Thermal treatment apparatus and thermal treatment method
AssigneeTokyo Electron Limited
InventorHiromi NITADORI
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a loading area below a vertical furnace of a thermal treatment apparatus, a gas stream flows along a first direction from one side to the other side of the loading area into a first evacuation opening provided in the other side of the loading area. A thermal evacuation part is located, along the first direction, between a first evacuation opening and an upstream end of a substrate holding member located at an unload position that is located between the one side and the other side of the loading area. The thermal evacuation part includes a second evacuation opening that is arranged to oppose at least an upper part of the substrate holding member located at the unload position and evacuates an environment around the substrate holding member located at the unload position.
Claims10
A thermal treatment apparatus in which a substrate holding member where plural substrates are stacked in the form of shelves is transferred into a furnace, thereby thermally treating the plural wafers, the thermal treatment apparatus comprising:
- a loading area located below the furnace;
- a substrate holding member elevating mechanism that carries the substrate holding member between a load position within the furnace and an unload position below the furnace, the substrate holding member elevating mechanism is arranged in the loading area;
- a gas stream creating mechanism that creates a substantially horizontal gas stream that flows along a first direction from one side to the other side of the loading area into a first evacuation opening provided in the other side of the loading area;
- a substrate holding member transfer mechanism that carries the substrate holding member to the unload position;
- and
- a thermal evacuation part that is located between the first evacuation opening and an upstream end of the substrate holding member located at the unload position along the first direction, the thermal evacuation part including a second evacuation opening that is arranged to oppose at least an upper part of the substrate holding member located at the unload position and evacuates an environment around the substrate holding member located at the unload position.
A thermal treatment method in which a substrate holding member where plural substrates are stacked in the form of shelves is transferred into a furnace, thereby thermally treating the plural wafers, the thermal treatment method comprising steps of:
- creating a substantially horizontal gas stream that flows along a first direction from one side to the other side of the loading area into a first evacuation opening provided in the other side of the loading area located below the furnace;
- transferring the substrate holding member to an unload position below the furnace, using a substrate holding member transfer mechanism;
- carrying the substrate holding member from the unload position to a load position within the furnace and from the load position to the unload position, using a substrate holding member elevating mechanism;
- and
- evacuating an environment around the substrate holding member located at the unload position, using a thermal evacuation part that is located between the first evacuation opening and an upstream end of the substrate holding member located at the unload position along the first direction, the thermal evacuation part including a second evacuation opening that is arranged to oppose at least an upper part of the substrate holding member located at the unload position and evacuates an environment around the substrate holding member located at the unload position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.