Intel Corporation

Svg Lithography Systems, Inc.

Hoon-Yeng Yap

Joseph L Laganza

Andy Aagaard

Teodorico A Cruz

Charles H Babcock, Iii

Craig S Dunning

John Fava

Kevin Ogurchak

Erik Magnussen

A wafer transport cart comprises a wheeled support structure and an upright member which is pivotably coupled to the support structure. The upright member has a handle which is pivotably coupled to a wafer cassette support, which comprises a pair of fork-like arms. Wafer production personnel can maneuver the cart adjacent a wafer manufacturing load port, and unload a wafer cassette from the cart to the load port or vice versa, by employing movements of the upright member and the handle. Shock-absorbing dampers are provided for the upright member and the handle. An inter-cart coupling mechanism enables a plurality of carts to be joined together for tandem transport within the manufacturing facility. The arms mate with mating regions on the wafer cassette and on the load port. An alignment notch mates with an alignment pin on the load port. Also described are methods of using the wafer transport cart to load and unload a wafer cassette.

Method and apparatus for transferring wafer cassettes in microelectronic manufacturing environment

A cart for transporting objects includes a wheeled support structure, a carousel and at least first and second object supports. The carousel is rotatably mounted to the support structure. The object supports are mounted to the carousel. The respective object supports are located so as each to support a separate respective object at a separate respective location on a revolution of a carousel.

Cart for transferring objects

An integrated circuit tester for a test board which has a visual target. The tester includes a test arm that can be electrically coupled to the test board and a movement mechanism that can move the arm relative to the board. The tester further includes a camera that is mounted to the test arm. The camera provides a visual image of the visual target which is used to align the test arm with the test board.

Vision aided docking mechanism for semiconductor testers

A cassette or box for containing and holding a planar substrate such as a reticle having a clamp bar coupled to corner supports by a spring or flexure and a linkage. A clamp bar is pivotally attached to bottom corner supports and a spring or flexure and linked to a top corner support, such that movement of the load bar causes the corner supports to pivot away from a reticle being held only at the corners. An elevation bar is also used to preposition the reticle in one direction. The present invention greatly facilitates the positioning and handling of a reticle as used in photolithography to manufacture semiconductor devices. Additionally, the present invention greatly reduces particulate contamination.

Reticle container with corner holding

An apparatus for holding a wafer cassette on a platform of a wafer processing system is described. The apparatus includes a first guiding member and a second guiding member. The first guiding member is mounted on the platform of the wafer processing system. The second guiding member is mounted on the platform of the wafer processing system at a corresponding position of the first guiding member. The first and second guiding members define an interior boundary within which the wafer cassette is secured. The interior boundary matches an outline of a lower portion of the water cassette. The first and second guiding members together guide the water cassette to be precisely loaded into the interior boundary defined by the first and second guiding members. When the wafer cassette is located in the interior boundary defined by the first and second guiding members, the first and second guiding members prevent the wafer cassette from moving horizontally on the platform. The first and second guiding members automatically and precisely align the wafer cassette into the interior boundary when the first and second guiding members receive the wafer cassette.

Growing community of inventors

Tempe, AZ, United States of America

Hoon-Yeng Yap