Abstract: A novel boat transfer and queuing furnace elevator and method includes an X, Z, and Y assembly movable between furnace processing tubes, a furnace loading island, and an operator work station. The X, Z, and Y assembly includes X, Z, and Y drive motors mounted in a region below the region defined by the operative transfer, queuing, loading, and unloading movement paths for preventing motor-produced pollutants from contaminating wafer-loaded boats. The X, Z, and Y assembly includes X, Z, and Y linkages having resilient members mounted along moving and mounting interfaces thereof for providing shock and vibration isolation. In one embodiment, the work station and furnace are arranged in-line, and in another embodiment the work station and furnace are arranged in laterally offset relation. In both embodiments, the X, Z, and Y assembly has a multi-mode operation capability that minimizes "dead time" between transfers and significantly improves system processing throughput.

Abstract: A wafer softlanding system and cooperative door assembly are disclosed for gently and reliably loading and unloading a batch of wafers onto and off of the floor of a processing furnace tube. The disclosed softlanding system is coupled to a wafer receiving paddle and is operable to both linearly move the paddle as a whole in Z either upwardly or downwardly and to selectively rotatably move the paddle so that it tilts about an axis as it is moved linearly up and down. A door assembly is disclosed that includes a resiliently mounted furnace closure that is operative to provide a self-seating action at the mouth of the processing furnace tube. The door assembly includes in one embodiment a vacuum door closure and in another embodiment an atmospheric process door closure. In both embodiments, the closure members are readily releasable to provide for each of interchangeability, maintenance, and differential door size accommodation.

Abstract: The disclosed wafer handling system includes an input port, an input queue, and output port, and an output queue. The input and output queue each include a vertical elevator assembly capable of storing plural carriers representing multiple tube-loads of wafers input in the input port and into the output queue. A ferriswheel having multiple tube-load storage means is cooperative with an input waling beam and the input queue for arraying the plural carriers therein in multiple tube-loads of wafers each at different intermediate storage locations. A vertical transfer sub-assembly is cooperative with the ferriswheel and with a computer-controlled robot arm for transferring the wafers from each tube-load of carries to quartzware maintained by an inclinable transfer pad defining an elevator-transport access port.