Staged-vacuum wafer processing system and method

A multiple chamber staged-vacuum semiconductor wafer processing system, comprising:

• a plurality of semiconductor wafer processing chambers;
• a wafer load/unload chamber for supplying and receiving wafers;
• a plurality of chambers interposed between and providing a pair of transfer paths between the load/unload chamber and the processing chambers;
• valve means situated along said transfer paths and interposed between adjacent chambers and selectively sealing said adjacent chambers to selectively isolate said adjacent chambers one from the other;
• and
• vacuum means communicating with the isolatable vacuum chambers for establishing a vacuum gradient of decreasing pressure across the system from load lock chamber to semiconductor wafer-processing chamber.

A multiple chamber staged vacuum semiconductor wafer processing system, comprising:

• at least a plurality of semiconductor wafer processing chambers;
• a wafer load/unload station supplying wafers for processing in the processing chambers and receiving wafers from the processing chambers;
• and
• a chamber housing including first and second wafer transfer chambers communicating with one another along a first path from the first wafer transfer chamber to the second wafer transfer chamber via a first intermediate processing chamber and along a second path from the second wafer transfer chamber via a second intermediate processing chamber to the first wafer transfer chamber, the load/unload station being mounted to and communicating with the first wafer transfer chamber and the semiconductor wafer processing chambers being mounted to and communicating with the second wafer transfer chamber.

A staged vacuum semiconductor wafer processing system comprising:

• (1) a multiplicity of vacuum processing chambers;
• (2) wafer queuing load lock chamber means for imputing wafers to and retrieving wafers from the system;
• (3) a multiplicity of vacuum processing and transfer stations interposed between and providing a serial transfer path between the load lock chamber means and the processing chambers;
• (4) valve means situated along said transfer path and interposed between adjacent chambers and selectively sealing said chambers to isolate said adjacent chambers one from the other and thereby form a serial array of isolated vacuum stations of said chambers;
• and
• (5) vacuum means for establishing a selected base vacuum level in the separate isolated vacuum stages and a vacuum gradient of decreasing pressure across the system from load lock chamber means to the vacuum processing chambers, thereby reducing the time required to pump down each chamber to its selected base vacuum level.

A staged-vacuum semiconductor wafer processing system, comprising:

• (1) a chamber housing including a first relatively small robot chamber and a second relatively large robot chamber, the robot chambers communicating with one another via a pair of intermediate chambers, along a first path from the first robot via a first intermediate chamber to the second robot chamber and along a second path from the second robot chamber via a second intermediate chamber to the first robot chamber;
• (2) load lock means mounted on the first robot chamber;
• (3) at least a plurality of vacuum processing chambers mounted on the second robot chamber;
• (4) the first robot chamber having a robot mounted therein for reciprocally transferring wafers between the load lock means and said intermediate chambers;
• (5) the second robot chamber having a robot mounted therein for reciprocally transferring wafers between the processing chambers and between the processing chambers and the intermediate chambers;
• (6) access ports between and for providing communication between (a) the individual process chambers and the second robot chamber, (b) the second robot chamber and the two intermediate chambers, (c) the two intermediate chambers and the first robot chamber, and (d) the first robot chamber and the load lock means;
• (7) valve means for selectively opening and closing said access ports;
• (8) vacuum means for selectively providing a staged vacuum in the system with a relatively low degree of vacuum in the load lock means and a relatively high degree of vacuum in the processing chambers;
• and
• (9) computer means for controlling processing within the vacuum processing chambers and selectively transferring wafers from said load lock means via the first path to selected vacuum processing chambers and from selected vacuum processing chambers via the second path to the load lock means.