Patent ID: 6712907
Filing Date: 2004-03-30
Classification: C23C,H01L,Y10S

Abstract:
A semiconductor wafer processing system, comprising:a reactor for processing at least one semiconductor wafer; at least one load lock coupled to the reactor; and a magnetically coupled linear servo-drive mechanism located within the at least one load lock to transfer wafers to and from the reactor, the servo-drive mechanism comprising: a carriage for holding a wafer; a driven magnet array within the carriage; a guiding mechanism for guiding the carriage linearly; a cylindrical tube housing a linear actuator and isolating the actuator from a wafer environment in the load lock, a driving magnet array inside the cylindrical tube and mounted to an output of the linear actuator, the driving magnet array magnetically coupled to the driven magnet array mounted within the carriage; an engine coupled to the actuator to drive the actuator; and a controller coupled to the engine to control the engine for optimizing transfer times and controlling acceleration.