JP7348782B2 - Drying mechanism and its usage - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a drying chamber, a drying mechanism, and a method of using the same.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, some semiconductor manufacturing equipment and the like perform processing using a drying chamber (for example, Patent Document 1). In addition, a drying room may be used not only for processing but also for transporting and storing equipment.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-105339

When using a drying room, it is necessary to prevent the dew point temperature from rising.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a drying chamber that lowers the dew point temperature, a drying mechanism, and a method of using this drying mechanism.

One aspect of the drying mechanism for solving the above problems is
A drying chamber is equipped with an adsorbent that adsorbs moisture in the air and a heater that heats the adsorbent ,
a dry air supply device that supplies dry air into the drying chamber;
an exhaust port for discharging air inside the drying chamber to the outside of the drying chamber;
a flow rate adjustment mechanism that adjusts the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port;
Equipped with
The adsorbent is provided at the exhaust port,
It is characterized by

According to this drying mechanism , the dew point temperature can be lowered by adsorbing moisture in the drying chamber using an adsorbent. Moreover, the water content of the adsorbent can be released to the outside of the drying chamber, and a drying chamber with a lower dew point temperature can be provided without replacing the adsorbent.

In addition, the above drying mechanism is
The heater has conductive fibers that generate heat when electricity is passed through them ,
In the heater, the heat generating area formed by the conductive fibers may meander in a plane.

According to this drying mechanism , it is possible to efficiently heat the adsorbent and easily release moisture from the adsorbent. Furthermore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of uneven heat generation and prevent uneven release of moisture.

In addition, the above drying mechanism is
A semiconductor inspection device may be placed inside the drying chamber.

Here, the drying mechanism is
The flow rate adjustment mechanism is
a bimetallic door provided at the exhaust port and whose opening/closing degree changes depending on the temperature;
a second heater that heats the door;
The flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port may be adjusted by changing the temperature of the door using the second heater.

According to this drying mechanism, the air inside the drying chamber can be released to the outside of the drying chamber using the second heater.

In addition, the above drying mechanism is
The first heater may be the second heater.

According to this drying mechanism, the adsorbent can be heated to release moisture, and the air can be released outside the drying chamber.

In addition, the above drying mechanism is
The exhaust port has a shape with an end protruding outside the drying chamber,
The flow rate adjustment mechanism is a blower that sends air to the end,
The air pressure at the end may be changed by changing the amount of air blown from the blower, and the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port may be adjusted.

According to this drying mechanism, the air inside the drying chamber can be discharged to the outside of the drying chamber using the blower.

Further, one aspect of the method of using the drying mechanism to solve the above problem is as follows:
If the dew point temperature in the drying chamber exceeds the dew point temperature determined for processing the object, the adsorbent is not heated by the first heater, and the flow rate adjustment mechanism Reduces the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port,
When the dew point temperature in the drying chamber is lower than the dew point temperature determined for processing the object, the first heater heats the adsorbent, and the flow rate adjustment mechanism heats the adsorbent. Increase the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port,
It is characterized by

According to this method, the dew point temperature in the drying chamber can be controlled to an appropriate temperature for processing the object.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a drying chamber that lowers the dew point temperature, a drying mechanism, and a method of using this drying mechanism.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a drying mechanism according to the present embodiment and a semiconductor inspection device (hereinafter referred to as a prober) provided with the drying mechanism. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a configuration near an adsorbent provided in the drying mechanism of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example in which a flow rate adjustment mechanism different from that in FIG. 2 is adopted. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example in which a flow rate adjustment mechanism different from that in FIGS. 2 and 3 is adopted. It is a figure showing an example of a foundation member. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example in which a heat generating region formed by conductive fibers has a meandering shape. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of moisture adsorption and release.

[Embodiment of drying mechanism]
EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of the apparatus provided with the drying mechanism of this invention is described using drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a semiconductor inspection apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a prober) provided with a drying mechanism of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration near the exhaust port of the drying mechanism of this embodiment.

A prober 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a drying mechanism 10, a chuck stage C, and a probe card P. The chuck stage C and the probe card P are for inspecting semiconductor wafers, and are provided inside a drying chamber 11 included in the drying mechanism 10. The inside of this drying chamber 11 is a work space for performing processes such as inspection and manufacturing, and the inside of this drying chamber 11 is maintained in a dry state by the drying mechanism 10.

