Apparatus for heat treating substrates capable of quick cooling
AssigneeDainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.
InventorsIzuru Iseki, Akihiro Higashi, Seihiro Sasaki
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for heat treating and quickly cooling substrates. The apparatus includes a cylindrical furnace core tube for containing substrates, a heater enclosing the furnace core tube, and outer cylinder enclosing and containing the furnace core tube and the heater, a blower for drafting cooling air to the space between the furnace core tube and the outer cylinder along the longitudinal direction of the furnace core tube, and a switching valve connected between the blower and both ends of the outer cylinder for switching the direction in which the cooling air travels. Since the direction of the cooling air is changed, the entire furnace core tube is uniformly cooled.
Claims20
An apparatus for heat treating a substrate, said apparatus comprising:
- container means extending in a longitudinal direction for containing a substrate to be heat treated;
- heater means enclosing said container means for heating said substrate;
- enclosing means enclosing both said container means and heater means for containing said container means and heater means;
- means defining a space serving as a path of cooling air for cooling said container means along said longitudinal direction;
- cooling means for circulating said cooling air through said space along said longitudinal direction, said cooling means including circulation direction switching means for reversing the direction of circulation of said cooling air along said longitudinal direction.
An appatus for heat treating a substrate, comprising:
- an axially elongated container for holding substrates to be heated;
- a heater for heating said container, said heater enclosing said container;
- means for enclosing both said container and said heater;
- means defining a cooling fluid flow path around said container;
- means for circulating cooling fluid along said path to cool said container;
- and
- means for switching the direction of the circulation of said cooling fluid with respect to the axis of said axially elongated container to more uniformly cool said container along the axial length thereof.
An apparatus for heat treating a substrate, comprising:
- (A) container means extending in a longitudinal direction for containing a substrate;
- (B) heater means enclosing said container means;
- (C) enclosing means for enclosing both said container means and heater means, said enclosing means including first and second ends located at opposed longitudinal ends of said container means;
- (D) a space being formed between said enclosing means and said container means, said space serving as a path of cooling air for cooling said container means along said longitudinal direction;
- (E) cooling means for circulating said cooling air through said space, said cooling means comprising a blower;
- and
- (F) circulation direction switching means for switching the direction of circulation of said cooling air along said longitudinal direction, said circulation direction switching means comprising:
- (i) a four-way switching valve for switching the direction of circulation of said cooling air, and
- (ii) a cooling air circulating path for connecting said switch valve and said first and second ends of said enclosing means, said cooling air circulating path comprising an air duct.
An apparatus for heat treating a substrate, comprising:
- (A) container means extending in a longitudinal direction for containing a substrate;
- (B) heater means including a plurality of heaters arranged along said longitudinal direction, said heater means enclosing said container means;
- (C) enclosing means for enclosing both said container means and heater means;
- (D) a space being formed between said enclosing means and said container means, said space serving as a path of cooling air for cooling said container means along said longitudinal direction;
- (E) circulation direction switching means for switching the direction of circulation of said cooling air in association with said longitudinal direction;
- (F) cooling means for circulating said cooling air to said space, said cooling means comprising temperature control means for controlling temperature of said container means such that said temperature is uniformly lowered along said longitudinal direction and for controlling said circulating direction switching means in response to an output from said temperature detecting means;
- said temperature control means comprising:
- (1) a plurality of temperature detecting means providing in the longitudinal direction of said container means;
- and
- (2) heating control means for controlling each set of said plural sets of heater means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.