Patent ID: 8167523

Claim:
Singulation handler comprising: a loading zone where a carrier mechanism receives and holds a semiconductor substrate; a singulation zone where the semiconductor substrate held by the carrier mechanism is singulated; a rotational device for rotating the carrier mechanism; a loader that is configured to move along a linear axis for placing the semiconductor substrate onto the carrier mechanism when it is situated in the loading zone; and a vision system mounted on the loader, the vision system being configured to obtain at least one image of the semiconductor substrate showing alignment information of the semiconductor substrate, the vision system obtaining the at least one image of the semiconductor substrate after the semiconductor substrate is placed on the carrier mechanism and while the semiconductor substrate is in the loading zone, wherein the carrier mechanism is rotated by the rotational device from a first orientation to a second orientation, the carrier mechanism being in the first orientation while the vision system obtains the at least one image of the semiconductor substrate, the rotation of the carrier mechanism by the rotational device from the first orientation to the second orientation occurring after the vision system obtains the at least one image of the semiconductor substrate, and the carrier mechanism being in the second orientation while it moves into the singulation zone.