A deposition apparatus includes a chamber, a holding unit configured to hold a substrate in the chamber, a driving unit configured to move the holding unit holding the substrate such that the substrate passes through a deposition area in the chamber, a deposition unit configured to form a film on the substrate passing through the deposition area by supplying a deposition material to the deposition area, and a cooling unit configured to cool the holding unit.

A method of operating a vacuum processing system with a main transportation path along which substrates can be transported in a main transportation direction is described. The method includes routing a substrate out of the main transportation path into a first deposition module for depositing a first material on the substrate; routing the substrate out of the main transportation path into a second deposition module for depositing a second material on the substrate; and routing the substrate out of the main transportation path into one or more further deposition modules for depositing one or more further materials on the substrate. Further, various methods of operating one or more rotation modules of vacuum processing system configured for depositing two or more materials on a plurality of substrates are described.

The method of providing a permeation-barrier layer system on a substrate includes establishing a permeation seal by depositing, by PVD and/or by ALD, an inorganic material layer system, thereby providing adhesion of the inorganic material layer system and crack-sealing by depositing a polymer material layer system on the substrate and the inorganic material layer system on the polymer material system.

A layer deposition apparatus having a substrate carrier, an inorganic material layer deposition station with a PVD layer deposition chamber and an ALD layer deposition chamber as well as a polymer deposition station. A control unit controls intermittent exposure of a substrate on the substrate carrier to the deposition effect of the inorganic material layer deposition station and from the polymer deposition station.

A drying device contains an upper drying head and a lower drying head. The upper drying head is arranged above a transport plane, in which objects to be dried can be transported in a transport direction through the drying device. The lower drying head is arranged below the transport plane. The upper drying head and the lower drying head contain in each case at least one air outlet slot and the longitudinal directions of the air outlet slots essentially extending parallel to the transport plane and transversely to the transport direction, and in which slot planes, in which the air outlet slots extend, intersect the transport plane at angles which are greater than 0 and less than 90.

A poling apparatus for poling a polymer thin film formed on a workpiece carried by a workpiece carrier. The workpiece has grounding electrodes and grounding pads located at edges, and a thin film covering the grounding electrodes but exposing the grounding pads. The workpiece carrier has carrier electrodes located around the workpiece and inside grounding ports at the bottom. The poling apparatus includes, in a poling chamber, a poling source generating a plasma, a Z-elevator to raise the workpiece carrier toward the poling source using the grounding ports, and grounding mechanisms including downwardly biased electrical contacts which, when the workpiece carrier is raised by the Z-elevator, connect the grounding pads of the workpiece with the carrier electrodes, to ground the workpiece. The poling apparatus additionally includes preparation platform and transfer platform with conveyer systems with rollers and Z-elevators to move the workpiece carrier in and out of the poling chamber.

A cutting apparatus is provided. The cutting apparatus includes a processing chamber, a chuck table, a transferring mechanism, and a cleaning member. The chuck table is disposed in the processing chamber and configured to hold a workpiece on a chuck surface of the chuck table. The transferring mechanism is configured to transfer the workpiece to the chuck surface or transfer the workpiece away from the chuck surface. The cleaning member, which is disposed in the processing chamber, is configured to move across and clean the chuck surface before the workpiece is transferred to the chuck table and/or after the workpiece is transferred away from the chuck table.

A transport carrier includes a carrier body being able to hold a substrate that is a deposition target, by which the substrate is transported in a deposition apparatus while being held, wherein the carrier body includes magnetic chucking means which magnetically chucks a mask which shields a non-deposition region of the substrate through the substrate and holds the mask in a state in which the mask has come into contact with a film formation surface of the substrate.

A processing system is provided, including a vacuum enclosure having a plurality of process windows and a continuous track positioned therein; a plurality of processing chambers attached sidewalls of the vacuum enclosures, each processing chamber about one of the process windows; a loadlock attached at one end of the vacuum enclosure and having a loading track positioned therein; at least one gate valve separating the loadlock from the vacuum enclosure; a plurality of substrate carriers configured to travel on the continuous track and the loading track; at least one track exchanger positioned within the vacuum enclosure, the track exchangers movable between a first position, wherein substrate carriers are made to continuously move on the continuous track, and a second position wherein the substrate carriers are made to transfer between the continuous track and the loading track.

A modular multilayer deposition system includes a plurality of modular deposition chambers, including at least one parylene deposition chamber and at least one ALD deposition chamber. The parylene deposition chamber is connected in series with the ALD deposition chamber. Substrates are automatically moved from within the parylene deposition chamber to within the ALD deposition chamber or from within the ALD deposition chamber to the parylene deposition chamber.