Gas delivery system with electrical backplane

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a gas delivery system comprising: an electrical backplane; a system controller operably coupled to the electrical backplane; and a plurality of mass flow controllers. Each of the mass flow controllers includes a respective mass flow control circuit operably coupled to the electrical backplane. The system controller and each of the mass flow control circuits are physically mounted to the electrical backplane. The gas delivery system also includes a pump / purge system to help eliminate pressure buildup within the system and quickly stop a flow process within the system. This allows for evaluation of columns associated with the flow process, allowing mass flow controllers to be swapped out if necessary.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 963,880, filed on January 21, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a gas delivery system having an electrical backplane. Background Art

[0004] Gas delivery systems are used to supply various types of gases in industrial applications such as semiconductor manufacturing. In these systems, multiple gas supply channels can flow different gases, mixing them and supplying them to different manufacturing processes. Typically, a mass flow controller (MFC) is installed in each gas supply channel to regulate the gas flow rate.

[0005] In some gas delivery systems, mass flow controllers are all connected to a central tool via a network, which remotely sends commands to the mass flow controllers and requests process data via the network. Each mass flow controller maintains its own control loop with the central tool, synchronized with the commands sent from the central tool via the network. During the gas supply process, the manufacturing process is completed by sending sequential flow commands and settings from the central tool to the mass flow controllers via the network. The disadvantage of this approach is that network delays, bandwidth limitations, and errors often occur in the communication between the central tool and the mass flow controllers. As a result, there are limitations on the speed and amount of data that can be exchanged between the mass flow controllers and the central tool during the execution of the manufacturing process. These limitations have restricted the functionality of existing gas delivery systems. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address these issues, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, a gas delivery system is provided, comprising an electrical backplane, a system controller operably coupled to the electrical backplane, and a plurality of mass flow controllers. Each of the mass flow controllers comprises a respective mass flow control circuit operably coupled to the electrical backplane. The system controller and each of the mass flow control circuits are physically mounted to the electrical backplane.

[0007] This summary is provided to introduce, in simplified form, a series of concepts that will be further described in the detailed description below. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 A basic electrical schematic diagram of a gas delivery system according to an example embodiment is shown.

[0009] Figure 2 Shown according to Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a first memory interface of an embodiment.

[0010] Figure 3 Shown according to Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a second memory interface of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 4 Shown according to Figure 1 A perspective view of a centralized gas delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 5 Shown according to Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the flow path and flow control components of the centralized gas delivery system of the implementation scheme.

[0013] Figure 6 Shows the display Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a gas delivery system showing the flow of data and control signals between a system controller, mass flow controllers, and flow ratio controllers via an electrical bus system.

[0014] Figure 7 Shown Figure 1 A top perspective view of an electrical backplane of a centralized gas delivery system, wherein dashed lines show the printed circuit boards of the mass flow controllers, flow ratio controllers, and input / output modules mounted to the electrical backplane.

[0015] Figure 8 Shown in Figure 1 1 is a side view of a typical flow path used in a gas delivery system, where the dashed lines show the flow path through an upstream flow path block having a pair of upstream shutoff valves, a flow control valve, and a pair of downstream shutoff valves.

[0016] Figure 9 Shown Figure 1 Schematic side view of a printed circuit board of a mass flow controller of a gas delivery system, the printed circuit board extending through the mechanical backplane to physically and electrically connect to the electrical backplane.

[0017] Figure 10A Shown Figure 1 The downstream flow path block of the gas delivery system has a similar structure.

[0018] Figure 10B It is along Figure 10A A sectional view of the upstream flow path block taken along line AA′ of FIG. 1 shows a branch flow path connecting the inlet of the upstream flow path block to the outlet and the purge port, and a pair of upstream shut-off valves for controlling the flow of gas through each branch of the branch flow path.

[0019] Figure 10C Shown along Figure 10A A sectional view of the downstream flow path block taken along line AA′ of FIG. 1 shows a branch flow path connecting the inlet of the downstream flow path block to the outlet and the purge port, and a pair of downstream shut-off valves for controlling the flow of gas through each branch of the branch flow path.

