 ) and a second pair of transport carriages ( 13 ′, 14 ′) arranged downstream of the reactor ( 20 ) with respect to the transport direction (V).

3 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the first and second pairs of transport carriages ( 13 , 13 ′, 14 , 14 ′) are arranged and connected to one another by the first and second transport beams ( 3 , 3 ′, 4 , 4 ′, 5 , 5 ′, 6 , 6 ′) in such a way that the second pair of transport carriages ( 13 ′, 14 ′) arranged on one side of the reactor ( 20 ) move away from one another during a motion phase, in which the first pair of transport carriages ( 13 , 14 ) arranged on the other side of the reactor ( 20 ) move toward one another, and wherein the first transport beams ( 3 , 3 ′, 4 , 4 ′) are shorter than the second transport beams ( 5 , 5 ′, 6 , 6 ′).

4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first and second transport beams comprise lower transport beams ( 4 , 4 ′, 6 , 6 ′) and upper transport beams ( 3 , 3 ′, 5 , 5 ′), which are respectively displaced in the transport direction (V), and wherein the substrate ( 1 ) is held by clamping surfaces ( 10 , 10 ′, 12 , 12 ′) of the lower transport beams and clamping surfaces ( 9 , 9 ′, 11 , 11 ′) of the upper transport beams.

5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second transport beams ( 3 , 3 ′, 4 , 4 ′, 5 , 5 ′, 6 , 6 ′) are moveable from a first position, in which it contacts the substrate ( 1 ), into a second position, in which it is spaced apart from the substrate ( 1 ), in a direction extending transverse to a surface of the substrate ( 1 ) by means of vertical drives ( 7 , 7 ′, 8 , 8 ′).

6 . The device of claim 2 , further comprising vertical drives ( 7 , 7 ′, 8 , 8 ′), wherein the horizontal drives ( 15 , 15 ′) are configured to horizontally displace the first and second pairs of transport carriages ( 13 , 13 ′, 14 , 14 ′) and the vertical drives ( 7 , 7 ′, 8 , 8 ′) are configured to vertically displace the first and second transport beams ( 3 , 3 ′, 4 , 4 ′, 5 , 5 ′, 6 , 6 ′) between a first position, in which they contact the substrate ( 1 ), and a second position, in which they are spaced apart from the substrate ( 1 ), wherein the horizontal and vertical drives ( 15 , 15 ′; 7 , 7 ′, 8 , 8 ′) are controlled in such a way that the vertical displacement of the first and second transport beams takes place in motion reversal points of the first and second pairs of the transport carriages or during a motion of all transport carriages ( 13 , 13 ′, 14 , 14 ′) in the transport direction (V).

7 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the reactor ( 20 ) is a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor.

8 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the reactor ( 20 ) is configured to deposit carbon nanoparticles, graphenes or carbon nanotubes on the substrate ( 1 ) at a temperature greater than 1000° C.

9 . (canceled)

Assignees

• Aixtron Se

Inventors

• Rupesinghe Nalin Lalith
• Gonçalves Gonçalo Pedro
• Teo Kenneth B K

Classifications

• H10P72/3314

  Continuous loading and unloading into and out of a processing chamber, e.g. transporting belts within processing chambers · CPC title

• H10P72/3304 Primary

  characterised by movements or sequence of movements of transfer devices · CPC title

• B65H2301/511

  Processing surface of handled material upon transport or guiding thereof, e.g. cleaning · CPC title

• B65H20/18

  to effect step-by-step advancement of web · CPC title

• B82B3/0004

  Apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of nanostructural devices or systems or methods for manufacturing the same · CPC title