Systems and methods for robotic transfer of workpieces between a storage area and a processing chamber
First Claim
1. A workpiece processing system comprising;
- a storage area for storing workpieces;
a processing chamber for processing workpieces;
a transport robot adjacent to the storage area and the processing chamber;
the transport robot comprising;
a shaft;
a first robot arm and a second robot arm operationally coupled to the shaft, the first robot arm and the second robot arm each including at least one paddle for supporting a workpiece, the paddle of the second robot arm being positioned lower that the paddle of the first robot arm;
wherein the first robot arm and the second robot arm each have a plurality of rotational joints such that the first robot arm and the second robot arm are extensible toward the storage area when the shaft is in a first position and toward the processing chamber when the shaft is in a second position; and
wherein the first robot arm and the second robot arm each have a fore member, the second robot arm having a paddle support member coupled to a distal end of the fore member of the second robot arm, the paddle of the second robot arm coupled to the paddle support member and positioned such that at least a portion of the fore member of the first robot arm passes over the paddle of the second robot arm without any of the rotational joints of the first robot arm passing over the paddle of the second robot arm.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A workpiece handling system with dual load locks, a transport chamber and a process chamber. Workpieces may be retrieved from one load lock for processing at vacuum pressure, while workpieces are unloaded from the other load lock at the pressure of the surrounding envirornment. The transport chamber has a transport robot with two arms. Processed workpieces and new workpieces may be exchanged by a simple under/over motion of the two robot arms. The transport robot rotates about a central shaft to align with the load locks or the process chamber. The robot may also be raised or lowered to align the arms with the desired location to which workpieces are deposited or from which workpieces are retrieved. The two load locks may be positioned one above the other such that a simple vertical motion of the robot can be used to select between the two load locks. The two load locks and transport robot allow almost continuous processing. Additional process chambers may be added to the transport chamber to further increase throughput. Each stage of the workpiece handling system may also be designed to handle multiple workpieces, such as two side by side workpieces. Throughput is increased while allowing shared machinery to be used. Linear and rotational doors may be used for the load locks to provide a simple, compact design.
587 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A workpiece processing system comprising;
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a storage area for storing workpieces;
a processing chamber for processing workpieces;
a transport robot adjacent to the storage area and the processing chamber;
the transport robot comprising;
a shaft;
a first robot arm and a second robot arm operationally coupled to the shaft, the first robot arm and the second robot arm each including at least one paddle for supporting a workpiece, the paddle of the second robot arm being positioned lower that the paddle of the first robot arm;
wherein the first robot arm and the second robot arm each have a plurality of rotational joints such that the first robot arm and the second robot arm are extensible toward the storage area when the shaft is in a first position and toward the processing chamber when the shaft is in a second position; and
wherein the first robot arm and the second robot arm each have a fore member, the second robot arm having a paddle support member coupled to a distal end of the fore member of the second robot arm, the paddle of the second robot arm coupled to the paddle support member and positioned such that at least a portion of the fore member of the first robot arm passes over the paddle of the second robot arm without any of the rotational joints of the first robot arm passing over the paddle of the second robot arm. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
wherein the paddle support member of the second robot arm laterally extends from the distal rotational joint in a direction substantially transverse to the axis of movement such that the paddle is offset from the axis of movement of the distal rotational joint.
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9. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of rotational joints in the first robot arm includes a distal rotational joint coupled to a the paddle support member of the first robot arm, the distal rotational joint defining an axis of movement when the first robot arm is moved from a retracted position to an extended position;
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wherein paddle support member is coupled to the paddle of the first robot arm and laterally extends from the distal rotational joint in a direction substantially transverse to the axis of movement such that the paddle is offset from the axis of movement of the distal rotational joint.
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10. The system of claim 9, wherein the paddle support member of the first robot arm comprises a split support structure having a first paddle coupled to a first end, a second paddle coupled to a second end and the distal rotational joint coupled to a central portion of the split support structure such that the first robot arm is configured support two workpieces.
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11. The system of claim 1, wherein the first robot arm and the second robot arm each include a set of parallel bars.
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12. A workpiece processing system comprising:
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a first storage chamber and a second storage chamber;
a transport chamber adjacent to the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber;
a processing chamber for processing workpieces, the processing chamber adjacent to the transport chamber;
a transport robot within the transport chamber, the transport robot comprising;
a rotable shaft;
a first robot arm and a second robot arm operationally coupled to the shaft; and
wherein the shaft is configured in a first rotational position to move vertically to allow access to the first storage chamber by the transport robot when the shaft is in a first vertical position, and to allow access to the second storage chamber by the transport robot when the shaft is in the first rotational position and a second vertical position. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
wherein the second robot arm is configured to deposit a processed workpiece in the second storage chamber when the shaft is in the first rotational position and the second vertical position.
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14. The system of claim 12, wherein the shaft is further configured to allow access of the first robot arm to the processing chamber when the shaft is in a third vertical position, and to allow access of the second robot arm to the processing chamber when the shaft is in a fourth vertical position.
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15. The system of claim 14, wherein:
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the shaft has a second rotational position;
the second robot arm is configured to retrieve a processed workpiece from the processing chamber when the shaft is in the second rotational positional and the third vertical position; and
the first robot arm is configured to deposit an unprocessed workpiece in the processing chamber when the shaft is in the second rotational position and the fourth vertical position.
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16. The system of claim 12, further including:
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an external wafer holder positioned outside of the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber in an environment having an external pressure different from a pressure maintained in the transport chamber; and
an external robot adjacent to the external wafer holder and configured to transport workpieces from the external wafer holder to the first and second storage chambers.
