Reducing gas recirculation in thermal processing furnace

摘要

A tube furnace used for high-temperature processing of semiconductor wafers or the like employs features to improve the gas flow. One feature is reducing, or essentially eliminating, regions of gas recirculation in the outer annular region inherently present in a horizontal hot-wall atmospheric oxidation reactor equipped with a tubular cantilever for holding semiconductor wafers. The annular region is effectively isolated from the rest of the reactor by a solid circular quartz ring or barrier formed on the inner wall of the furnace tube, acting as a physical barrier against gas penetration inside the outer annulus.