Wafer-Handling Robots and Applications

Wafer-Handling robot, an indispensable device in the Integrated Circuits manufacturing, can transfer and align wafers during the different working procedures. It has high speed, high reliability and super precision, and the utility of it realizes the automation and least contamination in wafer productions. This paper reviews various recent patents in all types of the wafer-handling robots including frog-leg robots, SCARA robots and four-bar linkage robots, and introduces the mechanisms and functions of them in detail. The list of the patents reviewed is by no means complete or extensive, while it shows however the extent of the subjects covered in patents in this area during several years from 2001 up to now. The paper concludes a description of the future development expected in the subjects covered.