Patent ID: 11923217
Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Field: Semiconductors (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  B | IPC B  H

Claim 0:
1. A processing system for processing a substrate, the processing system comprising:
a Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) load lock having walls defining an interior space therein, the FOUP load lock comprising:
a load lock isolation door operable to close a load lock isolation door opening in a first sidewall of the FOUP load lock, the load lock isolation door opening being sized so that a FOUP is capable of passing therethrough to and from the interior space;
a tunnel isolation door operable to close a first slit valve opening in a second sidewall of the FOUP load lock, the first slit valve opening being sized so that a substrate capable of being placed in the FOUP is capable of passing through the first slit valve opening to and from the interior space; and
a shuttle disposed in the interior space, the shuttle configured to maintain the substrates in the FOUP in a horizontal orientation, the shuttle comprising:
a clamp;
a lateral extender operable to extend the clamp laterally while maintaining the horizontal orientation of the substrates;
and a vertical lift; and

a vacuum system fluidly connected to the interior space of the FOUP load lock, the vacuum system being operable to pump down a pressure of the interior space of the FOUP load lock.