Wafer handling systems and methods

US9281222B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Applied Materials, Inc. · US

Inventors

• William T. Weaver · Austin, US
• Malcolm N. Daniel, JR. · Austin, US
• Robert Brent Vopat · Austin, US
• Jason M. Schaller · Austin, US
• Jacob Newman · Palo Alto, US
• Dinesh Kanawade · Melville, US
• Andrew J. Constant · Cupertino, US
• Stephen C. Hickerson · Hollister, US
• Jeffrey C. Hudgens · San Francisco, US
• Marvin L. Freeman · Boynton, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 10, 2014
• Grant date: Mar 8, 2016
• Expiry date: Jun 24, 2034

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01L21/67742
• WIPO field: Semiconductors
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A wafer handling system may include upper and lower linked robot arms that may move a wafer along a nonlinear trajectory between chambers of a semiconductor processing system. These features may result in a smaller footprint in which the semiconductor processing system may operate, smaller transfer chambers, smaller openings in process chambers, and smaller slit valves, while maintaining high wafer throughput. In some embodiments, simultaneous fast wafer swaps between two separate chambers, such as load locks and ALD (atomic layer deposition) carousels, may be provided. Methods of wafer handling are also provided, as are other aspects.