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US 6,686,570 B2Granted
Hot plate unit
AssigneeTokyo Electron Limited
InventorsMasakazu Furukawa, Yasutaka Ito, Jo Saito
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AssigneeTokyo Electron Limited
InventorsMasakazu Furukawa, Yasutaka Ito, Jo Saito
Estimating the term…
A hot plate unit that cools within a short period of time without a complicated or enlarged structure. The hot plate unit (1) includes a hot plate (3), which is arranged in an opened portion (4) of a casing (2A) and has a resistor (10). The casing (2A) and the hot plate (3) form a space to enable the circulation of air. An inner bottom plate (41) is provided in the casing (2A).
A hot plate unit used to heat a wafer comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Apparatus for thermal treatment: mainly by convection
Conductive ceramics, e.g. metal oxides, metal carbides, barium titanate, ferrites, zirconia, vitrous compounds: applied to semiconductors, e.g.…
Non-flexible: heating conductor mounted on insulating base
Ohmic-resistance heating: heating arrangements specially adapted for cooking plates or analogous hot-plates
Term ended 10 Oct 2021 (estimated)
The present invention relates to a hot plate unit, and more particularly, to a hot plate unit used to heat silicon wafers during a semiconductor manufacturing process.
During a semiconductor manufacturing process, for example, when heating and drying a silicon wafer subsequent to the application of a photosensitive resin, a heating apparatus, which is normally referred to as a hot plate unit, is used.
For example, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 4-13837 describes a prior art example of such apparatus. The heating apparatus of the publication includes a hot plate, which functions as an electric heating member and is made of sintered aluminum nitride, and a resistor, which is arranged in the plate. The resistor is held between ceramic base materials, which form the hot plate. The resistor has two ends that project from the side of the hot plate and are connected to a power supply via a power line.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a hot plate unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view showing the hot plate unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a hot plate unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
A hot plate unit 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
A hot plate unit 1, which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is formed by the main elements of a casing 2 and a hot plate 3.
The casing 2 is a cup-like metal member (aluminum member) having an opened portion 4, the cross-section of which is round, located at its upper portion. Pin insertion sleeves 5, each of which receives a lift pin (not shown), are arranged near the center of a bottom portion 2a at three positions. The lift pins lifts a silicon wafer W1 in a state supporting the silicon wafer W1 at three points. A lead wire hole 7 for receiving lead wires 6, which supply current to the hot plate 3, extends through a peripheral portion of the bottom portion 2a.