Claims
- 1. In a load lock for containing a plurality of semiconductor wafers in a controlled ambient, said load lock being accessed by at least two transfer spatulas, the improvement comprising a multi-wafer cassette enabling said spatula to load and unload wafers of predetermined diameter in two directions wherein said cassette includes
- a substantially horizontal mounting plate having a perimeter, a plurality of support means each having a substantially horizontal arm extending from a base portion, said arms extending toward a center of the area below said mounting plate but without intersecting the center area itself;
- said support means being arranged in at least three groups, each group comprising a stack of vertically aligned, interengaged individual support means extending from said perimeter in a direction perpendicular to said mounting plate, each stack being attached only to said mounting plate, with each stack separated from the other by a distance sufficient to allow the horizontal passage of a wafer between any two of said stacks and said arms extend a distance toward the center area to support an edge of a wafer, so that said wafers can be loaded in a first direction defined by a first pair of said groups and unloaded in a second direction defined by a second pair of said groups.
- 2. The cassette as set forth in claim 1 wherein said arms have a stepped portion for approximately locating said wafer by the periphery thereof.
- 3. The cassette as set forth in claim 2 wherein said stepped portion comprises a reduced thickness portion at the ends of said arms extending inwardly from said support.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 818,141, filed Jan. 9, 1986, now abandoned, which is a divisional of Ser. No. 588,027, filed Mar. 9, 1984, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,624, on Dec. 30, 1986.
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818141 |
Jan 1986 |
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