US Patent 8029226 Semiconductor manufacturing systems

Linear semiconductor handling systems provide more balanced processing capacity using various techniques to provide increased processing capacity to relatively slow processes. This may include use of hexagonal vacuum chambers to provide additional facets for slow process modules, use of circulating process modules to provide more processing capacity at a single facet of a vacuum chamber, or the use of wide process modules having multiple processing sites. This approach may be used, for example, to balance processing capacity in a typical process that includes plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition steps and bevel etch steps.