Fortrend Lamina Reticle and EUV Mask Handling

Fortrend Lamina reticle handling

Lamina is Fortrend’s name for its reticle sorters and reticle EFEMs. They move photomasks between shipping or storage boxes and reticle SMIF pods, and load them into mask shop and fab tools. They handle standard 6 inch (152.4mm) masks, 6.35mm thick, including 193nm masks with pellicles and EUV masks with or without them.

Fortrend has shipped more than 450 PLM reticle SMIF openers and more than 125 PLUS reticle load ports to OEMs since 2018.

Every Lamina system is built around an ISO Class 1 robot, fixed or on a track. Fortrend recommends isolation chambers around the shipping box openers, so that particles from incoming boxes stay out of the mask handling area. Ionisers hold electrostatic discharge to SEMI E78 Level 1.

SiSTEM is Fortrend’s distributor for the UK, Ireland and Europe. We specify Lamina systems with mask shops, fabs and OEMs, and our engineers install and service them on site.

Lamina 200 series reticle sorters

The sorters run from the Lamina 202 to the Lamina 206, by number of input stations, in inline or fixed-robot layouts to suit the floor space.

• Fab reticle rooms: a Lamina 202 transfers reticles between clam shell shipping boxes and SEMI E111 SMIF pods, rotating them by 90°, 180° or 270° and flipping them on the way. It stands 1829mm high on a 610 x 1143mm footprint.
• Mask shops: the same Lamina 202 loads finished masks into shipping boxes and returns customers’ masks to SEMI E100 pods for processing.
• Larger sorters: up to six input stations, mixing SMIF pods (EUV pods included) and shipping boxes with inspection modules and a mask storage buffer.

Lamina sorters open:

• Reticle SMIF pods: 150mm SEMI E111 and E112, 200mm SEMI E100, and SEMI E152 EUV pods
• Five-mask blank boxes from Hoya and Shin-Etsu
• Clam shell shipping boxes, with an optional six-shelf autoloader
• Nikon and Canon mask boxes, and lift-lid boxes

Each shipping box opener senses the box and the mask, and runs on Fortrend HEX serial commands. The sorters connect to the factory host over SECS/GEM.

Modules

• Turn/flip robot: turns the mask in 90° steps up to 360° and flips it 180°, with a side grip and all its mechanism below the mask. It senses the mask and the pellicle and its orientation.
• Turntables and hand-off stations: for re-gripping and turning the mask between stations.
• Thickness measurement: measures mask blanks at up to 16 points, with static repeatability of 0.05µm.
• ID reading: 1D codes, SEMI T11 and SEMI T16 data matrix, QR and OCR, and RFID on the pods.
• Notch identification: finds the identification chamfer to SEMI P1 and P37, so blanks go into the next step the right way round.
• Bright light review: an operator station with N2 blow-off and an optional HD camera.
• Particle measurement: third-party modules check incoming and returning masks down to 0.5µm in under 90 seconds.

Reticle EFEMs and SMIF upgrades

Lamina 200 series EFEMs put Fortrend’s reticle modules in front of an OEM’s mask inspection or repair tool, and Fortrend’s engineers design each one with the OEM. Fortrend’s SMIF upgrade programme does the same for existing open-stage mask tools, so they can take reticles straight from SMIF pods.

• PLUS 150 G4 and PLUS 500 G4: a 150mm (SEMI E111) or 200mm (SEMI E100) reticle SMIF opener with its own robot arm, which rotates the reticle through 360° and tilts it through up to 300°. Two-link and three-link arms extend the reach, and the grippers are designed to suit each OEM tool. ISO Class 1, OHT compatible, on wheels, with a cycle time of 50 to 65 seconds. Options include RFID, 1D, SEMI T11 and SEMI T16 bar code readers, and OCR. Built to SEMI E84, E117, S2 and S8.
• Reticle SCARA robots: single- and dual-arm, ISO Class 1, with side-grip, fork and paddle end effectors (EUV versions too) and an optional linear track. Reach 300 to 600mm, 370° rotation, repeatability ±0.1mm and ±0.02°.
• Reticle SMIF openers: the PLM 150Rx, PLM 200Rx and PLM EUV Dual are on our SMIF pod openers page. The third-generation PLM adds TCP/IP communication and detects the EUV pellicle.

To quote we’ll ask about

• Mask types: 193nm, EUV or blanks, with or without pellicles
• The pods and boxes coming in and going out
• The inspection, ID and measurement modules you need
• For an EFEM or upgrade, the host tool and its communication