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In the highly competitive race to produce ever-smaller and more powerful chips with shrinking die sizes and aggressive production schedules, OEMs face significant challenges in developing fast, highly reliable semiconductor equipment capable of delivering the required yields. Achieving these goals in automated wafer handling, metrology, stages and other equipment with compact axes requires careful attention to several factors — including the motors that are integral to these machines.

When selecting motors to drive today’s increasingly miniaturized fabrication equipment, it is critical to choose compact solutions that combine superior accuracy, power and cleanliness. Motors with these characteristics and other critical features will help achieve greater returns on your substantial capital investments.

At Orbex Group, our high-performance flat BLDC motors are particularly well-suited to meet the challenges of semiconductor fabrication equipment. In fact, they offer several advantages over other motor types. For example, flat BLDC motors offer exceptional power and torque density thanks to their compact size. Because these units are brushless, they don’t generate particles and require less maintenance than other motor types. And unlike steppers, they provide exceptional performance at high speed while dissipating less heat — another important consideration in temperature-controlled cleanrooms.

Orbex flat BLDC motors are ideal for applications where axial length is critical. Common uses are specialty pumps, positioners to adjust optics and valve actuators Additional features include:

• Compact size. Orbex flat BLDC motors have a flat, pancake-style design that is ideal for applications with limited space.
• High power and torque densities. Thanks to their miniature size, these motors are an attractive choice for space-constrained rotating devices that spin and position components at high speeds. They also offer exceptional torque density thanks to their strong NdFeB magnets.
• Precise control. Flat BLDC motors combine low-cogging torque, high power density and integrated Hall-effect sensors and optional encoders to ensure smooth motion and precise positioning.
• Brushless. Because BLDC motors do not use brushes for commutation, they eliminate dust and particle generation worries as well as wear and maintenance issues.
• Low cogging. Orbex BLDC motors are designed with low cogging in mind, providing smooth, vibration-free motion and precise positioning for use in, for example, wafer inspection and handling equipment.

Orbex also offers many of these same features in its gimbal motors, suitable for various robotic wafer handling devices as well as wafer polishing and flattening, and metrology applications.

A Wide Range of Sizes and Power Ratings

Compact, cost-effective Orbex flat BLDC motors are available with multiple windings and come in a wide range of sizes and power ratings:

• 43-, 60- and 90-millimeter diameters
• 16-, 26- and 32-millimeter diameter micro flat motors
• Lengths of 9 to 38 millimeters
• Power ratings from 12 to 220 watts and 9 to 60 volts

With the semiconductor industry under intense pressure to build and upgrade automated equipment and processes to satisfy greater throughput and ROI demands, you cannot settle for motors that compromise on precision, power, cleanliness and reliability. Orbex flat BLDC motors will meet these needs while satisfying the industry’s ever-persistent miniaturization requirements.

For more information, please visit our product page.