| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily control the humidity in a wafer transfer path by a method wherein a humidifier and an exhaust vent with an automatic opening/closing exhaust damper that opens or closes automatically are provided in a wafer transfer path. SOLUTION: A humidifier 13 is provided both above and below the wafer inlet opening 1 of a polishing device respectively. A humidifier 15 is also provided above and below HTP stations 5 and 6, respectively. An exhaust vent 10 with an automatic opening/closing exhaust damper is provided adjacent to a load station 3. The exhaust vent 10 is automatically opened or closed by a feedback control to keep the humidity constant to a level below saturation, where the humidity is measured by a hygrometer. Moreover, a wafer can be rinsed with water vapor fed from the humidifiers 15 provided near the HTP stations 5 and 6. Furthermore, a wafer transfer path is humidified by the humidifiers 13 and 15, so that a clean room can be prevented from being contaminated with slurry.
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