Multi-chamber wafer process equipment having plural, physically communicating transfer means
US5286296A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 9, 1992 |
| Grant date | Feb 15, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 9, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/67745
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In a multi-chamber process equipment in which a plurality of process chambers for processing a single wafer are connected with a wafer transfer chamber in parallel through respective gate valves, and a wafer transfer means is provided for carrying the wafer between the wafer transfer chamber and each process chamber through one of the gate valves, there are further provided a plurality of vacuum pumps in order to prevent cross contamination among processes, improve throughput and prevent condensation in the process chambers. The vacuum pumps are connected with the wafer transfer chamber, and designed to reduce the pressure in the wafer transfer chamber to different vacuum levels. Therefore, the degree of vacuum in the wafer transfer chamber can be set at a desired value according to the process chamber to be opened, by operating the vacuum pumps properly, so that cross contamination between the wafer transfer chamber and the process chambers is prevented effectively.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.