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US 5,176,493 AGranted
High speed wafer handling method
AssigneeNorth American Philips Corporation
InventorsGuillermo L. Toro-Lira, Alan C. Abel, Alan H. Achilles
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Abstract
The present invention describes a loading system for high speed loading of wafers, such as semiconductor wafers, into vacuum chambers for various applications such as inspection or processing using, for example, a SEM. This system provides low contamination from atmospheric conditions both on loading and unloading the wafers.
Claims5
A method of transferring wafers from atmosphere into and out of a vacuum system comprising the steps of
- (a) introducing wafers from atmosphere onto a platform structure at an opening of a vacuum chamber, said platform structure being beneath a closable door, and said closable door being movable outwardly from said opening by a small distance to introduce said wafers,
- (b) sealing said vacuum chamber from said atmosphere upon moving said closable door outwardly by inflating an elastomer seal surrounding said platform structure,
- (c) closing and sealing said closable door after introducing said wafers onto said platform structure,
- (d) then moving said wafers and said platform structure to a first position within said vacuum chamber,
- (e) rotatably transferring at least one of said wafers from said platform structure into said vacuum chamber by rotating an arm structure to pick-up said wafer at said first position and to move said wafer to a second position within said vacuum chamber for inspecting said wafers, and
- (f) returning wafers from said second position to said first position by continuing rotation of said arm structure after inspection of said wafers in said vacuum chamber.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.