Apparatus and method for processing semiconductor substrate

Abstract

To provide a transport module for transporting a semiconductor substrate under vacuum conditions, and a method for processing a semiconductor substrate.SOLUTION: The apparatus comprises: one or more semiconductor substrate handling devices through which a semiconductor substrate can be introduced to and / or removed from the apparatus; a plurality of process chambers for processing the semiconductor substrate; and a transport module for transporting the semiconductor substrate under vacuum conditions between the semiconductor substrate handling devices and the plurality of process chambers. The transport module comprises: a vacuum chamber comprising a main chamber and a degas sub-chamber; a first pumping system in connection with the main chamber for maintaining a vacuum within the main chamber; a second pumping system in connection with the degas sub-chamber for maintaining a vacuum within the degas sub-chamber; at least one transport device for transporting the semiconductor substrate between desired locations which include the semiconductor substrate handling devices and the plurality of process chambers; a substrate support; and a lifting device.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate, and more particularly to an apparatus providing a degassing function. The present invention also relates to a related transfer module for transferring a semiconductor substrate under vacuum conditions and a related method for processing a semiconductor substrate.

Background Art

[0002] It is well known to deposit a thin film of a material, such as a metal or a dielectric material, on the surface of a semiconductor wafer using techniques such as physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), or atomic layer deposition (ALD). It is essential that the surface of the semiconductor wafer be properly prepared prior to depositing a layer by any of these deposition methods. Each of these deposition methods is performed under reduced pressure in order to maintain film quality by minimizing the presence of undesirable contaminants. To maximize productivity, these deposition steps are necessarily performed in a cluster tool in which a number of processing modules are arranged around a central transfer module (TM). Often, prior to the thin film deposition step, a degassing or preheating step, and potentially an etching step or combination of steps are required. This is to ensure that contaminants from the surface of the wafer, such as water and organic compounds, are removed and that the wafer is at the correct temperature for the deposition process.

[0003] Productivity, or throughput (typically measured in wafers per hour), is an important factor in determining the performance of a manufacturing system. Therefore, in order to maximize throughput, it is important that the wafer processing sequence be well balanced. As the number of process steps increases and different processing modules are introduced, it becomes increasingly difficult to avoid bottlenecks in the integrated process flow. This can result in idle time during the process. The ordering of wafers in a cluster tool is often determined by the availability of processing modules for the next process step. In many applications, the pressure within the processing and transfer modules must not fall below a defined setpoint before the slot valve between the module and the transfer module can be opened. This is to avoid cross-contamination between stations.

[0004] Degassing or preheating wafers within a cluster tool typically involves uniformly heating the wafers to the required temperature and removing desorbed gas from the areas where the wafers are heated, such that the desorbed gas is not re-adsorbed onto the wafers and does not degrade the vacuum performance of the TM or processing module. Degassing is typically performed within the processing module or within the loadlock system that forms part of the wafer handling apparatus used to introduce the wafers into the TM. As the temperature of the wafers increases, the pressure within the areas of the wafers increases until most of the contaminants are removed. PVD systems that use organic passivation layers such as polyimide (PI) and polybenzoxazole (BPO) for wafer packing and as the mold layer for fan-out wafer level packaging (FOWLP) applications face specific problems. The requirements for the degassing capabilities of these systems increase due to the temperature sensitivity of the organic passivation layers and the amount of contaminants present in these layers.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Patent Document 5

Patent Document 6

Patent Document 7

Patent Document 8

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] The present invention addresses the above problems, desires, and requirements in at least some of its embodiments. In particular, the present invention addresses the problem of improving the productivity of integrated cluster tools limited by their degassing ability in at least some of its embodiments.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The present invention finds particular utility in the degassing of substrates including organic passivation layers such as PI and BPO, but it will be understood that the present invention is not limited in this regard. Rather, the present invention is widely applicable to various substrates, processing modules, and cluster tools.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate includes one or more semiconductor substrate handling devices through which a semiconductor substrate can be introduced into and / or removed from the apparatus, a plurality of processing chambers for processing the semiconductor substrate, and a transfer module for vacuum-transferring the semiconductor substrate between the semiconductor substrate handling device and the plurality of processing chambers. The transfer module includes a vacuum chamber having a main chamber and a degassing sub-chamber, a first pumping system connected to the main chamber to maintain a vacuum in the main chamber, a second pumping system connected to the degassing sub-chamber to maintain a vacuum in the degassing sub-chamber, at least one transfer device for transferring the semiconductor substrate between desired locations including the semiconductor substrate handling device and the plurality of processing chambers, a substrate support, and a lifting device for moving the substrate support between a raised position and a lowered position. The lifting device is configured such that in the lowered position, the transfer device positions the semiconductor substrate on the substrate support, and in the raised position, (i) positions the semiconductor substrate disposed on the substrate support within the degassing sub-chamber, and (ii) seals the degassing sub-chamber from the main chamber to maintain a vacuum in the degassing sub-chamber by the second pumping system.

