Method and apparatus for baking out a gate valve in a semiconductor processing system
AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorsTimothy Joseph Franklin, David Datong Huo
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device for achieving vacuum conditions more quickly in a semiconductor processing system having a vacuum pump, a gate valve and a chamber includes a rigid body containing heating elements that contact the surface of the gate valve. The device may include a U-shaped retainer clip for holding the device to the gate valve. A method for heating a gate valve to drive off contaminants involves heating the lower portion of the gate valve to drive contaminants towards the vacuum pump.
Claims40
A semiconductor processing system comprising
- a vacuum pump;
- a chamber;
- a gate valve disposed between said vacuum pump and said chamber, said gate valve comprising a passage housing portion including a passage between said chamber and said vacuum pump, and a slot housing portion including a slot extending away from said passage;
- and
- a gate valve heater coupled to said slot housing portion of said gate valve and spaced a distance away from said passage housing portion, wherein said gate valve heater comprises a plurality of heated plates, said heated plates being in contact with said slot housing portion of said gate valve.
A method of removing contaminants from a semiconductor processing system including a gate valve having a passage housing portion containing a passage aligned between a chamber and a vacuum pump, and a slot housing portion containing a slot extending away from said passage, the method comprising:
- heating at least part of said slot housing portion to a higher temperature than said passage housing portion to remove contaminants from surfaces in said gate valve;
- and
- pumping contaminants from said gate valve.
The method of 10, further comprising heating an outer surface of at least a portion of said slot housing portion to a temperature of about 150° C.
A method of removing contaminants from a semiconductor processing system comprising:
- mounting an external heater to a gate valve disposed between a processing chamber and a vacuum pump, said gate valve including a first section containing a passage between said processing chamber and said vacuum pump, and a second section containing a slot extending away from said passage, wherein said mounting comprises positioning said external heater on said second section a distance away from said first section;
- heating said gate valve to drive contaminants from surfaces in said gate valve;
- and
- pumping contaminants from said gate valve.
A method for heating a gate valve having an upper region surrounding a passage between components and a lower region surrounding a slot extending away from said passage, said slot sized to accommodate plates that can be positioned to block said passage, said method comprising:
- positioning first and second heating plates against a first surface of said gate valve so that a first rib extending outward from said first surface extends between said first and second heating plates;
- positioning third and fourth heating plates against a second surface of said gate valve so that a second rib extending out from said second surface extends between said third and fourth heating plates;
- heating said gate valve so that said lower region of said gate valve is at a higher temperature than said upper region of said gate valve.
A method for removing contaminants from a processing system comprising:
- providing a vacuum pump, a processing chamber, and a gate valve, said gate valve including an upper passage therein disposed between said vacuum pump and said processing chamber, said gate valve also including a lower region spaced a distance away from said upper passage;
- heating at least a portion of said gate valve so that the temperature decreases along at least a portion of the length of said gate valve above said lower region towards said passage;
- pumping said contaminants through said passage to said vacuum pump.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.