Patent ID: 11894251
Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Field: Semiconductors (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  B | IPC B  H

Claim 10:
11. A transport system, comprising:
a vacuum tunnel having a first end, and opposite second end, wherein the vacuum tunnel is configured to interface with a first processing tool on the first end of the vacuum tunnel and a second processing tool on the second end of the vacuum tunnel, the vacuum tunnel comprising:
a first region disposed along the vacuum tunnel between the first end and the second end, the first region comprising a first width defined between opposing inner sidewalls of the first region of the vacuum tunnel;
an expanded region disposed along the vacuum tunnel adjacent to the first region, the expanded region comprising an expanded width defined between opposing inner sidewalls of the expanded region of the vacuum tunnel, wherein the expanded width is greater than the first width;
a substrate transport carriage, comprising:
a carriage body; and
an end effector coupled to the carriage body, the end effector configured to support a substrate during transport within the vacuum tunnel;
a magnetic levitation system configured to levitate the substrate transport carriage and move the substrate transport carriage between the first and second processing tools; and

a rotary stage disposed in the expanded region, the rotary stage configured to rotate the substrate transport carriage between about 0 degrees and about 180 degrees.