초록 ▼

A wafer processing system including a processing chamber, a low pressure pump coupled to the processing chamber for pumping noble and non-noble gases, a valve mechanism coupling a source of noble gas to the processing chamber, an in situ getter pump disposed within the processing chamber which pumps

A wafer processing system including a processing chamber, a low pressure pump coupled to the processing chamber for pumping noble and non-noble gases, a valve mechanism coupling a source of noble gas to the processing chamber, an in situ getter pump disposed within the processing chamber which pumps certain non-noble gases during the flow of the noble gas into the chamber, and a processing mechanism for processing a wafer disposed within the processing chamber. Preferably, the in situ getter pump can be operated at a number of different temperatures to preferentially pump different species of gas at those temperatures. A gas analyzer is used to automatically control the temperature of the getter pump to control the species of gasses that are pumped from the chamber. A method for processing a wafer of the present invention includes the steps of placing a wafer within a processing chamber and sealing the chamber, flowing a noble gas into the chamber while simultaneously pumping the chamber with an external low pressure pump and with an in situ getter pump disposed within the chamber which pumps non-noble gases, and processing the wafer within the chamber while the noble gas continues to flow. The method also preferably includes the steps of monitoring the composition of the gas within the chamber and controlling the temperature of the getter material based upon the analysis of the composition.

대표청구항 ▼

A wafer processing system comprising: a processing chamber; a first pump effective to pump gases to achieve a vacuum of at least about 10-7 Torr selected from the group including molecular pumps, ion pumps, cryopumps, and turbo pumps, said first pump being coupled to said processing chamber by a thr

A wafer processing system comprising: a processing chamber; a first pump effective to pump gases to achieve a vacuum of at least about 10-7 Torr selected from the group including molecular pumps, ion pumps, cryopumps, and turbo pumps, said first pump being coupled to said processing chamber by a throttle plate that reduces the conductance of said first pump, said first pump being operative to pump a noble gas from said chamber; a valve mechanism coupling a source of noble gas to said processing chamber such that said noble gas can flow continuously into said processing chamber and be continuously pumped from said chamber by said first pump; an in situ getter pump disposed within said processing chamber which can pump a non-noble gas during the flow of said noble gas into said chamber, said in situ pump pumping essentially none of said noble gas, wherein said getter pump includes a getter module and a heater disposed proximate to said getter module such that said getter module can be heated, said getter pump further including a heat shield effective to shield thermally said getter pump module from at least some surfaces within said processing chamber; a gas analyzer coupled to said chamber; and a controller coupled to said gas analyzer and operative to selectively control a temperature of said heater based upon the gas composition within said chamber.