Patent ID: 7241141

Claim:
A vertical wafer boat for supporting at least one semiconductor wafer, formed by a process comprising: forming a plurality of angled support grooves into a plurality of support members with a groove-making machine, each support member extending along a longitudinal axis and each of the support grooves spaced apart from one another and extending generally obliquely into the respective support member with respect to the longitudinal axis, wherein the groove-making machine is positioned at a nonperpendicular angle with respect to the longitudinal axis, thereby defining an angled tooth between adjoining support grooves to support at least one wafer, wherein each support groove comprises, top and bottom corners inside a base portion of the support groove angled generally supplementary with respect to each other; and joining respective top and bottom portions of the plurality of members to top and bottom end plates opposing each other respectively, to form the wafer boat; wherein the bottom corner of each groove is acute and the top corner of each groove is obtuse with respect to the longitudinal axis, thereby defining both sides of the angled tooth as vertically slanted and non-normal with respect to the longitudinal axis; and wherein the angled tooth is configured to support a wafer at a point of minimum contact to the backside of the wafer and within a distance from an edge thereof.