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:
Dec. 11, 2001
Filed:
Sep. 13, 1999
Albert Hasper, Meppel, NL;
Frank Huussen, Bilthoven, NL;
Theodorus Gerardus Maria Oosterlaken, Oudewater, NL;
Jack Herman Van Putten, Den Dolder, NL;
ASM International N.V., Bilthoven, NL;
Abstract
A furnace includes a core tube that has an elongate boundary wall and is configured to accommodate wafers for processing the wafers in a treatment atmosphere. The furnace includes a cooling chamber defined between the elongate boundary wall and an outer casing of the furnace, wherein the outer casing includes a heating element and has first lateral, circumferentially spaced openings in proximity of a first end of the outer casing and second lateral, circumferentially spaced openings in proximity of a second end of the outer casing. Cooling gas is supplied through one of the first and second lateral, circumferentially spaced openings to a region of one end of the cooling chamber and provides for a cooling atmosphere. The cooling gas is guided along the cooling chamber with a uniform distribution of flow and discharged through one of the first and second lateral, circumferentially spaced openings from a region of an opposite end of the cooling chamber. A direction of flow of the cooling gas is periodically reversed during cooling, wherein the cooling gas is guided along an essentially closed circuit so that the cooling gas is preserved and so that the cooling atmosphere is separated from the treatment atmosphere. A liquid-gas heat exchanger cools the cooling gas.