Richmond, California–Nov. 7, 2000–Berkeley Process Control, Inc., a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of motion and control solutions, recently received a U.S. patent for its autocalibration technology.

By combining Berkeley’s latest motion and machine control platform, called BXi, with other application-specific methods, the new technology allows robots to precisely locate system objects without the need for operator assistance.

“Autocalibration technology is a key component in Berkeley’s recent 300mm wafer- handling design wins from two of the largest tool manufacturing companies in the semiconductor capital equipment industry,” says Berkeley President Paul Sagues. He adds that with conventional technology, any wafer handling system–including buffers–must be taught a number of times before the tool goes into production. Berkeley’s autocalibration technology eliminates hand teaching, according to the company, and allows one-button touch-automated teaching of multiple robots, buffer stations, loadports, and pre-aligner positions within minutes–eliminating human teaching error and reducing contamination and downtime.