"Oxidation" is the chemical process that grows an impermeable layer of SiO2 on the Si wafers. This layer will be patterned and used to chemically mask the silicon beneath.
After chemical cleaning, the Si wafers are stacked in a high purity quartz holder called a "wafer boat." The wafers and the boat are handled only with tweezers or gloves to maintain their purity. Here, for clarity, we show only two Si wafers. However, in reality, a dozen or more wafers can be processed simultaneously.
