Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and method
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorKen Matsumoto
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus which includes a chamber having an environment-controlled inside space, a stage disposed in the inside space of the chamber and for holding a substrate to perform a predetermined process to the substrate, a temporary storage for temporarily storing one or more substrates in a local environment being independent from the chamber inside, a robot for conveying a substrate between the stage and the temporary storage, and a controller for controlling the robot so that the substrate is stored into the temporary storage when the environment control of the chamber inside space is suspended.
Claims13
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising:
- a chamber having an environment-controlled inside space;
- a stage disposed in the inside space of said chamber and for holding a substrate to perform a predetermined process to the substrate;
- a temporary storage for temporarily storing one or more substrates in a local environment being independent from the chamber inside;
- a robot for conveying a substrate between said stage and said temporary storage;
- and
- a controller for controlling said robot so that the substrate is stored into said temporary storage when the environment control of the chamber inside space is suspended.
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising:
- a chamber having an inside space adapted to be environment-controlled independent of the outside of said chamber;
- a stage for holding a substrate to perform a predetermined process to the substrate;
- a temporary storage disposed in the inside space of said chamber, for temporarily storing one or more substrates in a local environment being independent from the chamber exterior and the chamber interior;
- and
- a robot for conveying a substrate between said stage and said temporary storage.
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising:
- a chamber having an inside space;
- a stage for holding a substrate to perform a predetermined process to the substrate;
- a temporary storage disposed in the inside of said chamber, for temporarily storing one or more substrates in a local environment being independent from the chamber interior, wherein said temporary storage is environmental-controlled independently from its periphery, through tight closure or by use of a positive pressure;
- a robot for conveying a substrate between said stage and said temporary storage;
- a controller for controlling said robot so that, during the predetermined process conducted upon a substrate, said robot operates to store a substrate to be processed subsequently into said temporary storage;
- and
- a mechanism for producing a gas flow inside said temporary storage, independently of the chamber inner space wherein said gas flow has a predetermined temperature, effective to adjust a temperature of a substrate inside said temporary storage.
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus comprising:
- a chamber having an inside space;
- a stage for holding a substrate to perform a predetermined process to the substrate;
- a temporary storage disposed in the inside of said chamber, for temporarily storing one or more substrates in a local environment being independent from the chamber interior, wherein said temporary storage is environmental-controlled independently from its periphery, through tight closure or by use of a positive pressure;
- a robot for conveying a substrate between said stage and said temporary storage;
- a controller for controlling said robot so that, during the predetermined process conducted upon a substrate, said robot operates to store a substrate to be processed subsequently into said temporary storage;
- and
- a mechanism for producing a gas flow inside said temporary storage, independently of the chamber inner space wherein said gas flow has a predetermined temperature, effective to adjust a temperature of a substrate inside said temporary storage and said predetermined temperature is substantially equal to a temperature of said storage for holding said the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.