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To: LLCF who wrote (1702)	6/29/1998 12:51:00 AM
From: SemiBull	Respond to of 2946

DAK, I did a quick search and came up with the following two patents. From the abstracts I can't tell if they're what you, Katherine or Ian are looking for, as I am no photolitho expert and the abstracts are a too ambiguous for me though the first may be the closest of the bunch for apparent reasons....SemiBull 1) 5,733,024 - Modular system A modular system and a method of creating a modular system comprising a substantially rigid frame and a plurality of modules mounted at predetermined locations on the frame by means of kinematic couplings. The frame includes a main beam in the form of a spine, and a plurality of transversely extending bulkheads. The method includes creating a model of the system using rigid bodies and thereafter providing the frame and modules and securing them kinematically. The kinematic couplings comprise three pairs of aligning elements, each in the form of a male element and a contact element. The contact elements may take the form of grooves, tetrahedral depressions, or flat surfaces. 2) 4,924,890 - Method and apparatus for cleaning semiconductor wafers A method and apparatus for cleaning and drying semiconductor wafers wherein the wafers may be stored in a wet environment until the cleaning step and wherein, after drying, the wafers are substantially isolated from the remainder of the apparatus and the workplace environment to prevent or at least substantially eliminate the recontamination of the wafer surface. The wafers are removed one at a time from an incoming storage bath and are transported to a cleaning station where they are cleaned and are then transported to a drying station. After being dried the wafers are transported to an output station where they are loaded into a portable enclosure member which substantially isolates the wafers in the enclosure from further contamination. Further, means is provided for introducing clean air into the drying station and venting at least a portion of the air through the cleaning station while at the same time substantially precluding the escape of air into the output station enclosure member. The cleaned wafer is substantially isolated during the cleaning and drying steps from the less clean portions of the method and apparatus thereby substantially preventing recontamination of the cleaned and dried wafer. 3) 4,770,590 - Method and apparatus for transferring wafers between cassettes and a boat A wafer transfer mechanism used for transferring wafers between cassettes and a boat uses sensors to detect and to measure any offset of the actual center of each wafer being transferred with respect to the expected or precalibrated center of that wafer. An appropriate adjustment is made to effectively eliminate such offset so that each wafer can be transferred throughout the system without any edge contact between a wafer and the boat or the cassette. The system also includes a boat exchange unit having a rotatable turntable which is used in association with two boats. The boat exchange unit permits a continuous mode operation in which one boat can be undergoing a loading or unloading of wafers at one station on the turntable while another boat is at or is moving to or from a heating chamber loading or unloading station on the turntable. 4) 4,700,595 - Balance mechanism for movable jaw chuck of a spin station A wafer processing spin station includes a movable jaw chuck which is adjustable in position at the clamping position to accommodate offset of the center of the wafer with respect to the axis of rotation. A balancing apparatus and method are used with the movable jaw chuck to maintain the gripping force exerted on the wafer by the movable jaw chuck substantially unaffected by the centrifugal forces developed by the movable jaw chuck at all speeds of rotation produced during the spinning operation and within the range of the clamping positions of the movable jaw chuck.