Abstract: A heat-treating apparatus has a reaction vessel being adapted for performing a heat process for a workpiece to be treated and having a joint pipe portion and an outer pipe jointed to the joint pipe portion and of the reaction vessel. A sealing member is disposed between the outer pipe and the joint pipe portion. The sealing member has a relatively soft core member and a film harder than the core member. The film is disposed on the surface of the core member and has a heat resistance and a chemical resistance. Since the core member of the sealing portion has flexibility, it easily deforms corresponding to the shape of the sealing portion. The film provided on the core member prevents the sealing member from thermally adhering to the sealing portion and from thermally deteriorating.

Abstract: A wafer boat rotating apparatus is disclosed, which includes a boat holding portion for holding both ends of the wafer boat, a vertical rotation drive mechanism for rotating the boat holding portion on a vertical plane, and a horizontal rotation drive mechanism for rotating the boat holding portion on a horizontal plane. A wafer holding member is disposed on the boat holding portion and adapted to keep the wafers held in the wafer boat apart from a bottom portion of the wafer boat by a small distance. Thus, compensation for the difference of coefficients of thermal expansion between the wafers and wafer boat during heat treatment can be made easily.

Abstract: A device for detecting a semiconductor wafer in a non-contact manner irrespective of transparency or opacity thereof. At positions corresponding to a plurality of wafers loaded on a carrier, a plurality of light emitting/receiving sensors and a plurality of light receiving sensors are correspondingly provided in pairs in such a manner that their respective light emitting/receiving surfaces and their respective light receiving surface in pairs confront each other. The light emitting/receiving sensors and light receiving sensors are alternately arranged in two rows lengthwise on a sensor support board. In the case of a transparent wafer, a light sent out from a light emitting section of the light emitting/receiving sensor strikes on and is reflected by the surface of the wafer. The thus reflected light is then detected by a light receiving section of the same light emitting/receiving sensor.

Abstract: In conducting a plurality of kinds of surface-treatments on objects to be treated, concentration of produced gases in exhaust gas discharged from a reaction vessel are detected, and data of the detected concentrations are compared with reference data stored in a control unit to continuously control and process the respective surface-treatments. As a result, processing control can be performed suitably for the respective kinds of surface-treatments, and different kinds of surface-treatments can be continuously conducted by one and the same surface-treatment device.

Abstract: A heater body or a circulation path for a heating gas is provided in an inner surface of a lid body that opens and closes an opening portion of a process tube. The circulation path is formed in such a manner that it passes through a gap between the lid body and the shaft of a rotation mechanism that rotates a quartz boat holding semiconductor wafers within the process tube. A heating gas at a temperature at least as high as the vaporization temperature of reaction products is made to circulate through this circulation path. Since the inner surfaces of the lid body are heated, reaction products do not adhere to the inner walls of the lid body and the lower portions of the process tube. Since there no source of contamination is generated thereby, the semiconductor wafers and the clean room are not contaminated. Since the circulation gas is made to flow in the reverse direction in the gap, there is no leakage of reaction gas therefrom.