Edge gripping prealigner
AssigneeIntegrated Dynamics Engineering, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation
InventorPreston Whitcomb
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for holding and orienting a wafer having an alignment feature, the method includes gripping a wafer with an end effector attached to an end of a robot arm, the end effector including a gripping mechanism which includes a first contacting member, a second contacting member, and a drive element, and wherein gripping includes increasing and decreasing the space between the first and second contacting members, the method also including rotating the wafer about an axis that is perpendicular to the plane of the wafer and sensing the alignment feature on the wafer as the gripping mechanism rotates the wafer.
Claims15
A method for holding and orienting a wafer having an alignment feature, said method comprising:
- gripping a wafer with an end effector attached to an end of a robot arm, said end effector including a gripping mechanism which comprises a first contacting member, a second contacting member, and a drive element, and wherein gripping comprises increasing and decreasing the space between the first and second contacting members;
- rotating the wafer about an axis that is perpendicular to the plane of the wafer;
- and
- sensing the alignment feature on the wafer as the gripping mechanism rotates the wafer.
A method for holding and orienting a wafer having an alignment feature, said method comprising:
- gripping the wafer using an end effector attached to the working end of a robot arm, said end effector including a gripping mechanism which comprises three contacting members separated in space from each other, and wherein gripping comprises contacting the edges of the wafer using the three contacting members;
- rotating the wafer using the gripping mechanism relative to the end effector and about an axis that is perpendicular to the plane of the wafer;
- sensing using a sensing element the alignment feature on the wafer as the gripping mechanism rotates the wafer past the sensing element;
- and
- moving the wafer laterally relative to the axis using the robot arm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.