STERILIZATION APPARATUS AND STERILIZATION METHOD

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase sterilization effect to an object to be sterilized by heating the object to be sterilized to an appropriate temperature for a comparatively short time without using plasma obtained by expensive equipment as a heating source.SOLUTION: A sterilization apparatus which sterilizes an object to be sterilized by alternately performing a process of degassing a gas in a sterilizing chamber and a process of introducing a sterilizing gas into the sterilizing chamber includes: a first heater which keeps the temperature of an environment in the sterilizing chamber in a temperature range appropriate for a sterilizing action of a sterilizing gas; a second heater which heats the object to be sterilized after placing the object to be sterilized in the sterilizing chamber; and an output-controlling section which controls whether or not the object to be sterilized is heated by switching a power level with the second heater. The output-controlling section begins to heat with the second heater before introduction process begins so that the temperature of the object to be sterilized which is placed in the sterilizing chamber reaches a temperature region.