Vacuum exhaust method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10014145-B2
Application number	US-201715595290-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 15, 2017
Priority date	May 24, 2016
Publication date	Jul 3, 2018
Grant date	Jul 3, 2018

Abstract

A vacuum exhaust method is for decreasing a pressure in a processing chamber in which a mounting table configured to mount thereon a substrate is provided by using a gas exhaust unit. The vacuum exhaust method includes mounting a non-evaporated getter (NEG) on the mounting table, and adsorbing an active gas in the processing chamber on the NEG mounted on the mounting table. In the adsorbing the active gas, the NEG is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vacuum exhaust method for decreasing a pressure in a processing chamber, in which a mounting table configured to mount thereon a substrate is provided, by using a gas exhaust unit, the method comprising:
mounting a non-evaporated getter (NEG) on the mounting table; and
adsorbing an active gas in the processing chamber on the NEG mounted on the mounting table,
wherein said mounting the NEG is performed when a vacuum level in the processing chamber does not reach a predetermined vacuum level in a state where a pressure in the processing chamber is decreased by the gas exhaust unit.

2. The vacuum exhaust method of claim 1 , wherein in said adsorbing the active gas, the NEG is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

3. The vacuum exhaust method of claim 1 further comprising: before said mounting the NEG, activating the NEG.

4. The vacuum exhaust method of claim 2 further comprising: before said mounting the NEG, activating the NEG.

5. The vacuum exhaust method of claim 1 , wherein in said mounting the NEG, the NEG to be mounted on the mounting table is stored in an activated state under a vacuum atmosphere.

6. The vacuum exhaust method of claim 2 , wherein in said mounting the NEG, the NEG to be mounted on the mounting table is stored in an activated state under a vacuum atmosphere.

7. The vacuum exhaust method of claim 1 further comprising: after said adsorbing the active gas, unloading the NEG from the processing chamber,
wherein said unloading the NEG is performed after a pressure in the processing chamber becomes lower than or equal to a predetermined pressure.

8. The vacuum exhaust method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined vacuum level is determined depending on types of the gas exhaust unit.

9. The vacuum exhaust method of claim 1 , wherein the gas exhaust unit includes a cryo pump or a water pump.

10. The vacuum exhaust method of claim 1 , wherein the NEG is formed in a wafer shape.

11. The vacuum exhaust method of claim 1 , wherein the NEG is bonded onto a surface of a substrate to be subjected to processing in the processing chamber which is opposite to a surface of the substrate mounted on the mounting table.

12. The vacuum exhaust method of claim 1 , wherein the NEG is made of a ZrVFe alloy.

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Saito Tomohiro
• MITSUNAGA Tadashi
• Maeda Kouji
• Miyashita Tetsuya

Classifications

• H01J37/32724

  Temperature · CPC title

• H01J11/46

  Connecting or feeding means, e.g. leading-in conductors · CPC title

• H01J7/186

  Getter supports · CPC title

• H01J37/32816

  Pressure · CPC title

• H01J41/12

  Discharge tubes for evacuating by diffusion of ions, e.g. ion pumps, getter ion pumps · CPC title