The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 26, 2001
Filed:
Dec. 17, 1998
Kazuichi Hayashi, Yamanashi-ken, JP;
Teruo Iwata, Yamanashi-ken, JP;
Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo-To, JP;
Abstract
The inside of a vacuum pump is heated by means of a first heating unit to a temperature higher than the temperature at which products of reaction discharged from a process chamber are separated, and the inner surface of an exhaust pipe is heated to a temperature higher than the separation temperature by means of a second heating unit. If a vacuum process is carried out in the process chamber in this state, exhaust gas discharged from the process chamber can pass in a gaseous phase through the exhaust pipe and the vacuum pump without separating its unwanted by-products. Since a trap unit is located on the downstream side of the vacuum pump, moreover, the reaction products and the like can be prevented from adhering to the inside of the vacuum pump so that the maintenance operation is easier, although the conductance of the exhaust pipe is lowered so that the trap unit and the vacuum pump can be reduced in size.