Elevator system for transferring a wafer boat with automatic horizontal attitude control
US6223096A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 1, 1998 |
| Grant date | Apr 24, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 1, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S414/135
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An elevator system automatically adjusts the inclination of a wafer boat during the manufacturing of semiconductor devices so that the wafers in the boat are maintained horizontal during their processing. The elevator system includes the wafer boat, a base on which the boat is supported, an elevator for loading the boat into a processing chamber and removing it from the chamber, a sensing unit for detecting the inclination of the boat relative to the horizontal, a horizontal control unit which is interposed between the base and the elevator and is drivable to maintain the boat in such a position that the wafers in the boat lie in horizontal planes, and a control unit for receiving information from the sensing unit and, based on the information, outputting a control signal to the horizontal control unit.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.