US 5,207,548 AGranted

Wafer transfer apparatus

AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation

InventorSiegfried Suffel

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Abstract

An apparatus (2) for transferring wafers between carriers of different densities having a loading station and unloading station; a lift for raising the wafers to be transferred into a wafer handler secured to a support. The wafer handler has two substantially cylindrical arms, cantilevered from the support with each arm provided with slotted rollers for holding and guiding wafers inserted therein. The arms are rotatable in four steps of 90 degrees each to cause the rollers to each take four different positions. A first position is for placing a first set of wafers in selected slots in the rollers, a second for holding the first set of wafers and passing a second set of wafers into a different set of slots interdigitated with the first set of wafers, a third position for holding the first and the second sets of wafers, and a fourth for transferring both sets of wafers into a new carrier. The apparatus can vary the sequence of loading and unloading and is suitable for use in automatic wafer production lines.

Claims5

Dependent claims

Apparatus for transferring wafers of at least one carrier into at least one second carrier, comprising;

a loading station,
an unloading station;
lifting means for raising the wafers to be transferred;
support means movable between said stations;
and
a wafer handling assembly secured to the support means and being able to take several positions for handling said wafers;
said wafer handling assembly comprising a pair of rotatable parallel shafts maintained a fixed distance apart, each shaft being rotatable through 360.degree. and having at its free end, rollers with slots for holding and guiding wafers, said shafts being able to take four different positions, each of said positions being 90.degree. from any adjacent ones of said other positions wherein,
in said first position said lifting means can pass a first set of wafers between said rollers,
in said second position while holding the first set of wafers, a second set of wafers may be lifted between said rollers and interdigitated with said first set of wafers,
in said third position said first and said second set of wafers may be held, and
in said fourth position and said first and said second set of wafers may be released from said rollers.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.