[0020] Figure 10D Shown along Figure 10A A cross-sectional view of the upstream flow path block taken along line BB′ shows a pair of internal horizontal channels connecting the purge branches of the branch flow paths and an inverted U-shaped channel of the central hole of the inlet branch of the branch flow paths.

[0021] Figure 11A Shown with the printed circuit board removed Figure 1 A perspective view of the mass flow controller portion of a gas delivery system showing a mass flow controller flow path block, a flow control valve, a pressure sensor system, and an upstream pressure sensor attached to the pressure sensor system.

[0022] Figure 11B Shown with various components removed Figure 11A A perspective view of the mass flow controller flow block.

[0023] Figure 11C Shown is a diagram showing the attachment components along the Figure 11B A cross-sectional view of a mass flow controller flow path block taken along line CC′ of FIG. 1 shows a gas flow path from the inlet to the outlet, a flow control valve, a bypass line with a pressure sensor system coupled thereto, and an upstream pressure sensor according to an example of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 12 shows a coupled to a schematically shown chamber Figure 1 Top view of the mixing manifold of the gas delivery system.

[0025] Figure 13 Shows that it can be used to implement Figure 1 Schematic diagram of an example computing environment for a gas delivery system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In view of the above problems, refer to Figure 1A centralized gas delivery system 10 is provided that includes a unified high-speed electrical backplane 18 operatively coupled to a system controller 12, a plurality of mass flow controllers 30, a plurality of flow ratio controllers 26, a plurality of pressure controllers 24, and an input / output module 20 via associated memory interfaces 22 and electrical connectors 50 and configured to enable communication therebetween. More specifically, the electrical backplane 18 is operatively coupled to the system controller 12 via a first memory interface 22A, to a plurality of mass flow controllers 30A-30P via a second memory interface 22B, to the input / output module 20 via a third memory interface 22C, to a plurality of pressure controllers 24A-24D via a fourth memory interface 22D, and to a plurality of flow ratio controllers 26A-26D via a fifth memory interface 22E. A client computing device 110 may be operatively coupled to the system controller 12 to send and receive data communications and / or instructions to and from the system controller 12. For example, these data communications may include flow diagnostic information and flow monitoring information for the gas delivery system 10. The gas delivery system 10 may be configured as a gas delivery device that may be enclosed within a housing 11. The system controller 12 may be referred to as a controller module, and the mass flow controller 30, flow rate controller 26, pressure controller 24, and input / output module 20 may be referred to as controlled modules because they operate under the control of the system controller 12.

[0027] It should be understood that although Figure 1 16 mass flow controllers are shown as being connected to the second memory interface 22B, but their number is not particularly limited and may be less than or more than 16. Figure 1 2 is shown as four flow rate controllers 26A-26D connected to the fifth memory interface 22E, but their number is not particularly limited and may be less than or more than four. Figure 1 2. Although four pressure controllers 24A-24D are shown as being connected to the fourth memory interface 22D, their number is not particularly limited and may be less than or more than four.

[0028] The system controller 12 includes a processor 12A and a volatile memory 12B, such as a random access memory (RAM). In some embodiments, the system controller 12 can be configured as a system on a module (SOM). The processor 12A can be a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other type of microprocessor, and can be, for example, a multi-core processor. The system controller 12 is operably coupled to a non-volatile memory 14 that stores a central data repository 15, which in turn can store a data log 15A and an artificial intelligence (AI) model 15B. Each mass flow controller 30A-30P includes a corresponding mass flow control circuit 30A1-30P1, each flow ratio controller 26A-26D includes a corresponding flow ratio control circuit 26A1-26D1, and each pressure controller 24A-24D includes a corresponding pressure control circuit 24A1-24D1. Similar to the circuitry of system controller 12, each of mass flow control circuits 30A1-30P1, flow ratio control circuits 26A1-26D1, and pressure control circuits 24A1-24D1 may incorporate a processor and associated volatile and non-volatile memory. The processor in each of these circuits 30A1-30P1, 26A1-26D1, and 24A1-24D1 may be in the form of a CPU, ASIC, FPGA, or other type of microprocessor, which may be a multi-core processor and / or configured as a SOM.

