Single semiconductor wafer transfer method and plural processing station manufacturing system

A method of manufacturing semiconductor devices in a production line having (a) a plurality of semiconductor wafer processing stations, (b) a tunnel associated with the processing stations, (c) a guided transport vehicle adapted to operate in the tunnel, (d) a plurality of wafer carriers each provided with a memory to accept a wafer process step sequence, (e) a means to maintain a clean environment in the tunnel, (f) handling means at each processing station to transfer a wafer carrier between a transport vehicle and the processing station, and (g) computer means, including interfaces to guide the transport vehicle in the tunnel, load and unload wafer carriers at the various processing stations, in response to instructions from the memories on the wafer carriers, and (h) a vehicle station the method comprised of the following steps:

• loading a process sequence into the wafer carrier memory and a wafer onto the wafer carrier;
• loading the said wafer carrier onto a transport vehicle;
• moving the said transport vehicle to a processing station in response to the information contained in the process sequence stored in the wafer carrier memory;
• unloading the wafer carrier at the designated processing station;
• performing the designated process at the said processing station;
• altering the process sequence of the wafer carrier to indicate the process step performed at the said processing station has been completed;
• loading the wafer carrier onto a transport vehicle;
• moving the said transport vehicle to the next processing station in response to the said altered process sequence in the said wafer carrier;
• and
• repeating the method steps contained in the process sequence until the process sequence steps in the said wafer carrier are completed.

A manufacturing system for individually handling and processing semiconductor wafers through a plurality of processing stations that perform operations on the wafers in accordance with a wafer process sequence comprising:

• a plurality of processing stations, each of said stations being capable of performing at least one processing operation on each of said wafers;
• a branched track providing a support surface leading to each of said processing stations;
• a plurality of wafer carriers, each adapted to support a single wafer;
• a plurality of guided transport vehicles adapted to operate on said branched track and move to any of said processing stations associated with said branched track, said transport vehicles adapted to convey at least a single wafer carrier between any of said processing stations;
• each of said processing stations being provided with (1) a transport vehicle buffer having an unload zone, and a load zone, (2) a wafer carrier buffer, (3) a wafer carrier handling means adapted to transfer at least a single wafer carrier between a transport vehicle and said wafer carrier buffer, (4) a wafer handling means to move wafers between the wafer carriers and a wafer processing apparatus at each of said processing stations;
• a memory storage means on each of said wafer carriers capable of holding the wafer process sequence for the wafer associated with the supporting wafer carrier;
• a means for directing said transport vehicles to move wafer carriers sequentially to each processing station in accordance with the wafer processing sequence;
• a vehicle station having a wafer carrier loading area where wafers are introduced into the system, and a wafer carrier unload area where processed wafers are removed from the system.