Substrate processing apparatus
A substrate processing apparatus including a frame, a first SCARA arm connected to the frame, including an end effector, configured to extend and retract along a first radial axis; a second SCARA arm connected to the frame, including an end effector, configured to extend and retract along a second radial axis, the SCARA arms having a common shoulder axis of rotation; and a drive section coupled to the SCARA arms is configured to independently extend each SCARA arm along a respective radial axis and rotate each SCARA arm about the common shoulder axis of rotation where the first radial axis is angled relative to the second radial axis and the end effector of a respective arm is aligned with a respective radial axis, wherein each end effector is configured to hold at least one substrate and the end effectors are located on a common transfer plane.
1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
a frame;
a first arm connected to the frame, the first arm being a three link arm configured to extend and retract along a first radial axis and having an upper arm, a forearm and an end effector;
a second arm connected to the frame, the second arm being a three link arm configured to extend and retract along a second radial axis and having an upper arm, a forearm and an end effector, where the first and second arms have a common shoulder axis of rotation;
a drive section coupled to the first and second arms, the drive section having two degrees of freedom and being configured to extend the first and second arms along respective radial axes and rotate the first and second arms about the common shoulder axis of rotation so that the extension and retraction of the first and second arms along the respective radial axes is coupled and the end effectors of each of the first and second arms move substantially in unison along a common transfer plane.
2. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the extension and retraction of the first and second arms is a reciprocal extension and retraction so that as one of the first and second arms extends the other one of the first and second arms retracts.
3. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each end effector is configured to hold at least one substrate and the end effectors of the first and second arms are located coincident on the common transfer plane.
4. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the drive section includes a coaxial drive shaft arrangement.
5. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the end effectors is mounted to a respective arm such that an angle between the end effectors substantially matches an angle between radially adjacent substrate holding stations accessible by each arm.
6. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a controller connected to at least the drive section; and
at least one sensor connected to the controller, the controller being configured to obtain substrate detection signals from the at least one sensor and apply an offset to apposition of an end effector of at least one of the first and second arms, wherein the offset is calculated depending on thermal expansion of at least the substrate transport apparatus.
7. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the upper arm of each of the first and second arms is connected to the drive section at the common shoulder axis of rotation, the forearm of each of the first and second arms is connected to a respective upper arm at an elbow axis and the end effector of each of the first and second arms is connected to a respective forearm at a wrist axis.
8. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
at least one transport arm; and
a drive section, the drive section including a nested bearing arrangement and a coaxial drive shaft assembly where the nested bearing arrangement includes concentrically stacked bearings configured to radially and axially support the drive shaft assembly;
wherein at least one race of at least one bearing in the concentrically stacked bearings is coupled to a housing of the drive section and configured to support the coaxial drive shaft assembly and other bearings in the concentrically stacked bearings so that the coaxial drive shaft assembly and the other bearings are commonly positioned by and commonly depend from the at least one bearing, the concentrically stacked bearings being in a stack so that adjacent concentric races of the concentrically stacked bearings seat and engage one another in supporting contact with adjacent races of the adjacent concentric races of the concentrically stacked bearings in the stack.
9. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the bearings are configured such that at least one inner race of one bearing is coupled to an outer race of another bearing.
10. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the drive section is a two degree of freedom drive system.
11. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the drive section is a three degree of freedom drive system.
12. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the drive section is a four degree of freedom drive section.
13. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising ferrofluidic seals disposed between drive shafts of the coaxial drive shaft assembly for sealing an atmosphere within a housing of the drive section from an atmosphere in which the at last one transport arm is disposed.
14. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the at least one transport arm includes two transport arms each having an end effector, where the end effectors are disposed in the same plane.
15. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the at least one transport arm includes two transport arms each having an end effector, where the end effectors are disposed in different planes.
16. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein each bearing of the concentrically stacked bearings includes a bearing flange coupled to a respective pulley.
17. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the drive section comprises a direct drive.
18. A method for processing substrates, the method comprising:
providing a substrate processing apparatus having a common drive section disposed in a common drive casing, a first arm coupled to the common drive section, a second arm coupled to the common drive section, where each of the first and second arms includes an end effector, the first and second arms being configured for independent extension, retraction and rotation where each of the first and second arms is configured so that the common drive section is capable of driving the first and second arms through more than three-hundred-sixty degrees of rotation about a shoulder axis;
controlling, with a controller, the drive section to drive the arms through more than three-hundred-sixty degrees of rotation about the shoulder axis;
controlling, with the controller, the drive section to extend and retract the first and second arms;
recognizing, with the controller, when rotation of the first and second arms will result in interference between the first and second arms and positioning at least one of the first and second arms so that an axis of extension and retraction of at least one of the first and second arms is within a region substantially without interference with another of the first and second arms; and
providing, with the controller, nearly simultaneous picking and placing of substrates with the first and second arms.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the end effectors are disposed in substantially the same plane.
20. The method of claim 18 , further comprising rotating the first and second arms as a unit about the shoulder axis.
21. The method of claim 18 , wherein each of the first and second arms are provided with an upper arm link and a forearm link wherein the upper arm links are a different length than the forearm links.
22. The method of claim 18 , wherein each of the first and second arms are provided with an end effector configured to support at least one substrate.
23. The method of claim 18 , wherein the first arm allows the second arm to pass between an upper arm and forearm of the first arm.
24. The method of claim 18 , wherein the common drive section is provided with a four degree of freedom drive having four concentric drive shafts.
25. The method of claim 24 , further comprising radially and axially supporting the four concentric drive shafts with a nested bearing arrangement where at least a portion of one bearing is mounted to a portion of another one of the bearings.