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Dual cassette load lock
| Details |
Inventors: Toshima, Masato M.; Salzman, Phil M.; Murdoch, Steven C.; Wang, Cheng; Stenholm, Mark A.; Howard, James; Hall, Leonard; Cheng, David;
Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA)
Primary Examiner: Werner; Frank E.
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Kenyon & Kenyon
A workpiece loading interface is included within a workpiece processing system which processes workpieces, typically wafers, in a vacuum. The workpiece loading interface includes two separate chambers. Each chamber may be separately pumped down. Thus, while a first cassette of wafers, from a first chamber is being accessed, a second cassette of wafers may be loaded in the second chamber and the second chamber pumped down. Each chamber is designed to minimize intrusion to a clean room. Thus a door to each chamber has a mechanism which, when opening the door, first moves the door slightly away from an opening in the chamber and then the door is moved down parallel to the chamber. After the door is opened, a cassette of wafers is lowered through the opening in a motion much like a drawbridge. The cassette may be pivoted within the chamber when the position from which wafers are accessed from the cassette differs from the position from which the cassette is lowered out of the chamber. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a workpiece loading interface is presented for inclusion within a workpiece processing system.
The workpiece loading interface includes two separate chambers.
Each chamber may be separately pumped down.
Thus, while a first cassette of workpieces, typically wafers, from a first chamber are being accessed, a second cassette of wafers may be loaded in the second chamber and the second chamber may then be pumped down.
This can significantly increase throughput of wafers through the workpiece processing system.
In the preferred embodiment, each chamber is designed to minimize intrusion to a clean room.
Thus a door to each chamber has a mechanism which, when opening the door, first moves the door slightly away from an opening in the chamber and then the door is moved down parallel to the chamber.
After the door is opened, a cassette of wafers is lowered through the opening in a motion much like a drawbridge.
The cassette of wafers is on a support with no side panels, facilitating the replacement of a cassette of processed wafers with a cassette of unprocessed wafers by an automated device.
The cassette may be pivoted within the chamber when the position from which wafers are accessed from the cassette differs from the position from which the cassette is lowered out of the chamber.
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Control Computers 
