A compact manufacturing device to automatically transport a wafer transport container. The compact manufacturing device comprises a processing chamber and a device front chamber provided inside a housing, a container mounting table provided in the housing to mount a substrate transport container accommodating a processing substrate, and a container transport mechanism. The container transport mechanism delivers the substrate transport container to the adjacent compact manufacturing device along a container transport path and/or receives the substrate transport container from adjacent compact manufacturing device along the container transport path when a plurality of the compact manufacturing devices are provided in parallel.

A transport vehicle system includes: a plurality of transport vehicles that transport articles; a main track, and a plurality of branch tracks branching off from the main track at different positions of the main track; and a controller that, with each of the branch tracks and a part of the main track taken as a reciprocation traveling track, causes each of the plurality of transport vehicles to reciprocate in the reciprocation traveling track and transport an article, and when a transport vehicle is placed on any of the reciprocation traveling tracks, the controller causes a transport vehicle that is reciprocating on a reciprocation traveling track in front of the reciprocation traveling track of placement destination in the extending direction, to retreat to the branch track in the reciprocation traveling track and thereafter causes passage of the transport vehicle to be placed through the main track in the reciprocation traveling track.

A transport system includes an overhead transport vehicle that travels on a first track and is capable of delivering and receiving an article to and from a load port of a processing tool; a storage rack having a plurality of shelves that store the articles arranged in a vertical direction; a crane that travels on a second track parallel with the first track and is capable of delivering and receiving the article to and from the load port and the storage rack, respectively; and a first buffer arranged at a position where the crane that has stopped traveling at a position to deliver or receive the article to or from the load port is able to deliver or receive the article.

In an embodiment an automated material handling system (AMHS) for a semiconductor fabrication facility (FAB) includes: a sensor supported by a rail, wherein the sensor is configured to collect sensor data characterizing a vehicle that moves along the rail, wherein the vehicle is configured to carry at least one wafer; and a monitoring module configured to: detect a trigger event based on the sensor data, and initiate a remediation action in response to the trigger event.

In an embodiment, a system, includes: a first pressurized load port interfaced with a workstation body; a second pressurized load port interfaced with the workstation body; the workstation body maintained at a set pressure level, wherein the workstation body comprises an internal material handling system configured to move a semiconductor workpiece within the workstation body between the first and second pressurized load ports at the set pressure level; a first modular tool interfaced with the first pressurized load port, wherein the first modular tool is configured to process the semiconductor workpiece; and a second modular tool interfaced with the second pressurized load port, wherein the second modular tool is configured to inspect the semiconductor workpiece processed by the first modular tool.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a transport system includes a mobile cassette unit capable of storing a plurality of structures and supplying the structures to an inspection unit, wherein each of the structures includes a substrate on which a plurality of devices are formed, and an interconnect member including a contact section that electrically contacts an electrode of the plurality of devices.

A conveying unit includes a housing; a collision prevention mechanism disposed on a sidewall of the housing; a gripping member configured to hold a carrier for carrying a semiconductor structure; a sensor disposed on the gripping member and configured to measure and collect data associated with vibration of the gripping member; and an unit controller disposed on the gripping member and configured to analyze the data from the sensor and control a movement of the conveying unit.

A load lock assembly includes a first load lock connected between an equipment front end module (EFEM) and a wafer transport module, the EFEM being at a lab ambient condition, the wafer transport module being at a vacuum condition, the wafer transport module being part of a wafer transport assembly that is configured to transport wafers to and from one or more process modules that are connected to the wafer transport assembly; a second load lock disposed over the first load lock, the second load lock connected between the EFEM and the wafer transport module; a post-processing module disposed over the second load lock, the post-processing module configured for performing a post-processing operation on a processed wafer that has been processed in at least one of the process modules that are connected to the wafer transport assembly, the post-processing module being configured for connection to the wafer transport module.

In an embodiment a system includes: a wafer store comprising a wafer configured for processing by a semiconductor processing tool; a cart configured to transport the wafer from the wafer store along a predetermined path; a robotic arm, the robotic arm configured to: read wafer data from the wafer store, transport the wafer from the wafer store to the cart, send the wafer data to the cart, wherein the cart is configured to transport the wafer to a location in response to the wafer data.

A vehicle includes one or more travel portions each configured to travel along a rail track, a travel controller configured to perform an image recognition to determine a shape of a portion of the rail track based on an image captured by an imaging device supported by the vehicle and to control the one or more travel portions based on a result of the image recognition, an information obtaining portion configured to obtain position information of each of a plurality of locations that the vehicle travels past as a result of traveling along the rail track, and to obtain the order in which the vehicle travels past such plurality of locations, and memory configured to store information obtained by the information obtaining portion.