Pressure-reduced chamber system having a filter means

A pressure-reduced chamber system for loading/unloading an object to/from a process chamber in which the object is processed under a reduced pressure, comprising:

• a pressure-reduced chamber communicated/discommunicated to/from said process chamber;
• an object load/unload mechanism, located in said pressure-reduced chamber, for transferring the object between said pressure-reduced chamber and said process chamber;
• an outer cover for covering a driving force transmitting section of said load/unload mechanism;
• filter means, provided for said outer cover, for connecting an inside of said outer cover to an outside thereof;
• and
• vacuum exhausting means for evacuating a space region which is formed between the outer cover of said load/unload mechanism and said pressure-reduced chamber;
• whereby catching, by means of said filter means, a foreign material generated from the driving force transmitting section of said load/unload mechanism when said space region is being evacuated by said vacuum exhausting means.