Evaporator, evaporation method and substrate processing apparatus
AssigneeTokyo Electron Limited
InventorsMikio Nakashima, Yuji Kamikawa
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed are an evaporator, an evaporation method, and a substrate processing apparatus, which can increase the concentration of generated vapor of an organic solvent and efficiently heat the organic solvent. The evaporator includes a fluid tube, a liquid organic solvent supply device for supplying the organic solvent liquid to one end of the fluid tube, and heating units for heating the fluid tube. The fluid tube has a cross section that increases from the one end to the other end. When the organic solvent liquid supplied to one end of the fluid tube is heated, the organic solvent vapor is discharged from the other end of the fluid tube. The substrate processing apparatus includes the above-described evaporator.
Claims11
An evaporator for evaporating an organic solvent comprising:
- a fluid tube including at least a first fluid tube part and a second fluid tube part, each of the first fluid tube part and the second fluid tube part being a helical shape, and the second fluid tube part being connected at a downstream side of the first fluid tube part through connecting pipe;
- a liquid organic solvent supply device configured to supply only organic solvent liquid to one end of the first fluid tube part;
- and
- a heating unit disposed inside each of the helical shape of the first fluid tube part and the second fluid tube part in such a way that the center of the heating unit approximately coincides with the center of the first fluid tube part and the second fluid tube part, and configured to heat each of the first fluid tube part and the second fluid tube part independently such that the organic solvent liquid is maintained substantially at a liquid state in the first fluid tube part and at a liquid/vapor mixed state in the second fluid tube part,
- wherein the first fluid tube part is designed to have a first cross section suitable for the liquid state and the second fluid tube part is designed to have a second cross section larger than the first cross section suitable for the liquid/vapor mixed state, and
- the organic solvent liquid supplied to the one end of the second fluid tube part is heated to be discharged as an organic solvent vapor from the other end of the second fluid tube part without being mixed with an inert gas.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.