To provide a furnace that achieves high-process performance while enhancing maintainability.
The furnace has an apparatus for cooling a plurality of heating elements (12) that radiates thermal energy by using a source of air. The furnace includes a flame and a plurality of heating element chambers (11). The heating element chambers form spaces for accepting the heating element, which in turn includes a process chamber (109) for accommodating the wafer. The heating element chamber includes: a panel with an intake vent; a means (65) for intaking air from the source of air through the intake vent to produce a flow of air across the heating element; and a means for separating the flow of air in one heating element chamber from the other heating element chamber. The flow of cooling air across the heating element is separated from that across the heating element in other heating element chamber.
COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT
ERICKSON RONALD E
MATTHEWS STEPHEN H
Fumiaki Otsuka
Shishido Kaichi
Nobuo Ogawa