Atmospheric robot handling equipment

Abstract

A semiconductor-manufacturing tool has two load locks, one for semiconductor wafers entering the tool for processing and the other for wafers leaving the tool after being processed. The load locks are of a new generation capable of being evacuated or vented in shorter times than load locks of the prior art, and permit high throughput. The tool is associated with three atmospheric wafer-handling robots to obtain the high throughput permitted by the load locks. One robot transfers wafers to be processed from a supply to a wafer pre-aligner, another robot transfers wafers from the wafer pre-aligner to the load lock for wafers entering the tool, and the third transfers processed wafers from the load lock for wafers leaving the tool back to the supply.

1 - 8 . (canceled)  
     
     
         9 . An atmospheric robot handling equipment for use with a semiconductor-processing system, said atmospheric robot handling equipment comprising: 
 a first, a second and a third atmospheric wafer-handling robot and a wafer pre-aligner;    said first atmospheric wafer-handling robot being configured for transferring a wafer from a wafer supply to said wafer pre-aligner;    said wafer pre-aligner being configured to provide said wafer with a desired orientation;    said second atmospheric wafer-handling robot being configured for transferring said wafer from said wafer pre-aligner to said semiconductor-processing system; and    said third atmospheric wafer-handling robot being configured for transferring said wafer from said semiconductor-processing system back to said wafer supply.    
     
     
         10 . An equipment as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein said semiconductor-processing system comprises: 
 a load lock chamber, a vacuum central handler housing a wafer-handling robot, and a processing chamber;    said load lock chamber having a first opening through which said wafer can be transferred into and out of said semiconductor-processing system by said second and third atmospheric wafer-handling robots, and a second opening through which said wafer can be transferred by said wafer-handling robot into said vacuum central handler;    said wafer-handling robot being further configured for transferring said wafer into and out of said processing chamber.    
     
     
         11 - 16 . (canceled)  
     
     
         17 . A method for transferring a semiconductor wafer from a wafer supply to a semiconductor-manufacturing tool for processing and back to said wafer supply from said semiconductor-manufacturing tool after processing, said wafer entering and leaving said semiconductor-manufacturing tool through at least one load lock, said method comprising the steps of: 
 a) providing a first, a second and a third atmospheric wafer-handling robot;    b) providing a wafer pre-aligner;    c) transferring said wafer from said wafer supply to said wafer pre-aligner with said first atmospheric wafer-handling robot;    d) aligning said wafer on said wafer pre-aligner;    e) transferring said wafer from said pre-aligner to said at least one load lock with one of said second and third atmospheric wafer-handling robots;    f) processing said wafer in said semiconductor-manufacturing tool; and    g) transferring said wafer from said at least one load lock back to said supply with one of said second and third atmospheric wafer-handling robots.    
     
     
         18 . A method as claimed in  claim 17 , wherein, in step e), said wafer is transferred with said second atmospheric robot, and wherein, in step g), said wafer is transferred with said third atmospheric robot.  
     
     
         19 . A method as claimed in  claim 17 , wherein said semiconductor-manufacturing tool has two load locks, and wherein, in step e), said wafer is transferred from said pre-aligner to one of said two load locks with one of said second and third atmospheric wafer-handling robots, and in step g), said wafer is transferred from one of said two load locks back to said supply with one of said second and third atmospheric wafer-handling robots.  
     
     
         20 . A method as claimed in  claim 19 , wherein said wafer is transferred from said pre-aligner to one of said two load locks with said second atmospheric wafer-handling robot, and wherein said wafer is transferred from the other of said two load locks back to said supply with said third atmospheric wafer-handling robot.