The drying mechanism 10 includes a drying chamber 11 in which semiconductor wafers are inspected, a dry air supply device 12 that supplies dry air into the drying chamber 11, and an exhaust port for discharging the air in the drying chamber 11 to the outside. 14, an adsorption sheet 15 provided at the exhaust port 14, a heater 16, and a bimetal door 17. The adsorption sheet 15 is formed into a sheet by supporting a support member with an adsorbent that adsorbs moisture in the air. The heater 16 is used to heat the adsorption sheet 15 and release moisture from the adsorbent. The adsorption sheet 15 and the heater 16 are air permeable.

Furthermore, humidity sensors 20 and 21 are provided inside and outside the drying chamber 11, respectively. The humidity sensor 20 inside the drying chamber 11 is used to observe the dew point temperature inside the drying chamber 11, and the humidity sensor 21 outside the drying chamber 11 is used to observe the dew point temperature of the air discharged from the exhaust port 14. It will be done.

The drying chamber 11 is a space defined by a base 110 and a cover 111 provided on the base 110 that can be opened and closed. Note that the space in which processing is performed is not limited to the shape or structure of what partitions this space, such as a space partitioned by a box or a hemisphere, for example.

The dry air supply device 12 supplies dry air with a dew point temperature lower than a predetermined dew point temperature into the drying chamber 11 via a duct 13 so that the air in the drying chamber 11 has a predetermined dew point temperature. It is. Note that the air supplied at this time may have the same dew point temperature as the predetermined dew point temperature. Further, a plurality of dry air suppliers 12 may be provided to supply air having different dew point temperatures into the drying chamber 11.

When dry air is supplied to the drying chamber 11, the pressure inside the drying chamber 11 increases. Therefore, the air in the drying chamber 11 is discharged to the outside from the gap in the drying chamber 11 (for example, the gap between the base 110 and the cover 111), and the air in the drying chamber 11 is combined with the air supplied from the dry air supply device 12. Can be replaced. Thereby, the dew point temperature of the air in the drying chamber 11 can be lowered to a predetermined dew point temperature or less over time. In this embodiment, the drying chamber 11 is configured to have no exhaust ports other than the exhaust port 14 provided with the adsorption sheet 15, but an additional exhaust port may be provided.

In the prober 1, the cover 111 is opened and the semiconductor wafer W to be inspected is carried into the drying chamber 11. Then, the cover 111 is closed, the loaded semiconductor wafer W is placed on the chuck stage C, and inspected using the probe card P. When the semiconductor wafer W is carried in, the dew point temperature in the drying chamber 11 increases due to the intrusion of external air with a high dew point temperature or the adhesion of moisture to the semiconductor wafer. In this case, the dry air supplied from the dry air supply device 12 can bring the air inside the drying chamber 11 below a predetermined dew point temperature over time, but this time is short in order to improve the efficiency of the inspection. It is preferable.

In the drying mechanism 10 of this embodiment, since the adsorption sheet 15 provided in the drying chamber 11 adsorbs moisture, when the dew point temperature in the drying chamber 11 increases, the dew point temperature in the drying chamber 11 can be reduced for a shorter time. The temperature can be lowered to below a predetermined dew point temperature.

However, there is a limit to the amount of water that the adsorption sheet 15 can adsorb, and if the adsorption sheet 15 adsorbs up to its limit, the above effect will not be achieved. For this reason, the drying mechanism 10 of this embodiment employs a configuration in which the moisture adsorbed by the adsorption sheet 15 is released. This configuration allows the adsorption sheet 15 to be in a state where it can adsorb moisture. This configuration will be explained below.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, an adsorption sheet 15 and a heater 16 are provided adjacent to each other. By heating the adsorption sheet 15 with the heater 16, the moisture adsorbed on the adsorption sheet 15 can be released.

