Abstract: A vertical thermal processing apparatus including: a substrate supporter; a transfer mechanism to transfer substrates between the substrate supporter and a container; and a thermal processing furnace to process substrates that have been loaded thereinto with the substrate supporter. The substrate supporter includes: support columns located at intervals therebetween to surround the substrates, supporting parts for substrate and supporting parts for annular plate provided at the support columns in a tier-like manner, for alternately supporting peripheral parts of the substrates and of annular plates at predetermined intervals therebetween, and annular plates to be supported by the supporting parts for annular plate, when seen from a direction in which the substrates are transferred. Each of the annular plates has an intermediate part having a thickness smaller than thicknesses of the peripheral parts thereof to be supported by the support columns.

Abstract: A vertical thermal processing apparatus including: a substrate supporter; a transfer mechanism to transfer substrates between the substrate supporter and a container; and a thermal processing furnace to process substrates that have been loaded thereinto with the substrate supporter. The substrate supporter includes: support columns located at intervals therebetween to surround the substrates, supporting parts for substrate and supporting parts for annular plate provided at the support columns in a tier-like manner, for alternately supporting peripheral parts of the substrates and of annular plates at predetermined intervals therebetween, and annular plates to be supported by the supporting parts for annular plate, when seen from a direction in which the substrates are transferred. Each of the annular plates has an intermediate part having a thickness smaller than thicknesses of the peripheral parts thereof to be supported by the support columns.

Abstract: A demodulator circuit in which N satellite signals included in N radio waves transferred from N satellites are detected by removing noise codes and carrier waves modulated by the satellite signals and the noise codes from the radio waves to measure a position of a movable body is disclosed. N pseudo-noise code signals indicating pseudo-noise codes corresponding to noise codes peculiar to the satellites are generated in N pseudo-noise code generators, and N correlation signals indicating degrees of correlation between the radio waves and the N pseudo-noise code signals are generated in N correlation units. Therefore, the noise codes are removed from the radio waves. Also, M carrier oscillating signals corresponding to each of the carrier waves of the radio waves are generated in (N.times.M) carrier local oscillators, and the N correlation signals are frequency-converted into (N.times.M) base signals with the (N.times.M) carrier oscillating signals in (N.times.M) orthogonal frequency converters.