Patent ID: 8641350

Claim:
A wafer boat assembly for use with a loading apparatus configured to load the wafer boat assembly with semiconductor substrates and to insert the loaded wafer boat assembly into a processing chamber of a vertical batch furnace, said wafer boat assembly comprising: a first wafer boat part comprising a base and a first cover part mounted on said base; and a second wafer boat part comprising a second cover part that is provided with receiving slots for holding a plurality of semiconductor substrates in a vertically spaced apart relationship, wherein the second cover part has a substantially arc shape extending from a first longitudinal edge to a second longitudinal edge that together define an opening through which said substrates may be loaded into the receiving slots, and wherein the first and second wafer boat parts are detachably interconnectable, such that, in an interconnected condition, the first and second cover parts mate to one another and circumferentially extend around an entire outer circumferential perimeter of any substrate loaded in the wafer boat assembly, at a distance (d) therefrom.