The combination of the adsorption sheet 15 and the heater 16 is installed at the exhaust port 14 using a metal attachment member 18 . Further, the metal mounting member 18 is in contact with the door 17, and is configured so that the heat generated by the heater 16 is transmitted to the door 17 via the adsorption sheet 15 and the metal mounting member 18. There is. The door 17 is made of a bimetal whose expansion coefficient is lower on the outside (right in FIG. 2A) of the drying chamber 11 than on the inside (left in FIG. 2A), and has a structure in which the exhaust port 14 opens as shown in FIG. 2B when heated. It becomes. As explained above, the air pressure inside the drying chamber 11 is positive due to the dry air supplied from the dry air supply device 12, so when the exhaust port 14 is opened, air flows from inside the drying chamber 11 to outside the drying chamber 11. be discharged. Note that although this embodiment adopts a configuration in which the mounting member 18 does not directly contact the heater 16, a configuration in which the mounting member 18 directly contacts the heater 16 may be adopted.

As explained above, by generating heat from the heater 16, it is possible to heat the door 17 and open the exhaust port 14, and also to heat the adsorption sheet 15 and release the adsorbed moisture. In this way, in the drying mechanism 10 of the present embodiment, the moisture adsorbed on the suction sheet 15 can be released to the outside of the drying chamber 11 and the suction sheet 15 can be recovered, so that the drying mechanism 10 can be operated without replacing the suction sheet 15. I can do it.

Note that as the moisture adsorbed by the adsorption sheet 15 is released, the dew point temperature of the air discharged from the exhaust port 14 increases, and when the release of moisture stops, the dew point temperature in the drying chamber 11 and the air discharged from the exhaust port 14 increase. The dew point temperature of the air will be the same. By observing these changes in dew point temperature using the humidity sensors 20 and 21 provided inside and outside the drying chamber 11, it is possible to determine whether or not the adsorption sheet 15 has recovered.

In the configuration of FIG. 1, the exhaust port 14 provided with the suction sheet 15 is provided on the side wall of the drying chamber 11, but the exhaust port 14 may be provided on the ceiling, for example, and the location is not limited. Further, in the configuration of FIG. 1, the suction sheet 15 covers the exhaust port 14, but the suction sheet 15 is not limited to this configuration, and may be provided around the exhaust port 14. Note that in order to efficiently discharge moisture out of the drying chamber 11 when moisture is released, it is preferable to provide the adsorption sheet 15 at a position close to the exhaust port 14.

Furthermore, in the drying mechanism 10 of the present embodiment, a configuration has been described in which both the suction sheet 15 and the door 17 are heated by the heater 16, but for example, a heater is separately provided for each of the suction sheet 15 and the door 17. It is also possible to have a configuration in which the following configuration is provided. Note that when the suction sheet 15 and the door 17 are both heated by the same heater 16 as in this embodiment, it is only necessary to control one heater 16, so that the recovery of the suction sheet 15 is reduced. control can be simplified. In addition, when a heater for heating each of the adsorption sheet 15 and the door 17 is provided separately, the door 17 is opened before the moisture is released from the adsorption sheet 15 (the drying chamber 11 ), making it easier to adjust the timing so that no moisture is released inside the container.

[About the flow rate adjustment mechanism]
In the drying mechanism 10 described above, a configuration has been described in which the bimetallic door 17 is used to open the exhaust port 14 provided with the suction sheet 15 while the moisture adsorbed by the suction sheet 15 is released. This configuration is a configuration that adjusts the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port 14 provided with the suction sheet 15, and hereinafter this configuration will be referred to as a flow rate adjustment mechanism.

The drying mechanism 10 of this embodiment is provided with the above-described flow rate adjustment mechanism, and when releasing the moisture adsorbed by the adsorption sheet 15, the exhaust port 14 is opened to air the moisture-containing air from inside the drying chamber 11. Therefore, this moisture can be prevented from being released into the drying chamber 11. Note that since the exhaust port 14 is normally closed, the air in the drying chamber 11 can be dried by the adsorption sheet 15.

Note that the flow rate adjustment mechanism is not limited to the configuration described in FIG. 2, and may be any mechanism as long as it can adjust the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port 14 to the outside of the drying chamber 11. An example of such a configuration will be described below using FIG. 3. This figure is a diagram showing an example in which a flow rate adjustment mechanism different from that in FIG. 2 is adopted.

