Atmospheric Robot Systems
Featured at Semicon West
The Equipe Division of PRI Automation Inc. debuted four new systems Semicon West.
Wetbot
New copper processing tools using more aggressive chemistries now can incorporate the wafer-handling advantages of the Equipe Division's Wetbot bottom-mounted robot with water and chemical resistance built into the arms and the Z-axis. Featuring a new chemical-resistant coating called ChemTough, the Wetbot WBM-409 was designed specifically for OEMs in this emerging market.
The ChemTough coating also gives the Wetbot water-resistant features required for use in CMP tools and other wet applications. In addition to its most advanced features, such as an air-purge system on the vacuum system, wafer flipping, and cassette mapping, the WBM-409 now features new overlapping coated metal cover panels to increase the reliability and longevity of the Z-axis sealing. Finally, two-piece arms have been extended from 14.4 in. to 18 in., resulting in a longer reach.
PRE 200c and PRE 300c
Cycle times for 200 mm and 300 mm wafer alignment can be cut in half with a new fine of atmospheric wafer prealigners. The PRE 200c and PRE 300c feature optimizations to the previous versions and do not require OEMs to modify their existing prealigner configuration dimensions while still offering increased throughput. In addition, a light source four times more intense than in previous models results in a more robust design that more accurately detects wafer positioning for faster processing.
Ideal for front-end loading tools requiring high throughput, such as inspection tools as well as existing installations of tools with the Equipe Division's front-end, the PRE 200c reduces cycle time from four seconds to two seconds to align and center wafers up to 200 mm. The PRE 300c aligns and centers wafers ranging in size from 150 mm to 300 mm. For 300-mm wafers, alignment times have been cut from six seconds to three seconds. Current 200 mm and 300 mm systems can easily be upgraded with the new designs that use the same footprint and mounting as well as new easy-to-install software.
Integrated Aligner
The Equipe Division offers its first atmospheric prealigner designed to integrate onto the body of a wafer-handling robot. Addressing the need for smaller footprints to reduce the size of cleanrooms and minimize contamination, the PRE 450 features an innovative pop-up design that allows an OEM to place a wafer-processing station behind the aligner, resulting in a compact front-end design. Suitable for entry-level 300-mm vacuum tools that need the advantage of atmospheric aligning but do not require high throughput, such as R&D applications, the PRE 450 is a single-axis aligner where the robot makes the centering correction. The aligner is lifted into position by an air cylinder and remains in position until the robot has removed the wafer. The PRE 450 aligner can also be used on 200-mm wafer-handling systems.
Five-Wafer End Effector
Also introduced is a new end effector that enables the company's dual-arm robot to transfer batches of 200 mm or 300 mm wafers into vacuum process equipment. The new EBT-509 is a five-wafer end effector designed to optimize the performance of a dual-arm robot, allowing OEMs to reduce batch transfers within their vacuum chambers by 80%.
The EBT-509 end effector allows OEMs to combine the already accelerated wafer-swapping features of the company's DBM-2406 dual-arm robot with the efficiency of loading and unloading five 300-mm wafers at a time. This significantly increases the speed of wafer handling, a critical need of OEMs seeking to maximize the throughput of their tools. Designed to fit onto one arm of a dual-arm robot, the new end effector consists of a five-stack aluminum blade assembly that uses vacuum suction to hold wafers as large as 300 mm in diameter. Unlike single-wafer end effectors and end effectors for single-arm robots, this robot design allows the loadlock's pump down process to begin sooner, which reduces the time a vacuum chamber must wait for wafers to be aligned and positioned in front of its doors. The result is a 50%-65% reduction in the time it takes to load and unload wafers within the vacuum chamber, helping OEMs to dramatically improve their products' throughput.
The EBT-509 features versatile handling modes, rigid construction, and vacuum hold technology to accommodate various transfer scenarios and give OEMs a secure, fast way to load a full cassette within a vacuum loadlock. It has a modular design to facilitate configuration changes. Customers can quickly and easily adjust the system to handle anywhere from two to five wafers at a time by adding or removing blades from the end effector stack. The EBT-509 will be available on all new dual-arm robots from the Equipe Division by the third quarter of 1998. Installed units can be upgraded quickly and easily with a few mechanical components and a new software macro that makes the upgrade transparent to the operator.
PRI Automation, Inc., the Equipe Division, 455 N. Bernardo Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043. Contact: Mary Jo Faulkner, 408-616-5044; Fax: 408-522-0358.