Tokyo Electron Limited

Daniel Deyo

Rodney Lee Robison

Tugrul Yasar

Marian Zielinski

A wafer processing system includes a plurality of evacuable housings connected in series to form a processing line, with a plurality isolation valves to separately isolate the housings. A track extends through the connected housings. At least one wafer carrier is moveable on the track, through the housings and along the processing line. The wafer carrier holds wafers in vertical orientation and also includes a plurality of magnets aligned along its bottom. Outside the housings, a plurality of magnetic drive units are aligned parallel with the track, with one drive unit per housing. Each drive unit includes a motor driven conveyor with a plurality of magnets mounted thereon which imposes magnetic fields inside the housing to magnetically couple with the magnets mounted on the carrier. When the motor driven conveyor moves the imposed magnetic fields, the magnetic coupling causes the wafer carrier to move. A controller operatively connected to the isolation valves and the drive units coordinates movement of wafer carriers along the processing line according to a predetermined sequence while maintaining vacuum conditions in the housings.

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Phoenicia, NY, United States of America

Daniel Deyo