ELECTROGRIP MULTIDROP MODULES

Imagine the impossible - then attain it with our standard modules ...

• Move electrostatic chucks from loadstation to work area while retaining full chuck power
• Independently control and power multiple chuck heads from one central station
• Fully instrument robot arms without any slip rings or moving wiring
• Fully isolate electrostatics and motors to eliminate pneumatics, bellows, and rf insulators
• Telemeter with rf and rotating chuck heads to measure and control process conditions
• Simplify electrical and mechanical design of complex processing heads
• ... All with Electrogrip's novel patented technology for chuck drive and isolated power
• Power and signals travel in open space between base stations and its attached modules.
• A single base station can communicate with, and power, up to 250 chuck, telemetry, and motor modules in this manner.

Each DR5A has a GPIO port for analog and digital I/O. Up to 9 of these DR5A 'base stations' can be driven from one host controller. DR5 'Modules' are communicated with, and powered by, the DR5A 'base station' that they are connected to. Serial Modbus-style 9600 Baud multidrop communication addresses each module uniquely. To save setup time and coordinate actions, commands can be sent simultaneously to modules of the same type using a 'base address' for each block of up to 15 modules.
	Up to 240 modules including Backup power, Chuck high voltage, Substrate sensing, Servomotor power and drive, and General Purpose I/O (GPIO) can be driven from each DR5A base station. Some of these modules are described in the Drivers section. At the left is shown a simple direct connection between base station and modules. Direct connection uses a single low-voltage coaxial cable between DR5A and the DR5V high voltage module. This keeps high voltages constrained to the local chuck region, improving system safety and simplifying system design.
Infrared power and communications can connect DR5A base stations with DR5 modules for very high voltage isolation, or where rf or magnetic fields could interfere with small signals or electron beams.
	Rf power couplers yield excellent performance where rotary motion, linear motion, through-window, or rf isolation are required. Sizes depend on the application; examples are: 0.5W power, 15mm diameter 7mm high cylinders with 2mm gap for powering one rf-isolated DR5V module and its connected electrostatic chuck; 50W power, 200mm OD, 100mm ID rings with 5mm gap for rf and motion isolation of multiple independent in-vacuum motor drives and electrostatic chuck power.