FIG. 3 shows, in a part of the cover 111, an outlet 14 whose end protrudes outside the drying chamber 11 and is formed in a nozzle shape. This discharge port 14 is formed to discharge air in a direction along the cover 111 (downward in FIG. 3). This exhaust port 14 is not provided with the door 17 shown in FIG. 2, and a blower 19 is provided in the opposite direction to the direction in which the exhaust port 14 discharges air. This blower 19 sends air in the same direction as the flow of air discharged from the exhaust port 14 (downward in FIG. 3). Note that the shape of the exhaust port 14, the presence or absence of the door 17, and the presence or absence of the blower 19, which were explained above, differ from the configuration in FIG. 2, but the other configurations are the same as the configuration in FIG.

In the flow rate adjustment mechanism shown in FIG. 3, the blower 19 is not operated when the adsorption sheet 15 adsorbs moisture. In this case, the air in the drying chamber 11 is exhausted from the exhaust port 14. Note that in this configuration, the air that has been dehydrated by the adsorption sheet 15 is also exhausted, but the amount of exhaust in this case is determined by the relationship with other exhaust paths such as gaps in the drying chamber 11, so the exhaust port 14 By adjusting the size of the suction sheet 15, it is possible to prevent the drying effect of the suction sheet 15 from decreasing.

On the other hand, when releasing the moisture adsorbed by the adsorption sheet 15, the blower 19 is operated. When this blower 19 sends air in the same direction as the flow of air discharged from the exhaust port 14 (downward in FIG. 3), the air pressure near the exit of the exhaust port 14 decreases, causing the air pressure inside and outside of the drying chamber 11 to decrease. Pressure difference increases. That is, the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port 14 can be increased using the blower 19, and the moisture discharged from the adsorption sheet 15 can be easily discharged to the outside of the drying chamber 11. Note that the configuration is not limited to the configuration using the blower 19, but may be any configuration that increases the pressure difference so that the pressure inside the drying chamber 11 is higher than the outside pressure. A configuration using a suction pump for suction may also be used.

Further, although the configuration in FIG. 1 adopts a configuration in which dry air is sent into the drying chamber 11, for example, a configuration in which air in the drying chamber 11 is sucked from the exhaust port 14 using a suction pump may also be adopted. good. Furthermore, the air flow rate is not limited to the door 17 in FIG. 2 or the configuration shown in FIG. 3, but may be controlled using doors or valves that are opened and closed manually or electrically, or may be a combination of these. . FIG. 4 shows an example of a configuration using a suction pump and a valve in which the configuration around the exhaust port 14 of FIG. 1 is different. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the exhaust port 14 is not provided with the door 17 shown in FIG. 1, and the exhaust port 14 is connected to a suction pump 31 via a valve 30. In this configuration, when releasing moisture from the adsorption sheet 15, the valve 30 is opened, and the suction pump 31 is further operated to discharge the moisture released from the adsorption sheet 15 to the outside of the drying chamber 11. In addition, in controlling this moisture release, as in FIG. 1, by observing changes in the dew point temperature of the air inside the drying chamber 11 and the discharged air using a humidity sensor, it is possible to check whether the adsorption sheet 15 has recovered or not. can be judged.

In addition to the configuration described above, for example, in a configuration in which an exhaust port other than the exhaust port 14 provided with the suction sheet 15 is provided, opening and closing of the other exhaust port may cause the suction sheet 15 to A configuration may be adopted in which the flow rate of air discharged outside the drying chamber 11 from the discharge port 14 provided with the drying chamber 11 is adjusted.

As explained above, the flow rate adjustment mechanism may be any mechanism as long as it can adjust the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port 14 to the outside of the drying chamber 11. With this flow rate adjustment mechanism, when moisture is adsorbed, air is not discharged outside the drying chamber 11 from the exhaust port 14 provided with the adsorption sheet 15, or the amount of air discharged outside the drying chamber 11 is suppressed. , the inside of the drying chamber 11 can be dried. In addition, when releasing moisture, air can be discharged from the drying chamber 11 from the exhaust port 14 provided with the adsorption sheet 15, or by increasing the flow rate of air to the outside of the drying chamber 11. The moisture adsorbed by the adsorption sheet 15 can be released without increasing the dew point temperature inside.

