Abstract: According to the invention, there is provided a substrate transferring apparatus for transferring substrates from a substrate transport container containing a plurality of substrates to be treated to a substrate holder for holding a plurality of substrates to be treated or vice versa, the apparatus including arms for supporting substrate, a supporting member for supporting the arms, and a drive arrangement for driving the supporting member to operate. Each of the arms include a plate shaped arm main body having a connecting section for connecting the arm to the drive arrangement, supporting sections having a thickness greater than that of the arm main body for supporting corresponding peripheral areas of the substrate, and stoppers having a thickness greater than that of the supporting sections for abutting lateral sides of the substrate to rigidly hold the substrate.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for heat treating in a heat treating apparatus having a heating chamber to be introduced with predetermined gas, a heater disposed around the heating chamber, and jigs disposed in the heating chamber for supporting wafers of a plurality of substrates to be treated in parallel with each other, wherein in order to make the temperature distribution of the wafers of the substrates to be treated in the radial direction uniform in the heat treatment, the jigs are formed to determine the sizes and the shape thereof in predetermined ranges having a gradient according to the heat treating method having a predetermined shape determining procedure so that the jigs are formed in ring-shaped trays (i.e. support-ring) for holding at the peripheries the substrates to be treated and the thickness of the tray is constant or such that the outer peripheral side thereof is thicker than the inner peripheral side thereof.

Abstract: A plate-like member conveying apparatus includes five holding arms arranged parallel to each other in one direction and capable of supporting wafers, a link mechanism for connecting said holding arms to each other and for, when at least one holding arm is moved in the one direction, moving the remaining holding arms such that the pitch thereamong is equal, and a nut-screw driving mechanism for moving the at least one holding arm in the one direction.

Abstract: A method of transferring a substrate with a transfer unit including at least one fork having a substrate support portion, and a sensor arm having a sensor mounted thereon, for transferring the substrate between a substrate holding member and a substrate support member, includes the steps of arranging a position detecting plate on a rest portion of the substrate support member, obtaining position information of the position detecting plate by detecting the position of the position detecting plate with respect to the reference position of the transfer unit by the sensor arm, and transferring the substrate by controlling the position of the transfer unit on the basis of the position information.

Abstract: A heat-treatment apparatus comprises a heat-treatment section for subjecting a heat-treatment to a wafer and a loading section for loading a wafer boat into and unloading it from the heat-treatment section. The loading section is connected to the heat-treatment section and includes in it a movable support member, a drive mechanism and a vertical base board as well as a load-lock chamber for maintaining the inside in vacuum. The movable support member supports a wafer boat. The movable support member is attached to a vertical base board so that it can move up and down. The drive mechanism is attached on the major surface of the vertical base board opposite to the surface facing the wafer boat. The drive mechanism drives the movable support to move up and down. The heat-treatment apparatus further comprises a wafer transfer section that includes an orientation flat alignment mechanism and a buffer stage disposed near the orientation flat alignment mechanism.

Abstract: An oxidation/diffusion processing apparatus includes a processing vessel, arranged such that a longitudinal direction is vertical, for storing a plurality of target objects to be processed, a heater arranged around the processing vessel, for heating the interior of the processing vessel, a process gas supply mechanism for supplying a process gas from the lower portion of the processing vessel into the processing vessel, and an exhaust mechanism for exhausting a processed exhaust gas from the upper portion of the processing vessel. The process gas is supplied to the target objects heated to a predetermined temperature by the heater to perform oxidation/diffusion processing to the target objects.

Abstract: The heat treatment apparatus according to the invention comprising a process tube for holding a plurality of semiconductor wafers, a heating resistive element made mainly of molybdenum silicide and surrounding the process tube, a heat insulating member surrounding the heating resistive element and having a layer which made of material inert to silicon dioxide and faces the surface of the heating resistive element, and a securing member securing the heating resistive element to the heat insulating member, and made of material inert to silicon dioxide.

