A method and system can align a robot arm with a payload station. A probe and a contact detector may be positioned on the robot arm and three pins may be placed on the payload station. A controller may move the robot arm in a pattern over the payload station until contact may be made between the probe and one of the pins. A search about the contact location may be performed to obtain additional contacts. The search may be interrupted when contact is made between the probe and one of the pins. The position of the pin may be calculated from three such contacts on the spherical portion of the pin. The location of the probe at the time of contact may be stored and a localized search about the pin location may be performed. If the position of the pin cannot be resolved from three contacts, additional contacts may be made until a combination of three contacts does provide a solution. Three such pins may be so located such that the robot arm may learn the position of the payload station without operator intervention.

A substrate processing apparatus having a frame, a housing, an access system and at least a substrate transport apparatus or a substrate processing device. The housing is connected to the frame. The access system is connected to the frame and forms an access through which substrates are moved in and out of the housing. The substrate transport apparatus or substrate processing device are connected to the frame and are at least partially positioned in the housing. The frame comprises a movable portion. The movable portion is movable relative to the frame so that movement of the movable portion causes separation of the access system and at least one of the substrate transport apparatus or substrate processing device from an installed position. The substrate transport apparatus is selectable from a number of different interchangeable substrate transport apparatus. Each of the different interchangeable substrate transport apparatus has a predetermined reference datum and positioning features for positioning the substrate transport apparatus relative to the frame. The positioning features of each substrate transport apparatus are controllably located relative to its predetermined reference datum to be in a repeatable predetermined location with substantially no variance between the different interchangeable substrate transport apparatus.

The present invention comprises a container transport and loading system. The system generally comprises a load port for presenting articles to a tool and a container transport system. In one embodiment, the load port includes a vertically movable FOUP advance plate assembly that is adapted to load and unload a FOUP from a conveyor that passes by the load port and move the FOUP horizontally. In another embodiment, the load port includes a vertically movable support structure that is adapted to load and unload a container from a shuttle that passes by the load port. The various embodiments of the load port and container transport system are improvements over conventional container transport systems. The present invention also includes a shuttle for simultaneously transporting multiple containers that a load port may load or unload a container from.

Equipment front end module (EFEM) systems and methods for handling workpieces at EFEMs are disclosed. An equipment front end module (EFEM) system has an enclosure and a robot within the enclosure. The enclosure has two or more load ports, each being adapted to receive a front opening unified pod (FOUP). The robot is configured to move work pieces between the FOUP(s) and one or more work piece processing tools proximate the enclosure. The load ports are positioned relative to said robot such that said robot can move the work pieces between the tool and a FOUP at each load port with a simple R-theta motion or pure linear motion with respect to two axes.

Apparatus and method for reducing the load on an automated material handling system during processing of materials are disclosed. A materials processing tool with one or more load ports is equipped with at least one movable buffer attached to the tool front end. The buffer is configured to receive a materials pod from the automated material handling system at a storage location and move the pod to one or more of the one or more of the load ports and/or receive a pod from one or more of the one or more load ports and move the pod to the storage location. Any pod in the buffer is accessible either manually or by the material handling system.