Robotic Chamber Support Pedestal
Modular wafer transport and handling facilities are combined in a variety of ways deliver greater levels of flexibility, utility, efficiency, and functionality in a vacuum semiconductor processing system. Various processing and other modules may be interconnected with tunnel-and-cart transportation systems to extend the distance and versatility of the vacuum environment. Other improvements such as bypass thermal adjusters, buffering aligners, batch processing, multifunction modules, low particle vents, cluster processing cells, and the like are incorporated to expand functionality and improve processing efficiency.
1 . A device comprising:
a robotic arm including an end effector for holding a workpiece;
a chamber substantially surrounding the robotic arm, the chamber including a first port and a second port sized for passage of the end effector and one or more work pieces from the first port to the second port;
a first slot valve operable to selectively isolate an interior of the chamber from a first exterior accessible through the first port, and a second slot valve operable to selectively isolate the interior of the chamber from a second exterior accessible through the second port; and
a pedestal supporting the chamber, the pedestal having a top projection surface area enclosed by the top projection surface area of the chamber.
2 . The device of claim 1 wherein the pedestal is substantially cylindrical.
3 . The device of claim 1 further comprising a robotic drive system housed within the pedestal and coupled to the robotic arm.
4 . The device of claim 3 wherein at least one component of the robotic drive system is externally accessible through the pedestal.
5 . The device of claim 3 wherein the robotic drive system includes a motor.
6 . The device of claim 5 wherein the motor is disposed outside a vacuum environment of the chamber.
7 . The device of claim 6 wherein the robotic drive system includes a shaft disposed within the vacuum environment of the chamber.
8 . The device of claim 1 wherein the pedestal is affixed to a base including a plurality of wheels.
9 . The device of claim 1 wherein the chamber interconnects two or more items of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
10 . The device of claim 1 wherein the pedestal has a substantially uniform cross-sectional shape.
11 . The device of claim 1 wherein the top projection surface area of the chamber exceeds the top projection surface area of the pedestal sufficiently to provide utility access beneath the chamber for passage of wires on all sides of the pedestal.
12 . The device of claim 1 wherein the top projection surface area of the chamber exceeds the top projection surface area of the pedestal sufficiently to provide utility access beneath the chamber for passage of tubes on all sides of the pedestal.
13 . The device of claim 1 wherein the top projection surface area of the chamber exceeds the top projection surface area of the pedestal sufficiently to provide utility access beneath the chamber for passage of pipes on all sides of the pedestal.
14 . The device of claim 1 wherein a void space around the pedestal is allocated to provide a buffer zone for two or more utilities.
15 . The device of claim 14 wherein the two or more utilities include gas.
16 . The device of claim 14 wherein the two or more utilities include water.
17 . The device of claim 14 wherein the two or more utilities include electricity.
18 . The device of claim 1 wherein the void space around the pedestal includes a structural frame to support a plurality of conduits for delivery of a plurality of utilities.
19 . The device of claim 18 wherein at least one of the plurality of conduits includes a device port hookup.
20 . The device of claim 18 wherein the plurality of utilities include one or more of electricity, water, and gas.