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. 14, 2013
Filed:
Jan. 27, 2010
Ravinder Aggarwal, Gilbert, AZ (US);
Jeroen Stoutjesdijk, Bussum, NL;
Eric Hill, Goodyear, AZ (US);
Loring G. Davis, Phoenix, AZ (US);
John T. Disanto, Scottsdale, AZ (US);
Ravinder Aggarwal, Gilbert, AZ (US);
Jeroen Stoutjesdijk, Bussum, NL;
Eric Hill, Goodyear, AZ (US);
Loring G. Davis, Phoenix, AZ (US);
John T. DiSanto, Scottsdale, AZ (US);
ASM America, Inc., Phoenix, AZ (US);
Abstract
A load lock includes a chamber including an upper portion, a lower portion, and a partition between the upper portion and the lower portion, the partition including an opening therethrough. The load lock further includes a first port in communication with the upper portion of the chamber and a second port in communication with the lower portion of the chamber. The load lock includes a rack disposed within the chamber and a workpiece holder mounted on a first surface of the rack, wherein the rack and the workpiece holder are movable by an indexer that is capable of selectively moving wafer slots of the rack into communication with the second port. The indexer can also move the rack into an uppermost position, at which the first surface of the boat and the partition sealingly separate the upper portion and the lower portion to define an upper chamber and a lower chamber. Auxiliary processing, such as wafer pre-cleaning, or metrology can be conducted in the upper portion.