Patent ID: 7070379

Claim:
A semiconductor fabrication apparatus comprising: an engineering front open unified pod (FOUP) index on which a FOUP can be manually placed, the engineering FOUP index including a plate, the FOUP including two doors having elastic bodies coupled thereto, the elastic bodies adapted to permit the doors to rotate open and shut; a first front open unified pod (FOUP) index configured to receive the FOUP directly from a working area that is adjacent to the semiconductor fabrication apparatus, the first FOUP index structured so as not to protrude from the semiconductor fabrication apparatus into the working area, the first FOUP index including guard pins for contacting the edges of the doors when the plate moves forward; wafer processing chambers; a first wafer transfer device disposed adjacent to the first FOUP index; and a second wafer transfer device disposed adjacent to the first wafer transfer device and adjacent to at least one of the wafer processing chambers, wherein the first wafer transfer device is adapted to transfer wafers between the first FOUP index and the second wafer transfer device, and wherein the second wafer transfer device is adapted to transfer wafers between the first wafer transfer device and the at least one of the wafer processing chambers.