Patent ID: 6598316
Filing Date: 2003-07-29
Classification: H01L

Abstract:
An apparatus, comprising:an input-output (I-O) chamber being hermetically sealable and having a cover operable to open and close the chamber to the atmosphere; a gas supply line adapted to supply at least one dry, inert gas to form a gas blanket over and around at least one semiconductor wafer in the chamber to remove therefrom contaminants selected from the group consisting of minute foreign particles, atmospheric moisture, and residual organic vapors; a pump for pumping the gas and purging the contaminants away from the at least one semiconductor wafer; and a control system for controlling the gas supply line and the pump, the pump being controlled during an initial period to exhaust the gas and contaminants at a first rate and reduce pressure within the chamber from a first pressure level to a second pressure level lower than the first pressure level, the gas being supplied to the gas supply line during the initial period, the gas supply line being turned off when the second pressure level is reached, and thereafter the pump at a second rate exhausting the gas in the chamber to a third pressure level lower than the second pressure level.