The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 23, 1998
Filed:
Aug. 20, 1996
Masato M Toshima, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Phil M Salzman, San Jose, CA (US);
Steven C Murdoch, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Cheng Wang, San Jose, CA (US);
Mark A Stenholm, San Jose, CA (US);
James Howard, San Jose, CA (US);
Leonard Hall, San Jose, CA (US);
David Cheng, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A workpiece loading interface is included within a workpiece processing system which processes workpieces, typically wafers, in a vacuum. The workpiece loading interface includes two separate chambers. Each chamber may be separately pumped down. Thus, while a first cassette of wafers, from a first chamber is being accessed, a second cassette of wafers may be loaded in the second chamber and the second chamber pumped down. Each chamber is designed to minimize intrusion to a clean room. Thus a door to each chamber has a mechanism which, when opening the door, first moves the door slightly away from an opening in the chamber and then the door is moved down parallel to the chamber. After the door is opened, a cassette of wafers is lowered through the opening in a motion much like a drawbridge. The cassette may be pivoted within the chamber when the position from which wafers are accessed from the cassette differs from the position from which the cassette is lowered out of the chamber.