Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080249651 | SUBSTRATE TRANSPORT APPARATUS WITH MULTIPLE INDEPENDENTLY MOVABLE ARTICULATED ARMS - A substrate transport apparatus including a drive section having at least one drive shaft and at least two scara arms operably coupled to the at least one drive shaft, the at least one drive shaft being a common drive shaft for the at least two scara arms effecting extension and retraction of the at least two scara arms, wherein the at least two scara arms are coupled to each other so that, with the at least one drive shaft coupled to the at least two scara arms, rotation of the drive shaft effects extension and retraction of one of the at least two scara arms substantially independent of motion of another of the at least two scara arms. | 10-09-2008 |
20090001907 | COMMUTATION OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC PROPULSION AND GUIDANCE SYSTEM - A method of commutating a motor includes calculating an adjustment electrical angle, and utilizing the adjustment electrical angle in a common set of commutation equations so that the common set of commutation equations is capable of producing both one and two dimensional forces in the motor. | 01-01-2009 |
20090001917 | REDUCED-COMPLEXITY SELF-BEARING BRUSHLESS DC MOTOR - A method of commutating a motor includes operatively interfacing a stator and actuated component of the motor, arranging at least two winding sets relative to the actuated component, and independently controlling the at least two winding sets so that with the at least two winding sets the actuated component is both driven and centered. | 01-01-2009 |
20090015248 | POSITION FEEDBACK FOR SELF BEARING MOTOR - A sensing mechanism includes a magnetic source, a magnetic flux sensor, a sensor backing on which the magnetic source and flux sensor are mounted, and a ferromagnetic target, where the magnetic source, magnetic flux sensor, and ferromagnetic target are positioned to form a magnetic circuit from the magnetic source to the target, from the target to the sensor, and returning to the magnetic source through the sensor backing. | 01-15-2009 |
20090033173 | MOTOR STATOR WITH LIFT CAPABILITY AND REDUCED COGGING CHARACTERISTICS - A motor includes a stator and a rotor, equipped to be movable in at least a first direction relative to the stator, the rotor operably interfacing the stator so that a motor force is generated in a first direction, where the stator comprises an anti-cogging element configured to generate anti-cogging forces on the rotor in at least the first direction and a second direction at an angle to the first direction. | 02-05-2009 |
20090033316 | SENSOR FOR POSITION AND GAP MEASUREMENT - An apparatus including a controller, a transport in communication with the controller having a movable portion and a transport path and a multi-dimensional position measurement device in communication with the controller, the multi-dimensional position measurement device including a plurality of transformers and at least one element attached to the movable portion, wherein the multi-dimensional position measurement device is configured so that a circuit is completed in at least one plurality of transformers as the at least one element passes proximate to the at least one of the plurality of transformers and the controller is configured to calculate a multi-dimensional position of the movable object based on an output of the at least one of the plurality of transformers, wherein the multi-dimensional position includes at least a gap between the movable portion and the plurality of transformers. | 02-05-2009 |
20090087288 | SUBSTRATE TRANSPORT APPARATUS WITH MULTIPLE MOVABLE ARMS UTILIZING A MECHANICAL SWITCH MECHANISM - A substrate transport apparatus including a frame, a drive section connected to the frame and including at least one independently controllable motor, at least two substrate transport arms connected to the frame and comprising arm links arranged for supporting and transporting substrates, and a mechanical motion switch coupled to the at least one independently controllable motor and the at least two substrate transport arms for effecting the extension and retraction of one of the at least two substrate transport arms while the other one of the at least two substrate transport arms remains in a substantially retracted configuration. | 04-02-2009 |
20090162179 | SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS - A drive system for a transport apparatus includes a plurality of permanent magnets connected to the transport apparatus, a plurality of stationary windings exposed to a field of at least one of the plurality of permanent magnets, a control system for energizing the stationary windings to provide magnetic force on the transport apparatus, and an arrangement of ferromagnetic components proximate at least one side of the transport apparatus for providing passive stabilization of lift, pitch, and roll of the transport apparatus. | 06-25-2009 |
20090243413 | ROBOT DRIVE WITH MAGNETIC SPINDLE BEARINGS - A drive section for a substrate transport arm including a frame, at least one stator mounted within the frame, the stator including a first motor section and at least one stator bearing section and a coaxial spindle magnetically supported substantially without contact by the at least one stator bearing section, where each drive shaft of the coaxial spindle includes a rotor, the rotor including a second motor section and at least one rotor bearing section configured to interface with the at least one stator bearing section, wherein the first motor section is configured to interface with the second motor section to effect rotation of the spindle about a predetermined axis and the at least one stator bearing section is configured to effect at least leveling of a substrate transport arm end effector connected to the coaxial spindle through an interaction with the at least one rotor bearing section. | 10-01-2009 |
