Transfer Engineering and Manufacturing, Inc.

Memc Electronic Materials, Inc.

Andrew P Lunday

Michael A Ackeret

Larry W Shive

Gordon P Hampton

Gary L Anderson

James P Davidson

James C Lenk

A wafer load lock and linear delivery system including within a load lock vacuum chamber a paddle cantilevered from a trolley traveling on a single rail extending on a lateral side of the wafer end of the paddle while it is retracted into the load lock chamber. The trolley is magnetically coupled to an external mechanical drive through a vacuum wall of the vacuum chamber which drives the wafer on the paddle into an attached processing chamber. A single wafer may be loaded onto the paddle through a door in the vacuum wall. Alternatively, a cassette of wafers may be loaded into a cassette station opposite the processing chamber. One end of the paddle removes a wafer from the cassette, and a hand off station moves the wafer to a second end of the paddle, which then moves it into the processing chamber.

Magnetically coupled linear delivery system transferring wafers between a cassette and a processing reactor

A wafer load lock and linear delivery system including within a load lock vacuum chamber a paddle cantilevered from a trolley traveling on a single rail extending on a lateral side of the wafer end of the paddle while it is retracted into the load lock chamber. The trolley is magnetically coupled to an external mechanical, drive through a vacuum wall of the vacuum chamber which drives the wafer on the paddle into an attached processing chamber. A single wafer may be loaded onto the paddle through a door in the vacuum wall. Alternatively, a cassette of wafers may be loaded into a cassette station opposite the processing chamber. One end of the paddle removes a wafer from the cassette, and a hand off station moves the wafer to a second end of the paddle, which then moves it into the processing chamber.

Wafer load lock and magnetically coupled linear delivery system

A box handling apparatus having particular application in the packaging of semiconductor wafers, includes a box opening assembly which can unlatch a lid from a bottom of the box and separate the lid from the bottom. Arms can grip an article, such as a wafer cassette, in the bottom of the box and lift it out. The cassette can be loaded, or wafers already in the cassette unloaded. The apparatus can replace the loaded cassette in the bottom of the box and latchingly re-engage the lid.

Box handling apparatus and method

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San Mateo, CA, United States of America

Andrew P Lunday