Protected epitaxially coated semiconductor wafers are produced using a central clean room chamber for integration of epitaxial layer and protective layer forming operations

摘要

Protected epitaxially coated semiconductor wafer production, by wafer transfer from a central clean room chamber to an epitaxy reactor and then to a protective layer forming oxidation furnace or CVD reactor, is new. Production of an epitaxially coated semiconductor wafer with a protective layer comprises: (i) loading an epitaxy reactor with wafers from a central clean room chamber; (ii) depositing epitaxial layers on the wafers; (iii) transferring the wafer into the central chamber; (iv) loading an oxidation furnace or a CVD reactor with the wafers to form the protective layer; and (v) transferring the wafers into the central chamber. An Independent claim is also included for an apparatus for carrying out the above process.