20110025310 | POSITION FEEDBACK FOR SELF BEARING MOTOR - A sensing mechanism includes a magnetic source, a magnetic flux sensor, a sensor backing on which the magnetic source and flux sensor are mounted, and a ferromagnetic target, where the magnetic source, magnetic flux sensor, and ferromagnetic target are positioned to form a magnetic circuit from the magnetic source to the target, from the target to the sensor, and returning to the magnetic source through the sensor backing. | 02-03-2011 |
20110118855 | SCALABLE MOTION CONTROL SYSTEM - A control system includes a clustered architecture having a master controller, a central control section including one or more first remote controllers under direct control of the master controller, and a distributed control section including a cluster controller controlled by the master controller. The cluster controller controls the activities of one or more second remote controllers. Each of the first and second remote controllers are utilized to drive one or more axes. | 05-19-2011 |
20110118875 | MANIPULATOR AUO-TEACH AND POSITION CORRECTION SYSTEM - A substrate processing system including a housing for housing at least part of a processing device, at least one target affixed to the processing device, the processing device having a first processing device reference point in a known relationship with the at least one target, at least one transmitter located within the housing and configured to transmit an identification signal identifying the at least one transmitter to the at least one target and a controller operably connected to the at least one target and the at least one transmitter, the controller being configured to receive data signals, based on the identification signal, from one of the at least one target and the at least one transmitter and control an operational characteristic of the processing device, based on the data signals. | 05-19-2011 |
20110173496 | INTELLIGENT CONDITION MONITORING AND FAULT DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM FOR PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE - A system for condition monitoring and fault diagnosis includes a data collection function that acquires time histories of selected variables for one or more of the components, a pre-processing function that calculates specified characteristics of the time histories, an analysis function for evaluating the characteristics to produce one or more hypotheses of a condition of the one or more components, and a reasoning function for determining the condition of the one or more components from the one or more hypotheses. | 07-14-2011 |
20110224822 | SUBSTRATE TRANSPORT APPARATUS WITH MULTIPLE INDEPENDENTLY MOVABLE ARTICULATED ARMS - A substrate transport apparatus including a drive section having at least one drive shaft and at least two scara arms operably coupled to the at least one drive shaft, the at least one drive shaft being a common drive shaft for the at least two scara arms effecting extension and retraction of the at least two scara arms, wherein the at least two scara arms are coupled to each other so that, with the at least one drive shaft coupled to the at least two scara arms, rotation of the drive shaft effects extension and retraction of one of the at least two scara arms substantially independent of motion of another of the at least two scara arms. | 09-15-2011 |
20110241367 | ROBOT EDGE CONTACT GRIPPER - An apparatus for gripping a substrate on its peripheral edge including a substrate support having proximate and distal ends, at least one distal rest pad disposed at the distal end, the at least one distal rest pad includes a back stop portion and is configured to support the peripheral edge of the substrate, at least one proximate rest pad disposed at the proximate end, the at least one proximate rest pad being configured to support the peripheral edge of the substrate, and an active contact member assembly disposed at the proximate end, the active contact member assembly including a pusher member, a contact member and a rotatable coupling member that are reciprocably movable towards the distal end for urging the substrate against the back stop portion, the contact member being rotatably secured to the pusher member and free to rotate about an axis of the rotatable coupling member. | 10-06-2011 |
20120045300 | HIGH SPEED SUBSTRATE ALIGNER APPARATUS - In accordance to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosed embodiments, a substrate aligner apparatus is presented, the substrate aligner apparatus having a frame adapted to allow a substrate transporter to transport a substrate to and from the aligner apparatus, an inverted chuck capable of holding the substrate and movably connected to the frame by a chuck driveshaft engaged to the inverted chuck for moving the inverted chuck relative to the frame and effecting alignment of the substrate, a sensing device located between the chuck and chuck driveshaft for detecting a position determining feature of the substrate, and a substrate transfer mechanism movably connected to the frame and located inside the frame below the inverted chuck for moving the substrate from the inverted chuck to the substrate transporter. | 02-23-2012 |
20120223597 | MULTIPLE DIMENSION POSITION SENSOR - An apparatus including a controller, a workpiece transport in communication with the controller having a movable portion and a transport path, and a multi-dimensional position measurement device including at least one field generating platen attached to the movable portion and at least one sensor group positioned along the transport path and in communication with the controller, the field generating platen is configured for position measurement and propelling the movable portion, each sensor in the at least one sensor group is configured to provide but one output signal along a single axis corresponding to a sensed field generated by the at least one field generating platen and the controller is configured calculate a multi-dimensional position of the movable portion based on the but one output signal of at least one of the sensors in the at least one sensor group, the multi-dimensional position including a planar position and a gap measurement. | 09-06-2012 |