[0009] This type of apparatus offers a number of advantages. Compared to prior art apparatuses where a degassing chamber is provided at the processing chamber location, additional processing chamber locations become available. This can improve the throughput of the apparatus or provide additional tool flexibility. Compared to prior art apparatuses where an in-line degassing station is provided in a load lock device, the present invention enables the load lock module to function only as a load lock. This reduces the transfer time from atmosphere to vacuum (and from vacuum to atmosphere). Also, degassing is performed in an environment that is not vented to the atmosphere and has a dedicated pumping system. Alternatively, the apparatus of the present invention can comprise one or more in-line load lock devices having a degassing station. This provides a further increase in the degassing capacity of the apparatus. The degassing sub-chamber can be continuously pumped and thus evacuated before opening the sub-chamber to the transfer module by lowering the substrate support. The degassing sub-chamber can be easily vacuum isolated from the transfer module and general maintenance can be performed. Contamination of the transfer module and the first pumping system can be avoided by the vacuum isolation of the degassing sub-chamber from the transfer module and through the provision of dedicated pumping of the degassing sub-chamber by the second pumping system.

[0010] The vacuum chamber can further comprise an auxiliary sub-chamber disposed between the main chamber and the degassing sub-chamber, and in its lowered position, the substrate support is disposed within the auxiliary sub-chamber to enable the transfer device to position the semiconductor substrate onto the substrate support. The degassing sub-chamber can be disposed above the auxiliary sub-chamber.

[0011] The auxiliary sub-chamber can be in vacuum communication with the main chamber. The vacuum communication can be through an opening formed in the main chamber.

[0012] The degassing sub-chamber can be disposed in the peripheral region of the main chamber between two semiconductor substrate handling devices.

[0013] A semiconductor substrate handling device and a plurality of processing chambers can each be in vacuum communication with the main chamber of the transfer module via respective closable gates. The gates can be slot valves. The degassing sub-chamber can be disposed above the slot valve.

[0014] A semiconductor substrate handling device and a plurality of processing chambers can be circumferentially arranged around the main chamber.

[0015] The degassing sub-chamber can include one or more heating devices for raising the temperature of the semiconductor substrate. The one or more heating devices can be disposed on the lifting device.

[0016] The one or more heating devices can include at least one device for emitting electromagnetic radiation. Optionally, the at least one device for emitting electromagnetic radiation is at least one IR radiation device.

[0017] The degassing sub-chamber can be sealed from the main chamber by contact between the substrate support and the sealing surface at the raised position of the substrate support. The sealing surface can be an O-ring. The sealing surface can be disposed on the lower surface of the degassing sub-chamber. Other suitable sealing systems will be readily suggested to those skilled in the art.

[0018] The transfer device typically transfers the semiconductor substrate between different positions on a common handling plane. The raised position of the lifting device can position the semiconductor substrate on a plane above the handling plane.

[0019] The first pumping system can include a turbo molecular pump. The second pumping system can comprise a cryopump. Other types of high vacuum and ultra-high vacuum pumps can be contemplated for use in the first and / or second pumping systems. Each of the first and second pumping systems can include a roughing pump, typically a mechanical pump.

[0020] One or more semiconductor substrate handling apparatuses can include a vacuum chamber elevator (VCE). Alternatively, one or more semiconductor substrate handling apparatuses can include a load lock module. One or more semiconductor substrate handling apparatuses can include an EFEM (Equipment Front End Module).

[0021] At least one transfer device of the transfer module can include a robotic transfer device. The robotic transfer device can include one or more robotic arms.

[0022] The processing chamber can be of any desired type, such as a PVD chamber, an etching chamber, or a CVD chamber, a PECVD chamber, etc. The processing chamber can in principle include an additional degassing / preheating chamber.

[0023] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transfer module for transferring a semiconductor substrate under vacuum conditions, including a vacuum chamber having a main chamber and a degassing sub-chamber, a first pumping system connected to the main chamber to maintain the vacuum in the main chamber, a second pumping system connected to the degassing sub-chamber to maintain the vacuum in the degassing sub-chamber, at least one transfer device for transferring the semiconductor substrate between desired locations, a substrate support, and a lifting device for moving the substrate support between a raised position and a lowered position. The lifting device enables the transfer device to position the semiconductor substrate on the substrate support in the lowered position, and in the raised position, (i) the substrate disposed on the substrate support is positioned in the degassing sub-chamber, and (ii) the degassing sub-chamber is sealed from the main chamber and configured such that a vacuum is maintained in the degassing sub-chamber by the second pumping system.

[0024] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a degassing device for retrofitting an existing transfer module to provide a transfer module, the degassing device including a degassing sub-chamber, a pumping system connected to the degassing sub-chamber to maintain the vacuum in the degassing sub-chamber, an auxiliary sub-chamber having an opening, the degassing sub-chamber being disposed above the auxiliary sub-chamber, a substrate support, and a lifting device for moving the substrate support between a raised position and a lowered position. The lifting device enables the semiconductor substrate to be introduced into the auxiliary sub-chamber through the opening and positioned on the substrate support in the lowered position, and in the raised position, (i) the semiconductor substrate disposed on the substrate support is positioned in the degassing sub-chamber, and (ii) the degassing sub-chamber is sealed from the main chamber and configured such that a vacuum is maintained in the degassing sub-chamber by the pumping system.

[0025] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of processing a semiconductor substrate, comprising the steps of providing an apparatus including one or more semiconductor substrate handling devices through which a semiconductor substrate can be introduced into and / or removed from the apparatus, a plurality of processing chambers for processing the semiconductor substrate, and a transfer module for vacuum-transferring the semiconductor substrate between the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus and the plurality of processing chambers, the transfer module including a vacuum chamber having a main chamber and a degassing sub-chamber, a first pumping system connected to the main chamber for maintaining a vacuum in the main chamber, a second pumping system connected to the degassing sub-chamber for maintaining a vacuum in the degassing sub-chamber, at least one transfer device for transferring the semiconductor substrate between desired locations including the semiconductor substrate handling devices and the plurality of processing chambers, a substrate support, and a lifting device for moving the substrate support between a raised position and a lowered position, the method further comprising the steps of introducing the semiconductor substrate into the main chamber of the transfer module using the transfer device, positioning the semiconductor substrate on the substrate support in its lowered position using the transfer device, raising the substrate support to its raised position and positioning the semiconductor substrate in the degassing sub-chamber and sealing the degassing sub-chamber from the main chamber such that a vacuum is maintained in the degassing sub-chamber by the second pumping system, degassing the semiconductor substrate in the degassing sub-chamber, lowering the substrate support to its lowered position and positioning the semiconductor substrate in one of the processing chambers using the transfer device, processing the semiconductor substrate in one or more of the processing chambers, and transferring the semiconductor substrate to the semiconductor substrate handling device.

[0026] The semiconductor substrate can be a silicon substrate, for example, a silicon wafer or a wafer of another semiconductor material.

[0027] Whenever reference is made in this specification to the terms "comprising" or "including" and similar terms, it is to be understood that the invention also includes the more limiting terms such as "consisting" and "consisting essentially".

[0028] Having described the invention above, the invention extends to any inventive combination of features described in the above or following description, drawings or claims. The apparatus of the first, second and third aspects of the invention is intended to be able to perform the method of the fourth aspect of the invention. Accordingly, any feature disclosed in connection with the first, second, and third aspects of the invention may, where appropriate, be combined with any feature disclosed in connection with the fourth aspect of the invention, and vice versa.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0029] Next, embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0030] Figure 1 shows a part of the transfer module of the present invention including a degassing sub-chamber 1 and a main chamber 2 of the transfer module. Figure 1(a) shows the open position of the degassing sub-chamber 1 where there is a vacuum communication between the degassing sub-chamber 1 and the main chamber 2 via the auxiliary sub-chamber 16. The open position in Figure 1(a) is achieved by lowering the substrate support 4. Thereby, the end effector of the robot device (not shown) of the transfer module can place or remove a wafer on the ceramic holding fixture 3 on the substrate support 4. Typically, the substrate to be processed is a semiconductor wafer, and the substrate support is a suitable wafer support such as a platen as shown in Figure 1. The degassing sub-chamber 1 includes a wall structure 7 formed of a suitable metal and an upper window 5. The window 5 is above the wafer when the wafer is in place on the platen 4. An "O" - ring seal 6 is used to seal the window 5 against the upper surface of the wall structure 7. In the atmosphere above the window, there is an array of infrared (IR) lamps 8 used to achieve the required degassing conditions within the chamber. The degassing sub-chamber 1 is pumped by a dedicated turbo molecular pump 9, which is backed up by a mechanical pump (not shown). The stainless - steel bellows assembly 10 under the platen 4 is used to maintain the vacuum integrity within the auxiliary sub-chamber.

