Continual flow rapid thermal processing apparatus and method
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsDaniel Guidotti, Kam Leung Lee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rapid thermal processing apparatus and a method of using such apparatus for the continuous heat treatment of at least one workpiece, which apparatus includes a cavity of generally elongated shape, a process chamber defined by interior walls inside the cavity, a device for delivering, regulating and extracting process gases from the chamber, a device for transporting at least one workpiece through the chamber in a substantially forward direction, a device for heating at least a section of the chamber, and a device for cooling the at least one workpiece downstream from the heating device. The cavity for the apparatus may also be provided in either a curved or a linear configuration for carrying out the present invention method.
Claims19
A method for continuous heat treating at least one workpiece in a cavity of generally elongated shape comprising the steps of:
- providing a process chamber having a cavity of toroidal shape defined by interior walls inside said cavity;
- flowing a process gas through said chamber;
- heating at least a section of said chamber to a desired temperature;
- transporting at least one workpiece positioned on a carrier through said chamber in a substantially forward direction, and
- cooling said at least one workpiece at a cooling section of said chamber.
A method for continuous heat treating at least one workpiece in a cavity of generally elongated shape comprising the steps of:
- providing a process chamber having a cavity of toroidal shape defined by interior walls inside said cavity;
- flowing a process gas through said chamber;
- heating at least a section of said chamber to a desired temperature;
- transporting at least one workpiece positioned on a carrier through said chamber in a substantially forward direction, said at least one workpiece is heated by said chamber at a heating rate between about 150° C./sec and about 1000° C./sec., and
- cooling said at least one workpiece at a cooling section of said chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.