US 5,704,493 AGranted

Substrate holder

AssigneeDainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.

InventorsKazunori Fujikawa, Kenji Yasui, Hisao Nishizawa

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Abstract

Semiconductor substrates are held by a substrate holder having a parallel arrangement of bridges, and are capable of being dipped in processing liquids by the holder. Each bridge has an alternate arrangement of teeth and valleys to define Y-shaped notches. Vent holes are formed in the bottoms of the notches for ready drainage of processing liquids. The substrates are held in the notches while contacting only the walls of the notches. Thus, there is minimum contact between the substrates and the substrate holder. When the holder is lifted up from the processing liquid, part of the processing liquid remaining around the contacts between the substrates and the valleys drain through the vent holes, which attributes to the rapid drying of the substrates.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A substrate holder for holding substrates standing straight to process respective surfaces of said substrates with said substrates having first and second major surfaces, said substrate holder comprising:

a) a first plate on which first teeth directed up and defining first valleys between said first teeth are formed;
b) a second plate on which second teeth directed up and defining second valleys between said second teeth are formed;
and
c) a third plate on which third teeth directed up and defining third valleys between said third teeth are formed;
wherein
said second and third plates are arranged in parallel,
said first plate is inserted between said second and third plates in parallel to said second and third plates,
said second and third valleys are aligned with each other in the direction of parallelism of said first, second and third plates and said first valleys are staggered with respect to said second and third valleys in the direction of parallelism so that said substrates are capable of being held by said first to third plates such that
said first major surfaces are supported by walls of said first valleys only, and
said second major surfaces are supported by walls of said second and third valleys only.

7 more elements

A substrate holder, comprising:

bridges arrayed in parallel for holding substrates so as to process respective surfaces of said substrates, at least one of said bridges having,
a) a plurality of plates adapted to stand vertically upright and arranged in parallel, each of said plurality of plates having a plate body, and teeth arrayed on said plate body and defining Y-shaped or V-shaped valleys between said teeth, said valleys capable of receiving said substrates;
and
b) means for defining gaps between said plurality of plates smaller than gaps between said bridges.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.