Semiconductor processing assembly and facility

A semiconductor processing facility, comprising:

• a clean room bay area, at least partially bounded by a clean room bounding wall;
• a clean room chase area, disposed adjacent to the clean room and separated therefrom by the clean room bounding wall;
• and
• a semiconductor processing assembly, including:
• at least one first semiconductor processing system comprising a rectangular outer housing having a front wall, a back wall, and two side walls which together define a rectangular footprint of the first semiconductor processing system, wherein the front wall defines a front side of the system, said system extending through the clean room bounding wall, such that its front side is flush therewith and accessible from the clean room bay area;
• at least one second semiconductor processing system comprising a rectangular outer housing having a front wall, a back wall, and two side walls which together define a rectangular footprint of the second semiconductor processing system, wherein the front wall defines a front side of the system, the at least one second semiconductor processing system being disposed completely within the clean room chase area and spaced apart from the clean room bounding wall;
• and
• a local substrate cassette transport system, configured to transport substrate cassettes between the at least one first and at least one second semiconductor processing systems and including:
• a substrate cassette exchange station for exchanging substrate cassettes with a global cassette transport system of a processing facility, wherein the substrate cassette exchange station is provided at the front side of the at least one first semiconductor processing system, and accessible from the clean room bay area, and
• wherein said local substrate cassette transport system is configured to transport substrate cassettes between its substrate cassette exchange station and the at least one first and at least one second semiconductor processing systems and wherein the local substrate cassette transport system includes a rail system, including at least one substantially horizontally extending main rail along which a substrate cassette is transportable, wherein said at least one main rail extends between and at least partly vertically above and over the at least one first and at least one second semiconductor processing systems.