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:
May. 09, 2006
Filed:
May. 15, 2003
Michael J. Mayo, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Michael J. Mayo, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Asyst Technologies, Inc., Fremont, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention is a pre-aligner capable of determining the center of a wafer by casting light onto a wafer that is positioned above a charge-coupled device (CCD). The pre-aligner performs this operation by directing light emitted from a single LED simultaneously onto the wafer and the CCD. The light emitted from the LED is directed through a light guide in order to direct the light onto the wafer and CCD. A lens collimates the light exiting the light guide such that the light, as it passes the wafer's edge, is substantially perpendicular to the wafer's edge. The light guide may be removably secured to the pre-aligner housing for easy installation removal. The pre-aligner is capable of self-calibrate the LED.