VACUUM PROCESSING APPARATUS

• Main Authors: OGAWA KEITARO, KOBAYASHI MICHIAKI, MIZOBE YUYA, HIROMI KAZUYUKI, MATSUYOSHI TSUTOMU
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: 26.01.2017
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum processing apparatus capable of improving yield of a semiconductor device and improving throughput compatibly by reducing influences caused by dew condensation or fine particles generated by rapid pressure reduction within a load lock that switches a vacuum atmosphere and an air atmosphere.SOLUTION: The vacuum processing apparatus comprises lock chambers (105-1 and 105-2) in which a wafer is accommodated and which is capable of increasing/decreasing a pressure between a reduced pressure and an atmospheric pressure by exhausting the inside and supplying a gas. The gas within the lock chamber is sucked into a storage part 211 that is disposed on an exhaust path 204 of the lock chamber, the pressure within the lock chamber is reduced to a predetermined vacuum degree, the gas within the lock chamber is then exhausted through the storage part to the outside, and the pressure in the lock chamber is reduced.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2 【課題】真空雰囲気と大気雰囲気とを切り替えるロードロック内において急減圧で発生する結露や微粒子による影響を低減し半導体デバイスの歩留まり向上とスループット向上とを両立できる真空処理装置を提供する。【解決手段】ウェハを内部に収納して内部の排気及びガスの供給により減圧された圧力と大気圧の間で圧力を増減可能なロック室（１０５−１、１０５−２）を備えた真空処理装置において、ロック室の排気経路２０４上に配置された貯留部２１１にロック室内部のガスを吸引してロック室内部の圧力を所定の真空度まで低減した後に貯留部を通してロック室内部のガスを外部に排気してロック室を減圧する。【選択図】図２