US 5,207,578 AGranted

Heat processing apparatus of vertical type

AssigneeToyko Electron Sagami Limited

InventorKazunari Sakata

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Abstract

A heat processing apparatus of the vertical type includes a box which has a process tube in the upper half thereof and a space in the lower half thereof. A cap for the process tube can be moved up and down between an upper position where the cap closes the process tube while holding a wafer boat on it and a lower position in the space where it opens the process tube. Clean air is supplied into the space through a dust removing filter located on one side of the space and exhausted from the space through the other side of the space. The air thus exhausted is collected by a gas processing system, which serves to remove harmful components from the air thus collected. A scavenger is arranged enclosing the open bottom of the process tube. Gas remaining in the process tube after the heat process is sucked by the scavenger and collected by another gas processing system.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A heat processing apparatus of the vertical type comprising:

an apparatus box having at the lower end portion thereof an opening through which an object to be processed are carried in and out of the box;
door for opening and hermetically closing the opening of the box;
a process tube having an open bottom and located in the upper half of the box;
heaters enclosing the process tube;
a space formed in the lower half of the box and under the process tube, and connected to the opening of the box;
a cap for closing the open bottom of the process tube and supporting the object at the time of heat process;
an elevator arranged in the box and serving to move the cap up and down between a position where the open bottom of the process tube is closed and another position in the space where the open bottom is opened;
drive means for driving the elevator;
supply means for supplying a clean gas into the space and provided with a first port by which the supply means is connected to the space;
exhausting means for exhausting outside the box the clean gas which has passed through the space, and provided with a second port communicated with the space, said second port being located on that side of the cap which is opposed to the first port of the supply means;
and
collecting means for drawing and collecting the gas introduced by the exhausting means.

9 more elements

A heat processing apparatus of the vertical type comprising:

an apparatus box having at the lower end portion thereof an opening through which an object to be processed are carried in and out of the box;
a door for opening and hermetically closing the opening of the box;
a process tube having an open bottom and located in the upper half of the box;
heaters enclosing the process tube;
a space formed in the lower half of the box and under the process tube, and connected to the opening of the box;
a cap for closing the open bottom of the process tube and supporting the object at the time of heat process;
an elevator arranged in the box and serving to move the cap up and down between a position where the open bottom of the process tube is closed and another position in the space where the open bottom is opened;
drive means for driving the elevator;
supply means for supplying a clean gas into the space and provided with a first port by which the supply means is connected to the space;
first exhausting means for exhausting outside the box the clean gas which has passed through the space, and provided with a second port communicated with the space, said second port being located on that side of the cap which is opposed to the first port of the supply means;
collecting means for drawing and collecting the gas introduced by the first exhausting means;
and
second exhausting means for exhausting a remaining gas in the process tube, and arranged adjacent to the open bottom of the process tube.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.