Substrate treating apparatus

1 . A substrate treating apparatus comprising:

a load lock chamber, of which a pressure of an interior space is changed between a first pressure and a second pressure that is lower than the first pressure;

an index chamber connected to the load lock chamber;

a plurality of passages connecting the index chamber and the load lock chamber, the plurality of passages including a primary passage and a measurement passage, the primary passage gated by a gate valve and the measurement passage being an auxiliary passage that is activated during a measurement operation by opening at least one valve;

a measurement unit including the at least one valve installed on the measurement passage, a measurement container installed on the measurement passage downstream of the at least one valve, and a measurement sensor within a sensing space within the measurement container such that the at least one valve and the measurement sensor are located outside the load lock chamber; and

a controller configured to control the substrate treating apparatus to perform the measurement operation to measure a level of particles in the sensing space by transmitting one or more control signals to,

increase the pressure in the interior space of the load lock chamber to the first pressure,

transfer the particles from the interior space to the index chamber via the measurement passage by turning on the at least one valve to connect the interior space of the load lock chamber at the first pressure to the index chamber via the measurement passage,

measure, via the measurement sensor, the level of the particles in the sensing space as the particles traverse the sensing space while flowing from the interior space to the index chamber via the measurement passage with the measurement sensor inline therein such that the particles are measured within the sensing space that is smaller than the load lock chamber and the index chamber and are transferred to the index chamber after measuring the level thereof, and

turn off the at least one valve after measuring the level of particles in the sensing space to disconnect the sensing space from the interior space of the load lock chamber.

2 . The substrate treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a gas supply line configured to supply a gas into the interior space and a pressure reducing line configured to reduce a pressure of the interior space are connected to the load lock chamber.

3 . A substrate treating apparatus comprising:

a first chamber having a first interior space having a pressure that is changed between a first pressure and a second pressure that is lower than the first pressure;

a second chamber connected to the first chamber, the second chamber having a second interior space having a pressure maintained at a third pressure;

a plurality of passages connecting an index chamber and a load lock chamber, the plurality of passages including a primary passage and a measurement passage, the primary passage gated by a gate valve and the measurement passage being an auxiliary passage that is activated during a measurement operation by opening a first valve;

a measurement unit including the first valve installed on the measurement passage, a measurement container installed on the measurement passage downstream of the first valve, and a measurement sensor within a sensing space within the measurement container such that the first valve and the measurement sensor are located outside the first chamber and the second chamber; and

a controller configured to control the substrate treating apparatus to perform the measurement operation to measure a level of particles in the sensing space by transmitting one or more control signals to,

increase the pressure in the first interior space of the first chamber to the first pressure,

transfer the particles from the interior space to the index chamber via the measurement passage by turning on the first valve to connect the first interior space of the first chamber at the first pressure to the second interior space of the second chamber via the measurement passage,

measure, via the measurement sensor, the level of the particles in the sensing space as the particles traverse the sensing space while flowing from the first interior space to the second interior space via the measurement passage with the measurement sensor inline therein such that the particles are measured within the sensing space that is smaller than the load lock chamber and the index chamber and are transferred to the index chamber after measuring the level thereof, and

turn off the first valve after measuring the level of particles in the sensing space to disconnect the sensing space from the first interior space of the first chamber.

4 . The substrate treating apparatus of claim 3 , wherein a gas supply line configured to supply an inert gas into the first interior space and a pressure reducing line configured to reduce a pressure of the first interior space are connected to the first chamber.

5 . The substrate treating apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the controller is configured to control any one of the gas supply line, the pressure reducing line, and the measurement unit such that gas currents in the first interior space flows in the measurement passage by a difference between the pressure of the first interior space and the pressure of the second interior space when the level of the particles in the first interior space is to be measured.

6 . The substrate treating apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the measurement unit further includes:

the first valve installed in the measurement passage, and

wherein the controller is configured to control the measurement unit.

7 . The substrate treating apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to control at least any one of the gas supply line, the pressure reducing line, and the measurement unit to switch on the first valve after a pressure difference is generated between the first interior space and the second interior space.

8 . The substrate treating apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the measurement unit further includes:

a second valve,

wherein the first valve is configured to receive a control signal from the controller and configured to be switched on and off, and

wherein the second valve is configured to be switched on and off through a manual manipulation.

9 . The substrate treating apparatus of claim 8 , wherein a gate valve configured to selectively communicate the first interior space and the second interior space is provided between the first chamber and the second chamber, and

wherein the controller is configured to control at least any one of the gas supply line, the pressure reducing line, and the measurement unit to switch on the first valve after a pressure of the first interior space is raised from the second pressure to the first pressure.

10 . The substrate treating apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the first pressure is the same as the third pressure.

11 . A substrate treating apparatus comprising:

an index chamber, in which a load pot in which a container is seated, is installed, and of which an internal atmosphere is maintained at an atmospheric pressure;

a process chamber configured to treat a substrate;

a transfer chamber configured to transfer the substrate to the process chamber, and of which an internal atmosphere is maintained at a vacuum pressure atmosphere;

a load lock chamber provided between the transfer chamber and the index chamber, and of which an internal atmosphere is changed between the atmospheric pressure and the vacuum pressure atmosphere;

a plurality of passages connecting the index chamber and the load lock chamber, the plurality of passages including a primary passage and a measurement passage, the primary passage gated by a gate valve and the measurement passage being an auxiliary passage that is activated during a measurement operation by opening at least one valve;

a measurement unit including the at least one valve installed on the measurement passage, a measurement container installed on the measurement passage downstream of the at least one valve, and a measurement sensor within a sensing space within the measurement container such that the at least one valve and the measurement sensor are located outside the load lock chamber and the index chamber; and

a controller configured to control the substrate treating apparatus to perform the measurement operation to measure a level of particles in the sensing space by transmitting one or more control signals to,

increase the internal atmosphere of the load lock chamber to the atmospheric pressure,

transfer the particles from the interior space to the index chamber via the measurement passage by turning on the at least one valve to connect the load lock chamber at the atmospheric pressure to the index chamber via the measurement passage,

measure, via the measurement sensor, the level of the particles in the sensing space as the particles traverse the sensing space while flowing from the load lock chamber to the index chamber via the measurement passage with the measurement sensor inline therein such that the particles are measured within the sensing space that is smaller than the load lock chamber and the index chamber and are transferred to the index chamber after measuring the level thereof, and

turn off the at least one valve after measuring the level of particles in the sensing space to disconnect the sensing space from the load lock chamber.

12 . The substrate treating apparatus of claim 11 , wherein a gas supply line configured to supply a gas into the load lock chamber and a pressure reducing line configured to reduce a pressure of the load lock chamber are connected to the load lock chamber.

13 . The substrate treating apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the controller is configured to,

control the gas supply line such that a pressure in the load lock chamber becomes a pressure in the index chamber by supplying the gas into a space in the load lock chamber when the level of the particles in the load lock chamber is to be measured, and

switch on the valve after the pressure in the load lock chamber becomes higher than the pressure in the index chamber.