APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING SUBSTRATES USING ONE OR MORE VACUUM TRANSFER CHAMBER UNITS
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for processing substrates, said apparatus comprising:
- a vacuum transfer chamber unit having a side;
at least one load lock chamber unit connected to said side of said vacuum transfer chamber unit;
at least one vacuum process chamber unit connected to said side of said vacuum transfer chamber unit; and
a linear robotic transfer mechanism located within said vacuum transfer chamber unit to transfer some of said substrates between said at least one load lock chamber unit and said at least one vacuum process chamber unit through said vacuum transfer chamber unit.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for processing substrates uses one or more vacuum transfer chamber units to transfer some of the substrates between at least one load lock chamber unit and at least one vacuum process chamber unit.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. An apparatus for processing substrates, said apparatus comprising:
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a vacuum transfer chamber unit having a side; at least one load lock chamber unit connected to said side of said vacuum transfer chamber unit; at least one vacuum process chamber unit connected to said side of said vacuum transfer chamber unit; and a linear robotic transfer mechanism located within said vacuum transfer chamber unit to transfer some of said substrates between said at least one load lock chamber unit and said at least one vacuum process chamber unit through said vacuum transfer chamber unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for processing substrates, said apparatus comprising:
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a first vacuum transfer chamber unit; a second vacuum transfer chamber unit; at least one load lock chamber unit connected to said first and second vacuum transfer chamber units such that said at least one load lock chamber unit is positioned between said first and second vacuum transfer chamber units; at least one vacuum process chamber unit connected to said first and second vacuum transfer chamber units such that said at least one vacuum process chamber unit is positioned between said first and second vacuum transfer chamber units; a first robotic transfer mechanism located within said first vacuum transfer chamber unit to transfer some of said substrates between said at least one load lock chamber unit and said at least one vacuum process chamber unit through said first vacuum transfer chamber unit; and a second robotic transfer mechanism located within said second vacuum transfer chamber unit to transfer some of said substrates between said at least one load lock chamber unit and said at least one vacuum process chamber unit through said second vacuum transfer chamber unit. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for processing substrates, said method comprising:
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loading some of said substrates into at least one load lock chamber unit, said at least one load lock chamber unit being connected to a side of a vacuum transfer chamber unit; linearly transferring some of said substrates from said at least one load lock chamber unit to at least one vacuum process chamber unit through said vacuum transfer chamber unit, said at least one vacuum process chamber unit being connected to said side of said vacuum transfer chamber unit; performing at least one fabrication process on some of said substrates within said at least one vacuum process chamber unit; and linearly transferring some of said substrates from said at least one vacuum process chamber unit to said at least load lock chamber unit through said vacuum transfer chamber unit. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for processing substrates, said method comprising:
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loading some of said substrates into at least one load lock chamber unit, said at least one load lock chamber unit being connected to first and second vacuum transfer chamber units such that said at least one load lock chamber unit is positioned between said first and second vacuum transfer chamber units; transferring some of said substrates from said at least one load lock chamber unit to at least one vacuum process chamber unit through one of said first and second vacuum transfer chamber units, said at least one vacuum process chamber unit being connected to said first and second vacuum transfer chamber units such that said at least one vacuum process chamber unit is positioned between said first and second vacuum transfer chamber units; performing at least one fabrication process on some of said substrates within said at least one vacuum process chamber unit; and transferring some of said substrates from said at least one vacuum process chamber unit to said at least one load lock chamber unit through one of said first and second vacuum transfer chamber units. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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Specification