Vacuum apparatus including a particle monitoring unit, particle monitoring method and program, and window member for use in the particle monitoring
First Claim
1. A vacuum apparatus comprising:
- a vessel for defining a predetermined space;
a gas exhaust unit for exhausting a gas from the vessel via a gas exhaust line;
at least one gas exhaust control unit installed on the gas exhaust line, for controlling a flow rate of the gas exhausted from the vessel;
a particle monitoring unit installed on the gas exhaust line between said at least one gas exhaust control unit and the gas exhaust unit, for monitoring particles within the gas exhaust line; and
a power supply unit for generating an electric discharge within the vessel,wherein the power supply unit starts the electric discharge when said at least one gas exhaust control unit permits the exhaust of the gas, and the particles monitored by the particle monitoring unit include the particles detached from the vessel due to the electric discharge.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
It is an object to provide a vacuum apparatus capable of evaluating its cleanness precisely by surely monitoring particles including deposits readily detached from the apparatus, and a particle monitoring method and program employed therein, and a window member for particle monitoring.
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1000 includes a processing chamber 100 for performing a manufacturing processing on a wafer. A gas supply line for introducing a purge gas is connected to an upper portion of the processing chamber 100, a valve 120 being installed on the gas supply line. A rough pumping line 200 with a valve a is connected to a lower portion of the processing chamber 100. Installed on the rough pumping line 200 are a dry pump 220 for exhausting a gas in the processing chamber 100 and a particle monitoring unit 210 for monitoring particles between the valve a and the dry pump 220. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1000, after the valve 120 is opened, the purge gas is supplied to apply physical vibration due to shock wave in the processing chamber 100 so that deposits are detached therefrom to be monitored as particles.
26 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A vacuum apparatus comprising:
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a vessel for defining a predetermined space; a gas exhaust unit for exhausting a gas from the vessel via a gas exhaust line; at least one gas exhaust control unit installed on the gas exhaust line, for controlling a flow rate of the gas exhausted from the vessel; a particle monitoring unit installed on the gas exhaust line between said at least one gas exhaust control unit and the gas exhaust unit, for monitoring particles within the gas exhaust line; and a power supply unit for generating an electric discharge within the vessel, wherein the power supply unit starts the electric discharge when said at least one gas exhaust control unit permits the exhaust of the gas, and the particles monitored by the particle monitoring unit include the particles detached from the vessel due to the electric discharge. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A particle monitoring method of a vacuum apparatus having a vessel for defining a predetermined space, comprising the steps of:
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(a) exhausting a gas from the vessel via a gas exhaust line; (b) controlling a flow rate of the gas exhausted from the vessel; (c) monitoring particles within the gas exhaust line; and (d) generating an electric discharge within the vessel, wherein the electric discharge is started when the exhaust of the gas is permitted in the step (b), and the monitored particles include the particles detached from the vessel due to the electric discharge. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. A computer-executable program, stored in a storage medium, for performing a particle monitoring method of a vacuum apparatus having a vessel for defining a predetermined space, comprising:
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a gas exhaust module for exhausting a gas from the vessel via a gas exhaust line; a gas exhaust control module for controlling a flow rate of the gas exhausted from the vessel; a particle monitoring module for monitoring particles within the gas exhaust line; and an electric discharge module for generating an electric discharge within the vessel, wherein the electric discharge module starts the electric discharge when the gas exhaust control module permits the exhaust of the gas, and the particles monitored by the particle monitoring module include the particles detached from the vessel due to the electric discharge.
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8. A computer-readable storage medium which stores therein a program, the program comprising:
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a gas exhaust module for exhausting a gas from the vessel via a gas exhaust line; a gas exhaust control module for controlling a flow rate of the gas exhausted from the vessel; a particle monitoring module for monitoring particles within the gas exhaust line; and an electric discharge module for generating an electric discharge within the vessel, wherein the electric discharge module starts the electric discharge when the gas exhaust control module permits the exhaust of the gas, and the particles monitored by the particle monitoring module include the particles detached from the vessel due to the electric discharge.
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Specification