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17. The system of claim 16, wherein the external robot is configured to transport a workpiece from the external wafer holder to the first storage chamber with the first storage chamber being exposed to the external pressure while the transport robot accesses a workpiece from the second storage chamber with the second storage chamber being exposed to the pressure in the transport chamber.
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18. The system of claim 12, wherein the first robot arm and the second robot arm each further includes at least one paddle for supporting a workpiece;
- the paddle of the second robot arm being positioned lower than the paddle of the first robot arm;
wherein the first robot arm and the second robot arm each have a plurality of rotational joints such that the first robot arm and the second robot arm are extensible toward the storage area when the shaft is in the first rotational position and toward the processing chamber when the shaft is in a rotational position; and
wherein the first robot arm and the second robot arm each have a fore member, the second robot arm having a paddle support member coupled to a distal end of the fore member of the second robot arm, the paddle of the second robot arm coupled to the paddle support member and positioned such that at least a portion of the fore member of the first robot arm passes over the paddle of the second robot arm without any of the rotational joints of the first robot arm passing over the paddle of the second robot arm.
- the paddle of the second robot arm being positioned lower than the paddle of the first robot arm;
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19. The system of claim 18, wherein the rotational position of the paddle of the first robot arm and the paddle of the second robot arm are maintained during extension of the first robot arm and the second arm toward the storage area when the shaft is in the first position.
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20. The system of claim 12, wherein the first storage chamber is stacked on the second storage chamber.
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21. The system of claim 12, wherein the first storage chamber comprises a load lock for storing a first plurality of workpieces and the second storage chamber comprises a separate load lock for storing plurality of workpieces.
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22. The system of claim 21, wherein the first storage chamber is positioned underneath the second storage chamber.
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23. A workpiece processing system comprising:
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a storage area for storing workpieces;
a processing chamber for processing workpieces;
a transport robot adjacent to the storage area and the processing chamber, the transport robot comprising;
a first robot arm for transporting a workpiece, the first robot arm operationally coupled to a first shaft, the first shaft configured to extend and retract the first robot arm;
a second robot arm for transporting a workpiece, the second robot arm operationally coupled to a second shaft, the second shaft configured to extend and retract the second robot arm;
a third shaft operationally coupled to the first shaft and the second shaft, the third shaft having a first rotational position and a second rotational position, the third shaft configured to rotate the first robot arm and the second robot arm between the first rotational position and the second rotational position; and
wherein the first robot arm and the second robot arm each include a distal rotational joint coupled to a central portion of a split support structure, the split support structure having a first paddle and a second paddle for supporting work pieces coupled to respective ends of the split support structure such that each of the first and the second robot arms are configured to support two workpieces. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A workpiece processing system comprising:
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a storage area for storing workpieces;
a processing chamber for processing workpieces;
a transport robot adjacent to the storage area and the processing chamber, the transport robot comprising;
a shaft;
a first robot arm and a second robot arm operationally coupled to the shaft, the first robot arm and the second robot arm each including at least one paddles for supporting a first and a second workpiece, the paddles of the second robot arm being positioned lower than the paddles of the first robot arm;
wherein the first robot arm and the second robot arm each have a plurality of rotational joints such that the first robot arm and the second robot arm are extensible toward the storage area when the shaft is in a first position and toward the processing chamber when the shaft is in a second position; and
wherein at least a portion of the first robot arm is configured to pass over at least one of the paddles of the second robot arm without any of the rotational joints of the first robot arm passing over the paddles of the second robot arm.
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32. A workpiece processing system comprising:
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a processing chamber for processing workpieces;
a transport chamber adjacent to the processing chamber;
a first storage chamber positioned above, and in substantial vertical alignment with, a second storage chamber, each of the first and the second storage chambers having a separate door for independently isolating the respective storage chamber from the transport chamber;
a transport robot disposed within the transport chamber, the transport robot comprising;
a rotable shaft configured to rotate between a first rotational position and a second rotational position;
a first robot arm configured to linearly extend and retract a first and a second paddle to access the processing chamber when the rotable shaft is in the first rotational position and to access the first and the second storage chambers when the shaft is in the second rotational position, the first robot arm comprising;
a first base member and a second base member substantially parallel to the first base member, each of the first and the second base members having one end coupled to the rotable shaft and another end coupled to a first and a second rotational joint, respectively; and
a first fore member and a second fore member substantially parallel to the first fore member, each of the first and the second fore members having one end coupled to the first and the second rotational joint, respectively, and another end coupled to a central portion of a first split support member, the first and the second paddles coupled to respective ends of the first split support structure such that the first robot arm is configured to support two workpieces;
a second robot arm configured to linearly extend and retract a third and a fourth paddle to access the processing chamber when the rotable shaft is in the first rotational position and to access the first and the second storage chambers when the shaft is in the second rotational position, the second robot arm comprising;
a third base member and a fourth base member substantially parallel to the third base member, each of the third and the fourth base members having one end coupled to the rotable shaft and another end coupled to a third and a fourth rotational joint, respectively; and
a third fore member and a fourth fore member substantially parallel to the third fore member, each of the third and the fourth fore members having one end coupled to the third and the fourth rotational joint, respectively, and another end coupled to a central portion of a second split support member, the third and the fourth paddles coupled to respective ends of the second split support structure such that the second robot arm is configured to support two workpieces;
wherein the first and the second paddles of the first robot arm are extended and retracted in a plane below the plane in which the third and the fourth paddles of the second robot arm are extended and retracted, the first and the second paddles positioned such that the first and the second paddles do not pass under any of the rotational joints of the second robot arm as the first and the second robot arms are extended and retracted; and
wherein the transport robot switches between accessing the first and the second storage chambers in the second rotational position by moving the shaft between a first and a second vertical position.
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Specification