Abstract: A heat treating apparatus comprises a reaction tube for receiving a plurality of articles to be treated and a heating unit surrounding at least part of the reaction tube. The reaction tube comprises a first structural section, at least part of which is surrounded by the heating unit and a second structural section, at least part of which extends from the heating unit. The first structural section is made of material having thermal resistivity and thermal conductivity higher than the second structural section.

Abstract: A semiconductor wafer boat used in a vertical CVD apparatus includes four columns fixed to upper and lower support plates. Each of the columns has a plurality of first grooves arranged at regular intervals in the vertical direction so as to place wafers in substantially parallel to each other, and a plurality of second grooves formed alternately with the first grooves. A plate ring is provided for each of the second grooves so as to improve the uniformity of thickness of a film to be formed on each wafer. Each ring has an outer diameter larger than that of a wafer, and an inner diameter smaller than that of the wafer. Each ring is placed such that there is a clearance for transferring each wafer between each ring and each wafer in the vertical direction.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for heat treating in a heat treating apparatus having a heating chamber to be introduced with predetermined gas, a heater disposed around the heating chamber, and jigs disposed in the heating chamber for supporting wafers of a plurality of substrates to be treated in parallel with each other, wherein in order to make the temperature distribution of the wafers of the substrates to be treated in the radial direction uniform in the heat treatment, the jigs are formed to determine the sizes and the shape thereof in predetermined ranges having a gradient according to the heat treating method having a predetermined shape determining procedure so that the jigs are formed in ring-shaped trays (i.e. support-ring) for holding at the peripheries the substrates to be treated and the thickness of the tray is constant or such that the outer peripheral side thereof is thicker than the inner peripheral side thereof.

Abstract: A stock unit for storing carriers has a stock unit body, a plurality of carrier mounting shelves provided in a side wall of the stock unit body at predetermined spaces in a vertical direction, a carrier station, provided in the lower portion of the stock unit body, receiving and sending a carrier between the stock unit and a carrier part provided in the outside of the stock unit body, a carrier transport device, provided in the lower portion of the stock unit body, for transporting the carrier from the inside of the stock unit body to wafer transfer device provided in the outside of the stock unit body, and a carrier arm mechanism gripping at least one carrier, receiving and sending the carrier between the carrier station and the carrier transport device, and between the carrier mounting shelves and the carrier transport device regardless of the operation of the carrier transport device.

Abstract: An oxidation apparatus for applying oxidation treatment to a plurality of semiconductor wafers includes a vertical-type reaction tube in which the wafers are housed, and an outer tube coaxially located outside the reaction tube with a space interposed between them. A heater is located enclosing the outer tube. The space between both of the tubes serves as a passage for pre-heating a treating gas passing through the space. A pipe for supplying the treating gas into the space is connected to the lower portion of the outer tube. A diffusion plate is formed at the top of the reaction tube and it is provided with a plurality of diffusion holes through which the treating gas is introduced into the reaction tube after the gas passes through the space. The space between both of the tubes is partitioned by a spiral pipe made of quartz and the gas pre-heating passage is thus formed spiral extending from the gas supply pipe to the diffusion plate.

Abstract: A wafers transferring method in the heat treatment apparatus of the vertical type comprising providing a boat loading/unloading chamber under a process tube, providing an elevator in the boat loading/unloading chamber, providing a wafer loading/unloading chamber communicated with the boat loading/unloading chamber, providing a robot in the wafer loading/unloading chamber, mounting a boat on the elevator, loading wafers one by one into the boat from the bottom to the top by the robot, while lowering the boat every pitch, heat-processing the wafers in the boat in the process tube, and unloading the wafers one by one from the boat from the top to the bottom by the robot, while lifting the boat every pitch.

Abstract: A wafer transfer device is intended to transfer wafers between a wafer boat in which a plurality of wafer support plates are vertically arranged at regular intervals and a cassette in which a plurality of wafer-mounted levels are vertically arranged at regular intervals. Each of the wafer support plates is ring-shaped having an opening in the center thereof and a passage is defined by openings of the wafer support plates, extending vertically in the boat. The wafer is horizontally transferred into and out of the wafer boat between the wafer support plates by a fork. The fork can be moved in vertical and horizontal directions and it can also be swung. A wafer push-up disk is arranged movable up and down through the passage in the boat. Three wafer supports are projected from the top of the push-up disk. These projections on the push-up disk are arranged contactable with the underside of the wafer without interfering with the fork.

