초록 ▼

A vacuum-tight wafer carrier, and a load lock suitable for use with this wafer carrier. The wafers are supported at each side by a slightly sloping shelf, so that minimal contact (line contact) is made between the wafer surface and the surface of the shelf. This reduces generation of particulates by

A vacuum-tight wafer carrier, and a load lock suitable for use with this wafer carrier. The wafers are supported at each side by a slightly sloping shelf, so that minimal contact (line contact) is made between the wafer surface and the surface of the shelf. This reduces generation of particulates by abrasion of the surface of the wafer. The carrier also contains elastic elements to restrain the wafers from rattling around, which further reduces the internal generation of particulates. When the wafer carrier is placed into the load lock, its body is lowered from beneath its cover through an aperture into a lower chamber, where wafers are loaded and unloaded under vacuum; the carrier cover remains covering the aperture into the lower chamber, so that the wafers never see any surface which is directly exposed to atmosphere. A wafer transport arm mechanism permits interchange of wafers among one or more processing stations and one or more load locks of this type.

대표청구항 ▼

A method of fabricating integrated circuits, comprising the steps of: performing desired process steps at plural respective process stations separated by an ambient at substantially atmospheric pressure; and transporting partially fabricated integrated circuit wafers among said process stations to p

A method of fabricating integrated circuits, comprising the steps of: performing desired process steps at plural respective process stations separated by an ambient at substantially atmospheric pressure; and transporting partially fabricated integrated circuit wafers among said process stations to perform a predetermined sequence of processing steps on one of said wafers, said transporting step comprising the substep of: transporting said wafers under vacuum in a vacuum-tight carrier after said wafers have been transferred to said carrier after the processing steps have been carried out.