| 摘要 |
A LOAD LOCK WAFER TRANSFER FACE (216) IS PROVIDED AT AN ACUTE ANGLE WITH RESPECT TO A FOOTPRINT DIMENSION LINE (228), SO THE LENGTH OF A DISTANCE (230) ALONG THE FOOTPRINT DIMENSION LINE (228) DOES NOT INCLUDE THE ENTIRE MINIMUM LENGTH OF THE WAFER TRANSFER DISTANCE (127) THAT MUST SEPARATE A ROBOT (212) FROM THE WAFER TRANSFER FACE (216) OF A LOAD LOCK (204). TWO ADJACENT LOAD LOCKS (204) PROVIDED FOR USE WITH A ROBOT (212) HAVE TWO LOAD LOCK WAFER TRANSFER FACES (216) DEFINING A NEST (248), IN THAT EACH SUCH FACE (216) IS AT AN CUTE ANGLE WITH RESPECT TO THE FOOTPRINT DIMENSION LINE (228). A ROBOT (212) IS MOUNTED FOR ROTATION AT AFIXED LOCATION RELATIVE TO WAFER CASSETTES (210) AND TO THE NESTED LOAD LOCK WAFER TRANSFER FACES (216), AVOIDING USE OF A ROBOT TRACK (112) TO MOVE TRANSVERSELY. BECAUSE THE FACES (216) ARE AT ACUTE ANGLE, THERE IS ONLY A COMPONENT (232) OF, AND NOT THE ENTIRE, MINIMUM WAFER TRANSFER DISTANCE (127) EXTENDING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE FOOTPRINT DIMENSION LINE (228). THE ROBOT (212) IS POSITIONED AT LEAST PARTLY IN THE NEST (248) FORMED BY THE ADJACENT LOAD LOCK FACES (216) WITHOUT REQUIRING ROTATION OF THE BASE (260) OF THE ROBOT (212) ON A VERTICAL AXIS (214) AT THE SAME TIME AS THE ARMS OF THE ROBOT (212) ARE MOVED IN AN EXTEND MOTION DURING WAFER TRANSFER INTO THE LOAD LOCK (204). A FOOTPRINT OF A SYSTEM INCLUDING THE LOAD LOCKS MAY BE SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED, IN THAT AT LEAST ONE DIMENSION OF THE FOOTPRINT IS MINIMIZED, YET THE ROBOT (212) MAY OPERATE WITH ONLY RELATIVELY SIMPLE EXTEND MOTION TO TRANSFER THE WAFER (208) INTO THE LOAD LOCKS (204), AVOIDING MORE COMPLEX MOTIONS THAT INCLUDE BOTH TRANSVERSE MOTION (I.E., ON A LINEAR TRACK) AND ROTATE MOTION.FIGURE 2A
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