Abstract: A plate-like members conveying apparatus includes a rotating shaft and five support arms for supporting semiconductor wafers. The arms are vertically stacked at equal intervals and parallel to each other. The middle arm is fixed between two intermediate arms. Above and below the intermediate arms, two outer arms are located. The intermediate arms are coupled to an intermediate arm pinion coaxially fixed to the rotating shaft. The outer arms are coupled to an outer arm pinion coaxially fixed to the rotating shaft and having twice diameter of the intermediate arm pinion. These two pinions are rotated together upon the rotation of the rotating shaft. By the rotation of the intermediate arm pinion, the intermediate arms are moved to opposite direction each other. By the rotation of the outer arm pinion, the outer arms are moved to opposite direction each other by a distance twice a distance between the intermediate arms.

Abstract: A vertical heat treatment apparatus has a reaction furnace, gas-introducing mechanism, a gas-exhausting mechanism, and temperature-sensing means. The reaction furnace is made up of a reaction tube and a heating mechanism. The reaction tube contains a plurality of objects which are to be treated and which are arranged at predetermined intervals. The heating mechanism is arranged outside of the reaction tube. The gas-introducing means introduces a gas into the reaction tube, and the gas-exhausting mechanism exhausts the gas from the reaction tube. The temperature-sensing mechanism includes a guide pipe which passes through the side wall of the reaction tube and which extends along the inner wall of the reaction tube in the longitudinal direction of the reaction tube. One end of the guide pipe is closed and is located inside the reaction tube, while the other end thereof is open and is located outside of the reaction tube. A bendable temperature-measuring device is inserted in the guide pipe.

Abstract: A vertical heat treating apparatus comprises a casing having an opening through which articles to be processed are loaded and unloaded, a heat treating furnace provided in the casing, a loading and unloading mechanism provided under the heat treating furnace so as to load the articles to be processed in and unload the same from the heat treating furnace, and a clean air flow forming unit provided in a space which is formed in the casing and in which the loading and unloading mechanism is provided so as to form a clean air flow conducted from one side of the casing to the opposite side thereof.

Abstract: A clean air apparatus includes a housing having an opening through which a carrier housing semiconductor wafers is supplied into the housing and an I/O port for supporting the carrier and a furnace for treating the wafer, provided in the upper portion of the housing. The carriers are at the same time supported by a first carrier stage provided in the upper portion of the housing and supported by a second carrier stage provided in the lower portion of the housing. The carrier or carriers are selectively moved between the I/O port and the first stage, between the I/O port and the second stage, and between the first stage and the second stage. A clean air is applied to the wafers in the carriers supported by the I/O port, the first stage and the second stage.

Abstract: A heat-treating method comprising preparing a plurality of wafers parallel to one another in a process tube while keeping their surfaces to be treated substantially horizontal, arranging plural MoSi.sub.2 wire heaters along the longitudinal axis of the process tube so as to be placed around the process tube, adjusting the amount of current supplied to the heaters to form on the treated surface of each of the wafers temperature gradient extending from one side of the outer circumferential rim of each of the wafers to the other side thereof, and rotating the wafers in their surfaces.

Abstract: A vertical heating apparatus comprises a casing having an opening through which a plurality of transport members receiving articles to be processed are loaded in and unloaded from the casing, a heat treating furnace provided in an upper portion of the casing, a transport member storing portion provided in the casing at a side space of the heat treating furnace, for receiving the transport members, a processing member for transporting the articles to be processed in the heat treating furnace, a transferring mechanism for transferring the articles to be processed and received by the transport members to the processing member, and a vertically moving mechanism provided below the heat treating furnace in the casing, for loading and unloading the articles to be processed and received by the processing member in and from the heat treating furnace.