Automated substrate placement to chamber center

A method of centering a substrate in a chamber, comprising:

• inserting the substrate into the chamber with a robot arm;
• obtaining a delta time value for a second thermal detector relative to a first thermal detector, wherein the delta time value is a duration of time between when the first thermal detector is covered by the substrate and when the second thermal detector is covered by the substrate;
• calculating a time offset value of the delta time value relative to an ideal delta time value, wherein the ideal delta time value is the delta time value when the substrate is perfectly centered in a first direction perpendicular to the motion of the substrate;
• comparing the time offset value to a graph or a lookup table that correlates the time offset value to a distance offset value, wherein the distance offset value is how far off center the substrate is from being perfectly centered in the first direction;
• retracting the substrate;
• moving the robot arm by the distance offset value in the first direction;
• and
• inserting the substrate into the chamber with the robot arm.

A method of centering a substrate in a chamber, comprising:

• inserting the substrate into the chamber with a robot arm, wherein the chamber comprises a first thermal detector and a plurality of second thermal detectors below the substrate;
• determining delta time values for the plurality of second thermal detectors relative to the first thermal detector;
• calculating time offset values of the delta time values relative to ideal delta time values, wherein the ideal delta time values are the delta time values when the substrate is perfectly centered in a first direction perpendicular to the motion of the substrate;
• and
• finding an optimal match in a graph or a lookup table that correlates time offset values to a distance offset value, wherein the distance offset value is how far off center the substrate is from being perfectly centered in the first direction.