[0031] Figure 1(b) shows the closed position of the degassing sub-chamber 1 where there is no vacuum communication between the degassing sub-chamber 1 and the main chamber 2 / auxiliary sub-chamber 16. The closed position in Figure 1(b) is achieved by raising the substrate support 4 so that the substrate support makes a sealed contact with the "O" - ring seal 11. The "O" - ring seal 11 is disposed on the downward-facing surface below the wall structure 7. An actuator 12 using either compressed air or a motor enables the substrate support 4 to be controllably raised and lowered as required. The pressure is monitored by a dedicated pressure gauge (not shown). An optional optical temperature monitoring device 13 can be disposed within the substrate support 4. Power and gas to the sub-chamber components are delivered through the connections 14, 15.

[0032] In this way, a sealable single-wafer sub-chamber is provided that can degas the wafer within the transfer module structure. The wafer can be loaded into the sub-chamber under high vacuum, sealed, and pumped by a more robust turbo molecular pump. The main chamber 2 of the transfer module can be regarded as its own pumping system (not shown) that can be regarded as the first pumping system of the transfer module. The turbo molecular pump 9 and the associated mechanical roughing pump can be regarded as the second pumping system of the transfer module. In particular, when the apparatus includes a PVD chamber, it is common for the first pumping system to include a cryopump. By sealing the degassing sub-chamber and then using the second pumping system to maintain the vacuum therein, the first pumping system is protected from exposure to contaminants generated during the degassing process. If a cryopump is used to pump the degassing sub-chamber during degassing, the cryopump will quickly fill with moisture and the cryohead will be quickly contaminated. This will result in an increase in maintenance time for more frequent regeneration of the cryopump. When the TM cryopump is being regenerated, the entire system is inoperable and thus does not process wafers, which is of course undesirable. The extent to which the first and second pumping systems each maintain the vacuum state within the auxiliary sub-chamber at the open position of the degassing sub-chamber will vary between specific implementations of the present invention. However, this is not an important aspect of the present invention. In fact, since the first pumping system can be used to maintain the vacuum state within the auxiliary sub-chamber and the degassing sub-chamber during this stage of operation, it is considered that it is not strictly necessary for the second pumping system to pump the degassing sub-chamber when it is in its open position.

[0033] In a representative example, the degassing sub-chamber is designed to heat the wafer to a temperature of about 500°C in about 60 seconds using an IR lamp 8. This can be achieved by using a high color temperature IR emitter (2900K) of 4 - 61 - 1.25kW. Other configurations and design specifications to provide an appropriate degassing regime will be readily suggested to those skilled in the art.

[0034] Figure 2 shows the apparatus of the present invention, generally designated 21, in the form of an eight - face cluster tool. The apparatus includes a transfer module 22 incorporating a degassing sub - chamber 28. The degassing sub - chamber 28 is located between two vacuum chamber elevators (VCEs) 23. The cluster tool 21 further includes three processing chambers 25a, 25b, 25c, which are each vacuum - isolated from the transfer module 22 by a slot valve 24. Each VCE 23 is isolated from the transfer module 22 by a slot valve 24. A vacuum robot 26 is used within the transfer module 22 to transfer the wafer 27 into the processing chambers 25a, 25b, 25c, the degassing sub - chamber 29, and the VCEs 23. The processing chambers can be of any desired type, such as PVD, etching, or CVD / PECVD, or one or more degassing / pre - heating modules added to the degassing sub - chamber 28. An alternative configuration can use an EFEM and a load - lock module, in contrast to the VCEs. The cluster tool 21 further includes a controller (not shown) that controls the operation of the apparatus to execute a desired process sequence.

[0035] An exemplary process sequence is shown in Figure 3. The process sequence starts at a position where the degassing sub - chamber is empty, under vacuum, and ready to process the wafer. In step 301, the system controller sends a signal to the actuator to lower the wafer support.

[0036] In step 302, the vacuum robot loads the wafer onto the holding fixture on the wafer support. The fixture is a ceramic ledge sized to safely hold the wafer and minimize heat loss to the wafer support. In 303, the wafer support is raised until the degassing chamber is vacuum isolated from the transfer module. In 304, the IR lamp is switched on at a defined power for a defined duration to meet the degassing requirements for a particular application. This can be in the range of about 100 - 500 °C for 30 seconds to several minutes. At the end of this period, the lamp is switched off (step 306), and in 307, the pressure gauge is monitored until the required pressure (typically about 10 -5 Torr) is achieved. At this point, the wafer support is lowered (step 308). The robot removes the wafer from the chamber in 309 and transfers it to the next station. Typically, the wafer support is then raised so that the degassing sub-chamber is sealed while there is no wafer in the degassing sub-chamber.

[0037] Degassing is considered a "dirty" process where deposition of contaminants occurs within the vacuum chamber. It is advantageous to provide a degassing sub-chamber having a removable shield and a quartz window assembly that can be rotated for operational use of clean components. This can reduce maintenance time. The shield is typically made of aluminum or stainless steel and is positioned adjacent to the inner wall of the degassing sub-chamber. The shield is typically cylindrical. Since the degassing sub-chamber can be isolated from the TM vacuum system, maintenance operations can avoid degrading the vacuum maintained within the TM. This does not apply to in-line degassing chambers pumped directly through the TM.

[0038] The present invention can provide substantially improved system throughput. The realization of these advantages can be shown by referring to the apparatus shown in Figure 2 having eight peripheral slot valves. Since two positions are taken up by the wafer handling apparatus, this leaves six processing module positions available on the apparatus. There are a number of consecutive processes that require a degassing step followed by sputter etching and the deposition of four metal layers. An example of such a consecutive process is the thick Si IGBT backside metallization by the deposition of Al, Ti, NiV, and Ag. In a prior art cluster tool having a degassing station in one of the processing module positions, there is only space for one of each of the four metal deposition modules. The deposition of NiV by PVD tends to be a rate-limiting step since the required deposition thickness can be five times that of the other layers and it has a relatively low deposition rate due to the magnetic properties of the material. For a 2kA Al, 1k Ti, 10kA NiV, and 2k Ag stack, the throughput can be doubled using the apparatus of the present invention where the degassing facility is provided within the transfer module since a second NiV PVD module can be provided on the transfer module. This significantly improves the cost of ownership for this application.

[0039] The present invention can be implemented in a wide range of cluster tools that incorporate essentially any desired combination of processing chambers. The transfer chamber according to the present invention can be manufactured new. Alternatively, a further advantage of the present invention is that it is readily possible to improve an existing transfer module by attaching a degassing sub-chamber and optionally an auxiliary sub-chamber to the transfer module. When retrofitting, the peripheral slots formed in the existing transfer chamber are convenient conduits to a sub-chamber configuration that can be attached to the main transfer module structure.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate, comprising: one or more semiconductor substrate handling devices through which the semiconductor substrates can be introduced into and / or removed from the device; a plurality of processing chambers for processing the semiconductor substrates; a transfer module for vacuum transferring the semiconductor substrate between the semiconductor substrate handling apparatus and the plurality of processing chambers; Including, The transfer module includes: a vacuum chamber comprising a main chamber and a degassing subchamber; a first pumping system in communication with the main chamber for maintaining a vacuum within the main chamber; a second pumping system in communication with the degassing subchamber for maintaining a vacuum within the degassing subchamber; at least one transport apparatus for transporting the semiconductor substrate between a desired location including a semiconductor substrate handling apparatus and the plurality of processing chambers; A substrate support; a lifting device for moving the substrate support between a raised position and a lowered position; wherein the lifting device is configured such that the lowered position causes the transport device to position the semiconductor substrate on the substrate support, and the raised position causes (i) the semiconductor substrate disposed on the substrate support to be positioned in the degassing subchamber, and (ii) the degassing subchamber to be sealed from the main chamber and a vacuum is maintained in the degassing subchamber by the second pumping system. Device.

2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vacuum chamber further comprises an auxiliary subchamber disposed between the main chamber and the degassing subchamber, and in its lowered position, the substrate support is disposed within the auxiliary subchamber to enable the transport device to position the semiconductor substrate on the substrate support.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the degassing subchamber is disposed above the auxiliary subchamber.

4. 4. The apparatus of claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the auxiliary sub-chamber is in vacuum communication with the main chamber through an opening formed in the main chamber.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the degassing sub-chamber is located in a peripheral region of the main chamber between two semiconductor substrate handling devices.

6. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor substrate handling device and the plurality of processing chambers are in vacuum communication with the main chamber of the transfer module via respective openable and closable gates.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the gate is a slot valve.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the degassing subchamber is located above the slot valve.

9. 10. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the semiconductor substrate handling apparatus and the plurality of processing chambers are arranged circumferentially around the main chamber.

10. 10. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the degassing sub-chamber comprises one or more heating devices for increasing the temperature of the semiconductor substrate.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the one or more heating devices are disposed above the lifting device.

12. 12. Apparatus according to claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the one or more heating devices comprise at least one device for emitting electromagnetic radiation and optionally at least one IR emitting device.

13. 1. A transfer module for transferring semiconductor substrates under vacuum conditions, comprising: a vacuum chamber comprising a main chamber and a degassing subchamber; a first pumping system in communication with the main chamber for maintaining a vacuum within the main chamber; a second pumping system in communication with the degassing subchamber for maintaining a vacuum within the degassing subchamber; at least one transport device for transporting the semiconductor substrate between desired locations; A substrate support; a lifting device for moving the substrate support between a raised position and a lowered position; Including, the lifting device is configured such that the lowered position enables the transport device to position the semiconductor substrate on the substrate support, and the raised position (i) positions the semiconductor substrate disposed on the substrate support within the degassing subchamber, and (ii) seals the degassing subchamber from the main chamber and a vacuum is maintained within the degassing subchamber by the second pumping system. Transport module.

14. 14. A degassing apparatus for retrofitting an existing transport module to provide a transport module according to claim 13, comprising: a degassing subchamber; a pumping system communicating with the degassing subchamber for maintaining a vacuum within the degassing subchamber; an auxiliary subchamber having an opening, the degassing subchamber being disposed above the auxiliary subchamber; A substrate support; a lifting device for moving the substrate support between a raised position and a lowered position; Including, the lifting device is configured such that the lowered position allows a semiconductor substrate to be introduced into the auxiliary subchamber through the opening and positioned on the substrate support, and the raised position (i) positions the semiconductor substrate disposed on the substrate support within the degassing subchamber, and (ii) seals the degassing subchamber from a main chamber and a vacuum is maintained within the degassing subchamber by the pumping system; Degassing equipment.

15. 1. A method for processing a semiconductor substrate, comprising: providing an apparatus, the apparatus comprising: one or more semiconductor substrate handling devices capable of introducing and / or removing the semiconductor substrate from the apparatus; a plurality of processing chambers for processing the semiconductor substrate; and a transfer module for vacuum transferring the semiconductor substrate between the semiconductor substrate handling devices and the plurality of processing chambers, the transfer module including: a vacuum chamber having a main chamber and a degassing subchamber; a first pumping system connected to the main chamber for maintaining a vacuum in the main chamber; a second pumping system connected to the degassing subchamber for maintaining a vacuum in the degassing subchamber; at least one transfer device for transferring the semiconductor substrate between a desired location including the semiconductor substrate handling device and the plurality of processing chambers; a substrate support; and a lifting device for moving the substrate support between a raised position and a lowered position; introducing the semiconductor substrate into a main chamber of the transfer module using the transfer device; positioning the semiconductor substrate on a substrate support in its lowered position using the transport apparatus; raising the substrate support to its raised position, (i) positioning the semiconductor substrate in the degassing subchamber, and (ii) sealing the degassing subchamber from the main chamber such that a vacuum is maintained in the degassing subchamber by the pumping system; degassing the semiconductor substrate in the degassing subchamber; lowering the substrate support to its lowered position and positioning the semiconductor substrate into one of the plurality of processing chambers using the transport apparatus; processing the semiconductor substrate in one or more of the processing chambers; transferring the semiconductor substrate to the semiconductor substrate handling device; The method includes:

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