The invention is a cost effective multisite parallel wafer tester that has an array of stationary wafer test sites; a single mobile wafer handling and alignment carriage that holds a wafer handling robot, a wafer rotation pre-alignment assembly, a wafer alignment assembly, a wafer front opening unified pod (FOUP), and a wafer camera assembly; and a robot that moves the wafer handling and alignment carriage to and from each test site. Each test site contains a wafer probe card assembly and a floating chuck. In use, wafers are loaded from a front opening FOUP into a wafer buffer FOUP from which wafers are retrieved by the wafer handling and alignment assembly. The robot positions the wafer handling and alignment carriage and the associated wafer handling robot, the wafer rotation pre-alignment assembly, the wafer alignment assembly, the wafer FOUP, and the wafer camera assembly in front of and inside a given test site and aligns the wafer to be tested with the probe card inside the test site using the floating chuck.

Exemplary substrate processing systems may include a transfer region housing defining a transfer region fluidly coupled with a plurality of processing regions. A sidewall of the transfer region housing may define a sealable access for providing and receiving substrates. The systems may include a transfer apparatus having a central hub including a shaft extending at a distal end through the transfer region housing into the transfer region. The transfer apparatus may include a lateral translation apparatus coupled with an exterior surface of the transfer region housing, and configured to provide at least one direction of lateral movement of the shaft. The systems may also include an end effector coupled with the shaft within the transfer region. The end effector may include a plurality of arms having a number of arms equal to a number of substrate supports of the plurality of substrate supports in the transfer region.

A substrate treating apparatus and a substrate transporting method wherein a platform is disposed on a first ID block, and a platform is placed on a second ID block. A currently-used carrier platform is provided only on the first ID block. Accordingly, a substrate is transported in both a forward path and a return path between the first ID block and a second treating block. The substrate is returned not to the first ID block but to the second ID block disposed between the two treating blocks in the return path.

A substrate transport apparatus including a frame, an upper arm rotatably mounted to the frame about a shoulder axis, a forearm rotatably mounted to the upper arm about an elbow axis where the forearm includes stacked forearm sections dependent from the upper arm through a common joint, and independent stacked end effectors rotatably mounted to the forearm, the forearm being common to the independent stacked end effectors, wherein at least end effector is mounted to the stacked forearm sections at a wrist axis, where the forearm is configured such that spacing between the independent stacked end effectors mounted to the stacked forearm sections is decoupled from a height build up between end effectors accommodating pass through instrumentation.

A conveying device, a conveying method, and an evaporation apparatus are provided. The conveying device comprises a carrying mechanism for carrying a substrate; and a fastening mechanism for fastening the substrate on the carrying mechanism in a mechanical manner. In the conveying device, the substrate is fastened on the carrying mechanism in a mechanical manner by the fastening mechanism. As compared with electrostatic fastening and adhesive fastening, this reduces damage to the substrate, increases the reliability for fastening the substrate, and makes it easy to receive and detach the substrate. (FIG. 1)

An embodiment comprises: a guide moving in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction; a transfer arm provided on the guide and loading spaced apart wafers; a laser emission unit disposed on the guide and emitting first laser beams at the spaced apart wafers loaded on the transfer arm; and a laser detection unit disposed below the transfer arm and collecting, from among the first laser beams, second laser beams having passed through gaps between the spaced apart wafers.

An embodiment comprises: a guide moving in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction; a transfer arm provided on the guide and loading spaced apart wafers; a laser emission unit disposed on the guide and emitting first laser beams at the spaced apart wafers loaded on the transfer arm; and a laser detection unit disposed below the transfer arm and collecting, from among the first laser beams, second laser beams having passed through gaps between the spaced apart wafers.

An end effector includes a body, a first tine, and a second tine. The body includes first, second, and third substrate support pads, the first substrate support pad defines a first height, the second substrate support pad defines a second height less than the first height, and the third substrate support pad defines a third height equal to the first height. The first tine includes fourth and fifth substrate support pads, the fourth substrate support pad defines a fourth height equal to the second height, and the fifth substrate support pad defines a fifth height equal to the first and third heights. The second tine includes sixth and seventh substrate support pads, the sixth substrate support pad defines a sixth height equal to the first, third, and fifth heights, the seventh substrate support pad defines a seventh height equal to the second and fourth heights.

A transporting system includes a first rail including a first region and a second region, the first region being a region where the first rail extends linearly and the second region being a region where the first rail is curved. A second rail includes a third region, separated from the first region, and a fourth region overlapping the second region, wherein the first and second rails merge at a joining location that includes the second region and the fourth region. Optical lines are disposed in the second region and the fourth region, wherein the optical lines are parallel to each other in the fourth region. A first transporting unit travels on the first rail. A second transporting unit travels on the second rail. A first controller controls the traveling of the first and second transporting units using light transmitted or received through the optical lines.

One or more embodiments described herein generally relate to drying environments within semiconductor processing systems. In these embodiments, substrates are cleaned and dried within a drying environment before returning to the factory interface. However, due to an opening between the factory interface and the drying environment, air flows from the factory interface into the drying environment, often reducing the effectiveness of the drying processes. In embodiments described herein, the air flow is blocked by a sliding door that raises up to the closed position when a substrate enters the drying portion of the dryer located within the drying environment. After the substrate exits the dryer and before the substrate enters the factory interface, the sliding door lowers to the opened position such that the substrate can enter the factory interface. As such, these processes allow for multiple substrates to dry quickly and consistently within the system, improving throughput.