JP2010181054A - Device and method for heating - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heating device and method capable of shortening a time necessary for heating a heated object in a vacuum container. <P>SOLUTION: This heating device has the vacuum container 30, and a first gas passage 21a. The vacuum container 30 receives the heated object 11. The first gas passage 21a has a jetting section 22 for directly applying the heated gas to the heated object 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heating device and a heating method, and particularly relates to a heating device having a vacuum vessel and a heating method using the vacuum vessel.

  It may be necessary to keep the object to be heated under a low pressure while maintaining a high temperature. Since heat conduction is less likely to occur under such a low pressure, when the object to be heated is heated in a vacuum, the time required for heating becomes long. For this reason, the technique for heating up a to-be-heated object in a shorter time is proposed.

  For example, according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-125457 (Patent Document 1), first, the inside of the furnace into which the workpiece is put is evacuated. Next, the inert gas heated to a predetermined temperature is supplied into the furnace, and the workpiece is heated and heated by convection of the inert gas. Next, the supply of the inert gas is stopped and the inside of the furnace is evacuated.

JP-A-5-125457

  In the above method, although the time required for heating is shortened by the convection of the inert gas, there is a problem that the effect may be insufficient.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a heating apparatus and a heating method that can shorten the time required to heat an object to be heated in a vacuum vessel.

  The heating device of the present invention has a vacuum vessel and a first gas path. The vacuum container is for storing an object to be heated. The first gas path has an ejection part for directly blowing the heated gas onto the object to be heated.

  According to the heating device of the present invention, since the heated gas is directly blown onto the object to be heated, the object to be heated can be efficiently heated. Therefore, the time required to heat the article to be heated can be shortened.

Preferably, the article to be heated includes a substrate. Thereby, the substrate can be heated.
Preferably, the object to be heated includes a tray on which the substrate is placed. Thereby, a tray can be used for conveyance of a board | substrate.

  Preferably, the ejection part has a plurality of ejection ports. Thereby, a to-be-heated material can be heated more uniformly.

  Preferably, the heating device further includes a support portion having a support surface for supporting an object to be heated in the vacuum vessel. Thereby, an object to be heated can be held.

  Preferably, the support part has a plurality of steps. Thus, a plurality of objects to be heated can be heated by one heating.

  Preferably, the ejection portion is disposed on the support surface. Thereby, gas can be sprayed directly on the surface by which a to-be-heated material is supported.

  Preferably, the support portion includes a heater for heating both the object to be heated and the first gas path. Thus, the object to be heated can be heated not only by the gas but also by heat conduction without gas.

  Preferably, the heating device further includes a heater for heating the gas outside the vacuum vessel. Thus, the heater can be provided outside the vacuum container.

  Preferably, the heating device further includes a second gas path for returning the gas diffused into the vacuum vessel to the first gas path. Thereby, gas can be reused.

The heating method of the present invention includes the following steps.
An object to be heated is stored in the vacuum container. The heated object is heated by directly spraying the heated gas onto the heated object.

  According to the heating method of the present invention, since the heated gas is directly sprayed on the object to be heated, the object to be heated can be efficiently heated. Thereby, the time required to heat the article to be heated can be shortened.

  Preferably, the vacuum container is evacuated after the object to be heated is heated. Thus, the heated object to be heated can be held in a vacuum.

  Preferably, the object to be heated is heated while the pressure in the vacuum vessel is maintained. As a result, the pressure in the vacuum vessel can be kept high as compared with the case where the pressure is continuously reduced, so that the heated object can be heated more efficiently. Therefore, the time required to heat the object to be heated can be further shortened.

  Preferably, when the object to be heated is heated, the gas recovered from the vacuum vessel is sprayed again on the object to be heated. Thereby, gas can be reused.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the time required to heat the object to be heated can be shortened.

It is sectional drawing which shows schematically the structure of the heating apparatus in one embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows schematically the support surface of the support part of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the heating apparatus of a comparative example roughly. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing measurement points in Table 1.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, heating device 100 of the present embodiment includes a vacuum vessel 30, a gas introduction pipe 21a (first gas path), a gas recovery pipe 21b (second gas path), and , Stage 20 (support part), heater 23, rotary pump 41, mechanical booster pump (MBP) 42, valve 43, and gas circulator 50.

  The vacuum container 30 is for storing an object to be heated. The object to be heated includes a substrate 10 and a tray (setter) 11 on which the substrate 10 is placed.

  The stage 20 has a support surface (upper surface in FIG. 1) for supporting the tray 11 in the vacuum container 30. The stage 20 includes a heater 23 for heating both the tray 11 and the gas introduction pipe 21a. The stage 20 has a plurality of stages (upper and lower stages in FIG. 1).

  The gas introduction pipe 21 a has a plurality of jet outlets 22 as jet parts for blowing the heated gas directly onto the tray 11. The jet port 22 is disposed on the support surface of the stage 20. A part of the gas introduction pipe 21 a passes through the stage 20.

  The gas recovery pipe 21b is for returning the gas diffused into the vacuum vessel 30 to the gas introduction pipe 21a. The gas circulator 50 is for circulating gas as shown by an arrow (FIG. 1) in a path including the gas introduction pipe 21a, the vacuum vessel 30 and the gas recovery pipe 21b.

Next, the heating method in this Embodiment is demonstrated.
First, the tray 11 on which the substrate 10 is placed is stored in the vacuum container 30. Next, the vacuum vessel 30 is evacuated using the rotary pump 41 and the mechanical booster pump 42 with the valve 43 opened. When the vacuum vessel 30 is depressurized to a predetermined pressure, the valve 43 is closed.

  Next, a portion of the gas introduction pipe 21 a located in the stage 20 is heated by the heater 23. Then, gas is passed through the gas introduction pipe 21a. This gas preferably has a high thermal conductivity, for example hydrogen or helium. The gas is heated by passing the gas through the portion heated by the heater 23 of the gas introduction pipe 21a. The heated gas is ejected from the ejection port 22 and blown directly onto the tray 11. Thereby, the tray 11 is heated.

  The sprayed gas diffuses in the vacuum container 30. The diffused gas is recovered from the vacuum vessel 30 to the gas recovery pipe 21b by the action of the gas circulator 50, and then returned to the gas introduction pipe 21a. The returned gas is again heated and then blown again onto the tray 11 as described above. Therefore, the gas circulates through a path including the gas introduction pipe 21a, the vacuum vessel 30, and the gas recovery pipe 21b. At this time, since the valve 43 is closed, the pressure in the vacuum vessel 30 is maintained at a predetermined pressure. This pressure is, for example, 100 Pa or more and atmospheric pressure or less.

  When the tray 11 is heated as described above, the substrate 10 is heated by heat conduction from the tray 11. When the substrate 10 reaches a predetermined temperature, the gas circulator 50 is stopped. Then, the vacuum container 30 is evacuated by opening the valve 43.

As described above, the substrate 10 is brought into a high temperature state and kept under a low pressure.
Next, a heating method using the heating apparatus 900 (FIG. 3) of the comparative example will be described.

  First, the tray 11 on which the substrate 10 is placed is stored in the vacuum container 30. Next, the vacuum vessel 30 is evacuated using the rotary pump 41 and the mechanical booster pump 42 with the valve 43 opened. When the vacuum vessel 30 is depressurized to a predetermined pressure, the valve 43 is closed. This pressure is, for example, 1 to 20 Pa.

  Next, the stage 20 is heated by the heater 23. The tray 11 is heated mainly by heat conduction from the stage 20. Since this heat conduction is suppressed by reducing the pressure in the vacuum container 30, the heating efficiency of the tray 11 is lowered. Similarly, since heat conduction between the tray 11 and the substrate 10 is suppressed, the efficiency of heating the substrate 10 by the tray 11 is also reduced. As a result, the time required to heat the substrate 10 becomes long.

  On the other hand, according to this Embodiment, since the heated gas is sprayed directly on the tray 11, the tray 11 can be heated efficiently. Thereby, the substrate 10 placed on the tray 11 is also efficiently heated. Therefore, the time required for heating the substrate 10 can be shortened.

