Heating – Heating or heat retaining work chamber structure – Door – cover or port
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-06
2001-10-16
Wilson, Gregory (Department: 3749)
Heating
Heating or heat retaining work chamber structure
Door, cover or port
C432S242000, C110S176000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06302684
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for opening/closing process chamber doors of ovens used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. More particularly, the invention relates to the apparatus for opening/closing the path through which a cassette passes in the oven where wafers are hard baked after being subjected to a wet etching process.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, semiconductor devices are fabricated using multiple repeated processes such as photolithography, etching, thin film formation, and hard baking processes that follow wet etching processes.
FIGS. 1 and 2
show a conventional oven for performing the hard baking process. The baking process is performed in a process chamber
1
where multiple wafers
2
are loaded into a cassette
3
, and the inside of which is heated to the desired temperature.
A ventilator
4
at the bottom of the process chamber
1
forces the inside air to circulate along an air flow path
5
. The air is heated by means of a heater
6
in the air flow path
5
, and therefore the temperature of the air is raised to the desired process temperature. A filter
7
at the top of the process chamber
1
removes foreign substances from the air before the air enters the inside of the chamber.
In addition, an opening
8
through which the cassette
3
is passed, penetrates the process chamber
1
, and is sealed by a door
9
. One end of the door
9
is connected to the process chamber
1
by a hinge
10
, the other end having a handle
11
for opening/closing the door manually.
Such a manual door operating method results in reduced operating efficiency due to the user's direct operation of the door sealing the opening
8
. Also, the wafer and its periphery are contaminated by particles resulting from the abrasion of the hinge
10
, which is easily broken because of the weak connecting structure, thereby requiring the oven to be taken out of service for repairs. Additionally, the user risks burns when the door
9
is accidentally opened.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for opening/closing the process chamber door of an oven used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, which substantially overcomes one or more of the problems, limitations, and disadvantages of the related art.
More specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for opening/closing the process chamber door of an oven used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, which automatically operates the door to increase efficiency, minimize the contamination of the wafer with dust particles typically produced during the opening/closing of the door, and reduce the risk of personnel becoming accidentally burned.
To achieve these and other objects, the present invention provides a boss formed at one side of an opening of a process chamber; a shaft which passes through the boss; bearings attached to the process chamber, for supporting the ends of the shaft; a driving means for turning the shaft to desired positions; and a door, that seals the opening, and one side of which is attached to the shaft.
In another aspect, the present invention also provides a pair of bearings located at one side of an opening of a process chamber; a shaft supported at its ends by the bearings; a bracket having one end attached to the shaft and the other end attached to the door; and an actuator for turning the bracket over a predetermined angle in order to move the door and open/close the process chamber.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4427378 (1984-01-01), Bowers
patent: 5449289 (1995-09-01), Owczarz et al.
patent: 5674123 (1997-10-01), Roberson, Jr. et al.
patent: 5803021 (1998-09-01), Rourke et al.
patent: 4-257244 (1992-09-01), None
Choi Woo-yeul
Woo Jae-young
Jones Volentine PLLC
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
Wilson Gregory
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