A latch sensor for a pod transport gripper for transferring semiconductor wafers
is disclosed. The transport gripper has a left bar and a right bar, as well as
a cross bar connecting the left and the right bars. The gripper also has a left
clamp and a right clamp disposed on interior sides of the left bar and the right
bar, respectively, to clamp a pod, such as a front-opening unified pod (FOUP),
for transport. A number of latches are disposed on the cross bar, and correspond
to a number of latch holes of the pod. The gripper has at least one latch sensor
disposed on either the left bar, the right bar, or both, to determine whether the
latches have properly engaged the latch holes of the pod.
