System for transporting substrates

• US 6,585,470 B2
• Filed: 06/19/2001
• Issued: 07/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Brooks Automation Ltd. (United Kingdom) (Azenta, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Brooks Automation Incorporated (Azenta, Inc.)
• Inventors: Van Der Meulen, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Lillis, Eileen D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fox, Charles A.
• Application Number:
  US09/884,824
• Publication Number:
  US 20020192057A1
• Time in Patent Office: 742 Days
• Field of Search: 414/217, 414/935, 414/937, 414/217.1, 414/939, 454/187
• US Class Current: 414/217
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67778 involving loading and unloading of wafers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 414/139 including wafer charging or discharging means for vacuum chamber

Abstract

A system for transporting substrates into a clean room is provided. The system has an isolation chamber located between the clean room and a staging area. A first movable closure is coupled to the staging area side of the isolation chamber and is adapted to open a substrate shipping container. A second movable closure is coupled to the clean room side of the isolation chamber and is adapted to open a substrate interprocess container. A substrate transfer robot is located within the isolation chamber and is adapted to transfer substrates from the substrate shipping container, opened by the first movable closure, to the substrate interprocess container opened by the second movable closure.

Claims

1. A system for transporting substrates into a clean room, the system comprising:

an isolation chamber adapted to be located between the clean room and a staging area;

a first movable closure coupled to a staging area side of the isolation chamber, the first movable closure being adapted to open a substrate shipping container in the staging area;

a second movable closure coupled to a clean room side of the isolation chamber, the second movable closure being adapted to open a substrate interprocess container in the clean room; and

a substrate transfer robot located within the isolation chamber;

wherein the substrate transfer robot is adapted to transfer substrates from the substrate shipping container, opened by the first movable closure, to the substrate interprocess container opened by the second movable closure.

2. The system for transporting substrates into a clean room of claim 1, wherein the substrate interprocess container is a front opening unified pod.

3. The system for transporting substrates into a clean room of claim 1, wherein the substrate shipping container is a front opening shipping box.

4. The system for transporting substrates into a clean room of claim 1 further comprising a substrate alignment module located within the isolation chamber.

5. The system for transporting substrates into a clean room of claim 1 further comprising a optical character recognition module located within the isolation chamber.

6. The system for transporting substrates into a clean room of claim 1 further comprising a substrate buffering module located within the isolation chamber.

7. The system for transporting substrates into a clean room of claim 1, wherein the staging area has a staging area cleanliness class greater than 10 and, wherein the clean room has a clean room has a cleanliness class less than 10.

8. The system for transporting substrates into a clean room of claim 1 further comprising a system controller connected to the substrate transfer robot and further connected to the first and second movable closures.

9. A substrate transport system comprising:

an isolation chamber;

a wall connected to the isolation chamber for separating a staging area and a clean area;

a first substrate container support coupled to the isolation chamber at a first side of the wall, the first substrate container support being adapted to support a substrate shipping container in the staging area;

a second substrate container support coupled to the isolation chamber at a second opposite side of the wall, the second substrate container support being adapted to support a substrate interprocess carrier container in the clean area; and

a substrate transfer robot located within the isolation chamber;

wherein, the substrate transfer robot is adapted to transfer substrates within the isolation chamber from the substrate shipping container to the substrate interprocess carrier container.

10. The substrate transport system of claim 9 further comprising:

a first movable closure coupled to the isolation chamber, the first movable closure being adapted to open the substrate shipping container; and

a second movable closure coupled to the isolation chamber, the second movable closure being adapted to open the substrate interprocess container.

11. The substrate transport system of claim 9, wherein the substrate shipping container is a front opening shipping box.

12. The substrate transport system of claim 9, wherein the substrate interprocess container is a front opening unified pod.

13. The substrate transport system of claim 9 further comprising a substrate alignment module located within the isolation chamber.

14. The substrate transport system of claim 9 further comprising a optical character recognition module located within the isolation chamber.

15. The substrate transport system of claim 9 further comprising a substrate buffering module located within the isolation chamber.

16. The substrate transport system of claim 9, wherein the staging area has a staging area cleanliness class greater than 10 and, wherein the clean room has a clean room cleanliness class less than 10.

17. The substrate transport system of claim 10 further comprising a system controller connected to the substrate transfer robot and further connected to the first and second movable closures.

18. A method of transferring substrates comprising:

opening a substrate shipping container at a first load port, the first load port supporting the substrate shipping container in a staging area;

opening a substrate interprocess carrier container at a second load port, the second load port supporting the interprocess carrier container in a clean area, the clean area being isolated from the staging area; and

transferring substrates from the first container to the second container in an isolation chamber between the staging area and the clean area, wherein an interior of the isolation chamber is isolated from the staging area and the clean area by the substrate shipping container at the first load port and the substrate interprocess container at the second load port at a same time.

19. The method of transferring substrates of claim 18, wherein the step of opening a substrate shipping container comprises opening a front opening shipping box.

20. The method of transferring substrates of claim 18, wherein the step of opening a substrate interprocess carrier comprises opening a front opening unified pod.