Brooks Automation Gmbh

Motorola Corporation

Clinton M Haris

William Mark Hiatt

Karl Emerson Mautz

Jason S Zeakes

A bridging chamber is constructed between adjacent substrate processing workstation systems and connected by ports constructed in the adjacent substrate processing workstation systems. Transport mechanisms are used to move the substrates into and out of the bridging chamber to bypass primary transport systems.

Transfer chamber between workstations

A sorter for handling and sorting semiconductor wafers is provided. The sorter has a housing, a handling and transport device and at least one nonproduction wafer buffer module. The housing has at least one holding area for interfacing one or more semiconductor wafer carriers to the housing. The housing defines an access path along which semiconductor wafers are transported between the housing and the one or more semiconductor wafer carriers. The handling and transport device is connected to the housing for transporting semiconductor wafers along the access path. The at least one nonproduction wafer buffer module is connected to the housing. The at least one nonproduction wafer buffer module buffers nonproduction wafers sorted by the sorter to one or more semiconductor wafer carriers. The at least one nonproduction wafer buffer module is located so that nonproduction wafers are transported by the handling and transport device, when being sorted to one or more of the semiconductor wafer carriers, along a different path than the access path.

Nonproductive wafer buffer module for substrate processing apparatus

A processing tool bay within a semiconductor fabrication site, including a plurality of semiconductor processing tools for processing wafers being arranged in two opposite rows. An intrabay transport system for transporting wafer carriers around the process tool bay at least in a vertical plane in front of one of said two rows of semiconductor process tools comprises at least one vehicle for receiving and delivering a wafer carrier to and from any one semiconductor process tool of said plurality of semiconductor process tools, and a vehicle guiding mechanism. The vehicle comprises a circular compartment structure including a plurality of compartments for buffering said wafer carrier between receiving it at a first location and delivering it at a second location. Each compartment is arranged for accommodating one wafer carrier. The compartment structure is rotatable around a symmetry axis of itself for an alignment. The distance between the two opposite rows of processing tools is determined so as to enable a displacement of at least one vehicle.

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Lunenburg, MA, United States of America

Clinton M Haris