Screen Holdings Co., Ltd.

Yasuaki Kondo

Mao Omori

Kazuhiko Fuse

Shinichi Kato

Hikaru Kawarazaki

Takayuki Aoyama

Hideaki Tanimura

Masashi Furukawa

Akitsugu Ueda

Shinji Miyawaki

Before supplying ammonia, which is a flammable gas, into a chamber, the chamber is evacuated to eliminate residual gas from the chamber, and then nitrogen is fed into a combustion-supporting gas line to cause oxygen, which is a combustion-supporting gas, remaining in the combustion-supporting gas line to flow out. After supplying ammonia into the chamber, the chamber is evacuated to eliminate the ammonia from the chamber, and then nitrogen is fed into a flammable gas line to cause the ammonia remaining in the flammable gas line to flow out. Oxygen or ammonia and nitrogen are alternately eliminated on the downstream side of an exhaust part, and it is therefore possible to prevent the flammable gas and the combustion-supporting gas from being mixed with each other.

Heat treatment method and heat treatment apparatus

A combustion-supporting gas line, a flammable gas line, and an inert gas line are connected to a chamber performing a heat treatment on a semiconductor wafer. Nitrogen is sent from the inert gas line to the combustion-supporting gas line before supplying flammable gas into the chamber to replace gas in the combustion-supporting gas line with nitrogen. Nitrogen is sent from the inert gas line to the flammable gas line before supplying combustion-supporting gas into the chamber to replace gas in the flammable gas line with nitrogen. Common one inert gas line is provided in the combustion-supporting gas line and the flammable gas line, thus a space for arranging components relating to gas supply can be reduced.

Heat treatment apparatus heating substrate

A heat treatment apparatus is provided with two cool chambers, that is, a first cool chamber and a second cool chamber. A semiconductor wafer before treatment is alternately carried into the first cool chamber or the second cool chamber and then transported to a heat treatment part by a transport robot after a nitrogen purge is performed. The semiconductor wafer after being heat-treated in the heat treatment part is alternately transported to the first cool chamber or the second cool chamber to be cooled. A sufficient cooling time is secured for the independent semiconductor wafer, and a reduction in throughput as the whole heat treatment apparatus can be suppressed.

Light-irradiation heat treatment method and heat treatment apparatus

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Kyoto, Japan

Yasuaki Kondo