Abstract: A container for disks has an improved latching mechanism. The container comprises a cassette with sidewalls with slots for holding disks in an axial arrangement, two opposite endwalls each have a U-shaped recess extending downwardly from the open top, a top cover with a rectangular top portion and two end portions extend downwardly to cover the U-shaped recess. The top cover latches to the cassette by way of a latching mechanism which includes a living hinge, an extension portion, and a hook portion all on each end portion. The hook portion cooperates and engages with a cooperative catch member on the cassette. The extension member is under tension to secure the top cover in place. In an alternate embodiment, recesses on the extension portion connect to nubs on the cassettes or on the bottom cover to secure the top cover in place.

Abstract: The described embodiments of the present invention provide a wafer boat that is manufactured using polysilicon. A further embodiment of the invention is a mechanical boat manufacturing technique which avoids the use of welding and other forms of bonding. Another embodiment of the present invention is a polysilicon wafer boat that is formed with a plurality of spaced parallel rods having slots for supporting a series of semi-conductor wafers in a generally edgewise, spaced, parallel position. The rods are mechanically held in place at each end by a plate and capturing mechanism. In yet another embodiment of the invention, polysilicon rods are machined to a tight tolerance with openings in end pieces of the boat. The rods are held firmly in place by polysilicon wedges. This makes for a very rigid structure. If so desired, the boat can then be coated with a layer of polysilicon in a furnace to better lock the parts together.

Abstract: A cassette for supporting substantially planar objects such as photomasks, glass plates or semiconductor wafers during processing. The cassette is composed of bars connected at each end to an endpiece. Arms which form part of the endpiece are hinged to permit the side bars of the cassette to move inwardly and outwardly from one another when objects are inserted in the cassette. A bridge can connect an upper portion of the arms. The bridge can be used to lift the cassette and cause flexing of the cassette to ensure better retention while the cassette is being lifted.

Abstract: The system and method for molecular contamination control permits purging a SMIF pod to desired levels of relative humidity, oxygen, or particulates. The SMIF pod includes an inlet port including a check valve and filter assembly for supplying a clean, dry gaseous working fluid to maintain low levels of moisture, oxygen, and particulate content around materials contained in the SMIF pod. The SMIF pod outlet port, which also includes a check valve and filter assembly, is connected with an evacuation system. Flow of purge gas inside the SMIF pod can be directed with one or more nozzle towers to encourage laminar flow inside the pod, and one or more outlet towers, having a function similar to that of the inlet tower, may also be provided. The purge gas can be dried by exposure to a desiccant, heated to temperatures between about 100.degree. C. and about 120.degree. C., and can be tested for baseline constituent levels prior to or after introduction into a SMIF pod.

Abstract: A composite wafer carrier for holding and restraining circular semiconductor wafer disks during their transport, storage, and processing. The composite wafer carrier generally comprising an open top and bottom for insertion and removal of wafer disk, an upright front end member having an interface portion such as an H-bar, an upright back end member, and a pair of sidewall members with vertical sidewall slots extending rearwardly from the front end member to said back end member. At least one of said members separately molded and joined to the other members of the wafer carrier by cooperating engagement portions without external fasteners. The wafer carrier may be snapped together. A separate second interface at the back end member may be provided to allow the carrier to interface with equipment with the wafer top side up or inverted.

Abstract: An off center three point carrier to be used in the wet processing of semiconductor substrates is provided. The carrier includes two side rails positioned in a spaced parallel relation by a plurality of supports. A third side rail is placed on the supports at an off center position relative to the first two side rails. The three spaced rails define a receiving region for one or more semiconductor substrates. By placing the third side rail in an off center position, etchants used in wafer processing will properly drain away from the semiconductor substrates when the carrier is removed from an etching bath. Thus, etchants are prevented from collecting within the rails of the carrier ensuring proper etching and drying of the semiconductor substrates.