20130000447 | System and method for making a structured magnetic material with integrated particle insulation - A system for making a material having domains with insulated boundaries is provided. The system includes a droplet spray subsystem configured to create molten alloy droplets and direct the molten alloy droplets to a surface, a gas subsystem configured to introduce one or more reactive gases to an area proximate in-flight droplets. The one or more reactive gases creates an insulation layer on the droplets in flight such that the droplets form a material having domains with insulated boundaries. | 01-03-2013 |
20130000860 | System and method for making a structured magnetic material via layered particle deposition - A system for making a material having domains with insulated boundaries is provided. The system includes a droplet spray subsystem configured to create molten alloy droplets and direct the molten alloy droplets to a surface, a spray subsystem configured to direct a spray of an agent at deposited droplets on the surface. The agent creates insulation layers on the deposited droplets such that the droplets form a material having domains with insulated boundaries on the surface. | 01-03-2013 |
20130000861 | System and method for making structured magnetic material from insulated particles - A system for making a material having domains with insulated boundaries is provided. The system includes a combustion chamber, a gas inlet configured to inject a gas into the combustion chamber, a fuel inlet configured to inject a fuel into the combustion chamber, an igniter subsystem configured to ignite a mixture of the gas and the fuel to create a predetermined temperature and pressure in the combustion chamber, a metal powder inlet configured to inject a metal powder comprised of particles coated with an electrically insulating material into the combustion, wherein the predetermined temperature creates conditioned droplets comprised of the metal powder in the chamber, and an outlet configured to eject and accelerate combustion gases and the conditioned droplets from the combustion chamber and towards a surface such that conditioned droplets adhere to the surface to form a material having domains with insulated boundaries thereon. | 01-03-2013 |
20130002085 | Structured magnetic material - A bulk material formed on a surface is provided. The bulk material includes a plurality of adhered domains of metal material, substantially all of the domains of the plurality of domains of metal material separated by a predetermined layer of high resistivity insulating material. A first portion of the plurality of domains forms a surface. A second portion of the plurality of domains includes successive domains of metal material progressing from the first portion. Substantially all of the domains in the successive domains each include a first surface and a second surface, the first surface opposing the second surface, the second surface conforming to a shape of progressed domains, and a majority of the domains in the successive domains in the second portion having the first surface comprising a substantially convex surface and the second surface comprising one or more substantially concave surfaces. | 01-03-2013 |
20130004359 | System and method for making a structured material - A system for forming a bulk material having insulated boundaries from a metal material and a source of an insulating material is provided. The system includes a heating device, a deposition device, a coating device, and a support configured to support the bulk material. The heating device heats the metal material to form particles having a softened or molten state and the coating device coats the metal material with the insulating material from the source and the deposition device deposits particles of the metal material in the softened or molten state on the support to form the bulk material having insulated boundaries. | 01-03-2013 |
20130028700 | ROBOT DRIVE WITH MAGNETIC SPINDLE BEARINGS - A drive section for a substrate transport arm including a frame, at least one stator mounted within the frame, the stator including a first motor section and at least one stator bearing section and a coaxial spindle magnetically supported substantially without contact by the at least one stator bearing section, where each drive shaft of the coaxial spindle includes a rotor, the rotor including a second motor section and at least one rotor bearing section configured to interface with the at least one stator bearing section, wherein the first motor section is configured to interface with the second motor section to effect rotation of the spindle about a predetermined axis and the at least one stator bearing section is configured to effect at least leveling of a substrate transport arm end effector connected to the coaxial spindle through an interaction with the at least one rotor bearing section. | 01-31-2013 |
20130057263 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR POSITION SENSING - A system for position sensing includes an incremental track including a plurality of sectors and a measurement subsystem. The measurement subsystem includes at least two differential read-heads each having at least one primary coil and at least two differential secondary coils, the at least two differential secondary coils of one of the at least two differential read-heads configured to generate output signals having their amplitudes modulated by the sectors of the incremental track and the at least two differential secondary coils of the other of said two differential read-heads configured to generate output signals having their amplitudes modulated by the sectors of the incremental track. | 03-07-2013 |
