Purging method
AssigneeTokyo Electron Limited
InventorsHideaki Yamasaki, Takeshi Itatani
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A purging method for purging an interior of a processing container of a substrate processing apparatus after a film forming process is executed on a wafer in the processing container, includes a first process of pressurizing a first gas in a first line of the substrate processing apparatus and then discharging the first gas into the processing container, and a second process of supplying a second gas into the processing container. The second process is executed after execution of the first process, the first gas includes an inert gas, and the second gas includes a hydrogen gas, a nitrogen-containing gas, a rare gas or a combination of these gases.
Claims18
A purging method for purging an interior of a processing container of a substrate processing apparatus after a film forming process is executed on a wafer in the processing container, comprising:
- a first process of pressurizing, by a pressurizer, a first gas that has been supplied from a first gas source which is connected to a first line of the substrate processing apparatus, and then discharging the pressurized first gas into the processing container;
- and
- a second process of supplying a second gas, which has been supplied from a second gas source through a second line of the substrate processing apparatus, into the processing container,
- wherein the first gas includes an inert gas, and the second gas includes a hydrogen gas, a nitrogen-containing gas, a rare gas or a combination of these gases,
- wherein the first process is executed a plurality of times,
- wherein the second process is executed after executing the first process the plurality of times, and
- wherein the first process and the second process are performed after the wafer subjected to the film forming process is unloaded from the interior of the processing container.
A purging apparatus for purging an interior of a processing container of a substrate processing apparatus after a film forming process is executed on a wafer in the processing container, the apparatus comprising:
- a first gas source configured to supply a first gas through a first line;
- a pressurizer connected to the first line and configured to pressurize the first gas that has been supplied from the first gas source, and then discharge the pressurized first gas into the processing container;
- and
- a second gas source configured to supply a second gas through a second line into the processing container,
- wherein a first process of discharging the pressurized first gas into the processing container by the pressurizer is executed before a second process of supplying the second gas into the processing container without pressurizing the second gas by the second gas source,
- wherein the first gas includes an inert gas, and the second gas includes a hydrogen gas, a nitrogen-containing gas, a rare gas or a combination of these gases, and
- wherein the first process and the second process are performed after the wafer subjected to the film forming process is unloaded from the interior of the processing container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.