Abstract: Methods are disclosed for purging contaminants from a vessel such as a FOUP with vacuum-assistance. After the vessel is purged of environmental contaminants with a purging medium, the vessel is pressurized with a pressurizing medium such as nitrogen (N2) gas to yield a desired atmosphere. After the vessel has been pressurized via either negative or positive pressure, the vessel is transported to a storage location that is a non-purge storage and that is physically separate from the charging station, such as a stocker. The vessel can be left in non-purge storage for an amount of time and then the cycle can be repeated if the vessel has not been utilized in another processing step such as another processing step for manufacturing semiconductor wafers.

Abstract: Methods are disclosed for purging contaminants from a vessel such as a FOUP with vacuum-assistance. After the vessel is purged of environmental contaminants with a purging medium, the vessel is pressurized with a pressurizing medium such as nitrogen (N2) gas to yield a desired atmosphere. After the vessel has been pressurized via either negative or positive pressure, the vessel is transported to a storage location that is a non-purge storage and that is physically separate from the charging station, such as a stocker. The vessel can be left in non-purge storage for an amount of time and then the cycle can be repeated if the vessel has not been utilized in another processing step such as another processing step for manufacturing semiconductor wafers.