Vacuum chambers with shared pump
AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorsAniruddha Pal, Martin Jeffrey Salinas, Jared Ahmad Lee, Paul B. Reuter, Imad Yousif
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to vacuum processing chambers having different pumping requirements and connected to a shared pumping system through a single foreline. In one embodiment, the vacuum processing chambers include a high conductance pumping conduit and a low conductance pumping conduit coupled to a single high conductance foreline. In another embodiment, a plurality of unbalanced chamber groups may be connected to a common pumping system by a final foreline.
Claims20
A system for processing substrates, comprising:
- a chamber body having a first substrate transfer chamber isolated from a second substrate transfer chamber;
- a vacuum pump;
- a high conductance foreline coupled to the pump;
- a high conductance pumping conduit coupling the foreline to the first substrate transfer chamber;
- and
- a low conductance pumping conduit coupling the foreline to the second substrate transfer chamber.
A system for processing substrates, comprising:
- a chamber body having a first substrate transfer chamber and a second substrate transfer chamber formed therein, wherein the first substrate transfer chamber is isolated from the second substrate transfer chamber;
- a vacuum pump;
- a high conductance foreline coupled to the pump;
- a high conductance pumping conduit coupling the foreline to the first substrate transfer chamber;
- and
- a low conductance pumping conduit coupling the foreline to the second substrate transfer chamber.
A system for processing substrates, comprising:
- a first chamber body having a first substrate transfer chamber isolated from a second first substrate transfer chamber;
- a second chamber body having a third substrate transfer chamber isolated from a fourth first substrate transfer chamber;
- a vacuum pump;
- a high conductance common exhaust coupled to the pump;
- a high conductance common exhaust coupled to the high conductance foreline;
- a first high conductance pumping conduit coupling the high conductance common exhaust to the first substrate transfer chamber;
- a second high conductance pumping conduit coupling the high conductance common exhaust to the third substrate transfer chamber;
- a low conductance common exhaust coupled to the high conductance foreline;
- a first low conductance pumping conduit coupling the low conductance common exhaust to the second substrate transfer chamber;
- and
- a second low conductance pumping conduit coupling the low conductance common exhaust to the fourth substrate transfer chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.