METHOD FOR COOLING OBJECT TO BE PROCESSED, AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING OBJECT TO BE PROCESSED

• US 20120043062A1
• Filed: 03/30/2010
• Published: 02/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Tada, Noritomo, Horiuchi, Takashi
• Application Number:
  US13/259,805
• Publication Number:
  US 20120043062A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 165/138
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67109 mainly by convection

Abstract

Provided is a method for cooling an object to be processed. The cooling method is provided with a step of placing the object in a heated state on a stage, and a step of cooling the object by blowing a cooling gas to a region the near-center region of the object placed on the stage, including the center thereof.

Claims

1. A cooling method of a target object, comprising:

placing the object in a heated state on a stage; and

cooling the object placed on the stage by spraying a cooling gas to a near-center region of the object including the center thereof.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the object that has been heated to a temperature of 450°

C. or more is placed on the stage and cooled.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the near-center region of the object including the center thereof corresponds to a region within an area having a radius of 75 mm from the center of the object.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a flow velocity of the cooling gas is maximized at the center of the object.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the cooling gas includes a first cooling gas having a high cooling effect and a second cooling gas having a cooling effect lower than that of the first cooling gas,

wherein the first cooling gas is sprayed to the near-center region of the object including the center thereof, and

the second cooling gas is sprayed to a region outside the near-center region of the object.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the stage has a cooling mechanism for cooling the object, and the object is cooled using the cooling gas and the cooling mechanism.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the stage has a cooling mechanism for cooling the object, and the object is cooled using the cooling gas and the cooling mechanism.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the stage has a cooling mechanism for cooling the object, and the object is cooled using the cooling gas and the cooling mechanism.

9. An object processing apparatus comprising:

a load-lock module which performs pressure conversion between a depressurized state and an atmospheric pressure state;

a stage which is provided in the load-lock module and on which a target object is placed; and

a cooling gas injection unit which is provided in the load-lock module to face the stage and sprays a cooling gas to the object placed on the stage.

10. The object processing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the object that has been heated to a temperature of 450°

C. or more is placed on the stage and cooled.

11. The object processing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the cooling gas injection unit is a nozzle.

12. The object processing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the cooling gas injection unit is a shower head, and a diameter of the shower head is smaller than a diameter of the object.

13. The object processing apparatus of claim 12, wherein the diameter of the shower head is equal to or smaller than 150 mm.

14. The object processing apparatus of claim 12, wherein an inside of the shower head is divided into a plurality of concentric spaces.

15. The object processing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the cooling gas injection unit is a shower head, and an inside of the shower head is divided into a plurality of concentric spaces.

16. The object processing apparatus of claim 14, wherein the cooling gas includes a first cooling gas having a high cooling effect and a second cooling gas having a cooling effect lower than that of the first cooling gas,

wherein the first cooling gas is supplied to one or more of the plurality of spaces, including the center of the shower head, and

the second cooling gas is supplied to the other spaces outside the spaces to which the first cooling gas is supplied.

17. The object processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the cooling gas includes a first cooling gas having a high cooling effect and a second cooling gas having a cooling effect lower than that of the first cooling gas,

wherein the first cooling gas is supplied to one or more of the plurality of spaces, including the center of the shower head, and

the second cooling gas is supplied to the other spaces outside the spaces to which the first cooling gas is supplied.

18. The object processing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the stage has a cooling mechanism for cooling the object.

19. The object processing apparatus of claim 11, wherein the stage has a cooling mechanism for cooling the object.

20. The object processing apparatus of claim 12, wherein the stage has a cooling mechanism for cooling the object.

21. The object processing apparatus of claim 14, wherein the stage has a cooling mechanism for cooling the object.

22. The object processing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the load-lock module is provided between a loading/unloading module and a transfer module and performs the pressure conversion between the atmospheric pressure state and the depressurized state, the loading/unloading module serving to load/unload the object in the atmospheric pressure state, and the transfer module serving to transfer the object between a plurality of processing modules for performing a process on the object in the depressurized state, and

wherein cooling of the object is performed when the pressure conversion is performed from the depressurized state to the atmospheric pressure state.