PREALIGNER FOR SUBSTRATES IN A ROBOTIC SYSTEM

摘要

A robotic system includes a robot (40) having a robotic arm (42) for transferring substrates (S) between workstations and cassettes and a remote prealigner (10) for use in alignment of the substrates. The prealigner (10) is movable with respect to the robot (40) to allow adjustment of the prealigner position depending on the position of the robotic arm (42). The adjustable position prealigner (10) improves transfer time for delivery of the substrate (S) to the prealigner (10) with the robotic arm (42). The prealigner (10) can also be moved out of the way of the robotic arm (42) once prealignment has been completed and provides improved flexibility in arrangement of components within the robotic system. The prealigner includes a body (12) and a head (14) which is movable with respect to the fixed body (12) or base. The prealigner head includes a rotatable chuck (16) and a substrate edge detector (18) for acquiring and processing geometrical information.