Substrate loading system
View Patent ↗Methods, systems, and apparatus for a substrate transfer method, including positioning a tray handler device in a first position with i) cutouts of an aperture of the first tray in superimposition with respective pedestals of a pedestal platform and ii) a distal end of the pedestals extending away from a top surface of the first tray; increasing a distance between the top surface of the first tray and a top surface of the pedestal platform to transfer a first substrate from the pedestals to the tabs defined by the aperture of the first tray, while concurrently engaging the second tray handler with the second tray; and increasing a distance between the top surface of the second tray and the bottom surface of a chuck to transfer a second substrate from the chuck to the tabs defined by the second tray.
1. An imprint lithography substrate transfer method, the method comprising:
providing a tray handler device comprising a tray handler;
providing a tray defining an aperture and having a top surface, the aperture defining cutouts and tabs;
providing a substrate chuck having a top surface and a bottom surface;
engaging the tray handler with the tray;
positioning the tray handler device in a first position with i) the cutouts of the aperture of the tray in superimposition with respective pedestals of a pedestal platform and ii) a distal end of the pedestals extending away from the top surface of the tray;
increasing a distance between the top surface of the tray and a top surface of the pedestal platform to transfer a substrate from the pedestals to the tabs defined by the aperture of the tray;
rotating the tray handler device from the first position to a second position with the tabs defined by the aperture of the tray in superimposition with respective channels of the substrate chuck;
decreasing a distance between the top surface of the tray and the bottom surface of the substrate chuck to transfer the substrate from the tabs defined by the aperture of the tray to the top surface of the substrate chuck while the tabs defined by the aperture of the tray are disposed within the respective channels of the substrate chuck; and
disengaging the tray handler from the tray.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tray handler device comprises an additional tray handler.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the additional tray handler is positioned opposite the tray handler.
4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising providing an additional tray defining an aperture and having a top surface.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the aperture of the additional tray defines cutouts and tabs.
6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising engaging the additional tray handler with the additional tray.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein engaging the additional tray handler with the additional tray occurs concurrently with increasing a distance between the top surface of the tray and a top surface of the pedestal platform.
8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising increasing a distance between the top surface of the additional tray and the bottom surface of the substrate chuck to transfer an additional substrate from the substrate chuck to the tabs defined by the additional tray.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein, when the tray handler device is in the second position, the cutouts of the aperture of the additional tray are in superimposition with respective pedestals.
10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising decreasing a distance between the top surface of the additional tray and the top surface of the pedestal platform to transfer the additional substrate from the tabs defined by the aperture of the additional substrate of the additional tray to the pedestals.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein disengaging the tray handler from the tray occurs concurrently with decreasing a distance between the top surface of the additional tray and the top surface of the pedestal platform to transfer the additional substrate from the tabs defined by the aperture of the additional tray to the pedestals.
12. An imprint lithography system, comprising:
a pedestal platform comprising pedestals;
a substrate chuck having a top surface and a bottom surface, and defining channels;
a tray defining an aperture and having a top surface, the aperture defining cutouts and tabs;
a tray handler device including a tray handler, the tray handler engageable with the tray, the tray hander rotatable between first and second positions, the first position having i) the cutouts of the aperture of the tray in superimposition with respective pedestals of a pedestal platform and ii) a distal end of the pedestals extending away from the top surface of the tray, the second position having the tabs defined by the aperture of the tray in superimposition with respective channels of the substrate chuck; and
an actuator system configured to, when the tray handler device is in the first position, i) increase a distance between the top surface of the tray and a top surface of the pedestal platform to transfer a substrate from the pedestals to the tabs defined by the aperture of the tray, and when the tray handler is in the second position, i) decrease a distance between the top surface of the tray and the bottom surface of the substrate chuck to transfer the substrate from the tabs defined by the aperture of the tray to the top surface of the substrate chuck while the tabs defined by the aperture of the tray are disposed within the respective channels of the substrate chuck.
13. The system of claim 12 , further comprising an additional tray defining an aperture and having a top surface, the aperture defining cutouts and tabs.
14. The system of claim 13 , further comprising an additional tray handler, wherein the additional tray handler is engageable with the additional tray.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the additional tray handler is positioned opposite the tray handler.
16. The system of claim 14 , wherein, when the tray handler device is in the first position, the cutouts of the aperture of the additional tray are in superimposition with respective pedestals.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the actuator system is configured to, when the tray handler device is in the first position, increase the distance between the top surface of the tray and a top surface of the pedestal platform.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the actuator system is configured to, when the tray handler device is in the first position, increase the distance between the top surface of the tray and a top surface of the pedestal platform while concurrently engaging the additional tray handler with the additional tray.
19. The system of claim 16 , wherein the actuator system is configured to, when the tray handler device is in the first position, increase a distance between the top surface of the additional tray and the bottom surface of the substrate chuck to transfer an additional substrate from the substrate chuck to the tabs defined by the additional tray.
20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the actuator system is configured to, when the tray handler is in the second position, decrease a distance between the top surface of the additional tray and the top surface of the pedestal platform to transfer the additional substrate from the substrate chuck to the pedestals while the tray handler is disengaged from the tray.