Patent ID: 6403927
Filing Date: 2002-06-11
Classification: H01L

Abstract:
A heat-processing apparatus for a semiconductor process in which a plurality of target substrates are simultaneously subjected to a heat-process, the apparatus comprising:a process chamber, which accommodates the target substrates; a holder, which holds the target substrates with a gap therebetween in the process chamber; a heater disposed around the process chamber, which heats an interior of the process chamber through a sidewall of the process chamber; a surrounding member, which surrounds the process chamber and the heater, and forms a heating space around the process chamber, the heating space comprising a plurality of zones juxtaposed in a direction in which the target substrates are arrayed; a plurality of the temperature sensors, which detect temperatures respectively representing the zones; a cooling mechanism, which forms flows of a cooling gas respectively in the zones, and cools the zones; and a controller, which controls the cooling mechanism on the basis of temperatures detected by the temperature sensors when the process chamber is cooled, such that a flow velocity of the cooling gas in a first zone having a lower cooling rate becomes higher than a flow velocity of the cooling gas in a second zone having a higher cooling rate used as a reference, thereby adjusting the cooling rate of the first zone to be closer to the cooling rate of the second zone.