An apparatus for preventing the cross contamination of heating element within horizontal furnaces is disclosed. A rotating spindle may connect to either or both of the lifting arm of a triaxial loader or the transfer plate of a loading station. A pair of spindles are able to lift a single wafer boat. Each spindle includes a plurality of active positions with one active position associated with each heating element of the horizontal furnace. A control processor monitors the position of the spindle and rotates the spindle to the active position associated with a heating element when a loading or unloading process is initiated for that heating element.
An apparatus for automatically and simultaneously loading a single long wafer boat or a plurality of wafer boats onto a cantilever paddle includes a stationary first track aligned with a first opening of a diffusion furnace and a first carriage moveable on the first track. The first carriage supports a cantilever paddle. A first vertical translation mechanism includes a first stationary part and a first vertically moveable support. A second vertical translation mechanism includes a second stationary part and a second vertically moveable support. A first horizontal translation mechanism includes a first base supported by the first vertically moveable support and a first horizontally moveable arm supported by the first base. A second horizontal translation mechanism includes a second base supported by the second vertically moveable support and a second horizontally moveable arm supported by the second base. A horizontal support apparatus is adapted to support the long wafer boat or plurality of wafer boats each loaded with semiconductor wafers. The support apparatus includes a first end supported by the first horizontally moveable arm and a second end supported by the second horizontally moveable arm.
An apparatus for automatically and simultaneously loading/unloading a plurality of wafer boats (24) onto/from a cantilever paddle includes a cantilever paddle (47-1) and a carriage (42-1) supporting the cantilever paddle First and second vertical translation mechanisms (34A,B) each include a stationary part (62,63) and a vertically moveable support (61). First and second horizontal translation mechanisms (50A,B) each have a base (86) supported by one of the vertically moveable supports and a horizontally moveable arm (51) supported by the base (86). A horizontal boat support assembly (102) supports the loaded wafer boats and has an end supported by a first horizontally moveable arm (51A) and another end supported by a second horizontally moveable arm (51B). A stationary rail (97) has its ends supported by the first and second horizontally moveable arms, and a moveable rail (96) is supported by outer ends of first and second rotary arms to bring the moveable rail into a lower first position to engage an edge of each of the wafer boats (24) and to an upper second position above wafers in the wafer boats to clear the wafers as the first and second horizontal translation mechanisms are withdrawn from the wafer boats (24).
A semiconductor device producing apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus includes a carrier-holding stage for placing a carrier; first, second and third stages each for holding first and second boats one at a time, each boat holding one or more substrates; a boat transfer mechanism for transferring the boats among the first, second and third stages; and a substrate transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate(s) from the carrier to the boat held by the first stage. A controller controls the first stage, the boat transfer mechanism and the substrate transfer mechanism so that the boat transfer mechanism transfers one of the boats from the second stage to the first stage, the substrate transfer mechanism then transfers the substrate(s) from the carrier to the boat held by the first stage, and the first stage then moves the boat into the processing chamber for processing.
