Dual independent robot blades with minimal offset
US6267549A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 2, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jul 31, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 2, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/67742
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A wafer handling robot system (10) operates in a wafer chamber (40) and comprises two independent robot blades, an upper blade (18) surmounting a lower blade (26). A pair of wafers (28, 32) are supported and positioned at the outer ends (78) of the upper and lower blades (18, 26). The upper robot blade (18) keeps an upper wafer (28) at a level just above the level at which the lower robot blade (26) keeps a lower wafer (32). Because the wafers are virtually at the same level, the same wafer lift mechanism can be used in the wafer chamber to lift and remove or replace the wafers on the two blades. By offsetting the height of the wafers by minimal amounts, the throughput of the system can be increased by up to a factor of two over a single robot blade system, particularly if the robot is the limiting factor on throughput. This throughput enhancement represents a substantial gain with a relatively simple and inexpensive addition to the equipment.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.