AUTOMATED RETICLE TRANSPORT AND STEPPER LOADING

Until recently, the automated handling of reticles received very littl e attention compared to automated wafer transport and loading, where t he benefits and techniques are now well-known. This article introduces a system that totally automates the transportation and loading of ret icles into steppers. The physical design and operation of the system a re described, along with the objectives that drove the design. The sys tem will now be installed in an operating wafer fab and proven during actual production, before being expanded to supply reticles to all ste ppers in the fab.