An overhead transport vehicle includes an elevator including a base and a first support supporting the base to be vertically movable from below in a vertical direction through a vibration isolator. The vibration isolator includes a first biasing portion in contact with both of the support and the base to urge a first body and the base in a direction away from each other, and a second biasing portion at one of the first body and the base to come into contact with both of the first body and the base and urge the first body and the base in a direction away from each other when a load equal to or greater than a predetermined value is applied to the first biasing portion.

The present disclosure describes a method for replacing a photoresist (PR) bottle using a vehicle. An exemplary vehicle includes a processor configured to receive a request signal to replace a first PR bottle. The processor is also configured to transmit an order based on the request signal. The vehicle also includes a plurality of wheels configured to move the vehicle from the first location to a second location, and from the second location to the first location. The vehicle further includes a robotic arm configured to load, at the first location, the first PR bottle into a first container; load a second PR bottle in a second container; remove a cap from the second PR bottle and a socket from the first PR bottle; couple the socket of the first PR bottle to the second PR bottle; and unload the second PR bottle from the second container.

Some implementations described herein provide a method that includes loading, from a load port and into a first buffer of a multiple-buffer overhead hoist transport (OHT) vehicle, a first transport carrier storing one or more processed wafers. The method includes unloading to the load port, while the first buffer retains the first transport carrier, and from a second buffer of the multiple-buffer OHT vehicle, a second transport carrier storing one or more wafers for processing. In other implementations, the method includes loading, into a first buffer of the multiple-buffer OHT vehicle, a first transport carrier storing one or more wafers for processing, while a semiconductor processing tool, associated with a load port, is processing one or more wafers associated with a second transport carrier. The method includes positioning the multiple-buffer OHT vehicle above the load port while the multiple-buffer OHT vehicle retains the first transport carrier in the first buffer.

A transfer device includes a controller configured or programmed to perform at least one of a first control to make a maximum acceleration when moving a FOUP to a front end side smaller than a maximum acceleration when moving to a back end side, a second control to make a maximum deceleration when moving the FOUP to the front end side greater than a maximum deceleration when moving to the back end side, a third control to make the absolute value of the maximum deceleration when moving the FOUP to the front end side greater than the absolute value of the maximum acceleration, and a fourth control to make the absolute value of the maximum acceleration when moving the FOUP to the back end side greater than the absolute value of the maximum deceleration.

A traveling vehicle system includes a determiner to determine, upon receiving from a traveling vehicle an entry permission request for an area under control, whether or not a remaining number of vehicles to a maximum number of vehicles allowed to enter the area is equal to or less than a threshold value, and an entry permitter to temporarily hold the entry permission request from the traveling vehicle if the determiner determines the threshold value has not been exceeded and upon arrival of the traveling vehicle at an entry region for the area, grant the traveling vehicle permission to enter the area if a sum of a number of traveling vehicles within the area and a number of traveling vehicles already permitted to enter the area is less than a maximum number of vehicles, but does not grant entry permission if the sum has reached the maximum number of vehicles.

A support member system is described for association with an overhead transport system. The support member system provides a safety feature to the overhead transport system by which the overhead transport system is able to avoid damage to wafers that are contained within a wafer cassette that is unintentionally released by the overhead transport system. The support member system is able to prevent such released cassettes from impacting the ground or tools located under the overhead transport system. The support member system targets wafer cassettes that have dimensions which are different than the dimensions of wafer cassettes for which the overhead transport system was originally designed to transport. Stocker systems for receiving, storing and delivering different types of wafer cassettes are also described.

A transfer vehicle system in which transfer vehicles travel on a track includes a measurement portion in a portion of a path continuing to the track to measure a measurement target portion included in the transfer vehicle on the path, an identifier to identify the transfer vehicle for which the measurement target portion has been measured by the measurement portion, a storage to store a measurement result measured by the measurement portion and an identification result identified by the identifier in association with each other, and a display to provide notification of information concerning a state of the measurement target portion determined based on the measurement result and a reference value.

A semiconductor fabrication facility (FAB) is provided. The FAB includes a group of processing tools. The FAB also includes a number of sampling tubes connecting the group of processing tools. In addition, the FAB includes a sampling station which includes a connection port, a valve manifold box and a controller. The valve manifold box is used for switching a gas sample from one of the processing tools to the connection port. The controller is sued for controlling the connection of the valve manifold box and the sampling tubes. The FAB further includes a metrology module. The metrology module is connected to the connection port of the sampling station and is used to perform a measurement of a parameter related to the gas sample.

The present disclosure relates to burn-in apparatus, transfer method, burn-in chamber, and interchangeable frame thereof for semiconductor devices burn-in process. The burn-in apparatus comprises of a burn-in chamber with an incomplete base which is adapted to be completed and thermally insulated in cooperation with a thermal insulation base of at least one interchangeable frame which is adapted to be removably moved into and docked in the burn-in chamber to complete the burn-in apparatus. The burn-in apparatus comprises the burn-in chamber and at least one frame. The apparatus is complete and thermally insulated when the frame is moved into the burn-in chamber and docked therein. The apparatus is incomplete and thermally uninsulated when the frame is moved out of the burn-in chamber and undocked therefrom.

Embodiments herein relate to a transport system and a substrate processing and transfer (SPT) system. The SPT system includes a transport system that connects two processing tools. The transport system includes a vacuum tunnel that is configured to transport substrates between the processing tools. The vacuum tunnel includes a substrate transport carriage to move the substrate through the vacuum tunnel. The SPT system has a variety of configurations that allow the user to add or remove processing chambers, depending on the process chambers required for a desired substrate processing procedure.