Paper:
Non-Contact Guideway for Substrate Transportation by Ultrasonic Oscillation
Hiromi Isobe* and Akira Kyusojin**
*Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nagano College of Technology
**Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology
In recent years, the enlargement of plane substrates and semiconductor wafers has advanced. To carry the longer and wider substrate with conventional thickness requires more fragility. The development of non-contact transportation system is desired to prevent the fracture of the substrate. In this study, a new non-contact transportation system to provide damage-free transportation is proposed. The substrate is supported by aerostatic force and transported by acoustic viscous streaming, which is induced by traveling wave deformation of disk-type stators. The desktop size non-contact transportation apparatus for polycrystalline silicon substrate (150(W)×150(L)×0.3(t)) is constructed to clarify the basic carrying performance. In order to realize non-contact transportation, a unique guide technique is proposed. The standing wave deformations of rectangular plates guide the substrate without contacting to avoid dropping off from the carrier way. Experimental results demonstrate that holding force varies with relative position between oscillating plate and substrate. The maximum holding force is obtained when the center of oscillating plate is on the edge of substrate.
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