[0029] like Figure 7 As shown more completely, to shorten the length of the various flow paths and electrical connections within the gas delivery system 10, the system controller 12, mass flow control circuits 30A1-30P1, flow ratio control circuits 26A1-26D1, and pressure control circuits 24A1-24D1 are operably coupled to the electrical backplane 18 by being electrically and physically mounted on the electrical backplane 18 via corresponding electrical connectors 50A-50U.

[0030] continue Figure 1, the electrical backplane 18 includes an electrical bus system 18A having a communication bus 18B and a power bus 18C. The electrical backplane 18 can be electrically coupled to a power supply 16, which is configured to supply power via the power bus 18C. The power bus is configured to supply power to all controlled modules and controller modules physically mounted on the electrical backplane 18, including a plurality of valves, the system controller 12, the input / output module 20, the pressure controllers 24A-24D, the flow ratio controllers 26A-26D, the mass flow control circuits 30A1-30P1, and the mass flow controllers 30A-30P. As a result, the length of power lines required in the gas delivery system 10 is significantly reduced. In a specific example, the power supply 16 can include a common (e.g., shared) 24 volt DC power supply shared by all controller modules and controlled modules within the system via the power bus 18C. Alternatively or additionally, it should be understood that power supplies of different voltages, wattages, or types can be used. For example, while a 24 volt power supply is used to power the processing circuits of the controller module and the controlled module, a 150 volt DC power supply may also be provided to power the valves.

[0031] Electrical backplane 18 forms the communication and power delivery backbone of gas delivery system 10. Because all communication and control signals, as well as power supply 16, are embedded on electrical backplane 18, system controller 12 is granted real-time access to every sensor and actuator within the gas flow path. Furthermore, because system controller 12 is operably coupled to non-volatile memory 14, which serves as a large, high-speed data storage device for central data repository 15, data from all sensors and actuators can be stored in real time for post-processing analysis and long-term storage. Specifically, system controller 12 and central data repository 15 are centrally located in the same physical location as mass flow controllers 30A-30P, flow ratio controllers 26A-26D, and pressure controllers 24A-24D, typically within housing 11, to facilitate data collection from these components via high-speed data connections on the unified electrical backplane 18, rather than via longer-latency, bandwidth-limited network connections to a remotely located system controller.

[0032] The electrical backplane 18 may include a backplane printed circuit board (PCB) having high-speed low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) interface components for serial communication and control lines. However, it should be understood that the PCB is not particularly limited to LVDS components, and alternatively, other specifications and interface components may be installed in the PCB to achieve a high-speed electrical backplane 18.

[0033] The electrical backplane 18 can include two independent serial communication subsystems within the communication bus 18B: a configuration bus 18B1 and a control bus 18B2. The configuration bus 18B1 is configured to route configuration signals between the system controller 12 and each of the controlled mass flow controllers 30A-30P, while the control bus 18B2 is configured to route control signals between the system controller 12 and each of the controlled mass flow controllers 30A-30P. Both can operate simultaneously and independently. During system power-up, module configuration, and system configuration phases, all configuration data, module identification data, calibration data, and the like are transmitted to each individual module 20, 24A-24D, 26A-26D, 30A-30P via the configuration bus 18B1. During these system power-up, module configuration, and system configuration phases, the control bus 18B2 can be in a standby mode. Once these stages are completed using configuration bus 18B1, control bus 18B2 can be switched to operational mode to allow the exchange of control signals between the controller modules and the controlled modules. In addition to the functions of configuration bus 18B1 described above, after startup, during normal operation of gas delivery system 10, historical data (i.e., log data) is also transmitted from each controlled module to system controller 12 via configuration bus 18B1 for storage in data log 15A, thereby enabling near real-time storage of process records. On the other hand, during normal operation, control bus 18B2 transmits control commands from system controller 12 to each controlled module and transmits sensor data and other feedback from each module back to system controller 12 to enable feedback control operations to be performed.

