Apparatus and methods for transporting and processing substrates
View Patent ↗There is described apparatus and methods for transporting and processing substrates including wafers as to efficiently produce at reasonable costs improved throughput as compared to systems in use today. A linear transport chamber includes linear tracks and robot arms riding on the linear tracks to linearly transfer substrates along the sides of processing chambers for feeding substrates into a controlled atmosphere through a load lock and then along a transport chamber as a way of reaching processing chambers.
1. A substrate processing system, comprising:
an elongated substrate transfer chamber;
a linear track affixed inside the transfer chamber;
at least two robot arms linearly riding on the linear track;
connection ports disposed in walls of the elongated substrate transfer chamber, the connection ports being configured to allow connection of at least one multiple-substrate processing chamber to the elongated substrate transfer chamber, the multiple-substrate processing chamber having a plurality of processing regions defined therein where the connection ports provide access to respective ones of the plurality of processing regions and are arranged on the elongated substrate transfer chamber to accommodate different pitches between the plurality of processing regions for each of the at least one multiple-substrate processing chamber;
wherein each of the robot arms is structured to load substrates onto each processing region of the at least one multiple-substrate processing chamber substantially independent of other processing regions of the at least one multiple-substrate processing chamber.
2. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising a single stack loadlock chamber.
3. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising a tandem-stack loadlock chamber.
4. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the multiple-substrate processing chamber comprises a single chamber body having a plurality of linearly-aligned processing regions defined therein.
5. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the multiple-substrate processing chamber comprises two chamber bodies mounted in alignment with each other, each having a single processing region defined therein, and wherein the two chamber bodies share at least one of processing gas supply or vacuum pump.
6. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising a multiple-substrate processing chamber comprising a single chamber body having a plurality of circularly-arranged processing regions defined therein, and being mounted onto the elongated substrate transfer chamber.
7. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein at least one of the robot arms comprises a SCARA robot arm.
8. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising a loading loadlock communicably coupled to the elongated substrate transfer chamber and an unloading loadlock communicably coupled to the elongated substrate transfer chamber substantially in-line with the linear track at an opposite side to the loading loadlock.
9. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 8 , wherein the unloading loadlock is configured to be mounted to the elongated substrate transfer chamber and another transport chamber simultaneously.
10. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising a second linear track having at least one robot arm linearly riding thereupon.
11. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising a multiple-substrate cooling station mounted onto the elongated substrate transfer chamber.
12. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising an upper linear transfer chamber mounted above the elongated substrate transfer chamber, and an elevator coupled to the elongated substrate transfer chamber and the upper linear transfer chamber and configured to transfer substrates therebetween.
13. A substrate processing system, comprising:
a loadlock chamber;
an elongated substrate transfer chamber having an evacuated section and coupled to the loadlock chamber;
a linear track affixed to the transfer chamber within the evacuated section;
at least one robot arm riding on the linear track;
a magnetic coupler arrangement including a follower coupled to a respective one of the at least one robot arm and a corresponding movable driver, the corresponding movable driver providing, to the follower, from movement of the movable driver both linear motive power to drive the at least one robot arm along the linear track and rotational motive power to the at least one robot arm;
a speed reducing transmission between a magnetic coupling, of the follower and the corresponding movable driver, and the at least one robot arm configured to reduce rotational motion speed imparted onto the at least one robot arm by the rotational motive power; and
connection ports disposed in walls of the elongated substrate transfer chamber, the connection ports being configured to allow connection of a plurality of processing chambers onto at least one side of the elongated substrate transfer chamber.
14. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 13 , wherein at least one of the processing chambers is a multiple-substrate processing chamber.
15. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 13 , further comprising a second linear track affixed to the transfer chamber within the evacuated section and having at least one robot arm riding thereon.
16. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 13 , further comprising a linear motion encoder coupled to the robot arm.
17. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 13 , further comprising an unloading loadlock chamber communicably coupled to the elongated substrate transfer chamber substantially in-line with the linear track at an opposite side to the loadlock chamber.
18. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 17 , wherein the unloading loadlock chamber is configured to be mounted to the elongated substrate transfer chamber and another transport chamber simultaneously.
19. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 13 , wherein at least two of the processing chambers share at least one of processing gas supply and vacuum pump.
20. The substrate processing system in accordance with claim 13 , further comprising keys structured for alignment of two of the processing chambers.