Patent ID: 6877946

Claim:
A process for transporting substrates between two regions having different pressures without substantially affecting the pressure of either region, the process comprising: housing a first and second robot arm in a removable sub-chamber coupled to a loadlock chamber, wherein the first and second arms include a primary pivot axis within the sub-chamber; reducing a pressure in the loadlock chamber to an operating pressure in an adjacent process chamber, wherein a closable port is disposed between the process chamber and the loadlock chamber; rotating the first robot arm about the primary pivot axis for extending the first robot arm and an attached first end effector into the process chamber to retrieve a first substrate; moving the first robot arm in the vertical or z-axis direction to lift the first substrate; rotating the first robot arm about the primary pivot axis to retract the first robot arm and the attached end effector from the process chamber and move the end effector with the first substrate into the loadlock chamber; rotating a second robot arm about the primary pivot axis for extending the second robot arm and an attached second end effector with a second substrate thereon into the process chamber at an atmospheric pressure; rotating the second robot arm about the primary pivot axis to retract the attached second end effector from the process chamber into the loadlock chamber, wherein the operating pressure of the process chamber is maintained; closing the port between the process chamber and the loadlock chamber; and adjusting a pressure within the loadlock chamber to an ambient atmospheric pressure while maintaining the operating pressure within the process chamber.