[0034] As described above, in the gas delivery system 10, the system controller 12 is designated as the controller module, while the mass flow controllers 30A-30P, the flow ratio controllers 26A-26D, the pressure controllers 24A-24D, and the input / output module 20 are designated as the controlled modules. It should be understood that, as described in more detail below, the controlled modules may include other modules, including external bus expansion modules, precursor modules, field metering systems, thermal mass flow controllers, and restrictor-less mass flow controllers that do not include restrictors. As a fully asynchronous system, the controller module 12, the controlled modules, and the electrical backplane 18 all operate independently and asynchronously, with no standby states or forced interrupts on the local processors. The electrical backplane 18 serves as a full duplex serial bus that handles all communications between the controller module (i.e., the system controller 12) and all controlled modules, transferring both read and write data in each cycle. Coprocessor 13, mounted to electrical backplane 18 and operatively coupled to first memory interface 22A, arbitrates or coordinates the exchange of data between system controller 12 and controlled modules. In alternative embodiments, coprocessor 13 may be incorporated into first memory interface 22A.

[0035] Reference Figure 2 The first memory interface 22A for the system controller 12 can be configured to receive serial data from the controlled module via a serial read register 22A7 and send the serial data to the FPGA, ASIC, complex programmable logic device (CPLD), or other type of memory control processor of the controlled module via a serial write register 22A6. The transmission and reception of serial data is performed by executing serial bus logic bits 22A8. For each controlled module, a module read data register 22A1 and a module write data register 22A2 are provided within the first memory interface 22A for exchanging data between the system controller 12 and the electrical bus system 18A. A control register 22A3 can track the reception status of the transmitted data by each controlled module, such as by receiving control signals from the controlled module. A module activity register 22A4 of the first memory interface 22A can notify the controller module (i.e., the system controller 12) of the serial bus status and any failures in the transmission or reception of serial data. Control logic 22A5 is also provided for performing these memory control functions of the first memory interface 22A.

[0036] The coprocessor 13 can be configured to coordinate asynchronous data communications from the controller module (i.e., the system controller 12) to the controlled modules and from the controlled modules to the controller module, including coordinating asynchronous data communications between the system controller 12 and the various mass flow control circuits 30A1-30P1. The coprocessor 13 can coordinate serial data and transfer serial data to and from various data registers. For example, when receiving serial data from a controlled module, the coprocessor 13 can asynchronously parallelize the serialized data stream to generate a parallelized data stream and write the parallelized data to the module read data register 22A1 assigned to the controlled module. The coprocessor 13 can then asynchronously send the parallelized data stream within the module read data register 22A1 to the system controller 12. When the system controller 12 transmits data to a controlled module, it writes the data to the module write data register 22A2 assigned to the controlled module. The coprocessor 13 then serializes the data stream within the module write data register 22A2 to generate a serialized data stream, and transmits the serialized data stream to the controlled module, including each mass flow control circuit 30A1-30P1, via the serial write register 22A6. Thus, the coprocessor 13 can check the consistency of the received serial data, verify the controlled module's receipt of the transmitted data via control signals, transfer the received data to the correct read register, construct a transmit data stream from the appropriate controlled module's write register, and continuously update the module activity register 22A4 with the latest module communication status and any faults. Thus, the first memory interface 22A and the coprocessor 13 can control communication between the controller module and the controlled modules.

[0037] Reference Figure 3The second memory interface 22B includes read registers 22B1-22B3 and write registers 22B4 for exchanging data between the controlled modules 30A-30P and the electrical bus system 18A. The second memory interface 22B for the mass flow controllers 30A-30P can be configured as a CPLD state machine or other suitable type of memory control processor that executes control logic to receive and forward read data from the mass flow control circuits 30A1-30P1 of each mass flow controller 30A-30P to the controller module (i.e., the system controller 12), and receive and forward write data from the controller module to the data stream of each mass flow controller 30A-30P. The second memory interface 22B is configured to handle logic and data transmission between the local processors of the mass flow control circuits 30A1-30P1 and the electrical backplane 18 using registers 22B1-22B4 under the control of control logic 22B5. Similar to the first memory interface 22A for the controller module, the second memory interface 22B is completely independent of and asynchronous with the processors of each controlled module (e.g., lacks standby states or interrupts). It should be understood that the third memory interface 22C, the fourth memory interface 22D, and the fifth memory interface 22E can be constructed similarly to a CPLD state machine to similarly arbitrate data communications between the controller module and the associated controlled modules. When data is sent from the system controller 12 to the controlled modules via the electrical backplane 18, the controlled modules are individually selected using the addresses of the controlled modules encoded in the data stream. For example, each data stream may include the address of the mass flow control circuit 30A1-30P1 from which the data stream is being sent. The second memory interface 22B, receiving the data stream from the system controller 12, then forwards the data stream to the controlled module indicated by the address encoded in the data stream. When sending the data stream to the system controller 12, each of the controlled modules can be configured to encode the controlled module's address into the data stream, which enables internal registers to transmit the data back to the controller module along with the driver outputs. Because each data stream received by the first memory interface 22A has an embedded address, it is possible to identify the individual controlled modules from which the data stream originates. Thus, the system controller 12 has knowledge of the address of each controlled module to which the data stream is sent. When the address identifies the physical mapping or location associated with the controlled module, the system controller 12 has knowledge of the physical mapping or location associated with each controlled module to which the data stream is sent.

