Patent ID: 7699021

Claim:
A cluster tool for processing a substrate, comprising: a first module comprising: a first processing rack having vertically stacked processing chambers; a second processing rack having vertically stacked processing chambers, wherein the first and second processing racks are positioned substantially parallel to each other; and a first robot disposed between the first and second processing racks; a second module comprising: a third processing rack having vertically stacked processing chambers; a fourth processing rack having vertically stacked processing chambers, wherein the third and fourth processing racks are positioned substantially parallel to each other; and a second robot disposed between the third and fourth processing racks; a third module comprising: a fifth processing rack having vertically stacked processing chambers; a sixth processing rack having vertically stacked processing chambers, wherein the fifth and sixth processing racks are positioned substantially parallel to each other; and a third robot disposed between the fifth and sixth processing racks, wherein the third module and the first module are positioned on opposite sides of the second module; and at least one buffering station, wherein the second module is positioned on one side of the first module such that the first processing rack is next to the third processing rack and the second processing rack is next to the fourth processing rack, and the at least one buffering station is disposed in a location so that the at least one buffering station is accessible by both the first and second robots.