Abstract: A carrier box serving as a thin-plate supporting container includes a container body for defining therein a chamber for supporting and housing therein a plurality of semiconductor wafers and a lid for covering the container body. In one embodiment, the carrier box includes an internal-pressure adjusting mechanism for maintaining the internal pressure in the chamber at the same level as that of the external pressure against the chamber. The internal-pressure adjusting mechanism is composed of an opening formed in a wall of the container body or the like, and a filter detachably mounted in the opening for removing foreign matters while allowing gas to easily enter and exit said chamber so as to maintain the chamber in a clean state. In another embodiment, the carrier box includes a gasket made of a porous material or the like.

Abstract: A cassette (10) for storing a plurality of items in a parallel registration is disclosed. The cassette is specifically designed to be lightweight and is reinforced (50, 52, 54) to prevent warpage, bending, flexing or breaking of the cassette. Means (66, 68, 70) for indexing the cassette to a surface for precise insertion and removal of items are also described.

Abstract: A module with an openable and closeable door has a central support structure which includes a machine interface exposed at the bottom of the module and integral wafer support columns extending upwardly in the module for supporting wafers. An advantage and feature of the invention is that a non-interrupted path-to-ground extends from each wafer support shelf to the machine interface. Additionally, the side walls of the shell have a recess portion with engagement members that cooperate with engagement members on removable handles. The handles utilize detents to rotatably lock such handles into place on the side walls of the carrier.

Abstract: A container includes a container body for accommodating wafers in alignment, a multiple number of positioning parts projectively formed integrally from the undersurface of the container body, and separate frame shaped guide members each provided so as to enclose the positioning parts. The end face of each positioning part is formed with a concavity, which gradually becomes narrowed from the exterior to the interior of the concave opening. Each guide member is formed with outer end faces gradually slanted from the outermost end to the inner boundary forming guide surfaces, which are approximately continuous to the inner surface of the concavity.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and package for packaging contaminant-sensitive articles such as semi-conductor wafers on shock absorbers in a sealed rigid plastic enclosure such as a box or the like which may be enclosed within another sealed enclosure wherein the sealed enclosures are each provided with a self-sealing member together with a hollow needle connected to a source of purging gas and a vacuum source for selectively piecing one or more of the self-sealing members to communicate the gas and vacuum sources with a selected one of the enclosures interiors for purging and/or evacuating the enclosures interiors to remove ion contaminants, moisture, oxygen, plastic particles, etc. whereby corrosive activity on the articles is eliminated and the sealed condition of both enclosures is maintained after the contaminants, etc.

Abstract: A two part hinge for containers and boxes. The first part includes a pair parallel arms which include axially aligned opposing sockets which are configured to rotatingly receive pintle ends. The sockets are provided with radially disposed channels which extend from the sockets to exterior edges of the arms to form a slot for guiding the pintle ends into the sockets. The first hinge part also includes a dual function tab which is generally collaterally aligned with and parallel to the arms of the first part of the hinge. The tab is provided with a camming surface and a retaining surface. The camming surface engages and deflects the center portion of the pintle as it passes thereby, while the retaining surface maintains the pintle ends in the sockets by effectively blocking movement of the center portion of the pintle. The retaining surface of the tab is consistent with the arcuate surfaces of the sockets to form a smooth transition between the socket surfaces and the retaining surface of the tab.

Abstract: A package for storing and shipping semiconductor wafers or memory disks is disclosed. The carrier includes a bottom, a cover and a cassette. An improved closure arrangement is provided that not only secures the cover to the bottom, but also compensates for pressure differentials between the inside and outside of the package and provides for improved drainage during washing operations.

Abstract: A container has a storage case for storing silicon wafers in alignment which is of a box-like configuration having an opening on its front side, with a multiple-number of fitting slots formed on the inner top and bottom faces near the front opening. The container further has a FIMS door for opening and closing off the front opening of the storage case, a gasket attached to the rim of the FIMS door, a latching mechanism provided in the FIMS door for causing engaging claws to fit into corresponding fitting slots when the FIMS door is attached and releasing the engagement of the engaging claws with the fitting slots when the FIMS door is removed, and an outer door for shipping, fitted on the front side where the storage case has been confined with the FIMS door, for covering the FIMS door.

Abstract: A storage box is provided for the safe-keeping of fabricated or semi-fabricated semiconductor wafers. This wafer storage box allows the wafers to be tightly secured in position when held in the storage box for storage or shipping without the possibility of breaking the wafers as in the prior art. The wafer storage box includes a receptacle member having a first piece of soft material such as anti-static sponge on the inside thereof, a holding member which is accommodated in the receptacle member, and a covering member having a second piece of soft material such as anti-static sponge on the inside thereof. When the covering member is mounted on the receptacle member, the first and second pieces of anti-static sponge are disposed on opposite sides of the holding member, thus pressing against the wafers to secure them in position in the storage box.

Abstract: A wafer carrier includes a housing having an interior chamber which has a plurality of rows of grooves having a predetermined spacing formed thereon such that a plurality of wafers can be stored into the grooves of each row, respectively. The wafer carrier further includes a plurality of rows of movable elastic pieces provided around the interior chamber. The movable elastic pieces of each row corresponds to the grooves of each row formed on the interior chamber, respectively, and each movable elastic piece of each row is movable along a direction of the row between a first position of a corresponding groove and a second position between the corresponding groove and an adjacent groove.

Abstract: A sealable enclosure for wafers has a door with an easily accessible and disassembleable latching mechanism which utilizes a minimal number of moving parts. The door includes an enclosure with a cammed member rotatable on a post and in engagement with a pair of latching arms that extend, retract, move upwardly and downwardly or forwardly and rearwardly depending on whether the door is a front side door or a bottom door. The movement of the latching arms is accomplished by cammed portion of the cammed member configured to move cam follower portions of the latching arms in an axial direction with respect to the cammed member and in a radial direction. The latching arm pivots on a fulcrum within the enclosure. The latching mechanism is accessible through a panel that attaches by integral detents on the panel that cooperate with recesses on the interior edge walls of the door enclosure.

Abstract: A container 2 comprising: a fixed side plate 10 placed upward on a pallet 4 so as to envelope at least three directions, a first pivotal side plate 12 mounted on an upper end of the fixed side plate 10 detachably and pivotally toward the inside of the container 2, a second side plate 24 mounted on an upper end of the first pivotal side plate 12 pivotally toward the outside of the container 2. The container 2 preferably further comprises; pivotal projections 14 provided on both sides of lower end of the first pivotal side plate 12, a frame member 8 for holding both sides of the fixed side plate 10, which has a vertical groove 18 for accepting the pivotal projection 14 to be inserted and a horizontal groove 20 formed under the vertical groove 18 for holding the pivotal projection 14 in order to lock the pivotal projection 14 from being pulled out upward.

Abstract: A container for creating a microenvironment is disclosed. The container includes a shell, a door and a plurality of supports having a unique design which are used to securely retain items, such as silicon wafers, in a spaced apart parallel relationship. The supports are removable. An electrical path is provided to ground the supports. Kinematic coupling structures are also provided for positioning the container on a surface so as to, for example, properly align the door with the port of a wafer processing tool.

Abstract: A gate oxide layer grown on a semiconductor wafer is liable to be contaminated by organic compound particles in a clean room between the growth of the oxide and the next deposition step, and the semiconductor wafer is sealed in ozonic ambience in a vessel coated with an inner wall of ozone-proof material such as chromium oxide so that the ozone decomposes the organic compound particles without producing new particles.

Abstract: A wafer restraining device clips onto a semiconductor wafer cassette. The wafer restraining device is provided with at least one opening to allow bubbles forming during acid baths on excess resist-covered semiconductor wafers to escape. Portions of the wafer restraining device only contact the periphery of the sensitive, disc-shaped semiconductor wafers.

Abstract: An improved disk cassette, particularly advantageous for the containment of data storage disks, having a plurality of adjacently disposed rib members, wherein each rib member has an improved cross-sectional profile such that engagement grooves defined therebetween have a dual angle configuration which maintain each disk in radial contact at four different areas along the chamfered periphery thereof to minimize particulation from forming within the disk cassette. More particularly, the improved disk cassette restricts the mobility of the disks and minimizes the amount of contact area between the disks and the disk cassette so as to collectively reduce the propensity for particulation. The improved disk cassette of the present invention is also streamlined in terms of the amount of material required for manufacture, thereby decreasing the cost of materials, the cycle time for curing, and overall cost of manufacture.

Abstract: A transportable container for storing and carrying articles such as semiconductor wafers or flat panel display substrates which is adapted for horizontal loading and unloading. The container includes a box and a box door. The box door can be sealably attached to the box to isolate the interior of the box from ambient atmospheric conditions. The container is adapted to mate with a port of a canopy which encloses a semiconductor processing apparatus.

Abstract: A substrate cassette with a receiving frame having support plates formed integrally therewith. The support plates minimize the deformation of substrates loaded in the cassette and ascribable to their own weights. Hemispherical lugs are formed on each support plate in order to protect the rear of the substrates from scratches.

Abstract: A carrier box assembly for containing precision wafer materials in storage and transportation includes (a) an upwardly opening wafer cassette provided on inner surfaces of oppositely facing side walls thereof with sets of wafer-alignment grooves; (b) a box body for containing the wafer cassette and provided on the lower surface thereof with triangular standing props by which the box body can be placed on a horizontal surface with an inclination angle of 3 to 30 degrees; and (c) a covering mountable on the box body and coming into engagement with the box body by being moved in a direction parallel to the side walls of the box body. A wafer-pressing member of an elastic material is provided on the lower surface of the covering and has a set of wafer-receiving grooves formed on the lower surface thereof.

Abstract: A wafer carrier for transporting a plurality of wafers includes a pair of end panels provided In parallel with each other at opposite sides of the wafer carrier. The wafer carrier further includes a wafer supporter for supporting the plurality of wafers. The wafer supporter has two opposite side walls in parallel with each other and extending in a direction normal to the pair of end panels. Each of the side walls has two end portions respectively secured to the two end panels. The wafer supporter has a plurality of grooves which are provided, at predetermined intervals, on an inner surface thereof in parallel with one another and In parallel with the two end panels. The grooves support corresponding semiconductor wafers at their peripherals. One groove, nearest to one of the two end panels, is separated from the one of the end panels by a distance selected to minimize the number of airborne particles which become attached to a surface of a wafer facing the end panel.

Abstract: The system and method for molecular contamination control permits purging a SMIF pod to desired levels of relative humidity, oxygen, or particulates. The SMIF pod includes an inlet port including a check valve and filter assembly for supplying a clean, dry gaseous working fluid to maintain low levels of moisture, oxygen, and particulate content around materials contained in the SMIF pod. The SMIF pod outlet port, which also includes a check valve and filter assembly, is connected with an evacuation system. Flow of purge gas inside the SMIF pod can be directed with one or more nozzle towers to encourage laminar flow inside the pod, and one or more outlet towers, having a function similar to that of the inlet tower, may also be provided. The purge gas can be dried by exposure to a desiccant, heated to temperatures between about 100.degree. C. and about 120.degree. C., and can be tested for baseline constituent levels prior to or after introduction into a SMIF pod.

Abstract: A carrier box serving as a thin-plate supporting container includes a container body for defining therein a chamber for supporting and housing therein a plurality of semiconductor wafers and a lid for covering the container body. In one embodiment, the carrier box includes an internal-pressure adjusting mechanism for maintaining the internal pressure in the chamber at the same level as that of the external pressure against the chamber. The internal-pressure adjusting mechanism is composed of an opening formed in a wall of the container body or the like, and a filter detachably mounted in the opening for removing foreign matters while allowing gas to easily enter and exit the chamber so as to maintain the chamber in a clean state. In another embodiment, the carrier box includes a gasket made of a porous material or the like.

Abstract: A substrate aligner for a substrate carrier or cassette including an engagement assembly for moving and maintaining one or more substrates into an aligned position when closed, and an actuator assembly for opening and closing the engagement assembly. In one embodiment, the engagement assembly includes front and back engagement assemblies for mounting at opposite corners of the housing to thereby interface opposite comers of the substrates. Each engagement assembly preferably includes a roller for interfacing a corresponding edge of each the substrates, where the front assembly includes two rollers for interfacing front edges and adjacent side edges, and the back engagement assembly includes two rollers for interfacing the back edges and the opposite side edges of the substrates. In this manner, the engagement assembly interfaces all four edges of each substrate to thereby manipulate and maintain the substrates into a substantially aligned position when closed.

Abstract: To provide a container for storage disks which enables storage disks to be transported or stored without soiling, storage disks are arranged in a row in a disk holder. The disk holder is sealed inside upper and lower cases and circular apertures formed of semicircular cut-away portions at each of the two ends of the upper and lower cases are sealed by caps.

Abstract: A package for storing and shipping memory disks is disclosed. The package includes a base and cover designed to enclose and seal a plurality of disks held in a cassette. The base and cover include reinforcing gussets and members for securely retaining the cassette and disks so that the disks do not tilt, rattle or otherwise move during transport.

Abstract: A disk caddy is disclosed which prevents particles generated during the process of securing a disk caddy lid to a disk caddy housing from reaching a stored disk. The disk caddy includes a barrier extension, which extends from the lid in one embodiment of the invention. The barrier extension is located towards the end of the lid and, in one embodiment, inserts into a slot in the housing which is otherwise intended to receive a disk.

Abstract: The present invention is a shipping container for safely storing articles such as semiconductor wafers. The shipping container has two sidewalls sealingly connected to two end walls to form a generally rectangular interior wafer confinement area. A top cover and a bottom cover are removably attached to the container to protect the wafers during shipping and storage and provide access to the wafers for processing. The wafers are securely held in place in the carrier by a cushioning means to prevent damage to the wafers. Furthermore, the wafers are locked into place to prevent contamination by the wafers generating particles in the wafer confinement area by rubbing against the carrier. The cushioning means for accommodating the flexing of the cover supports and suspends wafers in the wafer confinement area. The cushioning means extends from the top cover and has a plurality of wafer engaging edges. Each edge is formed in a convex arcuate shape with respect to a centerline of the carrier.

Abstract: A container (10) for shipping items, such as silicon wafers, rigid memory disks, photo masks, liquid crystal displays and flat panel displays, is disclosed. The container has a bottom (20) and a removable top (30). Mounted to the inside of the container are three cushions (50, 51, 52). When the cover (30) is in place, the cushions are centered on support lines (60) which are 120.degree. from each other. When so arranged, the cushions securely hold a plurality of items in a parallel, spaced-apart registration.

Abstract: A wafer container for transporting or holding wafers in a horizontal axially aligned arrangement has minimal four point regions of wafer support at the edge portion of the wafers. A preferred embodiment has a first container portion and a closeable door. The first container portion has a first molded portion of a static dissipative material having an upright door frame with integral planar top portion. An integral bottom base portion with an equipment interface also extends from the door frame. A second molded portion has a transparent shell which connects to the door frame, to the planar top portion, and to the bottom base portion. Separately molded wafer support columns connect to the top planar portion and to the bottom base portion and include vertically arranged shelves with upwardly facing projection providing minimal point or point region contact with the wafers.

Abstract: The invention is a semiconductor handling apparatus including a handle device (10) for attaching to and lifting semiconductor wafer carriers (40) from a single end, wherein the carrier has two spaced apart slots (50A, 51A) on one end (42) and a docking station (60) for the carrier (40). The wafer carrier (40) is carried by handle 10 and is placed in a slot (62) in docking station (60) to allow a worker to carry semiconductor wafers (55) in carrier (40) to different processing stations, and docking station (60) provides a container (60a) to receive processing chemicals that drain from wafers (55).

Abstract: A thin-plate supporting container provided with supporting rib portions, each of which consists of multi-stage ribs, for supporting thin plates respectively on multiple stages at regular intervals. The ribs are provided in parallel on each of opposing side walls of the container casing in such a way that the supporting rib portions cooperate to hold the thin plates. An open end of the thin-plate supporting container serves as an inlet/outlet port, through which the thin plates are loaded and unloaded from the container. Each of the supporting rib portions is composed of an inlet portion adjacent the inlet/outlet-port and a support portion interior thereof. Further, the opening between opposed side surfaces of adjacent ribs is set to be sufficiently large that the thin plate can be easily loaded and unloaded.

Abstract: A wafer cassette of a wafer carrier holds a plurality of wafer materials such as semiconductor single crystal silicon wafers. The wafer cassette is contained in a box body having a covering for transportation and storage of the silicon wafers with safety from contamination and mechanical damage. The wafer cassette is a casing have an opening in the upper and lower surfaces and having a pair of opposite side walls each of which is provided on the inner surface thereof with a plurality of alignment grooves for receiving wafer materials in parallel with each other. The wafer cassette is provided with wafer presser plates each covering the upper or lower surface in a freely demountable fashion each of which having a pair of engageable parts on two opposite sides thereof. A plurality of elastic plates are provided at the center of the plates, between the pair of the engageable parts, in alignment in the direction of the wafer materials held on the cassette.

Abstract: A package for storing and shipping memory disks is disclosed. The package includes a base and cover designed to enclose and seal a plurality of disks held in a cassette. The base and cover include re-enforcing gussets and members for securely retaining the cassette and disks so that the disks do not tilt, rattle or otherwise move during transport.

Abstract: An enclosed semiconductor wafer holder, and a cover providing isolation control of semiconductor wafers that is simple, lower cost, and non-obtrusive is described. The cover includes a sealing perimeter that creates a hermetic seal when engaged with the semiconductor wafer holder. The holder also includes a purging arrangement attached to the holder that allows an active gentle purging of inert gas into the sealed semiconductor wafer holder.

Abstract: A ridged, transparent, thermoplastic package for transporting disk products such as substrate wafers, semi-conductor wafers or computer memory disks is disclosed. Elastomeric or flexible thermoplastic cushions hold the disk products in a manner which precludes them from becoming damaged during normal shipping and handling. The cushions have a plurality of disk engaging members which individually engage a disk. The disk engaging member conforms to the edge profile of the substrate wafer to securely hold the wafer. Wafer rotation is eliminated, particle generation is reduced and the cushions securely hold the disk products.

Abstract: A modular system and a method of creating a modular system comprising a substantially rigid frame and a plurality of modules mounted at predetermined locations on the frame by means of kinematic couplings. The frame includes a main beam in the form of a spine, and a plurality of transversely extending bulkheads. The method includes creating a model of the system using rigid bodies and thereafter providing the frame and modules and securing them kinematically. The kinematic couplings comprise three pairs of aligning elements, each in the form of a male element and a contact element. The contact elements may take the form of grooves, tetrahedral depressions, or flat surfaces.

Abstract: A thin-plate supporting container provided with supporting rib portions, each of which consists of multi-stage rib pieces, for supporting thin plates respectively on multiple stages at regular intervals. The supporting rib portions are provided on each of side walls of a casing of the container in parallel in such a way that each of the supporting rib portions provided on one of the side walls and a corresponding one of the supporting rib portions provided on the other of the side walls face each other and sandwich the thin plate. An opening portion of the thin-plate supporting container is an inlet/outlet port, through which the thin plate is loaded or unloaded from the container. Each of the supporting rib portions is composed of an inlet portion placed at the inlet/outlet-port-side thereof and a matching portion placed at an inner part thereof.

Abstract: A method for protecting substrates used in the manufacture of semiconductors, memory products, and other electronic devices from the effects of moisture during transport and storage is disclosed. This method involves the use of a cassette or box made from polycarbonate or another material having similar hydroscopic properties, treating the cassette or box to reduce its moisture content, and surrounding the cassette or box, and the substrates held therein, with a moisture barrier. This results in a package which will keep the substrates dry and eliminates the need for a separate desiccant within the package.

Abstract: A thin-plate supporting container provided with supporting rib portions, each of which consists of multi-stage ribs, for supporting thin plates respectively on multiple stages at regular intervals. The ribs are provided in parallel on each of opposing side walls of the container casing in such a way that the supporting rib portions cooperate to hold the thin plates. An open end of the thin-plate supporting container serves as an inlet/outlet port, through which the thin plates are loaded and unloaded from the container. Each of the supporting rib portions is composed of an inlet portion adjacent the inlet/outlet-port and a support portion interior thereof. Further, the opening between opposed side surfaces of adjacent ribs is set to be sufficiently large that the thin plate can be easily loaded and unloaded.

Abstract: A semiconductor device unit includes a holder having a plurality of holding parts, and a plurality of semiconductor devices held by the holding parts of the holder. Each of the semiconductor devices has a generally parallelepiped shape with top and bottom surfaces and at least one side surface provided with leads which are exposed whereby the semiconductor device unit stands by itself on the leads.

Abstract: A transport container for wafer-shaped objects to keep particles away from and remove them from the interior of the transport container when opening the latter, in particular also those particles located in the door gaps, without restricting handling. Cleaning in the form of a self-cleaning process should also be effective when a plurality of transport containers are stacked one on top of the other and the latter should be optionally accessible. At least parts of the rear wall region of a closable container enclosure are constructed as a plenum chamber which has a closable air inlet and a closable air outlet in the base region and cover region, and a connection is formed from the latter to the interior of the container via a filter. The air inlet is constructed so as to complement a connection of a gas reservoir and an air outlet of an additional transport container for coupling. The arrangement is applicable in the manufacture of integrated circuits.

Abstract: A cassette having two side panels, wafer dividers, two retaining combs and a pair of locking collars. Each retaining comb includes an elongated stringer, a hook shaped upper flange at the upper end of the stringer, a hook shaped lower flange at the lower end of the stringer, and a plurality of projections connected to the stringer. The projections are positioned vertically adjacent to one another at spaced apart intervals thereby defining a series of truncated slots. The projections have the same cross-sectional size and shape as the dividers. The retaining combs are operatively coupled to the side panels by means of hook shaped flanges positioned in a pair of complementary notches formed in a top edge and a bottom edge of the side panels. Thus, the retaining combs may slide vertically along the side panels but are prevented from moving laterally, thereby retaining the combs in place except when the retaining combs are moved into an extreme upward or downward position.

Abstract: A holding container which is made of a polyether ether ketone resin and is suitable for use in holding one or more substrates upon fabrication of the corresponding number of thin-film semiconductor substrates useful in driving a planar display, for example, a liquid crystal display.

Abstract: A plastic container for handling, storing and shipping semiconductor wafers comprising a wafer carrier supporting the wafers and maintaining the wafers in spaced relation to each other, a plurality of rows of resiliently flexible tabs of progressively increasing and decreasing widths formed on the partially cylindrical top and bottom surfaces of the wafer carrier, the top and bottom surfaces formed of stiff but resiliently flexibly yieldable material, supporting ribs on the bottom surface extending longitudinally of the bottom and parallel to the rows thereon, the width of the tabs being shorter at the ends of the rows and wider in the middle to engage and maintain the edges of the wafers spaced from the top and bottom surfaces while allowing for flexing and bowing of the top and bottom surfaces from the pressure of the covers and weight of the wafers.