Pedestal/heater assembly lift mechanism with direct drive lead screw

摘要

A new and improved lift mechanism which is suitably adapted for raising and lowering a pedestal/heater assembly inside a processing chamber for semiconductor wafer substrates. The pedestal/heater assembly lift mechanism includes a drive motor which is directly coupled through a shaft coupling to a threaded lead screw for rotating the lead screw in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction. The lead screw threadibly engages the pedestal/heater assembly for selectively raising and lowering the pedestal/heater assembly inside the processing chamber.