Device and method for handling substrates by means of a self-leveling vacuum system in epitaxial induction

Device for handling substrates of materials produced in epitaxial apparatuses or reactors such as slices of semiconductor materials, comprising:

• a reaction chamber (22),
• an internal robot (30) for handling the substrates or slices (24) of semiconductor materials,
• a purging chamber (34) for passing the slices (24) through a cleaning atmosphere,
• a storage zone (36) containing cassettes (38, 40) which house, in a stacked arrangement, the slices (24) of semiconductor materials,
• an external robot (32) for transferring the slices (24) from the storage zone (36) to the purging chamber (34),
• the internal robot (30) comprising a sealed chamber (56) which houses an articulated arm (58) having a gripping means (60) at its external end,
• characterized in that the gripping means (60) of the internal robot (30) comprises at least one arm (64) which can be inserted into the reaction chamber (22) and terminating in a gripping tool or hand (70) for removing a slice (24) of semiconductor material from the purging chamber (34) and transporting it, after passing through the sealed chamber (56), so as to be deposited in a recessed seat (28) of a disk-shaped susceptor (26) of the reaction chamber (22), and vice versa, from the recessed seat (28) to the purging chamber (34), where the hand (70) is designed to contact the slice (24) on its uppermost surface along a peripheral zone or chamfered edge (25) and the hand is adapted to grip the slice (24) by means of a vacuum effect, and where the gripping means (60) includes means for attaching it pivotally to the articulated arm (58) in such a manner that when depositing the substrate in the recessed seat (28) the substrate is held inclined to the plane of the recessed seat (28) so as to touch the recessed seat (28) initially only with the slice edge located furthest from the arm (64) of the gripping means (60) before then pivoting about said edge touching the seat to become fully in contact therewith, and vice versa, when transporting a slice (24) from the reaction chamber (22) to the purging chamber (34), the slice gripped by the hand's vacuum effect is detached from the recessed seat (28) by first lifting the side of the slice nearest the arm (64) of the gripping means (60) and then detaching the substrate completely, and raising the substrate further whilst being held inclined to the plane of the recessed seat.