Substrate cooling apparatus
First Claim
1. A substrate cooling apparatus comprising:
- a treating chamber for receiving a substrate, a cooling plate for supporting said substrate in said treating chamber, and cooling means for cooling said substrate supported on said cooling plate;
target temperature setting means for setting a target temperature to which said substrate is to be cooled;
drive means for driving said cooling means to cool said cooling plate below said target temperature; and
control means, operative when said substrate is found to have reached said target temperature, for switching said substrate to a condition free from thermal influence of said cooling plate;
initial drive means for controlling said cooling means to cool said cooling plate to an initial temperature no higher than said target temperature; and
substrate detecting means for detecting said substrate placed on said cooling plate to actuate said drive means; and
said control means being operable to actuate said initial drive means when said substrate is found to have reached said target temperature.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A substrate cooling apparatus is provided with a cooling plate disposed in a treating chamber and Peltier elements for supporting and cooling a substrate. A target temperature setter is operable to set a target temperature to which the substrate is to be cooled and a drive device drives the Peltier elements to cool the cooling plate below the target temperature. When the substrate is found to have reached the target temperature, the substrate is raised to a position free from the thermal influence of the cooling plate, to complete a cooling treatment. Consequently, the substrate is cooled at high speed to achieve a reduced cooling time. Where predetermined process modules are used, processing efficiency is improved with a reduced number of substrate cooling elements.
42 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A substrate cooling apparatus comprising:
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a treating chamber for receiving a substrate, a cooling plate for supporting said substrate in said treating chamber, and cooling means for cooling said substrate supported on said cooling plate; target temperature setting means for setting a target temperature to which said substrate is to be cooled; drive means for driving said cooling means to cool said cooling plate below said target temperature; and control means, operative when said substrate is found to have reached said target temperature, for switching said substrate to a condition free from thermal influence of said cooling plate; initial drive means for controlling said cooling means to cool said cooling plate to an initial temperature no higher than said target temperature; and substrate detecting means for detecting said substrate placed on said cooling plate to actuate said drive means; and said control means being operable to actuate said initial drive means when said substrate is found to have reached said target temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification