Abstract: A side lifting boat and a tool assembly is disclosed. The tool is detachably engageable to selectively lift a boat. Both boat and tool are anti-rotationally engageable by the tool's upper and lower projections at its forward end fitting into a correspondingly shaped space defined between the outer (non-wafer-carrying) surface on the side of the boat. The boat's corresponding space permits the lifting tool to be moved into the space and into position between two fulcrum points that stabilize the boat/tool assembly from anything other than a small relative angular rotation.

Abstract: A pair of opposed teeth combs hold a first plurality of waters at a first upper location. A lift platform on a machine engageably holds and lifts a second plurality into position to be interleaved into the spaces of the first wafer group. The combs are pivotably mounted such that a skewed water in the group of wafers on one platform comes into contact with a comb and causes the combs to pivot slightly upwardly, or a skewed wafer creates a separation-diminishing force on separated portions of a platform. Moveable suspensions floatably position corners of the separated platform parts relative to each other; and these platform parts react away from an error-initiated contact. Transmitter/receiver units are positioned in optical alignment and a skewed water or a piece of foreign matter causes any one of a plurality of light beams to be broken so that error corrective action is achieved.

Abstract: Wafer supporting method and apparatus having at least two wafer supporting slots for each edge-wise oriented wafer in a plurality of coaxial edge-wise aligned wafers. The two wafer locations are essentially at the bottom and at an upper "side" i.e., slightly below the widest diameter dimension of and edge-wise wafer with a pair of spaced apart upper slots having the same loose fitting cross-sectional shape as the lower slot. The supported wafer at the upper location touches the slot support at one slot wall only. A cross sectional shape of the slots for each wafer includes: (a) a rounded bottom wafer-supporting wall having a diameter that is essentially the same as the wafer's thickness; (b) an angle-controlling side wall; and (c) a third gravity feed wall that joins the tight fitting bottom to a wide loose fitting wafer entry slot opening. Close spacing between adjacent slots is provided by a pair of slot walls that are parallel to each other and are at the wafer lean angle.

Abstract: A side lifting wafer boat assembly is provided comprising a wafer supporting boat and boat lifting tool. The boat lifting tool is detachably engageable along the length of a boat. The tool is designed to permit sideway engagement with boats specifically designed for side lifting, or with boats that may also be end lifted, using a fork-like member which engages elongated pickup tubes.

Abstract: An automated system lifts a batch of semiconductor wafers from a slotted carrier, transfers them laterally and lowers them into a second slotted carrier. In doing this, jaws on the lifting apparatus open automatically to receive or release the wafers. With a carrier having relatively high slotted sides, such as the commonly used plastic cassette, a pusher engages the lower edge of the wafers exposed through the bottom of the cassette and pushes them upwardly sufficiently far to permit the lifter jaws to receive and lift the wafers. The apparatus is oriented at a slight angle to insure that the wafers are all arranged in precise, spaced, parallel relation so as to cooperate with slots in the lifter jaws and slots in the receiving carrier. The system has the capability to move two batches of 25 wafers to a quartz boat having 50 more-closely spaced slots, and similarly, two batches from a quartz boat may be transferred to two different plastic cassettes.

Abstract: A quartz boat is formed with a plurality of spaced, parallel rods having slots for supporting a series of semi-conductor wafers in a generally edgewise, spaced, parallel position. The slots continue to the ends of the rods, and the cross members supporting the rods are spaced inwardly from the rod ends, such that a series of boats may be arranged with the rods in end-to-end relation and the wafer space between adjacent boats is the same as the wafer space in the middle of a boat. The boat is also provided with a pair of tubes parallel to the rods for receiving a pickup fork.

Abstract: In a wheeled carrier for transporting wafers of semiconductor material during processing, the wheels are non-rotatably mounted on axles and each pair of wheels has either central recesses on their outer faces accepting sub shafts in allignment with the axle, or central stub shafts projecting into recesses in a support structure, for rotation of the wheel/axle assemblies about opposing pairs of stub shafts. The stub shafts, and optionally the inner surfaces of the recesses, are highly polished and shaped to minimize resistance to motion caused by friction between the contact surfaces of the recess and stub shafts since the carrier is made of refractory material such as quartz having a high coefficient of resistance. To minimize accumulation of contaminating particles in the recesses in the wheels, passages are provided through the wheels between the recess and the inner face of each wheel for easier access to the bottom of the recesses.

Abstract: A wafer processing boat is provided with parallel slots that support each wafer at a slight angle with respect to vertical so that the wafers lean by gravity in a uniform manner and are thereby arranged in spaced parallel relationship. This enables the tolerances within the slots to be quite large with respect to the width of the wafer edges thus facilitating insertion and removal of the wafers while minimizing wafer damage and increasing wafer processing uniformity.