Asyst technologies, Inc. provides automation solutions optimized for the needs of global customers in the semiconductor, flat panel display, and related industries. To continue a leadership role in machine design around the goal of optimum productivity, Asyst did a comprehensive customer and marketing assessment of how the next generation equipment front-end module, or 'EFEM' should perform. Asyst engineers literally started the design process with a blank sheet of paper, and the Spartan™ EFEM was born. The Spartan EFEM project was to produce the most robust and flexible tool of its kind with a dual role as a general purpose wafer sorter as well.

For the critical controls portion of the Spartan EFEM System, Asyst chose MEI and SynqNet® technology to ensure the motion requirements would not only exceed tight performance specification, but offer a clear upgrade path for future innovation. The outcome is a revolutionary tool with highly sophisticated robot control that is changing the market for semiconductor EFEM requirements.
The Spartan EFEM was conceived completely with customer requirements behind the design. Important drivers include:

• The cost of real estate where an EFEM would typically be operated. The space is very valuable, therefore equipment manufacturers are driven to constantly push the limits between effective processes and the space to do those processes.
• The speed and efficiency in getting wafers fabricated must always increase but overall costs must decrease.
• Safety is all-important, as wafer handling is a high value product, and any error, especially in motion control, can equate to high dollar loss.

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