Patent ID: 11929264
Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Field: Semiconductors (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  B  F | IPC B  F  H

Claim 0:
1. A substrate cleaning and drying system, comprising:
a cleaning station including a first support to hold a substrate in a substantially vertical orientation;
a drying station positioned adjacent the cleaning station, the drying station including a tank to contain a liquid, a second support to hold the substrate in a substantially vertical orientation in the liquid, and a dispenser to deliver drying fluid comprising a surfactant;
a cleaner robot having an arm configured to transfer the substrate from the cleaning station to the drying station;
an aligner stage arranged on a side of the drying station opposing the cleaning station, the aligner stage including a rotatable support to hold the substrate in a horizontal orientation and to rotate the substrate about an axis perpendicular to the substrate to a desired orientation;
a transfer robot having a robot arm arranged between the drying station and the aligner stage rotatable between a substantially vertical first position for receiving the substrate from above the drying station and a substantially horizontal second position above the aligner stage and for releasing the substrate onto the aligner stage, the robot arm having a first end to hold the substrate and a second end that is rotatable around a horizontal axis parallel to a face of the substrate and offset from the substrate such that the substrate swings face-first from a substantially vertical orientation over the drying station to a substantially horizontal orientation over the aligner stage;
a factory interface module to support a cassette; and
a factory interface robot to transfer the substrate from the aligner stage into the factory interface module while in a horizontal orientation.