Electronic device manufacturing systems may include process tools having multiple chambers, such as process chambers and one or more load lock chambers. Such process chambers and one or more load lock chambers may be included in a cluster tool, for example, where substrates may be transported between the respective process chambers and the one or more load lock chambers. These systems may employ one or more robots to move the substrates between the various chambers, and the one or more robots may reside in a transfer chamber in some embodiments. During such movements, a substrate may be supported on an end effector (sometimes referred to as a “blade”) of the one or more robots.
The process chambers of an electronic device manufacturing system, such as cluster tool, may be used to carry out any number of processes on the substrates (e.g., silicon-containing wafers, both patterned and unpatterned, masked wafers, glass plates, silica-containing articles, or the like) such as deposition, oxidation, nitridation, etching, polishing, cleaning, lithography, metrology, or the like.
Within such process and/or cluster tools, a plurality of chambers may be distributed about a transfer chamber, for example. A robot may be housed within the transfer chamber and may be configured and adapted to transport substrates between the various chambers. For example, transfers may be between process chambers, or between process chambers and one or more load lock chambers. Slit valves may be located at the entries into each respective chamber to allow each chamber to be environmentally isolated.
Robot apparatus, system and method designs that improve operation and/or efficiency of process and/or cluster tool operation are beneficial.