Air-curtain forming apparatus for wafer hermetic container in semiconductor-fabrication equipment of minienvironment system

In a semiconductor-fabrication equipment of a minienvironment system, ambient air is prevented from entering a gap between an opening of the semiconductor-fabrication equipment and a wafer gateway of a hermetic container to prevent dust entrained in the ambient air from adhering to wafers in the hermetic container. Clean air is injected from a clean-air injection device ( 1 ), which is connected to an air-supply device ( 2 ) through an air-supply tube ( 3 ), and which is provided with filter means ( 6 a) in the from of rectangular frame formed with cylindrically-shaped filters connected to each other, to form an air curtain at the gap ( 96 ) between the gateway ( 74 ) of the hermetic container ( 71 ) through which wafers ( 73 ) are taken out of or put in the hermetic container ( 71 ) and the opening ( 98 ) of a loading part ( 78 ) attached to a front panel ( 77 ) of the semiconductor-fabrication equipment ( 76 ), thereby shutting off the ambient air that would otherwise enter the hermetic container ( 71 ) through the gap ( 96 ) between the gateway ( 74 ) of the hermetic container ( 71 ) and the opening ( 98 ) of the loading part ( 78 ) attached to the semiconductor-fabrication equipment ( 76 ) when a lid ( 75 ) of the hermetic container ( 71 ) is opened into the semiconductor-fabrication equipment ( 76 ).