Reticle sorter
US5972727A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 30, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 26, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 30, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG03F7/70741
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A reticle sorter and a semiconductor fabrication facility employing one or more reticle sorters is provided. The reticle sorter(s) generally lies between a reticle storage system and a group of one or more photolithography exposure tools (e.g., steppers) and is configured for sorting reticles in one or more cassettes. The use of the reticle sorter provides sorting functionality apart from the reticle storage system and typically closer to the group of photolithography steppers with which it is associated. This can, for example, significantly increase the throughput of semiconductor wafers through the associated photolithography exposure tools as well as in the semiconductor fabrication plant as a whole.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.