[About the adsorbent and the support member that supports it]
The material and form of the adsorbent supported on the adsorption sheet 15 are not particularly limited, and various materials can be used (for example, activated carbon, activated clay, diatomaceous earth, activated alumina, silica gel, zeolite, composites consisting of low-crystalline clay and amorphous aluminum silicate). Among these, a composite consisting of a low-crystalline clay and an amorphous aluminum silicate is preferred because it has an excellent moisture absorption rate and can be dehumidified at a relatively low temperature. Further, it may be used by being supported on fibers such as textiles, paper, and nonwoven fabrics. In this case, the adsorbent can be supported on a wider surface area and more water can be adsorbed, and the effect of the adsorbent sheet 15 can be enhanced. Furthermore, the air permeability of the adsorption sheet 15 can be improved, making it easier to adsorb and release moisture. Regarding the configuration of the adsorption sheet 15 and the adsorbent including this composite, the materials and configurations of the adsorption layer described in International Publication WO2009/084632 and International Publication WO2018/131591 can be used as appropriate.

Further, the support member may be made by attaching fibers to a base member serving as a base. Particularly, as shown in the base member 40 of FIG. 5, when the base member has a net shape, the air permeability of the support member increases, so that the effect of adsorbing and releasing moisture can be enhanced. In addition, the base member may be made of a material that has higher thermal conductivity than the fibers that mainly carry the adsorbent, such as ceramic or a support member that has cellulose nanofibers attached to a base member that has carbon nanofibers. This increases the efficiency of heat conduction to the adsorbent and enhances the effect of releasing moisture.

[About the heater]
The heater 16 may have any configuration as long as it heats the adsorption sheet 15 to release moisture. Therefore, there are no limitations on the configuration, heating method, or installation position of the heater, and for example, unlike this embodiment, the adsorption sheet 15 and the heater 16 may be provided separately. Alternatively, for example, a structure may be adopted in which conductive fibers such as metal fibers are provided, and electricity is passed through the conductive fibers to cause self-heating. With this configuration, the air permeability of the heater 16 can be improved, heat can be efficiently transmitted to the adsorption sheet 15, and moisture can be easily released. In this case, the conductive fibers include, for example, one or a combination of metals such as stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper, iron, platinum, gold, tin, chromium, lead, titanium, nickel, manganese, and nichrome; There are metal-coated fibers, which are organic fibers coated with metal, carbon fibers, etc. Note that it is preferable to use stainless steel because of its appropriate electrical resistance, resistance to oxidation, and suitability for processing. Note that when adopting a configuration in which electricity is passed through conductive fibers, depending on how the conductive fibers are provided, the width in the current direction may become wider, which may cause uneven heat generation. Furthermore, if uneven heat generation causes uneven release of moisture from the adsorption sheet 15, the adsorption sheet 15 cannot be used efficiently. For this reason, the heat generating region formed by the conductive fibers may have a meandering shape. FIG. 6 shows an example in which the heat generating region H formed by conductive fibers has a meandering shape. With this configuration, even if the heat generation region becomes wide, it does not need to widen in width in the current direction, so it is possible to suppress the occurrence of heat generation unevenness. Furthermore, the amount of heat generated can be controlled by adjusting the width of the heat generating area.

In addition, regarding the configuration of the heater 16, the configuration of the self-heating layer described in International Publication WO2018/131591 can be used as appropriate. Further, the relationship between the adsorption layer and the self-heating layer (for example, the presence or absence of an adhesive layer, etc.) described in the same publication can be applied to the structure of the adsorption sheet 15 and heater 16 of the present invention.

[About the timing of release operation]
When releasing the moisture adsorbed by the adsorption sheet 15, if this moisture is directly released into the drying chamber 11, the dew point temperature within the drying chamber 11 will rise, resulting in a situation unsuitable for treatment. For this reason, moisture may be released from the adsorption sheet 15 while no processing is being performed in the drying chamber 11. Moreover, the release of moisture from the adsorption sheet 15 can be performed not only while no treatment is being performed in the drying chamber 11, but also when the treatment is being performed. The flow of this operation will be explained below using FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of moisture adsorption and release.

First, in step S01, it is determined whether the dew point temperature of the drying chamber 11 is below a predetermined dew point temperature, which is the upper limit of the dew point temperature when performing the process (is the dew point temperature at which the process can be performed)? It is determined whether If this condition is met, the process proceeds to step S02; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S03.

