Apparatus for transferring substrate and apparatus for processing substrate including the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10566221-B2
Application number	US-201816142916-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 26, 2018
Priority date	Nov 2, 2015
Publication date	Feb 18, 2020
Grant date	Feb 18, 2020

Abstract

The inventive concepts provide apparatuses for transferring a substrate and/or apparatuses for processing a substrate including the same. The substrate transferring apparatus including a chamber, a filter assembly disposed in a chamber to provide external air into the chamber, and an additional assembly including a moisture removing part and a purge gas providing part sequentially stacked on the filter assembly may be provided. The filter assembly may be coupled to the additional assembly.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for transferring a substrate, the method comprising:
providing a container storing the substrate on a load port adjacent a first transfer chamber;
providing a purge gas into the first transfer chamber, the purge gas including a nitrogen gas;
opening a door of the container to connect the container to the first transfer chamber;
transferring the substrate in the first transfer chamber into a load lock chamber connected to the first transfer chamber; and
providing the substrate in a process chamber,
wherein the providing the purge gas into the first transfer chamber comprises,
providing the purge gas, using a nozzle, into the first transfer chamber,
heating the purge gas using a heater between the nozzle and a filter, and collecting a chemical material in the purge gas using the filter under the heater, and
wherein the nozzle is configured to inject the nitrogen gas included in the purge gas into the heater such that the nitrogen gas heated by the heater is provided to the first transfer chamber and the container accommodated in the first transfer chamber, and removes an oxygen therein.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing the purge gas further comprises generating a downward flow of the purge gas into the first transfer chamber using a fan between the filter and the heater.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heating the purge gas comprises sensing a temperature of the purge gas using a sensor on a wall of the first transfer chamber between the door of the first transfer chamber and the filter to control the temperature of the purge gas.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing the purge gas further comprises exhausting the purge gas in the first transfer chamber using a pipe connected to a bottom of the first transfer chamber.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing the purge gas comprises reducing an amount of oxygen in an external air flowing into the first transfer chamber.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the heating the purge gas comprises removing moisture in the external air by a moisture removing part.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transferring the substrate into a second transfer chamber between the load lock chamber and the process chamber.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein
the heater has a plurality of heater holes, and
the nozzle has a plurality of nozzle holes, and the nozzle is on the heater.

9. A method for processing a substrate, the method comprising:
transferring the substrate using a transferring module including first and second transfer chambers; and
processing the substrate using a processing module including a process chamber,
wherein the transferring the substrate comprises,
providing a purge gas into the first transfer chamber, the purge gas including a nitrogen gas,
transferring the substrate into the first transfer chamber, and
transferring the substrate into the process chamber,

wherein the providing the purge gas in the first transfer chamber comprises,
providing the purge gas, using a nozzle, into the first transfer chamber,
heating the purge gas using a heater between the nozzle and a filter, and
collecting a chemical material in the purge gas using the filter under the heater, and
wherein the nozzle is configured to inject the nitrogen gas included in the purge gas into the heater such that the nitrogen gas heated by the heater is provided to the first transfer chamber, and removes an oxygen therein.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the providing the purge gas further comprises generating a downward flow of the purge gas into the first transfer chamber using a fan between the filter and the heater.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the heating the purge gas comprises adjusting a temperature of the heater depending on a temperature of an inside of the first transfer chamber using a sensor in the first transfer chamber.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the providing the purge gas further comprises exhausting the purge gas in the first transfer chamber using a pipe connected to a bottom of the first transfer chamber.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the providing the purge gas comprises reducing an amount of oxygen in an external air flowing into the first transfer chamber.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the transferring the substrate further comprises:
transferring the substrate into a load lock chamber between the first and second transfer chamber; and
transferring the substrate into the second transfer chamber between the load lock chamber and the process chamber.

15. A method for transferring a substrate, the method comprising:
providing a purge gas into a first transfer chamber, the purge gas including a nitrogen gas;
transferring the substrate into the first transfer chamber;
transferring the substrate into a process chamber; and
processing the substrate in the process chamber,
wherein the providing the purge gas into the first transfer chamber comprises,
providing the purge gas, using a nozzle, into the first transfer chamber,
removing moisture in an external air using a moisture removing part under the nozzle, and
collecting a chemical material in the purge gas using a filter under the moisture removing part, and

wherein the nozzle is configured to inject the nitrogen gas included in the purge gas into the heater such that the nitrogen gas heated by the heater is provided to the first transfer chamber, and removes an oxygen therein.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the providing the purge gas further comprises generating a downward flow of the purge gas into the first transfer chamber using a fan between the filter and the moisture removing part.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the removing the moisture in the external air comprises heating the external air and the purge gas using the moisture removing part including a heater.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the removing the moisture in the external air further comprises adjusting a temperature of the heater of an inside of the first transfer chamber using a sensor in the first transfer chamber.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the providing the purge gas further comprises exhausting the purge gas in the first transfer chamber using a pipe connected to a bottom of the first transfer chamber.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the providing the purge gas comprises reducing an amount of oxygen in the external air flowing into the first transfer chamber.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Choi Hyun Sun
• Jeon Yun-Kwang
• Kang Taekyun

Classifications

• H10P72/3411

  involving loading and unloading of wafers · CPC title

• H10P72/3302

  Mechanical parts of transfer devices · CPC title

• H10P72/1924

  characterised by atmosphere control · CPC title

• H10P72/0602

  Temperature monitoring · CPC title

• H10P72/0466

  characterised by the construction of the load-lock chamber · CPC title