System for integrated circuit processing.

摘要

A standardized mechanical interface (SMIF) system for processing integrated circuits (IC) is disclosed that reduces particle contamination of IC wafers by as much as ten times over conventional clean room handling practice. The IC wafers are retained within small, clean, still-air enclosures (90, 10) and are handled by mechanical arms (120) without physical intrusion by human operators. The level of SMIF system particle contamination is independent of the outside environment so that ICs can be processed in a non-clean facility.