VARIABLE GAP STOP WHICH CAN BE USED IN A SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING DEVICE

摘要

A variable gap stop device (30, 32) which can stop the movement of a drive unit, such as a cylinder which moves a chuck (21) on which a semiconductor wafer is secured in a semiconductor processing equipment. The drive unit includes at least one positioning surface. A movable gap strop unit (33,34) includes at least one stop surface, and in a preferred embodiment may include two or more different stop surfaces each at a different height. A cylinder (31) moves the movable gap stop unit to position at least one of the stop surfaces to be in and out of alignment with the at least one positioning surface (24) of the drive unit. With such a structure and operation, the at least one positioning surface of the drive unit can abut against the variable stop surfaces of the movable gap stop unit. Based on which of the plural stop surfaces the positioning surface of the drive unit abuts against, the height that the cylinder moves the chuck and consequently the height of the chuck within a semiconductor processing chamber, can be controlled. Thereby, an easily executable control is provided such that an object, such as a semiconductor wafer, can be easily and efficiently positioned at variable height within a device, such as a processing chamber.