Heat treatment method and apparatus thereof

摘要

The present invention relates to a thermal processing method wherein a cylindrical process tube that has at one end an entrance/exit is provided at the other end thereof with a heat source, and thermal processing is performed on a workpiece which has been brought in from the entrance/exit of the process tube to a prescribed position therein. This thermal processing method and an apparatus therefor is characterized in that, when the workpiece is moved to the prescribed position, it is first moved to a proximity position that is closer to the heat source than the prescribed position, then it is returned therefrom to the prescribed position. The invention is further characterized in that, if the actual processing temperature at the prescribed position changes while the workpiece is undergoing thermal processing, the workpiece is moved such that the position of the workpiece with respect to the heat generation source is changed in order to return the processing temperature at the prescribed position to the prescribed processing temperature. This ensures that the temperature of the workpiece can be rapidly raised to the prescribed processing temperature and also that, if the temperature of the workpiece should change, it can be rapidly returned to the prescribed processing temperature.