Positioning apparatus for substrates to be processed
AssigneeTokyo Electron Limited
InventorMasahiro Miyashita
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus is provided with a plurality of stages of mounting bases on each of which is disposed upwardly orientated, narrow tapered pins around the periphery of a semiconductor wafer, and a plurality of stages of turntables, one for each of the mounting bases, with the mounting bases being capable of moving independently of the turntables. When a wafer is transferred from a transporter arm to the tapered pins, the peripheral edge of the wafer comes into contact with the inner peripheral surfaces of the tapered pins and the wafer is centered thereby. The turntable then picks up the wafer and aligns the orientation thereof. This makes it possible to position the centers of a plurality of wafers and position the orientations thereof in a simple manner.
Claims9
A transporter apparatus for a substrate to be processed, comprising:
- a vertically extending partitioning wall for demarcating a first environment from a second environment, and having a first aperture through which a substrate to be processed transfers horizontally;
- a sealed type cassette for substrates to be processed, including a main cassette body having in one side thereof a second aperture through which a substrate to be processed enters or exits horizontally, said cassette being placed in said first environment;
- a cassette mounting mechanism provided within said first environment, for supporting said cassette in such a manner that said second aperture faces said first aperture of said partitioning wall, said cassette mounting mechanism including a horizontally extending stand fixedly supporting said cassette thereon and movable horizontally toward and away from said partitioning wall;
- a pushing mechanism for horizontally pressing said cassette against said partitioning wall;
- a sealing member for forming a seal between a peripheral edge of said first aperture of said partitioning wall and a peripheral edge of said second aperture of said main cassette body, said pushing mechanism, when pressing said cassette, horizontally pressing said peripheral edge of said second aperture against said peripheral edge of said first aperture, to hermetically demarcate a space within said cassette from said first environment;
- a first lid member provided within said second environment for closing said first aperture of said partitioning wall in an openable manner;
- a second lid member provided to said cassette for closing said second aperture of said cassette in an openable manner;
- a first opening/closing mechanism for operating said first lid member to open or close said first aperture;
- and
- a second opening/closing mechanism for operating said second lid member of said cassette to open or close said second aperture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.