20130064637 | METHOD FOR TRANSPORTING A SUBSTRATE WITH A SUBSTRATE SUPPORT - A method of transporting a substrate with a substrate support, the method includes defining a frictional breakaway force between the substrate and the substrate support in a horizontal plane, moving the substrate in the horizontal plane along a horizontal trajectory, moving the substrate in a vertical direction along a vertical trajectory simultaneously while moving the substrate in the horizontal plane, and wherein the horizontal trajectory is determined based on the acceleration profile of the vertical trajectory and wherein the horizontal trajectory prevents the moving of the substrate from overcoming the coefficient of friction in the horizontal plane. | 03-14-2013 |
20130069450 | Robot Drive With Passive Rotor - A substrate transport apparatus including a drive section and a first movable arm assembly. The drive section includes a first motor. The first motor includes a stator and a passive rotor. The first movable arm assembly is connected to the first motor. The substrate transport apparatus is configured for the first movable arm assembly to be positionable in a vacuum chamber with the passive rotor being in communication with an environment inside the vacuum chamber. | 03-21-2013 |
20130071208 | WAFER TRANSPORT SYSTEM - A substrate transport system includes a substrate cart inside a chamber and a linearly driven shuttle outside the chamber configured to levitate the substrate cart into a non contact, spaced relationship with respect to outwardly opposing sides of an interior wall of the chamber and to linearly drive the substrate cart within the chamber. | 03-21-2013 |
20130071218 | Low Variability Robot - An apparatus including a frame, a first position sensor, a drive and a chamber. The frame has at least three members including at least two links forming a movable arm and an end effector. The end effector and the links are connected by movable joints. The end effector is configured to support a substrate thereon. The first position sensor is on the frame proximate a first one of the joints. The first position sensor is configured to sense a position of two of the members relative to each other. The drive is connected to the frame. The drive is configured to move the movable arm. The frame is located in the chamber, and the drive extends through a wall in the chamber. | 03-21-2013 |
20130073092 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPERATION OF A ROBOT - A system for operation of a robot including a substantially transparent display configured such that an operator can see a portion of the robot and data and/or graphical information associated with the operation of a robot. Preferably, a controller in communication with the robot and the transparent display is configured to allow the operator to control the operation of the robot. | 03-21-2013 |
20130085002 | Wafer transport system - A transport system includes, in a first environment, a driving screw having threads with a thread pitch. In a second environment, a driven member has a magnetic coupling with a driven member pitch substantially corresponding to the thread pitch. The magnetic coupling is coupled to a portion of threads and rotation of the driving screw displaces the magnetic coupling with respect to the driving screw. | 04-04-2013 |
20130121798 | ROBOT SYSTEM WITH INDEPENDENT ARMS - A substrate handling robot drive comprising a drive chassis for one or more robot arms. A first housing is movable with respect to the chassis and includes at least a first shaft and a first motor subsystem driving the first shaft. A Z-axis drives the first housing. A second housing is movable with respect to the chassis includes at least a second shaft and a second motor subsystem driving the second shaft. A Z-axis drive for the second housing is independently movable with respect to the Z-axis drive for the first housing. | 05-16-2013 |
20130292081 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MAKING A STRUCTURED MAGNETIC MATERIAL WITH INTEGRATED PARTICLE INSULATION - A system for forming a soft magnetic bulk material of a predetermined shape from a magnetic material and a source of insulating material. The systems has a heating device; a deposition device; a support configured to support the soft magnetic bulk material of the predetermined shape; and a mask configured as a negative of at least a portion of the predetermined shape. The heating device heats the magnetic material to form particles having a softened state and wherein the deposition device deposits successive layers of particles of the magnetic material in the softened state on the support with the mask located between the deposition device and the support. The mask is indexed to a position relative to the support upon deposition of the successive layers. The mask selectively blocks the successive layers of particles of the magnetic material in the softened state from being deposited on the support forming the soft magnetic bulk material of a predetermined shape on the support. | 11-07-2013 |
20130294877 | Vacuum Robot Adapted to Grip and Transport a Substrate and Method Thereof - A vacuum robot adapted to grip and transport a substrate. The robot includes a robot drive coupled to an arm and having an end-effector adapted to support the substrate. A robot gripper system is coupled to the end-effector including a front support having at least one hard stop, a movable contact element coupled to the end-effector, a bias device coupled to the contact element, and at least one actuator coupled to the end-effector configured to move the contact element between a release position and a grip position. The bias device is configured to passively bias the contact element in the grip position such that the contact element contacts an edge of the substrate to urge the substrate against the at least one hard stop to secure the substrate in the grip position and to passively bias the contact element in the release position such that the contact element is retained in the release position. | 11-07-2013 |
