Yokes, yoke assemblies and semiconductor processing systems including yokes, and related methods of making yokes and forming semiconductor structures using yokes

An end effector assembly, comprising:

• a yoke body defining a yoke axis, the yoke body having:
• a beam portion transverse to the yoke axis;
• a first tine portion extending along the yoke axis and oblique relative to the beam portion of the yoke body;
• a second tine portion extending along the yoke axis, oblique relative to the beam portion of the yoke body, and separated from the first tine portion by the yoke axis,
• wherein a lateral extent of the beam portion of the yoke body is greater than a longitudinal extent of the first tine portion and the second tine portion to load and unload substrates from a dual chamber module without advancing the yoke body into process spaces defined within a first chamber and a second chamber, wherein the yoke body is formed from an aluminum-containing material;
• a first end effector fixed to the first tine portion of the yoke body and formed from a ceramic material;
• and
• a second end effector fixed to the second tine portion of the yoke body and formed from the ceramic material.

A semiconductor processing system, comprising:

• a back-end substrate transfer robot including a yoke, the yoke comprising:
• a yoke body defining a yoke axis, the yoke body having:
• a beam portion transverse to the yoke axis;
• a first tine portion extending along the yoke axis and oblique relative to the beam portion of the yoke body;
• a second tine portion extending along the yoke axis, oblique relative to the beam portion of the yoke body, and separated from the first tine portion by the yoke axis,
• wherein a lateral extent of the beam portion of the yoke body is greater than a longitudinal extent of the first tine portion and the second tine portion to load and unload substrates from a dual chamber module without advancing the yoke body into process spaces defined within a first chamber and a second chamber, wherein the first tine portion of the yoke body has a first end effector seat, wherein the second tine portion of the yoke body has a second end effector seat;
• a first chamber body housing a first substrate support, the first substrate support supported within the first chamber body for rotation about a first rotation axis;
• a second chamber body housing a second substrate support, the second substrate support within the second chamber for rotation about second rotation axis;
• wherein the first end effector seat is separated from the second end effector seat by a lateral separation distance;
• and
• wherein the lateral separation distance is substantially equivalent to a rotation axis spacing defined between the first rotation axis and the second rotation axis.

A method of making a yoke, comprising:

• forming a yoke body defining a yoke axis by:
• forming a beam portion transverse to the yoke axis;
• forming a first tine portion extending along the yoke axis such that the first tine portion is oblique relative to the beam portion of the yoke body;
• and
• forming a second tine portion extending along the yoke axis such that the second tine portion is oblique relative to the beam portion of the yoke body and separated from the first tine portion of the yoke body by the yoke axis,
• wherein a lateral extent of the beam portion of the yoke body is greater than a longitudinal extent of the first tine portion and the second tine portion to load and unload substrates from a dual chamber module without advancing the yoke body into process spaces defined within the dual chamber module.

A method of forming a semiconductor structure, comprising:

• at a yoke including a yoke body defining a yoke axis and having a beam portion transverse to the yoke axis;
• a first tine portion extending along the yoke axis and oblique relative to the beam portion of the yoke body;
• a second tine portion extending along the yoke axis, the second tine portion oblique relative to the beam portion of the yoke body and separated from the first tine portion by the yoke axis, a lateral extent of the beam portion of the yoke body greater than a longitudinal extent of the first tine portion and the second tine portion,
• loading a first substrate into a first chamber using the yoke;
• loading a second substrate into a second chamber using the yoke simultaneously with the loading of the first substrate into the first chamber;
• depositing a first material layer onto the first substrate;
• depositing a second material layer onto the second substrate simultaneously with the depositing the first material layer onto the first substrate;
• unloading the first substrate from the first chamber using the yoke;
• and
• unloading the second substrate from the second chamber simultaneously with the unloading of the first substrate from the first chamber using the yoke.