Varian Associates, Inc.

Kaiser Systems, Inc.

Analogic Corporation

Adrian C Delforge

Richard John Hertel

Eric L Mears

Robert E Jennings

Edward D MacIntosh

Lawrence L Simpson

Yuri Botnar

Akhil Bhargava

A precision voltage regulator is provided for a capacitor-charging power supply. Both the power supply output and the load capacitor are shunted at the same time by a shunt control circuit. The load capacitor shunt is maintained for a period of time determined by the hysteresis of a precision comparator that compares the voltage across the capacitor with a program voltage that has been adjusted for the power supply's instantaneous current. The regulator is particularly applicable to high power applications with a high repetition rates.

Precision voltage regulator for capacitor-charging power supply

Wafer transfer apparatus for horizontal transfer of a wafer between a cassette and an input station of a vacuum processing system includes a wafer transfer arm with a primary section linked to a secondary section so as to move a wafer in a straight line to a location and orientation station and then to the input station. The actual location of the wafer center and the angular orientation of the wafer flat are determined, and the wafer is rotated to a desired angular orientation at the location and orientation station. A solar cell is used to sense actual wafer position by sensing the wafer edge as it is rotated. The required correction and rotation are calculated from the solar cell output. As the wafer is transferred to the input station, correcting displacements are added to the movement so that the wafer is accurately positioned at the input station. A strain gauge is used to reliably sense wafer presence or absence on the transfer arm.

Wafer transfer system

Growing community of inventors

Rockport, MA, United States of America

Adrian C Delforge