[0038] Reference Figure 4 and Figure 5, shows a layout of the gas delivery system 10, which shows a plurality of mass flow controllers 30A-30P and a plurality of flow ratio controllers 26A-26D mounted to the mechanical backplane 19 and the electrical backplane 18. The mass flow controllers 30A-30P and the flow ratio controllers 26A-26D are mounted to the top surface 19A of the mechanical backplane 19 and extend upward therefrom. The electrical backplane 18 is mounted to and spaced apart from the bottom surface 19B of the mechanical backplane 19 and is accessed through an opening 19C formed in the mechanical backplane, through which the mass flow controllers 30A-30P and the flow ratio controllers 26A-26D extend to reach the electrical connectors 50A-50U of the electrical backplane 18 (see FIG. Figure 7 ). In other words, a portion of each mass flow controller 30A-30P extends through a corresponding one of the plurality of openings 19C to the electrical backplane 18. The mass flow controllers 30A-30P and the flow ratio controllers 26A-26D are mounted in modular columns of a plurality of elements of mass flow control circuitry 30A1-30P1 and a modular column of a plurality of elements of flow ratio control circuitry 26A1-26D1 mounted on the electrical backplane 18 and the mechanical backplane 19. In each column, each mass flow controller includes an associated upstream flow path block 80 and an associated downstream flow path block 82 that are mechanically and fluidically connected to a mass flow controller flow path block 81, wherein the corresponding flow path for the column extends from a corresponding inlet to a corresponding outlet leading to the mixing manifold 48. The number of columns within the gas delivery system 10 may be configurable.

[0039] The printed circuit boards for each of the mass flow control circuits 30A1-30P1 and flow ratio control circuits 26A1-26D1 are mechanically fastened to a mass flow controller flow path block 81 via fasteners 25B, such as screws. Flow path block 81 is, in turn, mounted to the top surface of another flow path block 39, which is then mounted to the top surface 19A of the mechanical backplane 19 via fasteners (not shown), such as screws. The printed circuit boards extend from top surface 19A through openings 19C in the mechanical backplane 19 to electrical connectors 50A-50U on the electrical backplane 18. Typically, the printed circuit boards terminate at the top surface of the electrical backplane 18 and therefore do not extend through it. The module arrays conform to standardized dimensions, making the flow ratio control circuits 26A1-26D1 and mass flow control circuits 30A1-30P1 interchangeable and replaceable with one another. It should be understood that in the illustrated embodiment, the mass flow controllers 30A-30P are arranged in substantially parallel rows, and the flow ratio controllers 26A-26D are arranged in a different plurality of substantially parallel rows, generally extending from the inlet side to the outlet side of the gas delivery system 10. Each mass flow controller 30A-30P may be provided with a flow control valve 36A-36P, an upstream shutoff valve 32A-32P, an upstream purge shutoff valve 34A-34P, a downstream purge shutoff valve 38A-38P, a downstream shutoff valve 40A-40P, and a pair of pressure sensors 52A. Figure 8 . As shown, the mass flow controller 30A includes a mass flow control circuit 30A1, a flow control valve 36A, and a pressure sensor pair 52A. The flow control valve 36A is installed in the flow path and is configured to control the flow of gas flowing through the flow path. It should be understood that during operation, the mass flow control circuit 30A1 reads the pressure from the pressure sensor pair 52A and controls the flow of gas through the device to a set value by controlling the opening of the flow control valve 36A. It should be understood that the mass flow controller 30A is not particularly limited to the pressure sensor pair 52A. In other embodiments, for example, a single pressure sensor can be used instead of the pressure sensor pair 52A.

