Tool frees up valuable fab floor space for production equipment; allows for internal expansion of manufacturing capacity
Fremont, Calif., July 13, 2015 – Genmark Automation, a global leader in tool and factory automation solutions for the semiconductor and related industries, today announced the launch of its new CODEX™ Stocker. The CODEX Stocker integrates stocking, sorting and metrology functions in a single tool that stores and delivers various substrates on demand, of defined quality and in defined numbers. Consolidating the functions of these traditionally nonrevenue-generating tools frees up fab floor space for production equipment, enabling a facility to maximize its productivity and yield.
“There is a clear market opportunity for a high-quality, highly reliable tool that can enable the functions of sort, stocking and metrology simultaneously,” said Carl McMahon, EVP Sales and Marketing at Genmark Automation. “Given the continual pressure to improve yield and productivity, the benefits of storing, measuring and tracking all media in one location, using less cleanroom floor space, quickly becomes evident.”
Key differentiators of the CODEX Stocker include:
- Reduced overall tool footprint. Novel rotary “carousel” module, which increases the volume of substrates stored compared with existing rack systems, and allows the robot to access the wafers from a single side.
- First library retrieval system for semiconductor manufacturing. Integrated stocker and metrology systems enable real-time measurement and data tracking. Storing all substrates in a single location allows for more effective tracking of the substrate life cycle.
- Gantry robot to provide extended range and larger working envelope for wafer delivery.
“Beyond the traditional Si wafer market, the glass wafer for bond/debond, reticle and reticle box storage are important targets for this type of integrated system,” said McMahon. “Taking the glass wafers used in bond/debond as an example, concentricity, uniformity and thickness are very important. By stocking all media in one location with onboard metrology, you can easily make decisions on when the usable lifetime of a wafer is up and when to change it out, to consistently maximize productivity.”
The CODEX’s modular design is easily configurable to customers’ specific needs, whether integrated device manufacturers or original equipment manufacturers. A high-capacity system, it is performance-optimized for high throughput, has a configurable architecture and is readily expandable. For example, using 300mm wafers, each carousel can hold up to 1,700 wafers, depending on thickness. The tool supports 200mm, 300mm and 450mm wafers as well as reticles.
About the CODEX
The CODEX substrate stocker/sorter is highly flexible and can store different size and geometry substrates by customizing the boats. The base tool can hold up to 5,000 substrates in its 3089” L x 2639” W x 2900” H dimension, but its highly modular design is expandable by adding up to 2 additional 3089” x 2639” x 2900” modules. The tool offers a number of handling capabilities, including: warped substrate handling, substrate flipping, substrate edge defect detection, low/high frequency (200 / 300 mm) carrier ID reading, automated teaching, on-the fly substrate centering and QR barcode reading capabilities. The tool allows for local and remote control through the SECS/GEM interface and is CE, S2-S8 SEMI compliant.
About Genmark
Genmark Automation, Inc. designs and manufactures integrated tool automation, high precision robotics, and motion control products for the global semiconductor, data storage, flat panel display, and associated industries. We are a leading OEM supplier of patented atmospheric and vacuum transport robots and peripheral equipment.
Genmark Automation develops innovative solutions to optimize equipment and factory productivity. Our portfolio includes complete semiconductor substrate handling systems and integration software, which offers our customers high performance, high reliability, and next-generation extendibility. Genmark’s manufacturing capacity is U.S.-based, at its Fremont, California facility. Genmark is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company. www.genmarkautomation.info