  A part of the ejected gas diffuses between the tray 11 and the substrate 10. This gas promotes heat conduction from the tray 11 to the substrate 10. As a result, the time required to heat the substrate 10 can be shortened.

  Further, the provision of the plurality of ejection ports 22 makes it possible to heat the tray 11 more evenly than when only one ejection port is provided. Therefore, the substrate 10 can be heated more evenly.

  Moreover, since the stage 20 has a plurality of stages, the plurality of substrates 10 can be heated by one heating.

  Further, by providing the gas recovery pipe 21 b, the gas diffused in the vacuum container 30 can be reused for heating the substrate 10.

  Further, the pressure in the vacuum vessel 30 is maintained at a predetermined pressure during the heating using the gas. Thereby, the pressure in the vacuum vessel 30 can be kept high compared with the case where the vacuum vessel 30 is continuously decompressed. Therefore, the tray 11 can be heated more efficiently and heat conduction between the tray 11 and the substrate 10 can be promoted. Therefore, the time required for heating the substrate 10 can be further shortened.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the time required for heating the substrate 10 can be shortened. The verification result will be described below while comparing the example of the present embodiment with the comparative example.

  As an example of the present embodiment, nitrogen gas was used as the gas, and the substrate 10 was heated at a target temperature of 200 ° C. Two hours after the start of heating, the temperatures of the measurement points A to I (FIG. 4) of the substrate 10 were measured. The same measurement was performed for the comparative example. The results are shown in Table 1.

  In the comparative example, the temperature of the substrate 10 had a distribution of 130 to 190 ° C. That is, the temperature of the substrate 10 has not yet reached the target temperature, and the uniformity of the temperature distribution is low. On the other hand, according to the present Example, the temperature of the board | substrate 10 had distribution of 199-201 degreeC. That is, the temperature of the substrate 10 reached the target temperature, and the uniformity of the temperature distribution was high.

  From this result, it was found that the substrate 10 can be heated uniformly in a short time according to the present embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the substrate 10 is supported on the stage 20 via the tray 11, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the substrate 10 may be directly supported on the stage 20. In this case, the heated gas is blown directly onto the substrate 10.

  In the present embodiment, the heater for heating the gas is provided in the vacuum container 30, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the heater for heating the gas is the vacuum container 30. It may be provided outside.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  The present invention can be applied particularly advantageously to a heating apparatus having a vacuum vessel and a heating method using the vacuum vessel.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Substrate, 11 Tray (object to be heated), 20 Stage (support part), 21a Gas introduction pipe (first gas path), 21b Gas recovery pipe (second gas path), 22 Jet port, 23 Heater, 30 Vacuum container, 41 rotary pump, 42 mechanical booster pump, 43 valve, 50 gas circulator, 100 heating device.

Claims (14)

A vacuum container for storing an object to be heated;
A heating device comprising: a first gas path having a jetting part for directly blowing heated gas onto the object to be heated.   The heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object to be heated includes a substrate.   The heating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the object to be heated includes a tray on which the substrate is placed.   The heating device according to claim 1, wherein the ejection portion has a plurality of ejection ports.   The heating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a support portion having a support surface for supporting the object to be heated in the vacuum vessel.   The heating device according to claim 5, wherein the support portion has a plurality of steps.   The heating device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the ejection portion is disposed on the support surface.   The said support part is a heating apparatus in any one of Claims 5-7 containing the heater for heating both the said to-be-heated material and the said 1st gas path | route.   The heating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a heater for heating the gas outside the vacuum vessel.   The heating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a second gas path for returning the gas diffused into the vacuum vessel to the first gas path. Storing the object to be heated in a vacuum vessel;
Heating the heated object by directly blowing heated gas onto the heated object.   The heating method according to claim 11, further comprising a step of evacuating the vacuum vessel after the heating step.   The heating method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the heating step is performed while maintaining a pressure of the vacuum vessel.   The heating method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the heating step includes a step of spraying the gas recovered from the vacuum vessel again on the object to be heated.

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