Method and system related to semiconductor processing equipment

摘要

Semiconductor processing equipment. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are systems including: a front end robot configured to pull individual wafers from at least one wafer carrier; a linear robot in operational relationship to the front end robot, the linear robot configured to move wafers along an extended length path; and a first processing cluster in operational relationship to the linear robot. The first processing cluster may include: a first processing chamber; a second processing chamber; and a first cluster robot disposed between the first and second processing chambers. The first cluster robot is configured to transfer wafers from the linear robot to the processing chambers, and configured to transfer wafers from the processing chambers to the linear robot.

主权项

1. A system comprising:
a front end robot configured to pull individual wafers from at least one wafer carrier; a linear robot in operational relationship with the front end robot, wherein the linear robot is configured to (i) receive the wafers from the front end robot, and (ii) move the wafers along a path; a first processing chamber; a second processing chamber; a first cluster robot disposed between the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber; and a rack adjacent the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber and isolated from the linear robot preventing a direct transfer of the wafers between the linear robot and the rack, wherein the rack is configured to store at a same time a plurality of the wafers for subsequent processing in one or more of the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber, wherein the plurality of wafers are stacked on the rack, and wherein the first cluster robot is configured to transfer the plurality of the wafers
between (i) the linear robot, and (ii) the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber, andbetween (i) the rack, and (ii) the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber.