# US 8,782,918 B2 · Heat processing apparatus and heat processing method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,782,918 B2 - Document ID: US8782918B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/155,013 - Filed: 2011-06-07 - Published: 2011-09-29 - Granted: 2014-07-22 - Earliest claimed: 2006-01-25 - Assignees: Tokyo Electron Limited - Applicants: Shigeki Aoki; Yuichi Sakai; Mitsuo Yamashita; Hiroshi Shinya - Inventors: Shigeki Aoki; Yuichi Sakai; Mitsuo Yamashita; Hiroshi Shinya - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8782918B2 ## CPC - F26B 3/20: the heat source being a heated surface {, e.g. a moving belt or conveyor}(F26B3/22 takes precedence) - H10P 72/0434: {mainly by convection} - H10P 72/0458: {vertical arrangement} - H10P 72/0602: {Temperature monitoring} - H10P 72/3306: {Horizontal transfer of a single workpiece} - F26B 9/103: {using fixed or removable drying air channels placed in the stack, e.g. horizontally or vertically} - F26B 21/001: {Air generating units, e.g. movable or independent of drying enclosure} - G03F 7/168: {Finishing the coated layer, e.g. drying, baking, soaking} - G03F 7/40: Treatment after imagewise removal, e.g. baking - H10P 72/30: for conveying, e.g. between different workstations - F26B: DRYING SOLID MATERIALS OR OBJECTS BY REMOVING LIQUID THEREFROM (drying devices for combines A01D41/133; racks for drying fruit or vegetables A01F25/12; drying foodstuffs A23; drying hair A45D20/00; body-drying implements A47K10/00; drying household articles A47L; drying gases or vapours B01D; chemical or physical processes for dewatering or like separating liquids from solids B01D43/00; centrifugal apparatus B04; drying ceramics C04B33/30; drying yarns or fabrics in association with some other form of treatment D06C; drying frames for laundry without heating or positive air circulation, domestic laundry-or spin-driers, wringing or hot pressing laundry D06F; furnaces, kilns, ovens F27) - H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 - G03F: PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; (phototypographic composing devices B41B; photosensitive materials or processes for photographic purposes G03C; electrophotography, sensitive layers or processes therefor G03G) ## Abstract A heat processing apparatus includes a heating plate configured to heat the substrate; a cover configured to surround a space above the heating plate; an exhaust gas flow forming mechanism configured to exhaust gas inside the cover to form exhaust gas flows within the space above the heating plate; a downflow forming mechanism configured to form downflows uniformly supplied onto an upper surface of the substrate placed on the heating plate; and a control mechanism configured to execute mode switching control between a mode arranged to heat the substrate while forming the downflows by the downflow forming mechanism and a mode arranged to heat the substrate while forming the exhaust gas flows by the exhaust gas flow forming mechanism. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A heat processing apparatus comprising: a heating plate configured to support and heat a substrate; a cover configured to surround a space above the heating plate; a first gas flow forming mechanism configured to form first gas flows within the space above the heating plate, the first gas flows being downward flows of gas uniformly supplied onto an upper surface of the substrate supported by the heating plate; a second gas flow forming mechanism configured to form second gas flows within the space above the heating plate, the second gas flows being sideward flows of gas along the upper surface of the substrate supported by the heating plate; and a control mechanism configured to control an operation of the apparatus and including a computer and a computer readable non-transitory storage medium that stores a control program, wherein the control program, when executed, causes the computer to control the apparatus to conduct a heat processing sequence, wherein said computer is configured to execute a heat process by using the heating plate to heat a target substrate supported by the heating plate, wherein the space above the heating plate is surrounded by the cover, wherein the heat process is performed along with first and second modes of gas flows sequentially set in this order while heating the target substrate by the heating plate, the first mode uses the downward flows formed by the first gas flow forming mechanism to uniformize the heat process over the target substrate, and the second mode uses the sideward flows formed by the second gas flow forming mechanism while exhausting gas from the space above the heating plate to exhaust and remove at least one of gas and sublimed substances generated from the target substrate. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second mode uses the sideward flows such that gas is caused to flow from a periphery of the target substrate toward a center thereof and then to be exhausted upward from the center. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second mode uses the sideward flows such that gas is caused to flow from one side of the target substrate toward an opposite side thereof and then to be exhausted from the opposite side. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first mode uses the downward flows such that gas is caused to flow from above onto the target substrate and then to be exhausted toward a periphery of the target substrate. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first mode uses the downward flows such that gas is caused to flow from above onto the target substrate and then to be exhausted toward a periphery of the target substrate. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cover includes a number of gas delivery holes formed in a counter plate facing the heating plate and communicating with a gas diffusion space that pools a purge gas, periphery exhaust ports opened at positions around the heating plate, a center exhaust port opened at a center of the counter plate and connected to an exhaust pipe, and gas intake ports opened at positions around the heating plate, such that the first gas flow forming mechanism forms the downward flows by supplying the purge gas from the gas delivery holes toward the substrate supported by the heating plate while exhausting gas on the substrate from the periphery exhaust ports, and the second gas flow forming mechanism forms the sideward flows by introducing gas from the gas intake ports while exhausting gas on the substrate supported by the heating plate from the center exhaust port. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cover includes a number of gas delivery holes formed in a counter plate facing the heating plate and communicating with a gas diffusion space that pools a purge gas, periphery exhaust ports opened at positions around the heating plate, a side delivery port opened at a position on one side around the heating plate, and a side exhaust port opened at a position on an opposite side around the heating plate, such that the first gas flow forming mechanism forms the downward flows by supplying the purge gas from the gas delivery holes toward the substrate supported by the heating plate while exhausting gas on the substrate from the periphery exhaust ports, and the second gas flow forming mechanism forms the sideward flows by supplying gas from the side delivery port toward the substrate supported by the heating plate while exhausting gas on the substrate from the side exhaust port. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the target substrate includes a target film formed thereon and including a resist film or an anti-reflective coating for a resist film, and the heat processing sequence performs the heat process on the target film. ### Claim 9 A computer readable non-transitory storage medium that stores a control program for a heat processing apparatus, which includes a heating plate configured to support and heat a substrate, a cover configured to surround a space above the heating plate, a first gas flow forming mechanism configured to form first gas flows within the space above the heating plate, the first gas flows being downward flows of gas uniformly supplied onto an upper surface of the substrate supported by the heating plate, a second gas flow forming mechanism configured to form second gas flows within the space above the heating plate, the second gas flows being sideward flows of gas along the upper surface of the substrate supported by the heating plate, and a control mechanism configured to control an operation of the apparatus and including a computer, wherein the control program, when executed, causes the computer to control the apparatus to conduct a heat processing sequence, which comprises: supporting a target substrate by the heating plate to heat the target substrate and surrounding the space above the heating plate by the cover; and then performing a heat process on the target substrate by heating the target substrate by the heating plate, wherein the heat process is performed along with first and second modes of gas flows sequentially set in this order while heating the target substrate by the heating plate, the first mode uses the downward flows formed by the first gas flow forming mechanism to uniformize the heat process over the target substrate, and the second mode uses the sideward flows formed by the second gas flow forming mechanism while exhausting gas from the space above the heating plate to exhaust and remove at least one of gas and sublimed substances generated from the target substrate. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the second mode uses the sideward flows such that gas is caused to flow from a periphery of the target substrate toward a center thereof and then to be exhausted upward from the center. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the second mode uses the sideward flows such that gas is caused to flow from one side of the target substrate toward an opposite side thereof and then to be exhausted from the opposite side. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The storage medium according to claim 10, wherein the first mode uses the downward flows such that gas is caused to flow from above onto the target substrate and then to be exhausted toward a periphery of the target substrate. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The storage medium according to claim 11, wherein the first mode uses the downward flows such that gas is caused to flow from above onto the target substrate and then to be exhausted toward a periphery of the target substrate. ### Claim 14 (depends on 9) The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the cover includes a number of gas delivery holes formed in a counter plate facing the heating plate and communicating with a gas diffusion space that pools a purge gas, periphery exhaust ports opened at positions around the heating plate, a center exhaust port opened at a center of the counter plate and connected to an exhaust pipe, and gas intake ports opened at positions around the heating plate, such that the first gas flow forming mechanism forms the downward flows by supplying the purge gas from the gas delivery holes toward the substrate supported by the heating plate while exhausting gas on the substrate from the periphery exhaust ports, and the second gas flow forming mechanism forms the sideward flows by introducing gas from the gas intake ports while exhausting gas on the substrate supported by the heating plate from the center exhaust port. ### Claim 15 (depends on 9) The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the cover includes a number of gas delivery holes formed in a counter plate facing the heating plate and communicating with a gas diffusion space that pools a purge gas; periphery exhaust ports opened at positions around the heating plate; a side delivery port opened at a position on one side around the heating plate, and a side exhaust port opened at a position on an opposite side around the heating plate, such that the first gas flow forming mechanism forms the downward flows by supplying the purge gas from the gas delivery holes toward the substrate supported by the heating plate while exhausting gas on the substrate from the periphery exhaust ports, and the second gas flow forming mechanism forms the sideward flows by supplying gas from the side delivery port toward the substrate supported by the heating plate while exhausting gas on the substrate from the side exhaust port. ### Claim 16 (depends on 9) The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the target substrate includes a target film formed thereon and including a resist film or an anti-reflective coating for a resist film, and the heat processing sequence performs the heat process on the target film.