Wafer boat handling device, vertical batch furnace and method

A wafer boat handling device, configured to be positioned under a process chamber of a vertical batch furnace, wherein the wafer boat handling device comprises:

• a rotatable table having just a first and a second wafer boat support surface, each configured to support a wafer boat configured to accommodate a plurality of wafers, wherein the rotatable table is rotatable by an actuator around a central substantially vertical axis to rotate the first and the second wafer support surfaces to:
• a load/receive position in which the wafer boat handling device is configured to load a wafer boat vertically from the rotatable table into the process chamber and to receive the wafer boat from the process chamber onto the rotatable table;
• a cooldown position in which the wafer boat handling device is configured to cool down a wafer boat;
• and
• a transfer position in which the wafer boat handling device is configured to allow transfer of wafers to and/or from the wafer boat;
• the wafer boat handling device further comprising a main housing having a circumferential wall which is provided with a transfer opening at the transfer position through which wafers can be transferred to and from the wafer boat that is accommodated on the wafer boat support surface which is in the transfer position.

A wafer boat handling device, configured to be positioned under a process chamber of a vertical batch furnace, wherein the wafer boat handling device comprises:

• a rotatable table having just a first and a second wafer boat support surface, each configured to support a wafer boat configured to accommodate a plurality of wafers, wherein the rotatable table is rotatable by an actuator around a central substantially vertical axis to rotate the first and the second wafer support surfaces to:
• a load/receive position in which the wafer boat handling device is configured to load a wafer boat vertically from the rotatable table into the process chamber and to receive the wafer boat from the process chamber onto the rotatable table;
• a cooldown position in which the wafer boat handling device is configured to cool down a wafer boat;
• and
• a transfer position in which the wafer boat handling device is configured to allow transfer of wafers to and/or from the wafer boat;
• the wafer boat handling device further comprising a vertically extending wall structure mounted on the rotatable table and creating and at least partially bounding an associated vertically extending first wafer boat chamber at the first wafer boat support surface, and an associated vertically extending second wafer boat chamber at the second wafer boat support surface.