Pressure control apparatus and method of establishing a desired level of pressure within at least one processing chamber

摘要

A desired level of pressure is established in at least one chamber that forms part of a closed atmosphere, such as in a semiconductor device processing facility. A pressure control system includes at least one space increase/decrease device that has a partition which is movable to increase and/or decrease the volume of free space within the chamber(s), a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure within the chamber(s), and a controller for controlling the movement of the partition based on the detected pressure. A chamber is provided with positive or negative pressure to increase or decrease the pressure therein while the pressure in the chamber is monitored. As soon as the pressure within the chamber equals a predetermined pressure, the providing of the positive or negative pressure is stopped. The partition is moved to vary the effective volume of free space in the chamber(s) to change the pressure in the chamber from the predetermined pressure to the desired pressure.