Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Fan-Lin Lu

Ko-Chin Chung

Ho-Jen Chen

Tung-Li Lee

Ton-Lee Lee

Yu-Tan Tseng

Kwun-Goo Hung

A wafer presence optical sensor system comprises a transfer chamber adapted to receive a wafer, an optical sensor comprising means emitting a sensing beam and means receiving a beam reflected from the wafer to ascertain wafer presence in the chamber, and means to reflect away the sensing beam when reaching a chamber bottom. The reflecting means includes an oblique area made in an inner surface of the chamber bottom or, alternatively, a body with an oblique area placed on the inner surface. Reflecting away the sensing beam when no wafer is present in the transfer chamber prevents the receiving means from receiving the beam reflected from the chamber bottom and thus thwarts the misinterpretation of wafer presence.

Optical wafer presence sensor system

An apparatus and a method for positioning a cassette pod onto a loadport by an overhead hoist transport system are described. The apparatus includes a vertical front panel of a process machine equipped with a docking opening therein, a loadport stage extending horizontally from the vertical front panel, a loadport situated on the loadport stage, at least two back guiding plates situated on the back of the loadport, at least two side guiding plates with one situated on each side of the loadport, a front guiding plate situated on the front side of the loadport, and a clamp positioner for guiding the position of an OHT clamp during an unloading operation of the cassette pod. The two halves of the clamp positioner move sideways away from each other to allow the cassette pod to pass therethrough during a loading operation.

Apparatus and method for positioning a cassette pod onto a loadport by an overhead hoist transport system

A method of calibrating a wafer edge gripping end effector. A wafer calibration tool is held in a stationary position simulating the position of a semiconductor wafer to be picked up by the wafer edge gripping end effector. A controller associated with a robot having an end effector attached to a robot arm thereto is turned off. The robot arm and end effector are moved to position where the first and second clamp structures on the end effector each engage a respective inner edge that in part defines a notch formed in the wafer calibration tool. An actuator driven movable clamp structure is manually advanced so that the movable clamp structure engages an inner edge that in part defines one of the notches formed in the wafer calibration tool. The controller is turned on and data regarding the location of robot arm, end effector and movable clamp structure is stored.

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Chung-Ho, Taiwan

Fan-Lin Lu