Asm IP Holding B.v.

Asm International N.v.

Asm IP Holdings B.v.

Adriaan Garssen

Christianus Gerardus Maria De Ridder

Theodorus G M Oosterlaken

Frank Huussen

Chris G M De Ridder

Klaas P Boonstra

Edwin Den Hartog-Besselink

Edwin Den Hartog Besselink

Marco Dirkmaat

Joost Van Groen

Herbert Terhorst

Lucian C Jdira

De Chris G M Ridder

An apparatusfor processing a plurality of substratesis provided. The apparatus may have a process tubecreating a process chamber; a heatersurrounding the process tube; a flangefor supporting the process tube; and a doorconfigured to support a wafer boatwith a plurality of substratesin the process chamber and to seal the process chamber. An exhaust operably connected to the process chambermay be provided to remove gas from the process chamber via a first exhaust duct. The apparatus may be provided with an extractor chambersurrounding the first exhaust duct where it connects to the process chamber and connected to a second exhaust ductto remove gas from the extractor chamber.

Apparatus for processing a plurality of substrates provided with an extractor chamber

A storage apparatus to store cassettes for substrates comprising a moveable base plate constructed and arranged to hold cassettes, an outer wall provided with an opening to receive and remove the cassettes from the base plate, and a moving device constructed and arranged to move the base plate with respect to the opening. The storage apparatus is provided with a stationary sensor near the opening for detecting at least one of a presence and a correct orientation of a substrate cassette on the base plate at the opening.

Storage apparatus for storing cassettes for substrates and processing apparatus equipped therewith

A storage device for use with at least one batch furnace for batch treatment of wafers supported in a wafer boat is disclosed. The storage device comprises a cassette storage carousel for storing a plurality of wafer cassettes on rotatable platform stages. A carousel housing bounds a mini-environment chamber in which the platform stages are accommodated. A gas recirculation circuit of the storage device subsequently comprises a gas inlet channel, a gas inlet filter, the mini-environment chamber, a plurality of gas outlet openings in a bottom wall of the carousel housing, a plenum housing bounding a plenum chamber, a plenum chamber outlet, a gas circulation pump connecting the plenum chamber outlet to an inlet end of the gas inlet duct.

Storage device for storing wafer cassettes for use with a batch furnace

A storage apparatus to store cassettes for substrates comprising a moveable base plate constructed and arranged to hold cassettes, an outer wall provided with an opening to receive and remove the cassettes from the base plate, and a moving device constructed and arranged to move the base plate with respect to the opening is disclosed. The storage apparatus is provided with a stationary sensor near the opening for detecting at least one of a presence and a correct orientation of a substrate cassette on the base plate at the opening.

A dummy wafer storage cassette for storing dummy wafers. The dummy wafer storage cassette may have more than 30 wafer slots for accommodating dummy wafers. The dummy wafer cassette may have substantially the same outer dimensions as a standardized wafer cassette with 25 wafer slots and a pitch of the wafer slots of the dummy wafer storage cassette may be smaller than a pitch between the wafer slots in the standardized wafer cassette.

Dummy wafer storage cassette

The invention relates to a cassette holder assembly for holding a cassette for storing at least one semiconductor material substrate in an interior space accessible from a front end of the cassette. The cassette holder assembly may have a base plate for receiving the cassette. Two holding members supported by the base plate may be positioning the cassette on the plate in the assembly. The holding members may be substantially identical to each other.

Cassette holder assembly for a substrate cassette and holding member for use in such assembly

A method for processing solar cells comprising:

Method for processing solar cell substrates

Wafer boat for holding semiconductor wafers in a spaced vertical arrangement during processing, said wafer boat comprising a plurality of vertically spaced holding positions for receiving and supporting said wafers in a substantially horizontal orientation, wherein the holding positions can be accessed from a front side of the wafer boat to allow for insertion and removal of a wafer, wherein at least one holding position comprises a back support for engaging a back side portion of a wafer and two lateral supports for engaging opposite lateral side portions of the wafer, and wherein the back support is disposed at a lower position than said two lateral supports such that sagging of a front side portion of an inserted wafer near the front side of the wafer boat due to gravity is at least partially compensated for.

Wafer boat

Wafers in a cassette are mapped without having to open the cassette. The cassette is at least partially transparent to a particular type of radiation. A source of the radiation is directed into the cassette, through a transparent or translucent part of the cassette, and an imaging sensor sensitive to the radiation detects radiation that is reflected off the wafers inside the cassette. A second source of radiation and a second camera preferably provide additional images of the wafers from a different angle. By processing these images, the spatial orientation of the wafers and loading status of the cassette can be determined.

Growing community of inventors

Doorn, Netherlands

Adriaan Garssen