20130345858 | MANIPULATOR AUTO-TEACH AND POSITION CORRECTION SYSTEM - A substrate processing system including a housing for housing at least part of a processing device, at least one target affixed to the processing device, the processing device having a first processing device reference point in a known relationship with the at least one target, at least one transmitter located within the housing and configured to transmit an identification signal identifying the at least one transmitter to the at least one target and a controller operably connected to the at least one target and the at least one transmitter, the controller being configured to receive data signals, based on the identification signal, from one of the at least one target and the at least one transmitter and control an operational characteristic of the processing device, based on the data signals. | 12-26-2013 |
20140017056 | LINEAR ROBOT ARM WITH MULTIPLE END EFFECTORS - A substrate transport apparatus including a lower linearly driven effector structure with spaced paddles, and an upper linearly driven end effector structure with spaced paddles and no rotating joints above a paddle of the lower end effector structure. A drive subsystem is configured to linearly drive the lower end effector structure and to linearly drive the upper end effector structure independent of the lower end effector structure. | 01-16-2014 |
20140077629 | Robot Drive With Passive Rotor - A substrate transport apparatus including a drive section and a first movable arm assembly. The drive section includes a first motor. The first motor includes a stator and a passive rotor. The first movable arm assembly is connected to the first motor. The substrate transport apparatus is configured for the first movable arm assembly to be positionable in a vacuum chamber with the passive rotor being in communication with an environment inside the vacuum chamber. | 03-20-2014 |
20140077637 | Robot Drive With Passive Rotor - A substrate transport apparatus including a drive section and a first movable arm assembly. The drive section includes a first motor. The first motor includes a stator and a passive rotor. The first movable arm assembly is connected to the first motor. The substrate transport apparatus is configured for the first movable arm assembly to be positionable in a vacuum chamber with the passive rotor being in communication with an environment inside the vacuum chamber. | 03-20-2014 |
20140139162 | Robot Having Repeatable Disturbance Compensation Algorithm - A controller for a substrate transport apparatus. The controller includes a first system and a second system for at least partially controlling a movement of a motor of the substrate transport apparatus. The first system is configured to control the movement of the motor based upon a signal from a position sensor. The position sensor outputs the signal based upon a position of a rotor of the motor relative to a stator of the motor. Torque output of the motor is at least partially controlled based upon the signal from the position sensor. The second system for at least partially controlling the movement of the motor is based upon expected disturbances during movement of an arm of the substrate transport apparatus by the motor, where the second system is configured to at least partially increase and/or decrease the torque output of the motor by first system. | 05-22-2014 |
20140147234 | HIGH SPEED SUBSTRATE ALIGNER APPARATUS - A substrate aligner providing minimal substrate transporter extend and retract motions to quickly align substrate without back side damage while increasing the throughput of substrate processing. In one embodiment, the aligner having an inverted chuck connected to a frame with a substrate transfer system capable of transferring substrate from chuck to transporter without rotationally repositioning substrate. The inverted chuck eliminates aligner obstruction of substrate fiducials and along with the transfer system, allows transporter to remain within the frame during alignment. In another embodiment, the aligner has a rotatable sensor head connected to a frame and a substrate support with transparent rest pads for supporting the substrate during alignment so transporter can remain within the frame during alignment. Substrate alignment is performed independent of fiducial placement on support pads. In other embodiments the substrate support employs a buffer system for buffering substrate inside the apparatus allowing for fast swapping of substrates. | 05-29-2014 |
20140201571 | INTELLIGENT CONDITION MONITORING AND FAULT DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM FOR PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE - A system for condition monitoring and fault diagnosis includes a data collection function that acquires time histories of selected variables for one or more of the components, a pre-processing function that calculates specified characteristics of the time histories, an analysis function for evaluating the characteristics to produce one or more hypotheses of a condition of the one or more components, and a reasoning function for determining the condition of the one or more components from the one or more hypotheses. | 07-17-2014 |
20140205416 | Robot Having Arm with Unequal Link Lengths - A transport apparatus including a drive; a first arm connected to the drive, where the first arm includes a first link, a second link and an end effector connected in series with the drive, where the first link and the second link have different effective lengths; and a system for limiting rotation of the end effector relative to the second link to provide substantially only straight movement of the end effector relative to the drive when the first arm is extended or retracted. | 07-24-2014 |
