| US 7,432,475 B2 | ||
| Vertical heat treatment device and method controlling the same | ||
| Makoto Nakajima, Minami-alps (Japan); Takanori Saito, Kai (Japan); Tsuyoshi Takizawa, Hokota (Japan); and Manabu Honma, Kai (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Appl. No. 10/584,258 PCT Filed Dec. 22, 2004, PCT No. PCT/JP2004/019251 § 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Jun. 26, 2006, PCT Pub. No. WO2005/064254, PCT Pub. Date Jul. 14, 2005. |
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| Claims priority of application No. 2003-432596 (JP), filed on Dec. 26, 2003. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0148606 A1, Jun. 28, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. F27B 5/14 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 219—390 [219/405; 219/411; 392/416; 392/418; 118/724; 118/725; 118/50.1] | 12 Claims |
| 1. A vertical heat processing apparatus comprising:
a process chamber defining a process field configured to accommodate a plurality of target substrates supported at intervals
in a vertical direction;
a heating furnace surrounding the process chamber, and including an electric heater configured to heat the process field from
outside the process chamber;
an electric blower configured to send a cooling gas into the heating furnace, so as to cool the process field by the cooling
gas from outside the process chamber;
a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature inside the process field; and
a control section configured to control the heater and the blower in accordance with detection data obtained by the temperature
sensor,
wherein, in order to conduct temperature control to change a temperature of the process field from an initial temperature
to a target temperature higher than the initial temperature but within a range of 100 to 500° C., the control section executes,
setting power feeding to the blower at a first feed rate to send the cooling gas, and setting power feeding to the heater
at a first supply rate, in order to heat up the process field to a predetermined temperature below the target temperature,
at a time point when the process field reaches the predetermined temperature, maintaining the power feeding to the blower
at the first feed rate, and decreasing the power feeding to the heater to a second supply rate lower than the first supply
rate, in order to converge the process field to the target temperature, and
then, decreasing the power feeding to the blower to a rate lower than the first feed rate, and increasing the power feeding
to the heater to a rate higher than the second supply rate, in order to maintain the process field at the target temperature.
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