Patent · US Expired

Wafer transfer system and method of using the same

US5944940A · kind A · utility

55Cited by
14References
2Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJul 8, 1997
Grant dateAug 31, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 8, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S414/14
  • WIPO fieldSemiconductors
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A wafer transfer system is described for transferring a wafer while at substantially the same time another wafer is being processed. The wafer transfer system comprises, in one embodiment, a transfer chamber having a wafer transfer blade, a load lock chamber coupled to the transfer chamber, an atmospheric robot for loading and unloading the wafer into the load lock chamber, and a slider coupled to the wafer transfer blade for moving the wafer transfer blade between the transfer chamber and the load lock chamber. According to a preferred embodiment, the slider utilizes a magnetic coupling mechanism. In a further embodiment, a device comprising a transfer chamber coupled to a plurality of plasma sources capable of simultaneously or sequentially providing different plasma structures within the transfer chamber, is described.

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