20140249675 | TIME-OPTIMAL TRAJECTORIES FOR ROBOTIC TRANSFER DEVICES - A time-optimal trajectory generation method, for a robotic manipulator having a transport path with at least one path segment, comprising generating a forward time-optimal trajectory of the manipulator along the at least one path segment from a start point of the at least one path segment towards an end point of the at least one path segment, generating a reverse time-optimal trajectory of the manipulator along the at least one path segment from the end point towards the start point of the at least one path segment, and combining the time-optimal forward and reverse trajectories to obtain a complete time-optimal trajectory, where the forward and reverse trajectories of the at least one path segment are blended together with a smoothing bridge joining the time-optimal forward and reverse trajectories in a position-velocity reference frame with substantially no discontinuity between the time-optimal forward and reverse trajectories. | 09-04-2014 |
20140294551 | SUBSTRATE TRANSPORT APPARATUS WITH MULTIPLE MOVABLE ARMS UTILIZING A MECHANICAL SWITCH MECHANISM - A substrate transport apparatus including a frame, a drive section connected to the frame and including at least one independently controllable motor, at least two substrate transport arms connected to the frame and comprising arm links arranged for supporting and transporting substrates, and a mechanical motion switch coupled to the at least one independently controllable motor and the at least two substrate transport arms for effecting the extension and retraction of one of the at least two substrate transport arms while the other one of the at least two substrate transport arms remains in a substantially retracted configuration. | 10-02-2014 |
20140365004 | Robot and Adaptive Placement System and Method - An apparatus including a drive; a movable arm assembly; a plurality of sets of end effectors; and a controller. The end effectors are connected to the drive by the movable arm assembly. A first one of the sets of end effectors includes at least two of the end effectors, where the drive and the movable arm assembly are configured to move the at least two end effectors substantially in unison from a retracted position towards an extended position towards two different respective target locations. The at least two end effectors are at least partially independently movable relative to each other on the moveable arm assembly. The controller is configured to detect an offset of respective substrates on the at least two end effectors and adjust movement of the at least two end effectors relative to each other prior to placement of the substrates at the respective target locations. | 12-11-2014 |
20140365005 | Robot and Adaptive Placement System and Method - An apparatus including at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determine locations of at least two substrates on respective end effectors of the apparatus while the substrates are being moved by the end effectors in substantial unison towards respective target locations for the substrates; and while the end effectors are being moved towards the respective target locations, and based upon the determined locations of the substrates, adjust a position of at least a first one of the end effectors on the apparatus relative to a second one of the end effectors, where the position of the first end effector is adjusted relative to the second end effector while the apparatus is moving the substrates in substantial unison towards the respective target locations and prior to reaching the target locations. | 12-11-2014 |
20140365011 | Robot and Adaptive Placement System and Method - A method including moving a substrate, located on a first end effector of a robot, from a first location towards a second location by the robot; determining location of a fiducial on the substrate while the substrate is being moved from the first location towards the second location; comparing the determined location of the fiducial with a reference fiducial location while the robot is moving the substrate from the first location towards the second location. | 12-11-2014 |
20150044001 | Reduced Footprint Substrate Transport Vacuum Platform - An apparatus has a vacuum transport chamber having first and second isolation valves coupled to first and second substrate processing locations, and third and fourth isolation valves coupled to a load lock. First and substrate transport vacuum robots are provided. The load lock is between the first and second substrate transport vacuum robots, and has an atmospheric isolation valve. The atmospheric isolation valve, the third and the fourth isolation valves are arranged in a spaced triangular relationship. The first substrate transport vacuum robot transports a processed substrate from the first processing location to the load lock and transports an unprocessed substrate from the load lock to the first processing location substantially simultaneously as the second substrate transport vacuum robot transports a different processed substrate from the second processing location to the load lock and transports a different unprocessed substrate from the load lock to the second processing location. | 02-12-2015 |
20150071737 | Substrate Transport Vacuum Platform - A transport apparatus including a robot drive; an arm having a first end connected to the robot drive; and at least one end effector connected to a second end of the arm. The arm includes at least three links connected in series to form the arm. The arm is configured to be moved by the robot drive to move the at least one end effector among load locks and two or more sets of opposing process modules. | 03-12-2015 |