A transport carrier docking device may be capable of forming an air-tight seal around a transport carrier while a front portion of the transport carrier is inserted into a chamber of the transport carrier docking device. Semiconductor wafers in the transport carrier may be accessed by a transport tool while the air-tight seal exists around the transport carrier, which prevents and/or reduces the likelihood that contaminants in a semiconductor fabrication facility will reach the semiconductor wafers. The air-tight seal around the transport carrier may reduce defects of the semiconductor wafers that might otherwise be caused by the contaminants, may increase manufacturing yield and quality in the semiconductor fabrication facility, and/or may permit the continued reduction in device and/or feature sizes of integrated circuits and/or semiconductor devices that are to be formed on semiconductor wafers.

A side storage pod includes an outer enclosure having a sealing surface configured to couple to an EFEM and a side storage pod chamber having a body coupled to vertically-spaced storage members. Each of the vertically-spaced storage members is configured to support a corresponding substrate within the body. The side storage pod further includes a removable door. The removable door and the body are to seal relative to each other responsive to the removable door being in a closed position. A load-unload robot of the EFEM is to access the vertically-spaced storage members responsive to the removable door being in an open position. An environment within the side storage pod chamber is to be controlled to be one or more of: at first environmental conditions responsive to the removable door being in the closed position; or at second environmental conditions responsive to the removable door being in the open position.

A load port for loading and unloading substrates between a transport chamber and a storage container includes: a plate-like portion constituting a wall surface of the transport chamber and including an opening in communication with an interior of the transport chamber; a stage configured to mount the storage container thereon such that a lid of the storage container faces a door of the opening; and a controller configured to control a driving device that moves the stage forward and rearward with respect to the plate-like portion, wherein the controller is further configured to control, when moving the stage toward the plate-like portion, the driving device to: apply a first thrust directed toward the plate-like portion to the stage until immediately before the stage reaches a predetermined position; and then apply a second thrust, which is greater than the first thrust and directed toward the plate-like portion, to the stage.

In some embodiments, a system for monitoring a tool is provided. The system includes a tool monitoring device, a transporting system and an external apparatus. The tool monitoring device is configured to monitor an environmental parameter of a load port of a tool. The tool monitoring device includes a wafer pod and a monitoring module disposed in the wafer pod. The monitoring module includes at least one sensor, a computer coupled to the at least one sensor, a power supply electrically coupled to the at least one sensor and the computer, and a wireless unit coupled to the computer. The transporting system is configured to transfer the tool monitoring device from one load port to another load port. The external apparatus is coupled to the tool monitoring device.

An operating method of a wafer cassette handling apparatus includes at least the following steps. A stage that carries a wafer cassette is moved into a main body of a wafer cassette handling apparatus to open a cassette door of the wafer cassette. The stage that carries the wafer cassette is moved out of the main body after the cassette door is opened. A wafer is extracted from the wafer cassette and transferred to a processing system. Another operating method and a wafer cassette handling apparatus are also provided.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide, at low cost, a transport apparatus 2 which is capable of transporting a semiconductor wafer W between a FOUP 19 and a processing apparatus 3 without exposing a surface to be processed of the semiconductor wafer to an oxidizing atmosphere. This transport apparatus 2 includes a load port 20 that has atmosphere replacing function, a transport robot 2 that has an atmosphere replacing function, an aligner 40 that has an atmosphere replacing function, and a load lock chamber 12 that has an atmosphere replacing function. The surface being processed of the semiconductor wafer has the atmosphere replaced locally while the semiconductor wafer is being moved and is being subjected to processes such as positioning.

A mini-environment apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus may include an enclosure including a frame with two or more openings. The frame may define an internal cavity within the enclosure. The apparatus may include a flapper blade coupled to a portion of the frame. The flapper blade may be configured to close at least one opening of the two or more openings of the frame to form a sealed enclosure when the flapper blade is in a closed position. The apparatus may include a floating plate coupled to a portion of the frame. The floating plate may include one or more slots. The apparatus may include one or more shutters coupled a portion of the floating plate to cover the one or more slots.

A second substrate transportation mechanism is generally set to transport a substrate from a substrate buffer unit to a FOUP placed on an opener. However, if a predetermined condition is satisfied, the second substrate transportation mechanism transports a substrate from the FOUP to the substrate buffer unit. That is, the second substrate transportation mechanism performs an operation different from an ordinary substrate transportation operation. Accordingly, a FOUP transportation mechanism can leave a specific FOUP at a placement position (opener) of the specific FOUP from when all the substrates are taken from the specific FOUP to when all the treated substrates are accommodated in the specific FOUP. Thus, the FOUP transportation mechanism can transport FOUPs except for the specific FOUP so that FOUP transportation efficiency can be enhanced.

A cutting apparatus includes a chuck table having a holding surface used for holding either a workpiece unit that includes a plate-shaped workpiece supported on an annular frame by a tape or a tray shaped similarly to the annular frame, a rest area used for placing a receptacle that houses the workpiece unit or the tray, a transport unit configured to transport the workpiece unit or the tray between the rest area and the chuck table, the transport unit having a holding pad that holds the workpiece unit or the tray, a sub-chuck table that is disposed sideways of the chuck table and has a holding surface used for holding a board for use in adjusting a cutting unit, and a board transport unit configured to transport the board between the tray held on the chuck table and the sub-chuck table.

A load port apparatus includes a mount member, a purge nozzle, and a plurality of pins. The mount member mounts a container. The nozzle introduces a cleaning gas into the container mounted on the mount member via a purge port disposed on a bottom of the container. The pins support the container from below by each contacting with a predetermined position of the bottom of the container. The pins are relatively vertically movable to the mount member between a first position and a second position where an upper tip of each of the pins is located lower than that at the first position. The upper tip of each of the pins at the first position contacts with the predetermined position of the container. The upper tip of each of the pins at the second position contacts with the predetermined position of the container.