US 6,637,446 B2Granted

Integrated substrate processing system

AssigneeLam Research Corporation

InventorsDavid T. Frost, Oliver David Jones, Mike Wallis

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A system and methods for substrate preparation are provided. In one example, a wafer processing system includes a system enclosure that contains wafer processing apparatus within an isolated wafer processing environment. The wafer processing apparatus include a pair of immersion tanks in the lower front region of the system with a pair of wafer pickers behind the immersion tanks to extract wafers from the tanks. In the rear of the system, a pair of brush boxes are located in a lower region with a pair of dryer units positioned above the brush boxes. A robot arm is positioned between the pair of immersion tanks and the pair of brush boxes in a middle region of the system, and is configured to transition wafers between the processing apparatus. A pair of output shelves holding output cassettes is positioned over the immersion tanks. The output cassettes receive clean wafers after processing.

Claims7

Dependent claims

In an integrated substrate processing system, a substrate immersion tank and load/unload station, comprising:

an immersion tank configured to receive a plurality of substrates in a liquid bath;
a cassette hangar configured to receive the plurality of substrates in a location exterior to the immersion tank and configured to position the plurality of substrates in the liquid bath;
a substrate picker configured to extract the plurality of substrates one at a time from the liquid bath and position each one of the plurality of substrates exterior to the immersion tank, the positioning configured to enable each one of the plurality of substrates to be received by a substrate robot;
and
a substrate output shelf positioned over the immersion tank and configured to receive the plurality of substrates after processing in the integrated substrate processing system, to position the plurality of substrates for removal from the integrated substrate processing system, and to be positioned to provide access to the immersion tank for receiving the plurality of substrates.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/211,714Filed 1 Aug 2002 · continuation
Priority: 31 Mar 2000
Published: US 2002/0184720 A112 Dec 2002
Granted: 28 Oct 2003
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

H10P 72/0458
Characterised by the layout of the process chambers: vertical arrangement
H10P 72/0406
Apparatus for fluid treatment: for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like
H10P 72/0412
For wet cleaning or washing: using mainly scrubbing means, e.g. brushes
H10P 72/0416
For wet cleaning or washing: with the semiconductor substrates being dipped in baths or vessels

Family

Application09/540,421Parent of this continuation · filed 31 Mar 2000
US 2002/0184720 A1Pre-grant publication · published 12 Dec 2002
US 6,457,199 B1Parent of this continuation
US 6,482,678 B1Related patent
US 6,637,446 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.