Patent ID: 11942319
Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Field: Semiconductors (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. A horizontal pre-clean module, comprising:
a chamber comprising a basin and a lid which collectively define a processing area;
a rotatable vacuum table disposed in the processing area, the rotatable vacuum table comprising a substrate receiving surface;
a pad conditioning station disposed proximate to the rotatable vacuum table;
a pad carrier positioning arm having a first end and a second end distal from the first end;
a pad carrier assembly coupled to the first end of the pad carrier positioning arm; and
an actuator coupled to the second end of the pad carrier positioning arm and configured to swing the pad carrier assembly between a first position over the rotatable vacuum table and a second position over the pad conditioning station, wherein:
the pad carrier assembly comprises a gimbal base and a pad carrier coupled to the gimbal base, the gimbal base and the pad carrier are configured to support a buffing pad by a mechanical clamping mechanism and a suction clamping mechanism,
the gimbal base comprises a lip portion on a peripheral edge of the gimbal base,
the pad carrier comprises a tapered portion on a peripheral edge of the pad carrier, and
the lip portion and the pad carrier are configured to provide the mechanical clamping mechanism by mechanically clamping the buffing pad along a peripheral edge of the buffing pad.