Patent ID: 7993093

Claim:
A wafer translation apparatus, comprising: a transfer arm including an incoming load pad for receiving an edge of an incoming wafer to be processed; an incoming gripping mechanism positioned on the transfer arm and capable of gripping the edge of the incoming wafer received in the incoming load pad, the incoming load pad and incoming gripping mechanism capable of releasably supporting the incoming wafer therebetween; a first rotational assembly capable of rotating the transfer arm about a first rotational axis such that the incoming wafer supported by the incoming load pad and incoming gripping mechanism can be rotated between a substantially horizontal orientation and a substantially vertical orientation; a second rotational assembly capable of rotating the transfer arm about a second rotational axis, the second rotational axis being orthogonal to the first rotational axis, wherein rotation of the transfer arm about the first and second rotational axes causes the incoming wafer to be translated from a first location and first orientation to a second location and second orientation; and a process elevator that is adapted to receive the incoming wafer positioned in the second location and the second orientation, wherein the process elevator is adapted to transfer the incoming wafer to a processing chamber.