Tokyo Electron Sagami Kabushiki Kaisha

Tokyo Electron Kabushiki Kaisha

Tokyo Electron Tohoku Kabushiki Kaisha

Osamu Monoe

A forced cooling apparatus for a heat treatment apparatus comprising a heat treatment furnace having a process tube with one end open at an furnace opening and another end closed at an furnace top portion; and a heater portion which covers the process tube, and wherein cooling of the heat treatment furnace is performed by forced cooling by flowing air into a gap formed between the heater portion and the process tube and which extends to the furnace top portion. The forced cooling apparatus comprises a plural number of air intake openings provided at the furnace opening portion for flowing air from an open end of the process tube and into the gap, an exhaust opening provided at the furnace top portion for flowing air which has flowed into the gap, from the vicinity of a middle portion on a side of a closed end of the process tube to outside the heater portion, an exhaust means connected to the exhaust opening, a shutter means for closing the air intake openings, and a shutter means for closing the exhaust opening. This configuration allows the air inside the furnace to be naturally exhausted from the exhaust opening to outside of the furnace, and allows uniform forced cooling of the heat treatment apparatus.

Forced cooling apparatus for heat treatment apparatus

Nozzles that blow an air are disposed in a space between an outer wall of a process tube and a heat generating resistor. The openings of the nozzles are oriented to the process tube corresponding to an arrangement area of semiconductor wafers. An air blowing angle and alignment of the openings of the nozzles are designated corresponding to the length of the arrangement area of the semiconductor wafers. Thus, since a portion where natural heat radiation is weak is forcedly cooled, the cooling effect can become equal in the entire region of the process tube, thereby reducing temperature drop time.

Heat treatment apparatus and method thereof

A forced cooling apparatus for a heat treatment apparatus comprising a heat treatment furnace having a process tube with one end open at an furnace opening and another end closed at an furnace top portion; and a heater, portion which covers the process tube, and wherein cooling of the heat treatment furnace is performed by forced cooling by flowing air into a gap formed between the heater portion and the process tube and which extends to the furnace top portion. The forced cooling apparatus comprises a plural number of air intake openings provided at the furnace opening portion for flowing air from an open end of the process tube and into the gap, an exhaust opening provided at the furnace top portion for flowing air which has flowed into the gap, from the vicinity of a middle portion on a side of a closed end of the process tube to outside the heater portion, an exhaust means connected to the exhaust opening, a shutter means for closing the air intake openings, and a shutter means for closing the exhaust opening. This configuration allows the air inside the furnace to be naturally exhausted from the exhaust opening to outside of the furnace, and allows uniform forced cooling of the heat treatment apparatus.

Growing community of inventors

Sagamihara, Japan

Osamu Monoe