Patent ID: 8870512

Claim:
An electronic device manufacturing system, comprising: a processing tool having one or more processing chambers each adapted to perform an electronic device manufacturing process on one or more substrates; a substrate carrier comprising a main body including a front face, a door set within the front face, and a flange which extends outward from the main body and is set back rearwardly from the front face, the substrate carrier configured to have a first interior sealed environment, the substrate carrier adapted to couple to the system and carry one or more substrates, the substrate carrier including a sealing surface on the flange surrounding the door; one or more ports integral with the substrate carrier and coupled to the first sealed environment, the one or more ports adapted for evacuating and/or filling the first sealed environment of the substrate carrier with one of an inert gas and a non-reactive gas; and one of a load port and a load lock chamber adapted to dock with the substrate carrier, and wherein a surface feature of one of the load port and the load lock chamber contacts the sealing surface of the substrate carrier situated on the substrate carrier flange to create a second sealed environment surrounding the door of the substrate carrier to substantially equalize the sealed environment within one of the load port and the load lock chamber with the first sealed environment within the substrate carrier via the one or more ports before the door of the substrate carrier is opened and wherein the sealing surface of the flange is capable of sustaining a vacuum seal between the substrate carrier and either the load port or the load lock chamber; wherein in a state that the one of the load port and the load lock chamber is docked with the substrate carrier, the one or more substrate carrier ports are within the second sealed environment.