Abstract: A heat-treatment apparatus comprises a heat-treatment section for subjecting a heat-treatment to a wafer and a loading section for loading a wafer boat into and unloading it from the heat-treatment section. The loading section is connected to the heat-treatment section and includes in it a movable support member, a drive mechanism and a vertical base board as well as a load-lock chamber for maintaining the inside in vacuum. The movable support member supports a wafer boat. The movable support member is attached to a vertical base board so that it can move up and down. The drive mechanism is attached on the major surface of the vertical base board opposite to the surface facing the wafer boat. The drive mechanism drives the movable support to move up and down. The heat-treatment apparatus further comprises a wafer transfer section that includes an orientation flat alignment mechanism and a buffer stage disposed near the orientation flat alignment mechanism.

Abstract: A vertical type of heat treatment apparatus which houses objects for treatment loaded on a wafer boat, in a process tube and performs heat treatment, and including a cap which opens and closes an opening portion of a manifold and which is disposed on the side of an opening portion of the process tube, a support mechanism which elastically supports the cap and which is provided to a vertical motion mechanism of the wafer boat, and an expandable and contractible airtightness maintenance means which maintains airtightness on the side of the cap, and which is provided between the cap and the vertical motion mechanism.

Abstract: An etching device comprising a housing in which etching process is carried out, an electrode system having lower and upper electrodes opposed to each other used to generate plasma between these electrodes, while a semiconductor wafer is being placed on the lower electrode, a lifter system to move the lower electrode up and down, a high-frequency power source for applying current between these electrodes, a holder member located between the lower and upper electrodes to hold the wafer at a certain position between these electrodes, and a gas supply means for supplying reaction gases used to generate plasma, between the lower and upper electrodes.