Granted Patent B2

US 12,334,376 · App. 18/243,433 · Granted Jun 17, 2025

Inventors: Alex Berger (Palo Alto, CA); Jeffrey Hudgens (San Francisco, CA); Eric Englhardt (Palo Alto, CA)

Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.

H01L21/67709B25J11/0095B65G54/02

Abstract

Claims (35)

1. An electronic device processing system, comprising:

a transfer chamber, comprising:

a first magnetic levitation track disposed within the transfer chamber, wherein the first magnetic levitation track has a face-up orientation configured to generate a first magnetic field above the first magnetic levitation track,

a second magnetic levitation track disposed within the transfer chamber spaced apart from the first magnetic levitation track, wherein the second magnetic levitation track has a face-down orientation configured to generate a second magnetic field below the second magnetic levitation track,

at least one assembly configured to move one or more substrate carriers in a vertical direction between the first magnetic levitation track and the second magnetic levitation track, and a plurality of ports, wherein the at least one assembly is positioned along the first magnetic levitation track; and

a plurality of process chambers, each process chamber in fluid communication with the transfer chamber via a respective port of the plurality of ports.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one assembly comprises at least one lift pin assembly.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the transfer chamber has only a single magnetic levitation track disposed at a first height within the transfer chamber and only a single magnetic levitation track disposed at a second height within the transfer chamber, wherein the first magnetic levitation track is disposed at the first height within the transfer chamber and the second magnetic levitation track is disposed at the second height within the transfer chamber.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of substrate carriers configured to move along the first magnetic levitation track and the second magnetic levitation track, wherein each substrate carrier of the plurality of substrate carriers comprises a first magnet on a bottom of the substrate carrier to interact with the first magnetic field and a second magnet on a top of the substrate carrier to interact with the second magnetic field.

5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an additional port configured to permit access to a load lock, wherein the additional port is disposed at a first end of the transfer chamber along a width of the transfer chamber.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first magnetic levitation track is configured to move one or more of a plurality of substrate carriers in a first direction along a length of the transfer chamber, and wherein the second magnetic levitation track is configured to move one or more of the plurality of substrate carriers in a second direction along the length of the transfer chamber, wherein the second direction is opposite the first direction.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein a substrate carrier of a plurality of substrate carriers comprises an end effector for holding a substrate, wherein at least one of the first magnetic levitation track or the second magnetic levitation track is configured to cause the substrate carrier to rotate to place the substrate into a process chamber.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of ports are a plurality of slit valves, wherein a first transfer plane of at least a first subset of the plurality of slit valves is accessible to substrate carriers of a plurality of substrate carriers that are engaged with the first magnetic levitation track.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the each of the plurality of process chambers is independently selected from the group consisting of an etch chamber, a polishing chamber, and a deposition chamber.

10. A transfer chamber, comprising:

a first magnetic levitation track disposed within the transfer chamber, wherein the first magnetic levitation track has a face-up orientation configured to generate a first magnetic field above the first magnetic levitation track;

a second magnetic levitation track disposed within the transfer chamber spaced apart from the first magnetic levitation track, wherein the second magnetic levitation track has a face-down orientation configured to generate a second magnetic field below the second magnetic levitation track; and

at least one assembly configured to move one or more substrate carriers in a vertical direction between the first magnetic levitation track and the second magnetic levitation track, and a plurality of ports, wherein the at least one assembly is positioned along the first magnetic levitation track,

wherein the first and second magnetic levitation tracks are configured to independently rotate each of the one or more substrate carriers from a first position parallel to the first or second magnetic levitation track to a second position perpendicular to the first or second magnetic levitation track.

11. A transfer chamber, comprising:

a first magnetic levitation track disposed within the transfer chamber, wherein the first magnetic levitation track has a face-up orientation configured to generate a first magnetic field above the first magnetic levitation track;

a second magnetic levitation track disposed within the transfer chamber spaced apart from the first magnetic levitation track, wherein the second magnetic levitation track has a face-down orientation configured to generate a second magnetic field below the second magnetic levitation track; and

at least one assembly configured to move one or more substrate carriers in a vertical direction between the first magnetic levitation track and the second magnetic levitation track, and a plurality of ports, wherein the at least one assembly is positioned along the first magnetic levitation track,

wherein at least one of the first magnetic levitation track or the second magnetic levitation track is configured to cause a substrate carrier to rotate to place a substrate into a process chamber in fluid communication with the transfer chamber.

12. The transfer chamber of claim 11 , wherein the substrate carrier comprises an upper magnetic portion configured to engage with a stator of a first linear motor.

13. The transfer chamber of claim 11 , wherein the substrate carrier comprises a lower magnetic portion configured to engage with a stator of a first linear motor or a second linear motor.

14. The transfer chamber of claim 11 , wherein the substrate carrier comprises an end effector.

15. The transfer chamber of claim 11 , wherein the substrate carrier is a robot arm driven by a corresponding one or more linear motor.

16. A transfer chamber, comprising:

a first magnetic levitation track disposed within the transfer chamber, wherein the first magnetic levitation track has a face-up orientation configured to generate a first magnetic field above the first magnetic levitation track;

a second magnetic levitation track disposed within the transfer chamber spaced apart from the first magnetic levitation track, wherein the second magnetic levitation track has a face-down orientation configured to generate a second magnetic field below the second magnetic levitation track; and

at least one assembly configured to move one or more substrate carriers in a vertical direction between the first magnetic levitation track and the second magnetic levitation track, and a plurality of ports, wherein the at least one assembly is positioned along the first magnetic levitation track,

wherein the transfer chamber has a width of about 2 mm to about 20 mm wider than a substrate for use with one or more substrate carriers,

wherein the first magnetic levitation track is spaced apart from the second magnetic levitation track by about 40 mm to about 300 mm.

17. The transfer chamber of claim 16 , wherein the transfer chamber has a length of about 5 ft to about 20 ft.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (37)