Patent ID: 7682123

Claim:
A method of providing wafers to a fabrication tool having a load port coupled thereto for transferring one or more wafers from a wafer carrier to the fabrication tool, comprising: unloading a wafer carrier from an overhead wafer carrier transport system via a transfer mechanism including a vertical transfer mechanism and a horizontal transfer mechanism; lowering the wafer carrier from an upper elevation position of the transfer mechanism at the overhead wafer carrier transport system with the vertical transfer mechanism; placing the wafer carrier at a storage location via motion of the horizontal transfer mechanism; lowering the wafer carrier from the storage location with the vertical transfer mechanism to the load port located at an elevation below the storage location and positioned at a lower elevation position of the vertical transfer mechanism; placing the wafer carrier on the load port; opening the wafer carrier; and extracting horizontally at least one wafer from the wafer carrier into a loadlock operatively coupled to the load port via a loader mechanism.