In order to subject a workpiece, such as a semiconductor wafer, to elevated pressures the workpiece is enclosed in a void (16) between two enclosure parts (6,7) which have been forced together by upper and lower actuators (12,13). The enclosure parts (6,7) are themselves enclosed in a vacuum chamber (1) evacuatable by a vacuum pumping system. Gas is then supplied from a suitable pressure source via a pipe (17) into void (10), thereby to subject the workpiece to elevated pressure. Heating means m...

Pieces of wood in a perforate container in a chamber are evacuated and then immersed in a liquid mixture of monomeric synthetic resin and catalyst under elevated pressure. The container of resin-impregnated wood then is transferred to a rotary chamber and tumbled under elevated gas pressure and controlled polymerization temperature to effect polymerization of the impregnated resin.

Apparatus for automatically positioning articles, as silicon semiconductor wafers, on rotary spin assembly mechanisms and indexing transporting means and a means for holding said wafer thereon combined with a means for dispensing a predetermined amount of photoresist solution on said wafers and spinning a uniform film of solution on the wafers and spin air drying through a sequence of rotating indexing steps followed by automatic transfer to and through drying means and a means for unloading the...

In a process for coating tapes or sheets with viscous solutions by the air-brush principle, a steam of air flows in the opposite direction to the movement of the web of material and acts substantially tangentially on the formation of the coating. This steam of air is produced by a vacuum between a bar which has an edge in the form of a ruler edge and the tape which is being coated, which moves past it at a close distance.

Disclosed herein is a method of forming strip-shaped electrodes over an end surface of a plate-shaped electronic component and two major surfaces which are in series with the end surface. A slit plate, which is provided with through slits having width corresponding to the width of electrodes to be formed, is located above an electrode paste bath while an electronic component is arranged above the slit plate so that its end surface extends across the through slits. Before or after this step, the ...

A valve (16) for use in a vacuum load lock for semiconductor processing equipment. The valve includes a base having a horizontal passage (34) formed through it for the transfer of semiconductor wafers (12) and a vertically moving valve element (50) received in a second passage (36) intersecting the first. The valve element includes a sealing element (62) which seals partly on a horizontal wall of the first passage and partly on a wall of the second passage, and is actuated by an air piston (56)....

A processing apparatus comprises a plurality of process unit groups each including a plurality of process units for subjecting an object to a series of processes, the process units being arranged vertically in multiple stages, an object transfer space being defined among the process unit groups, and a transfer mechanism for transferring the object, the transfer mechanism having a transfer member vertically movable in the object transfer space, the transfer member being capable of transferring th...

A thin-film coating apparatus rotates a member on which a coating solution is dropped to spread the coating solution over the member. The thin-film coating apparatus comprises a spinner for securely supporting the member, a casing firmly attached to the spinner in surrounding relation to the spinner and the member, and a lid for closing an opening in the casing through which the member can be brought into and out of the casing, thereby defining a closed processing chamber in the casing.

An apparatus for impregnating a liquid sealant into the bore surface of a wheel hub or the like includes a sealant reservoir with an outlet line leading to the bore and a closed manifold leading from the bore. The manifold and outlet line communicate with the bore through openings in a work surface and a hydraulically actuated platen which together clamp the hub in place and seal off the ends of the bore. During impregnating, the reservoir is pressurized to force sealant through the outlet line ...

An apparatus (2) for the impregnation of metal castings including an impregnation chamber (11) having an open end; a movable assembly (2) comprising a cover (20) for closing the open end of the impregnation chamber, a casting carrier (21), carrier transport means (22) for raising and lowering the casting carrier relative to the cover, and carrier rotating means (23); and transport means (24) for raising and lowering the movable assembly relative to the open end of the impregnation chamber. The i...