There is provided a technique that includes: a substrate holder; a reaction tube accommodating the substrate holder; a furnace body surrounding the reaction tube; a gas supplier including inlets corresponding to substrates held in the reaction tube and supplying gases from the inlets in parallel to surfaces of the substrates; and a gas exhauster including an outlet facing lateral sides of the substrates and exhausting the gases flowing on the surfaces of the substrates, wherein the substrate holder includes: annular members each arranged concentrically with the rotation axis at a predetermined pitch on planes orthogonal to the rotation axis; columns each arranged along a circumscribed circle substantially coinciding with outer circumferences of the annular members, and holding the plurality of annular members; and supports supporting the substrates at positions between two adjacent annular members.

The present invention provides a substrate heat treatment apparatus for heat treating a substrate, including a bake plate, support components, a baffle plate, and a driving device. The bake plate defines at least one gas passage. The support components support the substrate. The baffle plate is fixed on a top surface of the bake plate. The baffle plate surrounds the substrate and a gap is formed between an inner circumferential wall of the baffle plate and the substrate. A driving device drives the plurality of support components to move up or down. When heat treating the substrate, a hot gas is supplied to the space between the substrate and the top surface of the bake plate through the gas passage of the bake plate, and the hot gas flows out through the gap formed between the inner circumferential wall of the baffle plate and the substrate.

A heating device with an oven into which a semi-finished product to be heated can be moved in and out, with a wire support formed from several wires spaced apart from one another, and on which the semi-finished product is able to be positioned, and with structure for moving the wire support into the oven and out therefrom. In order to both enable a method with high speeds of travel and at the same time able to use one and the same wire support for differently shaped semi-finished products. The wires can be electrically conductive and the selected wires can be acted upon with a voltage and thereby be heated, wherein the voltage is able to be set and/or controlled in such a way that the wires can adopt a predefinable temperature. Through suitable heating of the wires, the semi-finished product can be fixed on the wire support by fusing.

Systems and methods for using a thermoelectric module (TEM) device include TEM(s) configured to generate electricity based on a temperature differential, a motor and shaft, and first and second roller components. The motor is coupled to the TEM(s) and configured to rotate the shaft in a first direction of rotation upon receipt of electricity from the TEM(s) based on the temperature differential. The first roller component is coupled to the shaft, which is configured to rotate the first roller component in the first direction of rotation. The second roller component is coupled to the first roller component and is configured to support a heatable item. Rotation of the first roller component in the first direction is configured to rotate the second roller component in a second direction of rotation such that the heatable item supported by the second roller component is rotated in the first direction of rotation.

Systems and methods for using a thermoelectric module (TEM) device include TEM(s) configured to generate electricity based on a temperature differential, a motor and shaft, and first and second roller components. The motor is coupled to the TEM(s) and configured to rotate the shaft in a first direction of rotation upon receipt of electricity from the TEM(s) based on the temperature differential. The first roller component is coupled to the shaft, which is configured to rotate the first roller component in the first direction of rotation. The second roller component is coupled to the first roller component and is configured to support a heatable item. Rotation of the first roller component in the first direction is configured to rotate the second roller component in a second direction of rotation such that the heatable item supported by the second roller component is rotated in the first direction of rotation.

There is provided a technique that includes a substrate support including a support column made of metal and a plurality of supports installed at the support column and configured to support a plurality of substrates in multiple stages; a process chamber configured to accommodate the plurality of substrates supported by the substrate support; and a heater configured to heat the plurality of substrates accommodated in the process chamber, wherein the plurality of supports includes at least a contact portion configured to make contact with the plurality of substrates and made of at least one selected from the group of a metal oxide and a non-metal material.

A method of manufacturing a furnace setter is disclosed. The method includes placing one or more layers of ceramic tape on a form that has a shape corresponding to a desired shape of the furnace setter. The method further includes applying pressure to the assembly that includes the form and the tape layers. The application of pressure to the assembly compresses the ceramic tape layers together to generate an integrated body having the desired shape of the furnace setter. The method further includes removing the integrated body from the form and applying a heat treatment to the integrated body to generate the furnace setter as a sintered solid body. According to a further embodiment, a furnace setter is disclosed that has a weight to area ratio that is less than 10 g/in.sup.2, less than 5 g/in.sup.2, less than 3 g/in.sup.2, or less than 2 g/in.sup.2.

The present application discloses a diffusion furnace, including: a furnace tube structure including a furnace tube body and a furnace bottom, a bottom of the furnace tube body being connected to the furnace bottom to form a reaction chamber; and a carrying structure including a pedestal and a plurality of cassettes disposed on the pedestal, the pedestal being disposed on the furnace bottom. By disposing the plurality of the cassettes, a height of the furnace tube body can be decreased and a width of the furnace tube body can be increased, thus enlarging a space of equipment repair and maintenance, which is favorable for the repair and maintenance of the equipment.

A furnace (2) has at least one furnace chamber (20) delimited by a wall (25); at least one opening (5) is provided in the wall (25). The opening is provided with at least one nozzle (50), configured to generate a sealing air flow. A glass semi-finished product (4) can be introduced into the furnace chamber.

A wafer heater assembly comprises a heater substrate and a non-porous outermost layer. The heater substrate comprises silicon nitride (Si.sub.3N.sub.4) and includes at least one heating element embedded therein. The non-porous outermost layer is associated with at least a first surface of the heater substrate. The non-porous outermost layer comprises a rare-earth (RE) disilicate (RE.sub.2Si.sub.2O.sub.7); where RE is one of Yb and Y. The non-porous outermost layer includes an exposed surface configured to contact a wafer for heating, the exposed surface opposite the first surface of the heater substrate. Methods of making wafer heater assemblies are also disclosed as well as methods of using the wafer heater assembly.