Conditioning of the atmosphere in a process chamber for the treatment of substrates using control of pump speed and gas analysis to match requirements at each process stage

摘要

Pumping rate of gas from a substrate treatment process chamber is adjusted to maintain a pressure matched to each treatment stage in the processing chamber. Gas drawn upstream of a primary pump is analyzed, and the result is used to adjust the pumping rate as a function of pumped gas. Conditioning the atmosphere in a process chamber (1) for treatment of a substrate comprises: pumping the gas from the process chamber using a primary pump (3) connected to at least one upstream secondary pump; adjusting pumping speed to maintain pressure matched to each treatment stage in the process chamber; analyzing gas aspired upstream of the primary pump; and using the result of this analysis to adjust pumping speed as a function of the gas pumped, to determine evolution of the pressure in the process chamber during treatment phases. An Independent claim is included for a device for conditioning the atmosphere in a process chamber.