Reduced capacity carrier and method of use

• US 20060088272A1
• Filed: 08/19/2005
• Published: 04/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brooks Automation Ltd. (United Kingdom) (Azenta, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Brooks Automation Incorporated (Azenta, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hofmeister, Christopher, Gilchrist, Ulysses, Fosnight, William, Bufano, Michael L., Friedman, Gerald M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,888,433 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 385/147
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67326 Horizontal carrier comprising wall type elements whereby the substrates are vertically supported, e.g. comprising sidewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67353 specially adapted for a single substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67369 characterised by shock absorbing elements, e.g. retainers or cushions
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67373 characterised by locking systems
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67376 characterised by sealing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67383 characterised by substrate supports
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67389 characterised by atmosphere control
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67393 characterised by the presence of atmosphere modifying elements inside or attached to the closed carrierl
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67763 the wafers being stored in a carrier, involving loading and unloading H01L21/6779 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67772 involving removal of lid, door, cover
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67778 involving loading and unloading of wafers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6779 the workpieces being stored in a carrier, involving loading and unloading
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 414/139 including wafer charging or discharging means for vacuum chamber

Abstract

A substrate transport apparatus is provided. The apparatus has a casing and a door. The casing is adapted to form a controlled environment therein. The casing has supports therein for holding at least one substrate in the casing. The casing defines a substrate transfer opening through which a substrate transport system accesses the substrate in the casing. The door is connected to the casing for closing the substrate transfer opening in the casing. The casing has structure forming a fast swap element allowing replacement of the substrate from the apparatus with another substrate without retraction of the substrate transport system and independent of substrate loading in the casing.

Claims

1. A substrate transport apparatus comprising:

a casing adapted to form a controlled environment therein, the casing having supports therein for holding at least one substrate in the casing, and defining a substrate transfer opening through which a substrate transport system accesses the at least one substrate in the casing; and

a door connected to the casing for closing the substrate transfer opening in the casing;

wherein the casing has structure forming a fast swap element allowing replacement of the at least one substrate from the apparatus with another substrate without retraction of the substrate transport system and independent of substrate loading in the casing and of substrate handling capacity of the substrate transport apparatus.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the casing has a registration system for registering the apparatus with the substrate transport apparatus.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the substrate transfer opening is located in a side of the casing, and wherein the registration system is located on the same side of the casing.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fast swap element forms a substrate buffer in the casing.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fast swap element comprises other supports for holding the other substrate in the casing.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fast swap element is selectably locatable in the casing.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a reduced capacity carrier capable of carrying less than ten substrates.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the casing has a detector for identifying a predetermined characteristic of the at least one substrate in the casing.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the detector is a reader for reading an identification indicia of the at least one substrate.

10. A method for processing workpieces in a fab comprising:

providing the fab with workpiece processing stations defining a workpiece processing stream in which workpieces are processed in workpiece lots;

providing a carrier for carrying one or more workpieces between workpiece processing stations in the workpiece processing stream, the carrier having predetermined workpiece holding areas each of which is adapted for holding a workpiece; and

establishing with the carrier a virtual workpiece lot, having a selectable number of workpieces, for transport by the carrier from one workpiece processing station to another workpiece processing station in the workpiece processing stream.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the other workpiece processing station is in a following position in the workpiece processing stream to the one workpiece processing station.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the virtual workpiece lot is different than the workpiece lots.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the number or workpieces making up the virtual workpiece lot are part of at least one of the workpiece lots.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the number of workpieces in the virtual workpiece lot is greater than in the at least one of the workpiece lots.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein the virtual lot is established in accordance with a predetermined characteristic of the one workpiece processing station or of the other workpiece processing station.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the predetermined characteristic is a processing status of a processed workpiece processed by the one workpiece processing station.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the predetermined characteristic is a processing status of a processed workpiece processed by the other workpiece processing station.

18. The method according to claim 10, further comprising providing the carrier with an onboard detector for workpiece identification of the number of workpieces of the virtual lot.

19. The method according to claim 10, wherein the detector is a reader capable of reading workpiece identification indicia on at least one of the number of workpieces.

20. A substrate transport apparatus comprising:

a casing adapted to form a controlled environment therein, the casing being sized to hold more than one substrates therein and defining a substrate transfer opening through which substrates are moved in and out of the casing;

a door connected to the casing for closing the substrate transfer opening in the casing; and

holding stations located in the casing, each of which is capable of holding a substrate, at least one of the holding stations being a substrate holding station holding the substrate when the transport apparatus is in a loaded condition where at least one substrate is loaded in the substrate apparatus, and at least another of the holding stations being a discretionary holding station optionally holding another substrate when the transport apparatus is in the loaded condition, wherein each of the at least one holding station and the at least other holding station is selectably switchable between being the substrate holding station and being the discretionary holding station.

21. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the at least one holding station is selectably switched to change a substrate processing lot size.

22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the at least one holding station is selectably switched to increase the substrate processing lot size.

23. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the at least one holding station is selectably switched for effecting generation of a virtual substrate processing lot when the apparatus is loaded with substrates.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the virtual substrate processing lot is formed by the substrate in the substrate holding station and the other substrate in the discretionary holding station, the substrate and the other substrate being from different processing lots.

25. The apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising a detector, connected to the casing for identifying the substrate in the substrate holding station.

26. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein detector is located inside the casing.

27. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the detector is a reader capable of reading substrate identification indicia on the substrate in the substrate holding station.

28. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the discretionary holding station defines a substrate buffer in the apparatus.