CASSETTE BUFFERING WITHIN A MINIENVIRONMENT

• Main Authors: BONORA, ANTHONY, C, SHENK, JOSHUA, W, FOSNIGHT, WILLIAM, J
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 11.05.2005
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CINEMATOGRAPHY; CONVEYING; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; ELECTROGRAPHY; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; HOLOGRAPHY; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; PACKING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES,e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTORDEVICES; PHYSICS; PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS; STORING; TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING ORTIPPING; TRANSPORTING

A SMIF interface is disclosed for buffering one or more cassettes within a minienvironment affixed to a process tool. The interface includes a load port formed of a port door and a port plate circumjacent thereabout, and a minienvironment mounted to port plate. The SMIF interface and/or process tool includes at least one shelf for storing a cassette after the load port separates the cassette from its transport pod. In operation, while a first cassette is located within the process tool, a second pod is seated on the load port, the cassette is separated from the pod and the cassette is stored on a storage shelf. When processing on the first cassette is completed, the second cassette is loaded into the processing tool. The first cassette is returned to the pod and removed from the load port. A cassette from a new pod is then seated on the load port, separated from its pod and stored on the storage shelf. This process continues until processing on each scheduled wafer lot is completed. By providing a buffer of cassettes within the minienvironment of the SMIF interface, the processing tool is no longer dependent on timely delivery of pods to the interface to ensure that the process tool does not sit idle.