Substrate handling system for aligning and orienting substrates during a transfer operation
First Claim
1. A substrate transport apparatus comprising:
- a movable transport arm; and
an end effector movably connected to the transport arm, the end effector having a chuck adapted for holding a substrate, and a motor for moving the substrate held by the chuck, wherein the motor is disposed relative to the chuck so that, when the substrate is held by the chuck, a center of the substrate is substantially co-incident with an axis of movement of the motor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system is provided for sensing, orienting, and transporting wafers in an automated wafer handling process that reduces the generation of particles and contamination so that the wafer yield is increased. The system includes a robotic arm for moving a wafer from one station to a destination station, and an end-effector connected to an end of the robotic arm for receiving the wafer. The end-effector includes a mechanism for gripping the wafer, a direct drive motor for rotating the wafer gripping mechanism, and at least one sensor for sensing the location and orientation of the wafer. A control processor is provided for calculating the location of the center and the notch of the wafer based on measurements by the sensor(s). Then, the control processor generates an alignment signal for rotating the wafer gripping mechanism so that the wafer is oriented at a predetermined position on the end-effector while the robotic arm is moving to another station.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A substrate transport apparatus comprising:
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a movable transport arm; and
an end effector movably connected to the transport arm, the end effector having a chuck adapted for holding a substrate, and a motor for moving the substrate held by the chuck, wherein the motor is disposed relative to the chuck so that, when the substrate is held by the chuck, a center of the substrate is substantially co-incident with an axis of movement of the motor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A substrate transport apparatus comprising:
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a movable transport arm; and
an end effector movably connected to the transport arm and being adapted for holding a substrate thereon, the end effector comprising a PCB, the PCB forming at least part of a support member of the end effector for supporting the substrate when the substrate is held by the end effector. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A substrate transport apparatus comprising:
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a movable transport arm;
an end effector movably connected to the transport arm, the end effector having-a base section mounting the end effector to the transport arm, and a chuck movably mounted to the base section and adapted for holding a substrate; and
a motor connected to the end effector for moving the substrate held by the chuck, wherein the motor is integral with the end effector, at least a drive part of the motor being mounted to the base section of the end effector and at least a reaction part of the motor being mounted to the chuck. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. An end effector motor for an end effector of a substrate transport apparatus, the end effector having a support member and a chuck movably mounted to the support member and adapted for holding a substrate thereon, the motor comprising:
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a stator sized and shaped for being embedded in the support member; and
a rotor operably interfacing with the stator and adapted to be mounted to the chuck of the end effector. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A substrate transport apparatus comprising:
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a movable transport arm; and
an end effector movably connected to the transport arm, the end effector comprising a support member mounting the end effector to the transport arm, a chuck movably mounted to the support member and adapted for holding a substrate, and a motor for moving the substrate held by the chuck, wherein the support member has a portion of unitary construction that defines a stator of the motor. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification