Abstract: A centrifugal semiconductor processing system having a rotor which holds articles for centrifugal processing. The rotor includes a rotor frame with a receiver for holding the wafers or other articles in a spaced array without a wafer carrier to improve fluid access to the wafers. The rotor also has one or more retainers which are pivoted relative to the rotor to controllably urge the wafers into their desired processing positions. The retainers are preferably constructed to provide initial spring biasing with added restraining forces being generated during rotation. The processing system also preferably includes an implement mounted on a robot for loading the rotor, and a vision system to aid in the loading operation.

Abstract: The wafer drying apparatus disclosed includes a plurality of cradles, a turntable, a drying chamber, a balancing mechanism, a shielding plate, and an isolating chamber. The shielding plate is formed of half circular plates which are provided respectively to the supporting member, are partially overlapped near the axis of horizontal rotation, and are configured such that the balancing mechanism is covered thereby and that a peripheral portion thereof extends to a side wall of the drying chamber and is provided with a plurality of vanes. The isolating chamber is partitioned by the shielding plate and has a partition plate defining a vacant section surrounding the balancing mechanism and an exhaust opening from which the air in the drying chamber is drawn out by a pumping action of the vanes due to the rotation of the shielding plate and is exhausted to the outside through an external wall of the partition wall.

Abstract: A semiconductor processing system for wafers or other semiconductor articles. The system uses an interface section at an end of the machine accessible from the clean room. A plurality of processing stations are arranged away from the clean room interface. A transfer subsystem removes wafers from supporting carriers, and positions both the wafers and carriers onto a carrousel which is used as an inventory storage. Wafers are shuttled between the inventory and processing stations by a robotic conveyor which is oriented to move toward and away from the interface end. The system processes the wafers without wafer carriers.

Abstract: A draining and drying apparatus of semiconductor materials capable of adjusting the rotation balance of a rotor for holding the semiconductor materials without requiring any filling works of dummy semiconductor materials. In a rotary casing, a rotor horizontal moving mechanism is mounted on a rotation main shaft of a rotor, and the rotor is mounted on this rotor horizontal moving mechanism, and the rotor is mechanically moved horizontally in the intersecting direction to the rotation main shaft by the rotor horizontal moving mechanism, so that the rotation balance of the rotor may be adjusted.

Abstract: A spindrier comprises a box enclosing a plurality of wafers, a motor for rotating the wafers in the box, upper and lower clamp bars for holding the wafers face to face and substantially perpendicular to a rotating shaft of rotating means, and gas introducing and discharging mechanisms for generating a flow of clean gas in the box. A sectional area of an open bottom of the box is smaller than a sectional area of an open top of the box, and the gas flows from the open top to the open bottom.

Abstract: A rotary-type wafer drying apparatus includes a deflection prevention protecting plate attached to a cradle for a wafer, for diminishing rebounding of dewaterized water. A free side of the protecting plate in the cradle containing wafer maintains an appropriate angle with the cradle and the transverse length of the plate is longer than the transverse length of the radially outward side of the cradle.