Claims
- 1. A reticle transport system for a lithography tool having a robotic arm, comprising:
(a) an indexer that stores a plurality of reticles and a removable reticle cassette; (b) an end effector, coupled to the robotic arm, that engages one of said plurality of reticles to enable said one of said plurality of reticles to be positioned within said removable reticle cassette and thereafter transported; and (c) a seal that seals said one of said plurality of reticles inside said removable reticle cassette.
- 2. The reticle transport system of claim 1, wherein said removable reticle cassette comprises an inner chamber and an outer chamber.
- 3. The reticle transport system of claim 1, wherein said seal is coupled to said end effector.
- 4. The reticle transport system of claim 1, wherein said seal is coupled to said robotic arm.
- 5. The reticle transport system of claim 1, wherein said seal includes a vacuum system to attach said removable reticle cassette to the robotic arm.
- 6. The reticle transport system of claim 1, wherein said seal includes a magnet system to attach said removable reticle cassette to the robotic arm.
- 7. A method of transporting a reticle from an indexer to a mount in a lithography tool, comprising the steps of:
(a) loading the reticle, stored in the indexer, onto an end effector; (b) loading the reticle into a removable reticle cassette, stored in the indexer, to create an arrangement wherein said removable reticle cassette does not come into contact with said reticle; and (c) transporting said arrangement from the indexer to the mount for performing lithographic exposure.
- 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising a step of returning said arrangement to the indexer after performing lithographic exposure.
- 9. A method of transporting a reticle in a lithography tool, comprising the steps of:
(a) storing a plurality of reticles and a removable reticle cassette in an indexer; (b) coupling an end effector to a robotic arm that engages one of the plurality of reticles, to enable the one of said plurality of reticles to be positioned within the removable reticle cassette; (c) sealing said one of the plurality of reticles inside the removable reticle cassette with a seal that is coupled to the end effector to produce a sealed arrangement; and (d) transporting the sealed arrangement.
- 10. A substrate transport system for transitioning a substrate from atomospheric pressure to vacuum in a lithography tool comprising:
at least one removable substrate transport cassettes, each removable substrate transport cassette having at least one vent and at least one filter; a substrate transporter having a tray and at least one tray locator that supports the substrate; and an end effector, coupled to a robotic arm, that engages said substrate transporter to enable the substrate to be positioned within one of said removable substrate transport cassettes to form a cassette-substrate arrangement.
- 11. The substrate transport system of claim 10, wherein each removable substrate transport cassette is further comprised of a seal that seals an opening of said one removable substrate cassettes to a flange after the substrate has been positioned within.
- 12. The substrate transport system of claim 11, wherein said seal is coupled to said substrate transporter.
- 13. The substrate transport system of claim 11, wherein said seal includes a vacuum system to attach said removable substrate transport cassette to said flange.
- 14. The substrate transport system of claim 11, wherein said seal includes a magnet system to attach said removable cassette to said flange.
- 15. The substrate transport system of claim 10, wherein said at least one vent and at least one filter are located opposite a patterned side of the substrate.
- 16. The substrate transport system of claim 10, further comprising an engaging tab coupled to said flange, said engaging tab having one or more tab locators.
- 17. The substrate transport system of claim 16, further comprising one or more end effector locators that engage said one or more tab locators and thereby transporting said cassette-substrate arrangement.
- 18. The substrate transport system of claim 10, further comprising a box having a base and a lid and wherein one or more of said cassette-substrate arrangements are positioned within said box to form a box-cassette-substrate arrangement.
- 19. The substrate transport system of claim 18, wherein said box is a standard mechanical interface.
- 20. The substrate transport system of claim 18, further comprising a first storage rack having one or more shelves that hold said box-cassette-substrate arrangement.
- 21. The substrate transport system of claim 20, wherein said first storage rack is an out of vacuum storage rack.
- 22. The substrate transport system of claim 18, further comprising a detacher wherein said lid is detached from said base.
