Abstract: An apparatus and method for moving a plurality of wafer-like articles such as semiconductor substrates back and forth between a carrier and a processing chamber maintained in an interior atmosphere isolated from that of the carrier. A translating arm pivotal about its center with a wafer engaging vacuum chuck at each end loads and retrieves articles from the carrier and exchanges articles at a support. The support centers an article thereon and translates it linearly to or from a load lock chamber. The chamber opens and closes about the article on the support to maintain isolation of the environments as the article passes therebetween.

Abstract: The apparatus is provided with a main chamber divided into two chamber halves by a rotatable index plate. The plate rotates through a load lock station, through which wafer-like articles are inserted into and removed from the main chamber, and a series of processing stations, at each of which a process such as etching or sputter coating can be performed simultaneously upon different objects and sequentially upon the same objects. Each processing chamber is isolatable from the main chamber and other processing chambers during processing so that different substrates can be processed simultaneously at the various stations using different processes without cross contamination. Substrate holders resiliently mounted on the plate move transversely when compressed between a cup shaped back-plane device and the main chamber wall to separately seal each of the processing chambers from the main chamber.