Substrate transport apparatus with double substrate holders

• US 6,299,404 B1
• Filed: 01/16/1996
• Issued: 10/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Brooks Automation Incorporated (Azenta, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Brooks Automation Incorporated (Azenta, Inc.)
• Inventors: Davis, James C. Jr., Muka, Richard S., Hofmeister, Christopher A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Underwood, Donald W.
• Application Number:
  US08/587,087
• Time in Patent Office: 2,093 Days
• Field of Search: 414/744.5, 414/744.6, 414/749, 414/752, 414/935, 414/937, 414/939, 414/217, 414/222, 901/15, 744/900.8, 744/900.9, 744/900.1, 294/87.1, 294/32
• US Class Current: 414/744.5
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/107 of the froglegs type
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67781 Batch transfer of wafers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/68707 the wafers being placed on a robot blade, or gripped by a gripper for conveyance
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/20305 Robotic arm

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus having a supply of substrates, a substrate transport module, and a substrate processing module. The transport module has a movable arm assembly and two substrate holders mounted to the movable arm assembly. The substrate holders each have two separate holding areas for simultaneously holding two substrates. The movable arm assembly has two pairs of driven arms. Each pair of driven arms is connected to a separate one of the holders for extending and retracting the holders along a radial path relative to a center of the movable arm assembly.

Claims

1. A substrate transport apparatus comprising:

a movable arm assembly having two pairs of driven arms;

a coaxial drive shaft assembly connected to the movable arm assembly; and

two substrate holders, a first one of the substrate holders being suitably sized and shaped to simultaneously hold at least two spaced substrates thereon and each substrate holder being individually connected to a separate one of the pairs of driven arms,

wherein the two substrate holders are always located on a same side of the movable arm assembly.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the two substrate holders are located in parallel planes with one of the holders located above the other holder.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein both substrate holders are suitably sized and shaped to simultaneously hold at least two spaced substrates thereon.

4. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the first substrate holder has two side-by-side substrate holding areas for holding two planar substrate in a same plane next to each other.

5. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the first substrate holder has two substrate holding areas with one of the areas being located above the other area for holding two planar substrates in parallel planes with one of the substrates being located above the other substrate.

6. A substrate transport apparatus comprising:

a movable arm assembly having two pairs of driven arms; and

two substrate holders, a first one of the substrate holders being suitably sized and shaped to simultaneously hold at least two spaced substrates thereon and each substrate holder being individually connected to a separate one of the pairs of driven arms,

wherein the two substrate holders are always located on a same lateral side of the movable arm assembly.