- 23. The substrate transport system of claim 22, wherein said detacher is a de-podding station.
- 24. The substrate transport system of claim 22, wherein said detacher is a standard mechanical interface de-podding station.
- 25. The substrate transport system of claim 18, further comprising a loadlock that receives said cassette-substrate arrangement after its removal from said box-cassette-substrate arrangement.
- 26. The substrate transport system of claim 25, further comprising a process chamber that receives said cassette-substrate arrangement after said cassette-substrate arrangement has been transitioned from atmospheric pressure to vacuum, said at least one vent and said at least one filter restricting particles within said loadlock from entering said cassette-substrate arrangement and reaching a surface of the substrate during transitioning.
- 27. The substrate transport system of claim 26, further comprising a second storage rack located within said process chamber, said second storage rack having one or more shelves that hold said cassette-substrate arrangement.
- 28. The substrate transport system of claim 27, wherein said second storage rack is an in-vacuum library.
- 29. A removable substrate transport cassette for transitioning a substrate from atomospheric pressure to vacuum in a lithography tool, comprising:
a base portion and a top portion; one or more base portion locators disposed within said base portion that supports one or more lower corners of the substrate; one or more upper portion locators disposed within said top portion in which one or more upper corners of the substrate are fitted; and at least one filter and at least one vent located opposite a patterned side of said substrate.
- 30. The removable substrate transport cassette of claim 29, further comprising a seal that seals said base portion and said top portion after the substrate has been positioned within the removable substrate transport cassette.
- 31. The removable substrate transport cassette of claim 29, further comprising an edge band surrounding one or more side edges of said base portion, wherein said edge band impedes the migration of particles from outside the removable substrate transport cassette to inside and further wherein said edge band provides a surface to support said top portion.
- 32. The removable substrate transport cassette of claim 30, wherein said seal is permeable to gases but substantially impermeable to particles.
- 33. The removable substrate transport cassette of claim 30, wherein said seal is comprised of a raised surface with protruding concentric vertical flanges that fit into one or more corresponding grooves on said top portion.
- 34. The removable substrate transport cassette of claim 30, wherein said seal is impermeable to gases and substantially impermeable to particles.
- 35. The removable substrate transport cassette of claim 30, wherein said seal is an O-ring elastomer seal.
- 36. A substrate transport system for transitioning a substrate from atmospheric pressure to vacuum in a lithography tool, comprising:
one or more removable substrate transport cassettes, each removable substrate transport cassette having at least one vent and at least one filter; an end effector, coupled to a robotic arm, that enables the substrate to be positioned within one of said removable substrate transport cassettes to form a cassette-substrate arrangement; a box having a base and a lid, wherein said box holds one or more of said cassette-substrate arrangements; a first storage rack having one or more shelves for holding a box-cassette-substrate arrangement; and an entry-exit module having a loadlock that transitions said cassette-substrate arrangement from atmospheric pressure to vacuum, said at least one vent and said at least one filter restricting particles within said loadlock from entering said cassette-substrate arrangement and reaching a surface of the substrate.
- 37. The substrate transport system of claim 36, wherein said entry-exit module further comprises an atmospheric de-podder.
- 38. The substrate transport system of claim 36, wherein said entry-exit module further comprises an elevator that raises and lowers said cassette-substrate arrangement.
- 39. The substrate transport system of claim 36, wherein said entry-exit module further comprises a shuttle that engages said cassette-substrate arrangement and transports said cassette-substrate arrangement into said loadlock.
- 40. The substrate transport system of claim 36, further comprising a process chamber that receives said cassette-substrate arrangement after said cassette-substrate arrangement has been transitioned to vacuum.
- 41. The substrate transport system of claim 40, further comprising a second storage rack within said process chamber, said second storage rack having a plurality of shelves to store said cassette-substrate arrangement.
