Two-wafer loadlock wafer processing apparatus and loading and unloading method therefor
First Claim
1. A method of transferring wafers between multi-wafer carriers and a high vacuum environment of a transfer chamber of a wafer processing cluster tool, the method comprising the steps of:
- positioning a first multi-wafer carrier in communication with a clean atmospheric environment adjacent to a robot transfer device that is located in an atmospheric front end of the tool;
thensuccessively transferring a first and a second wafer with the robot transfer device from the first carrier and into a two-wafer loadlock, operating as an inbound loadlock, that is open to the atmospheric environment and sealed from the high vacuum environment of the transfer chamber;
thensealing the loadlock from the atmospheric environment;
thenpumping the loadlock to a vacuum pressure level;
thenopening the loadlock to the high vacuum environment of the transfer chamber;
thensuccessively removing the first and second wafers from the loadlock with a transfer arm located in the transfer chamber and placing the first and second wafers into one or more vacuum processing chambers when such chambers are in communication with the high vacuum environment; and
successively removing the first and second wafers, with the transfer arm located in the transfer chambers, from one or more vacuum processing chambers when such chambers are in communication with the high vacuum environment of the transfer chamber and placing the first and second wafers into a two-wafer loadlock, operating as an outbound loadlock, that is open to the high vacuum environment and sealed from the atmospheric environment of the front end of the tool;
thensealing the outbound loadlock from the high vacuum environment of the transfer chamber;
thenventing the outbound loadlock to a pressure level of the atmospheric environment of the front end of the tool;
thenopening the outbound loadlock to the atmospheric environment of the front end;
thensuccessively transferring the first and second wafers from the outbound loadlock to a carrier.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Wafers from plural non-vacuum multiple wafer carriers are loaded and unloaded in an atmospheric front end of a wafer processing machine and transferred to and from a high vacuum chamber of a transfer module of a wafer processing cluster tool, or back end, through a single two-wafer loadlock. Preferably, with the wafers oriented horizontally throughout, two wafers are sequentially loaded into and simultaneously moved inbound to the high vacuum back end of the system, through one loadlock and sequentially moved into and simultaneously moved outbound through the same loadlock, the loadlock having a pair of water cooled supports for simultaneously actively cooling the two wafers. In both the atmospheric front end and vacuum back end environments, transfer arms load and unload the loadlock, and transfer wafers within the environments when all loadlocks are sealed. Preferably, two wafers are actively cooled in the loadlock. Preferably also, wafers are passed through a wafer aligner after being removed from a carrier and before placed in the loadlock. When two wafers are removed from the loadlock into the vacuum back end, one or two wafers may be temporarily held in a buffer position within the back end vacuum chamber.
113 Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A method of transferring wafers between multi-wafer carriers and a high vacuum environment of a transfer chamber of a wafer processing cluster tool, the method comprising the steps of:
-
positioning a first multi-wafer carrier in communication with a clean atmospheric environment adjacent to a robot transfer device that is located in an atmospheric front end of the tool;
thensuccessively transferring a first and a second wafer with the robot transfer device from the first carrier and into a two-wafer loadlock, operating as an inbound loadlock, that is open to the atmospheric environment and sealed from the high vacuum environment of the transfer chamber;
thensealing the loadlock from the atmospheric environment;
thenpumping the loadlock to a vacuum pressure level;
thenopening the loadlock to the high vacuum environment of the transfer chamber;
thensuccessively removing the first and second wafers from the loadlock with a transfer arm located in the transfer chamber and placing the first and second wafers into one or more vacuum processing chambers when such chambers are in communication with the high vacuum environment; and successively removing the first and second wafers, with the transfer arm located in the transfer chambers, from one or more vacuum processing chambers when such chambers are in communication with the high vacuum environment of the transfer chamber and placing the first and second wafers into a two-wafer loadlock, operating as an outbound loadlock, that is open to the high vacuum environment and sealed from the atmospheric environment of the front end of the tool;
thensealing the outbound loadlock from the high vacuum environment of the transfer chamber;
thenventing the outbound loadlock to a pressure level of the atmospheric environment of the front end of the tool;
thenopening the outbound loadlock to the atmospheric environment of the front end;
thensuccessively transferring the first and second wafers from the outbound loadlock to a carrier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor wafer comprising the steps of:
-
positioning a first carrier in communication with a clean atmospheric environment adjacent a robot transfer device that is located in an atmospheric front end of a semiconductor wafer processing tool;
thensuccessively transferring two wafers with the robot transfer device from the first carrier and into a two-wafer loadlock that is open to the atmospheric front end environment and sealed from the high vacuum environment of the transfer chamber;
thensealing the loadlock from the atmospheric front end environment;
thenpumping the loadlock to a vacuum pressure level;
thenopening the loadlock to the high vacuum transfer chamber environment;
thensuccessively removing the wafers from the loadlock with a transfer arm located in the transfer chamber and placing the wafers into vacuum processing chambers when such chambers are in communication with the high vacuum transfer chamber environment;
thenprocessing the wafers in the processing chambers;
thensuccessively removing the wafers with a transfer arm from the vacuum processing chambers when such chambers are in communication with the high vacuum transfer chamber environment and placing the wafers into the two-wafer loadlock when the loadlock is open to the high vacuum transfer chamber environment and sealed from the atmospheric front end environment;
thensealing the loadlock from the high vacuum transfer chamber environment;
thenventing the loadlock to a pressure level approximating the atmospheric front end environment;
thenopening the loadlock to the atmospheric front end environment;
thensuccessively transferring the wafers from the loadlock to the carrier with the robot transfer device in the atmospheric front end of the load.
-
-
11. A high vacuum wafer processing apparatus comprising:
-
a plurality of vacuum processing chambers each having a port therein for loading and unloading wafers individually therethrough; a high vacuum transfer chamber having a plurality of ports in communication with the ports of the processing chambers; an atmospheric front end chamber in communication with an ambient atmospheric pressure environment and having at least one non-vacuum carrier loading and unloading station; a two-wafer loadlock chamber forming an access chamber between the high vacuum transfer chamber and the atmospheric front end chamber, the loadlock having two and not more than two wafer supports therein and thereby being configured to hold up to two wafers therein and not more than two wafers therein, a pump connected thereto to lower the pressure in the loadlock to a vacuum pressure level of the high vacuum transfer chamber and a vent connected to the ambient atmospheric pressure environment to raise the pressure of the loadlock to that of the atmospheric front end chamber; the loadlock being operable when the high vacuum transfer chamber is at high vacuum and the atmospheric front end chamber is at ambient atmospheric pressure, having a vacuum side closure selectively openable to connect the loadlock chamber and the high vacuum transfer chamber and having an atmospheric side closure selectively openable to connect the loadlock and the atmospheric front end chamber at ambient atmospheric pressure; a transfer arm in the high vacuum transfer chamber having a single wafer engaging element thereon moveable to and from each of the processing chambers and loadlock to successively transfer individual wafers thereamong; and an individual wafer transfer device in the front end chamber moveable among the loadlock and the at least one carrier to successively transfer individual wafers thereamong. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
Specification