In step S02, the heater 16 is activated to heat the adsorption sheet 15, and the flow rate adjustment mechanism increases the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port 14 (for example, the door 17 is opened in FIG. 2, the door 17 is opened in FIG. operation of the blower 19, in FIG. 4 opening of the valve 30 and operation of the suction pump 31).

In step S03, by not operating the heater 16, the adsorption sheet 15 is placed in a state where it adsorbs moisture, and the flow rate adjustment mechanism reduces the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port 14 (for example, in FIG. 17, in FIG. 3 the blower 19 is stopped, in FIG. 4 the valve 30 is closed and the suction pump 31 is stopped).

According to the above flow, even if the process is performed in the drying chamber 11, moisture can be released from the adsorption sheet 15, so that the efficiency of the process can be improved.

[Scope of application of drying mechanism and drying room]
In the above description, an example has been described in which the drying mechanism 10 is applied to the prober 1 that inspects a semiconductor wafer. In addition to the applications described above, there are devices and facilities that require a drying room that are used in various applications such as manufacturing processes for electronic components, batteries, and chemicals, environmental testing, and transportation of precision instruments. Although the dew point temperature required for each application may be different, when performing these various treatments, the above configuration can be applied regardless of the processing content or dew point temperature.

Furthermore, the drying chamber is not limited to the case where the processing is performed in the drying chamber; for example, the drying chamber may be used during transportation and storage of the apparatus and the like. In this case, it is possible to prevent moisture from adhering to the equipment in the drying chamber, and to remove moisture adhering to the equipment. In addition, for example, when performing nitrogen purge for the purpose of avoiding moisture adhesion, air exchange is required, but by using the above-described drying chamber, such air exchange becomes unnecessary. In addition, when transporting or storing precision equipment, there are cases where loading and unloading into and out of the drying room is done in a humidity-controlled space, and under these circumstances, it is necessary to have at least an adsorbent and a heater in the drying room. Bye. In this configuration, the moisture in the adsorbent may be released when the drying chamber is not in use.

1 Prober 10 Drying mechanism 11 Drying chamber 110 Base 111 Cover 12 Dry air supply device 13 Duct 14 Exhaust port 15 Adsorbent 16 Heater 17 Door 18 Mounting member 19 Air blower 20, 21 Humidity sensor 30 Valve 31 Suction pump 40 Foundation member

Claims (7)

A drying chamber is equipped with an adsorbent that adsorbs moisture in the air and a first heater that heats the adsorbent,
a dry air supply device that supplies dry air into the drying chamber;
an exhaust port for discharging air inside the drying chamber to the outside of the drying chamber;
a flow rate adjustment mechanism that adjusts the flow rate of air released from the exhaust port;
Equipped with
The adsorbent is provided at the exhaust port,
A drying mechanism characterized by: The drying mechanism according to claim 1,
The first heater has conductive fibers that generate heat when electricity is passed through them,
The first heater has a heating area formed by the conductive fibers meandering in a plane.
A drying mechanism characterized by: The drying mechanism according to claim 1 or 2,
A semiconductor inspection device is placed in the drying chamber,
A drying mechanism characterized by: The drying mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The flow rate adjustment mechanism is
a bimetallic door provided at the exhaust port and whose opening/closing degree changes depending on the temperature;
a second heater that heats the door;
By changing the temperature of the door using the second heater, the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port is adjusted.
A drying mechanism characterized by: The drying mechanism according to claim 4,
the first heater is the second heater,
A drying mechanism characterized by: The drying mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The exhaust port has a shape with an end protruding outside the drying chamber,
The flow rate adjustment mechanism is a blower that sends air to the end,
By changing the amount of air blown from the blower, the air pressure at the end is changed, and the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port is adjusted.
A drying mechanism characterized by: A method of using the drying mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising:
If the dew point temperature in the drying chamber exceeds the dew point temperature determined for processing the object, the adsorbent is not heated by the first heater, and the flow rate adjustment mechanism Reduces the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port,
When the dew point temperature in the drying chamber is lower than the dew point temperature determined for processing the object, the first heater heats the adsorbent, and the flow rate adjustment mechanism heats the adsorbent. Increase the flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust port,
A method of using a drying mechanism characterized by: