US 5,062,771 A · Vacuum system with a secondary gas also connected to the roughing pump for a semiconductor processing chamber

Abstract

This invention concerns a production method and a processing apparatus for semiconductor devices, as well as an evacuating apparatus used for the processing apparatus. According to this invention, since the evacuation system of pressure-reduction processing apparatus for conducting various wafer processings during production steps of semiconductor devices is constituted only with oil-free vacuum pump, deleterious oil contaminations or carbonation products of oils produced from oils upon heating are not present in the pressure-reducing processing chamber as compared with conventional pressure-reducing processing apparatus using a vacuum oil pump as an evacuation pump and the production method of semiconductor devices using such apparatus. Accordingly, highly clean evacuated condition can be attained and, in addition, semiconductor devices at high reliability and with no degradation in the electric characteristics can be obtained by using the pressure-reducing processing apparatus having such a highly clean processing chamber.

Claims52

Dependent claims

A processing apparatus for gas phase treatment for semiconductor device fabrication comprising:

(a) a processing chamber for accommodating a semiconductor device;
(b) a gas supplying device for supplying a processing gas to the processing chamber;
(c) a main evacuation pump system for evacuating the processing chamber within a steady state during the treatment having only one set of one or more vacuum pumps, the one or more pumps being oil-free mechanical pumps which operate without using oil as an operating medium for gas evacuation and which include at least one roughing pump adapted to operate under atmospheric pressure;
and
(d) a supply source for a gas having higher molecular weight than that of helium adapted is also connected to a suction port side of the roughing pump.

2 more elements

A processing apparatus for gas phase treatment for semiconductor device fabrication comprising:

(a) a processing chamber for accommodating a semiconductor device;
(b) a gas supplying device for supplying a processing gas to the processing chamber;
(c) a pressure measuring device for measuring the pressure inside the processing chamber or associated therewith;
(d) a main evacuation pump system for evacuating the processing chamber within a steady state during the treatment having only one set of one or more vacuum pumps, the one or more pumps being oil-free mechanical pumps which operate without using an oil as an operating medium for gas evacuation and which include at least one roughing pump adapted to operate under atmospheric pressure;
(e) a supply source for a gas having higher molecular weight than that of helium adapted is also connected to a suction port side of the roughing pump;
and
(f) controlling means for controlling the number of rotation of the roughing pump in accordance with an output of the pressure measuring device.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Vacuum system with a secondary gas also connected to the roughing pump for a semiconductor processing chamber

Life of this patent

Vacuum system with a secondary gas also connected to the roughing pump for a semiconductor processing chamber

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims52