Substrate confinement apparatus and method

Abstract

A method and apparatus for constraining a substrate in-plane is provided. A substrate retainer having a retainer body and contact surface configured to engage a portion of a back side of a substrate, and a flexure coupled to the retainer body and configured to restrict one or more degrees of movement of a substrate with respect to the substrate retainer.

1 . A substrate retainer, comprising: 
 a plurality of retainer bodies, configured to removably engage a substrate having a back side, wherein each retainer body engages a corresponding inner portion of the back side and the plurality of retainer bodies collectively engage less than the entire back side; and    a flexure coupled to one of the retainer bodies, configured to restrict one or more degrees of movement of the substrate with respect to the substrate retainer.    
     
     
         2 . The substrate retainer of  claim 1 , wherein one of the retainer bodies removably engages the back side of the substrate through vacuum control.  
     
     
         3 . The substrate retainer of  claim 2 , wherein one of the retainer bodies includes a contact surface, and an aperture extending through a portion of the contact surface to allow activation and deactivation of a vacuum.  
     
     
         4 . The substrate retainer of  claim 1 , wherein the retainer body removably engages the portion of the back side of the substrate through a coupling method selected from electrostatic force, VanderWaals force, magnetic forces and capillary attraction.  
     
     
         5 . The substrate retainer of  claim 1 , wherein one of the retainer bodies includes a contact surface to mate with the back side of the substrate, and the contact surface is faced with a wear-resistant material.  
     
     
         6 . The substrate retainer of  claim 1 , wherein the flexure is configured to resist in-plane lateral movement, and allows out-of-plane movement.  
     
     
         7 . The substrate retainer of  claim 6  wherein the in-plane lateral movement restricted by the flexure is movement in at least a selected one of a X, a Y and a θ direction, and the out-of-plane movement allowed by the flexure includes a Z direction.  
     
     
         8 . The substrate retainer of  claim 1 , wherein the flexure material is a selected one of steel, aluminum, glass, quartz, synthetic diamond, and sapphire.  
     
     
         9 . The substrate retainer of  claim 1 , further comprising an actuator configured to controllably urge the flexure and the retainer body in an upward direction to facilitate chucking and dechucking of the substrate.  
     
     
         10 . The substrate retainer of  claim 9 , wherein the actuator controls the coupling of the retainer body to the back side of the substrate.  
     
     
         11 . A substrate confinement apparatus, comprising: 
 a global confinement system that causes a substrate to substantially remain in one plane; and    one or more substrate retainers, at least one of which including: 
 a plurality of retainer bodies, configured to removably engage a a substrate having a back side, wherein each retainer body engages a corresponding inner portion of the back side and the plurality of retainer bodies collectively engage less than the entire back side; and  
 a flexure coupled to one of the retainer bodies and configured to restrict one or more degrees of movement of the substrate with respect to the substrate retainer.  
   
     
     
         12 . The substrate confinement apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein three or more substrate retainers are used and equilaterally spaced from each other.  
     
     
         13 . The substrate confinement apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein one of the retainer bodies removably engages the back side of the substrate through vacuum control.  
     
     
         14 . The substrate confinement apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein one of the retainer bodies includes a contact surface, and an aperture extending through a portion of the contact surface to allow activation and deactivation of a vacuum.  
     
     
         15 . The substrate confinement apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the retainer body removably engages the portion of the back side of substrate through a coupling method selected from electrostatic force, VanderWaals force, magnetic forces and capillary attraction.  
     
     
         16 . The substrate confinement apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein one of the retainer bodies includes a contact surface to engage the back side of the substrate, and the contact surface is faced with a wear-resistant material.  
     
     
         17 . The substrate confinement apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the flexure is configured to resist in-plane lateral movement, and out-of-plane movement.  
     
     
         18 . The substrate confinement apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the in-plane lateral movement restricted by the flexure is movement in at least a selected one of a X, a Y and a θ direction, and the out-of-plane movement allowed by the flexure is a Z direction.  
     
     
         19 . The substrate confinement apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the global confinement apparatus maintains the substrate generally in one plane and the one of the substrate retainers allows for independent local out-of-plane movement of the substrate.  
     
     
         20 . The substrate confinement apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the flexure material is a selected one of steel, aluminum, glass, quartz, synthetic diamond, and sapphire.  
     
     
         21 . The substrate confinement apparatus of  claim 11 , further comprising an actuator configured to controllably urge one of the substrate retainers in an upward direction to facilitate loading and unloading of the substrate.  
     
     
         22 . The substrate confinement apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the global confinement system includes a plurality of vacuum ports and air jets, and a pressure control to maintain the substrate in substantially one plane.  
     
     
         23 . A substrate confinement method, comprising: 
 providing a substrate having process side and a back side;    providing a substrate confinement apparatus having one or more substrate retainers, at least one of the substrate retainers including a plurality of retainer bodies configured to removably engage a substrate having a back side, wherein each retainer body engages a corresponding inner portion of the back side and the plurality of retainer bodies collectively engage less than the entire back side, and a flexure coupled to one of the retainer bodies and configured to restrict one or more degrees of movement of the substrate with respect to the substrate retainer;    positioning the substrate in the substrate confinement apparatus;    urging one of the substrate retainers toward the back side of the substrate; and    coupling a contact surface of one of the retainer bodies to the back side of the substrate; and    activating a global confinement system.    
     
     
         24 . The substrate confinement method of  claim 23 , further comprising: 
 processing the substrate; and    decoupling the substrate retainer from of the back side of the substrate.    
     
     
         25 . The substrate confinement method of  claim 23 , wherein urging one of the substrate retainers toward the back side of the substrate includes providing an actuator and raising the actuator to engage the flexure.  
     
     
         26 . The substrate confinement method of  claim 23 , wherein coupling the contact surface of one of the retainer bodies to the back side of the substrate includes supplying a vacuum to the retainer body.  
     
     
         27 . The substrate confinement method of  claim 25 , further comprising: 
 removing the actuator from the flexure.