US Patent 9881826 Buffer station with single exit-flow direction

A buffer for use in semiconductor processing tools is disclosed. The buffer may be used to temporarily store wafers after processing operations are performed on those wafers. The buffer may include two side walls and a back wall interposed between the side walls. The side walls and the back wall may generally define an area within which the wafers may be stored in a stacked arrangement. Wafer support fins extending from the side walls and the back wall may extend into a wafer support region that overlaps with the edges of the wafers. Purge gas may be introduced in between each pair of wafers via purge gas ports located in one of the walls.