Patent ID: 8534976

Claim:
An apparatus for supporting a plurality of carriers or substrates, the apparatus comprising: a vacuum chamber having one or more openings along the circumference of the chamber wall for transferring a carrier or a substrate therethrough, wherein the carrier includes one or more substrates, and wherein the one or more substrates in the carrier or the substrate comprises a material selected from a group consisting of glass, dielectric and semiconductor materials; a rotatable support for supporting the plurality of carriers or substrates, wherein the rotatable support is provided within the vacuum chamber and is configured for rotating the supported plurality of carriers or substrates around a rotation axis, wherein the rotatable support comprises a lower rim portion for supporting lower sides of the carriers or substrates and a plurality of guiding means provided at upper sides of the carriers or substrates; and a set of lifting rollers for moving the carrier or substrate upwards from a support position provided by the rotatable support and for lifting the carrier or substrate for a transfer by the set of lifting rollers and by one guiding means of the plurality of guiding means through one of the one or more openings.