Patent · US Expired

Processing apparatus having parts for thermal and non-thermal treatment of substrates

US5639301A · kind A · utility

37Cited by
10References
21Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 5, 1995
Grant dateJun 17, 1997
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 5, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S414/137
  • WIPO fieldSemiconductors
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An apparatus including a structure which separates a first transport robot (high temperature robot), which accesses a first processing part group including the thermal processing parts, from a second transport robot (low temperature robot) which accesses the only non-thermal processing parts. During circulating transportation of substrates to be processed, heat created at thermal processing parts is prevented from flowing into non-thermal processing parts. Semiconductor wafers are circulated one by one between the first processing part group which includes a hot plate and a second processing part group which does not include a hot plate and processed one at a time at each processing part. The high temperature robot accesses the first processing part group while the low temperature robot accesses the second processing part group. Transfer of a semiconductor wafer between the two robots is performed at a transfer part which is formed using a cool plate. Since the low temperature robot is never subjected to heat, temperatures at the non-thermal processing parts which are included in the second processing part group remain stable even when the low temperature robot accesses the non-the…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.