Method for improved chamber bake-out and cool-down

摘要

A method and apparatus for baking-out and for cooling a vacuum chamber are provided. In a first aspect, an inert gas which conducts heat from the vacuum chamber's bake-out lamps to the shield and from the shield to the other parts within the vacuum chamber is introduced to the chamber during chamber bake-out. The inert gas preferably comprises argon, helium or nitrogen and preferably raises the chamber pressure to about 500 Torr during chamber bake-out. A semiconductor processing apparatus also is provided having a controller programmed to perform the inventive bake-out method. In a second aspect, a process chamber is provided having at least one source of a cooling gas. The cooling gas is input to the chamber and is allowed to thermally communicate with the chamber body and components. The cooling gas may reside in the chamber for a period of time or may be continuously flowed through the chamber. Once the chamber reaches a target temperature the cooling gas is evacuated.