Patent ID: 7537448
Filing Date: 2009-05-26
Classification: H01L

Abstract:
1. A thermal processing unit for conducting a thermal process to a plurality of objects to be processed held in a tier-like manner in a processing container, wherein the processing container is cylindrically shaped and made of metal, a heating unit that heats the objects to be processed, and a cooling-gas introducing unit having a plurality of blowing holes for introducing a cooling gas into respective areas in the processing container divided in a height direction of the objects to be processed, are provided in the processing container, a circular space is formed between the processing container and the plurality of objects to be processed held in a tier-like manner, the cooling-gas introducing unit is a plurality of cooling-gas introducing pipes arranged at intervals in a circumferential direction of the circular space and extending in the height direction, the plurality of cooling-gas pipes having different lengths in the height direction, the plurality of blowing holes is formed at intervals in a longitudinal direction of each cooling-gas introducing pipe for blowing a slewing flow of the cooling gas in a tangential direction of the circular space, and each blowing hole is formed at a pipe wall of the cooling-gas introducing pipe to face in the same tangential direction of the processing container such that each blowing hole blows out the cooling gas in the tangential direction of the circular space, the plurality of blowing holes for uniformly cooling said objects.