摘要 |
<p>A process chamber (10) for semiconductor wafers is formed of multiple compartments (12, 14). A first compartment (12) is provided for supplying an isolated environment for processing the wafers, and a second compartment (14) is provided, in selective communication with the first compartment (12), to load and unload wafers from the chamber (10). The wafer handling equipment is located in the second compartment (14) to isolate it from the process environment, and thus form a clean, non-contaminating, environment for the wafer handling equipment. When the chamber (10) must be cleaned, only the first compartment (12) must be cleaned, as no processing occurs in the second compartment (14). Therefore, the entire first compartment (12) may be removed for cleaning, and replaced with a clean first compartment to decrease chamber turnaround time during chamber cleaning operations. <MATH></p> |