Abstract: A semiconductor wafer pickup device (26) making use of vacuum and Bernoulli effect in order to hold the wafer (11) against the device and to minimize wafer contamination. The wafer pickup device comprises a centrally located Bernoulli orifice (32) and a plurality of peripherally located small tubular legs (38,39,40). In a first stage of a pickup operation, air is blown out of the Bernoulli orifice and out of the tubular legs. Next, vacuum is applied to the tubular legs while pressurized air is still blown out of the Bernoulli orifice. The combination of the Bernoulli effect with the suction at the vacuum legs locates the wafer in a position where the legs hold onto it. Then, the pressurized air is turned off thus leaving the wafer held only by the vacuum legs (FIGS. 2A, 2B).