| 摘要 |
A vertical semiconductor wafer processing furnace that includes a single housing having first and second vertical furnaces each having a heating chamber for heat treating a semiconductor wafer. The first and second vertical furnaces are asymmetrically disposed relative to each other to reduce the overall footprint of the processing furnace. Each vertical furnace includes a wafer support assembly that includes support structure, such as a wafer boat, boat elevator, motor and guide rod, for axially mounting a selected number of semiconductor wafers. A translation element selectively moves one of the support elements along the vertical axis into and out of the process tube, and a wafer transfer element selectively transfers semiconductor wafers to or from one of the support elements. The furnace further includes a heating sleeve or envelope that is adapted to control the ambient fluid environment surrounding the support structure and which is independently movable relative to support structure. The heating sleeve is adapted to sealingly engage a portion of the support element to create a fluid-tight seal forming a loadlock processing assembly. This assembly is coupled to a vertical translation assembly that selectively, vertically moves the processing assembly into the heating chamber of the vertical furnace. Additionally, the heating sleeve an be vertically moved relative to the support structure to engage and disengage repetitively, easily and automatically the heating sleeve relative to the support structure.
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