- 42. A method of transitioning a substrate from atomospheric pressure to vacuum in a lithography tool, comprising:
(a) loading the substrate into a removable substrate transport cassette to produce a cassette-substrate arrangement, wherein said removable substrate transport has at least one vent and at least one filter; (b) loading said cassette-substrate arrangement into a box to produce a box-cassette-substrate arrangement, said box having a base and a lid; (c) transporting said box-cassette-substrate arrangement to a shelf of a first storage rack; (d) transporting said box-cassette-substrate arrangement to a detacher where an atmospheric robot removes said lid from said base; (e) unloading said cassette-substrate arrangement from said box; (f) loading said cassette-substrate arrangement into a loadlock; and (g) transitioning said loadlock from atmospheric pressure to vacuum, wherein during transitioning, said at least one vent and said at least one filter restrict particles within said loadlock from entering said cassette-substrate arrangement and reaching a surface of the substrate.
- 43. The method of claim 42, further comprising removing gas from the cassette-substrate arrangement at a gas flow velocity rate low enough not to dislodge particles equal to or smaller than one micron.
- 44. The method of claim 42, further comprising transporting said cassette-substrate arrangement from said loadlock to a process chamber after completing said transitioning step (g).
- 45. The method of claim 44, further comprising storing said cassette-substrate arrangement on a shelf in a second storage rack located within said process chamber.
- 46. A method for transporting a substrate from an indexer to a mount in a lithography tool, comprising:
(a) engaging a recess of a cassette-substrate arrangement with a locking device, thereby coupling a shell portion of said cassette-substrate arrangment to the indexer; (b) engaging a substrate transporter of said cassette-substrate arrangement with an end effector to enable the substrate to be withdrawn from said cassette-substrate arrangement and thereafter transported; (c) transporting said substrate transporter to a mount; and (d) placing said substrate on said mount prior to performing lithographic exposure.
- 47. The method of claim 46, further comprising returning the substrate to said substrate transporter and returning said substrate transporter to said removable substrate transport cassette after performing lithographic exposure.
- 48. A method for transitioning a substrate from atmospheric pressure to vacuum in a lithography tool, comprising:
(a) loading the substrate into a removable substrate transport cassette to produce a cassette-substrate arrangement, wherein said removable substrate transport has at least one vent and at least one filter; (b) loading said cassette-substrate arrangement into a box to produce a box-cassette-substrate arrangement, said box comprised of a base and a lid; (c) transporting said box-cassette-substrate arrangement to a shelf of a first storage rack; (d) transporting said box-n out of vacuum from said first storage rack to an entry-exit module; (e) unlatching a lid of said box from a base of said box; (f) lowering said base on an elevator, said base supporting said cassette-substrate arrangement; (g) engaging said cassette-substrate arrangement with a shuttle; (h) using said shuttle to transport said cassette-substrate arrangement into a loadlock; and (i) transitioning said loadlock from atmospheric pressure to vacuum, wherein during transitioning, said at least one vent and said at least one filter restrict particles within said loadlock from entering said cassette-substrate arrangement and reaching a surface of the substrate.
- 49. The method of claim 48, further comprising transporting said cassette-substrate arrangement from said loadlock to a process chamber after completing said transitioning step (i).
- 50. The method of claim 49, further comprising storing said cassette-substrate arrangement on a shelf in a second storage rack located within said process chamber.
- 51. The method of claim 50, wherein said storing step comprises inserting said cassette-substrate arrangement so that an edge band of said removable substrate transport cassette is above a set of ledges associated with a shelf of said in-vacuum library.
- 52. The method of claim 51, further comprising lowering said removable substrate transport cassette so that a base portion of said removable substrate transport cassette rests on a bottom surface of said shelf and a top portion of said removable substrate transport cassette rests on said set of ledges associated with said shelf.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/925,722, filed Aug. 10, 2001 (now pending) which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09925722 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
Child |
10216660 |
Aug 2002 |
US |