Semiconductor manufacturing systems

• US 10,086,511 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2013
• Issued: 10/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brooks Automation Ltd. (United Kingdom) (Azenta, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Brooks Automation Incorporated (Azenta, Inc.)
• Inventors: van der Meulen, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Keenan, James W
• Application Number:
  US14/014,910
• Publication Number:
  US 20130343841A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,859 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/042 comprising an articulated arm
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67126 Apparatus for sealing, encapsulating, glassing, decapsulating or the like processes H01L23/02, H01L23/28
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67161 characterized by the layout of the process chambers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67167 surrounding a central transfer chamber
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67173 in-line arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67178 vertical arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67184 characterized by the presence of more than one transfer chamber
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6719 characterized by the construction of the processing chambers, e.g. modular processing chambers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67196 characterized by the construction of the transfer chamber
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67201 characterized by the construction of the load-lock chamber
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67207 comprising a chamber adapted to a particular process
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67253 Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67259 Position monitoring, e.g. misposition detection or presence detection
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67727 using a general scheme of a conveying path within a factory
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67733 Overhead conveying
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67736 Loading to or unloading from a conveyor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67742 Mechanical parts of transfer devices robots in general in B25J
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67745 characterized by movements or sequence of movements of transfer devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67748 horizontal transfer of a single workpiece
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67754 horizontal transfer of a batch of workpieces
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67757 : vertical transfer of a batch of workpieces
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67781 : Batch transfer of wafers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/68 : for positioning, orientation or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/68707 : the wafers being placed on a robot blade, or gripped by a gripper for conveyance
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/68735 : characterised by edge profile or support profile
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 414/135 : Associated with semiconductor wafer handling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 414/137 : including means for charging or discharging wafer cassette

Abstract

Linear semiconductor handling systems provide more balanced processing capacity using various techniques to provide increased processing capacity to relatively slow processes. This may include use of hexagonal vacuum chambers to provide additional facets for slow process modules, use of circulating process modules to provide more processing capacity at a single facet of a vacuum chamber, or the use of wide process modules having multiple processing sites. This approach may be used, for example, to balance processing capacity in a typical process that includes plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition steps and bevel etch steps.

Claims

1. A apparatus comprising:

an equipment front end module that forms an ambient atmospheric portion of the apparatus;

a substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber that forms, at least in part, a vacuum portion of the apparatus and has four facets of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber connecting a top plane and a bottom plane of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber, each facet having a substrate transport opening configured for sealed communication with substrate holding modules, each transport opening having a sealable valve;

a robotic transport arm disposed within the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber, the robotic transport arm having a common substrate holder effecting each substrate transfer of the robotic transfer arm on a common substrate transfer plane through the substrate transport opening on each facet of the four facets of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber;

a load lock connected to a facet of the four facets of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber for connecting the equipment front end module to the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber; and

a second sealed transport chamber that forms, at least in part, the vacuum portion of the apparatus and has more than four facets and being communicably connected to one other facet of three remaining facets of the four facets of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber through the sealable valve of the other facet of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber, wherein the robotic transport arm is configured to extend through the sealable valve on each facet of the four facets of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber, each facet of the second sealed transport chamber having a substrate transport opening configured for sealed communication with other substrate holding modules.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the equipment front end module is configured to physically handle substrates in an atmospheric environment.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the robotic transport arm is configured for transferring substrates to and from the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the robotic transport arm comprises unequal length arm links.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the robotic transport arm comprises at least three arm links.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber and the second sealed transport chamber are configured to hold a vacuum atmosphere.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second sealed transport chamber has six facets.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a transfer station configured to couple the second sealed transport chamber to the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the transfer station is further configured to perform one or more of a heating, a cooling, an aligning, an inspection, a metrology, a testing, or a cleaning operation on a substrate.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a rear exit handler and a second load lock, the second load lock coupling the rear exit handler to the second sealed transport chamber.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a controller arranged to cycle a number of sealable valves on the more than four facets of the second sealed transport chamber wherein a number of facets of the second transport chamber have a number of sealable valves on the more than four facets, cycled by the controller based on and effecting a processing capacity of process modules coupled to the second sealed chamber through the number of sealable valves and wherein the number of sealable valves on the more than four facets is such that cycles thereof balance with cycles of all the sealable valves, coupled to the each of the other two facets of the four facets of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber, controlled based on and affecting another process capacity of other process modules coupled to the each of the other two facets of the four facets of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber.

12. An apparatus comprising:

an equipment front end module that forms an ambient atmospheric portion of the apparatus;

a substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber that forms, at least in part, a vacuum portion of the apparatus and has four facets of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber connecting a top plane and a bottom plane of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber, each facet having a substrate transport opening configured for sealed communication, through a sealable valve, with substrate holding modules;

a load lock connected to a facet of the four facets of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber for connecting the equipment front end module to the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber;

a second sealed transport chamber that forms, at least in part, the vacuum portion of the apparatus and has more than four facets and being communicably connected to one of the other three facets of the four facets of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber through a respective sealable valve, each facet of the second sealed transport chamber having a substrate transport opening configured for sealed communication with other substrate holding modules; and

an unequal length arm link compact SCARA robot transfer arm disposed in at least one of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber and the second sealed transport chamber, wherein the unequal length arm link compact SCARA robot transfer arm is configured to extend through the sealable valve between the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber and the second sealed transport chamber, the unequal length arm link compact SCARA robot transfer arm has a common substrate holder effecting each substrate transfer of the unequal length arm link compact SCARA robot transfer arm on a common substrate transfer plane through the sealable valve on each facet of the at least one of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber and the second sealed transport chamber and maintains a balanced processing capacity between the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber and the second sealed transport chamber with the common substrate holder.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the equipment front end module is configured to physically handle substrates in an atmospheric environment.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the unequal length arm link compact SCARA robot transfer arm includes at least three arm links.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the unequal length arm link compact SCARA robot transfer arm includes four arm links.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the unequal length arm link compact SCARA robot transfer arm is configured to hold more than one substrate.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second sealed transport chamber has six facets.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a transfer station configured to couple the second sealed transport chamber to the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the transfer station is further configured to perform one or more of a heating, a cooling, an aligning, an inspection, a metrology, a testing, or a cleaning operation on a substrate.

20. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a rear exit handler and a second load lock, the second load lock coupling the rear exit handler to the second sealed transport chamber.

21. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein at least one facet of at least one of the four facets of the substantially hexahedron shaped sealed transport chamber and the second sealed transport chamber includes stacked substrate transport openings.