According to one embodiment, a substrate transfer apparatus includes: a first gripping plate; a first claw that is supported by the first gripping plate, and has an abutment surface abutting on the outer peripheral surface of a substrate located above and below a surface of the first gripping plate; a second gripping plate arranged as overlapping with the first gripping plate; a second claw that is supported by the second gripping plate, and has an abutment surface abutting on the outer peripheral surface of the substrate located above and below the surface of the first gripping plate; and a gripping part configured to move the first gripping plate and the second gripping plate relative to each other such that the first claw and the second claw move close to and away from each other in a direction intersecting the outer peripheral surface of the substrate.

An embodiment relates to a loading cassette and a target substrate loading method to which same is applied. The loading cassette according to the embodiment comprises: an upper plate; a lower plate facing the upper plate while having a space therebetween; an edge support part for connecting the upper plate to the lower plate and supporting the left and right edges of a target substrate; and a rear surface support part for connecting the upper plate to the lower plate and supporting the center and the rear surface-edge of the target substrate.

Containers are purged between overhead transfer vehicles and a container transfer location to or from which the containers are transferred. A travelling rail for a local vehicle is provided below a travelling rail for the overhead transfer vehicles and above the container transfer location, and a local vehicle travels along the travelling rail and includes a hoist that raises and lowers the containers. A purging table that supports the containers is provided below the travelling rail for the local vehicle so as not to block a portion over the container transfer location and a purging gas feeding device feeds a purging gas into the containers supported on the purging table.

Generation of dust from a peripheral portion of a substrate can be suppressed, and a processed substrate can be suppressed from being adversely affected by a pre-processed substrate. Further, an actual elevation state of the member configured to be moved up and down to support the substrate can be investigated. A substrate transfer device includes a first supporting portion, a second supporting portion and an elevating mechanism. The first supporting portion and the second supporting portion are configured to support a substrate from below the substrate. The elevating mechanism is configured to elevate the second supporting portion up and down between a first position higher than a height of the first supporting portion and a second position lower than the height of the first supporting portion. The substrate transfer device further includes a detecting mechanism configured to detect an elevation state of the second supporting portion.

A wafer stocker capable of further improving an environment around wafers is provided. The wafer stocker includes a housing, a loading device provided on a front surface of the housing, a wafer cassette shelf arranged in the housing, a wafer transfer robot configured to move the wafers from a transfer container mounted on the loading device to a wafer cassette in the wafer cassette shelf, a wafer cassette delivery device configured to move the wafer cassette in the wafer cassette shelf to a stage having a different height, and a fan filter unit configured to generate a laminar flow in a wafer transfer space and in a wafer cassette transfer space.

Provided is an electrostatic capacitance sensor which can remove an influence of a noise occurring from a static eliminator or a driving source and accurately perform measurement even on electrostatic capacitance detected by a thin-type detection unit which can be passed to a finger surface of a wafer transfer robot. The present invention is provided with an AC supply source which supplies an AC voltage to a detection unit, a parasitic capacitance compensation circuit, an operational amplifier, a differential amplifier, a phase detection means, and a low pass filter. An operational amplification output terminal is connected to an inversion input terminal of the differential amplifier through a first band pass filter, the AC supply source is connected to a non-inversion input terminal of the differential amplifier through a second band pass filter, an output terminal of the differential amplifier is connected to an input terminal of the phase detection means, and the phase detection means takes, as a reference signal, an AC signal output from the AC supply source.

A method includes initiating a gas flow of a first gas parallel to a wall of an interface module to create an air curtain across an opening defined in the wall. The method includes moving an interface door to reveal the opening, wherein the air curtain restrains a second gas within the interface module from passing through the opening. The method includes transferring a semiconductor wafer through the opening and moving the interface door to cover the opening. The method includes halting the gas flow of the first gas after moving the interface door to cover the opening.

An apparatus transfers a substrate. The apparatus includes: one substrate holder adsorbing and holding the substrate via an adsorption port; a nozzle being provided on a surface of the one substrate holder and allowing gas to pass therethrough; an adsorption flow path being connected to the adsorption port and allowing gas to flow therethrough; and a nozzle flow path being connected to the nozzle and allowing the gas to flow therethrough. The adsorption flow path of at least one of the one substrate holder and another substrate holder and the nozzle flow path are connected to a common gas suction mechanism. A pressure sensor and flow rate sensor are provided for the nozzle flow path. The flow rate of the nozzle flow path is varied according to a distance between an interferer and the one substrate holder and the pressure of the nozzle flow path.

Apparatus and methods for determining wafer characters are disclosed. In one example, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus includes: a processing tool configured to process a semiconductor wafer; a device configured to read an optical character disposed on the semiconductor wafer while the semiconductor wafer is located at the apparatus for wafer fabrication; and a controller configured to determine whether the optical character matches a predetermined character corresponding to the semiconductor wafer based on the optical character read in real-time at the apparatus.

The invention relates to a vacuum chuck for clamping workpieces (19), in particular wafers, and a measuring device and a method for checking workpieces, in particular wafers, by means of X-ray fluorescent radiation.