[0040] Return to Figure 4 and Figure 5Each flow ratio control circuit 26A1-26D1 element can be provided with a flow ratio control valve 44A-44D, a flow ratio shutoff valve 42A-42D, and a flow ratio pressure sensor 46A-46D, 47A-47D. A plurality of gas sources 28A-28P can be externally connected to the upstream shutoff valve 32A-32P on the inlet side of the gas delivery system 10. During the gas supply process, the gas introduced from the first gas source 28 can flow through the opened first upstream shutoff valve 32A, the first flow control valve 36A, and the first downstream shutoff valve 40A, and then flow into the mixing manifold 48 to mix with other gases from other gas sources that have also flowed through their respective flow paths and flow control valves and flowed into the mixing manifold 48. The mixing manifold 48 is configured to receive the gases from each mass flow controller 30A-30P and mix these gases. The mixed gas in the mixing manifold 48 is then guided by the mixing manifold 48 to the respective inlets of the flow ratio controllers 26A-26D, flows through the flow ratio cutoff valves 42A-42D and the flow ratio control valves 44A-44D, and is thereby output as the gas output AD at the outlet side of the gas delivery system 10.

[0041] Each flow path between the upstream shutoff valves 32A-32P and the flow control valves 36A-36P can have a branch flow path leading to the upstream purge shutoff valves 34A-34P. When the upstream purge shutoff valves 34A-34P are opened, the upstream purge shutoff valves 34A-34P allow fluid to flow from the upstream shutoff valves 32A-32P into the upstream purge manifold 35 to exhaust the fluid from the gas delivery system 10. When the upstream purge shutoff valves 34A-34P are closed, the upstream purge shutoff valves 34A-34P allow fluid to flow from the gas sources 28A-28P to the flow control valves 36A-36P without diverting the fluid. Thus, by controlling the respective upstream shutoff valves 32A-32P and the upstream purge shutoff valves 34A-34P, the flow paths within each module column can be designed to purge fluid from the gas delivery system 10 in a zoned manner. In other words, the system controller 12 is configured to control each of the shutoff valves 34A-34P to control the purging of gas within each column of modules on the mechanical backplane 19. It should be understood that the valves 32, 34, 38, and 40 can be used to isolate or separate specific portions of the gas delivery system 10 when the mass flow controllers 30A-30P need to be replaced.

[0042] The upstream block valves 32A-32P and the upstream purge block valves 34A-34P can be controlled by the mass flow controllers 30A-30P to create a vacuum in the flow path between the upstream block valves 32A-32P and the flow control valves 36A-36P. For example, when a vacuum is desired between the first upstream block valve 32A and the first flow control valve 36A, the first upstream block valve 32A and the first flow control valve 36A can be fully closed, and the first upstream purge block valve 34A can be opened to allow gas in the flow path between the first upstream block valve 32A and the first flow control valve 36A to be purged into the upstream purge manifold 35 and exhausted from the gas delivery system 10, thereby effectively creating a vacuum in the flow path between the first upstream block valve 32A and the first flow control valve 36A. Alternatively or additionally, the first upstream shutoff valve 32A and the first flow control valve 36A can be fully closed, and the first upstream purge shutoff valve 34A opened to allow gas in the flow path between the first upstream shutoff valve 32A and the first flow control valve 36A to be purged into the upstream purge manifold 35 and to introduce new gas into the gas delivery system 10, thereby effectively building pressure in the flow path between the first upstream shutoff valve 32A and the first flow control valve 36A. It should be understood that the purge manifolds 35 and 41 can be connected to a purge system or a vacuum system, and that the downstream shutoff valves 40A-40P can be used to control or stop the purge or vacuum process.

[0043] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 4As briefly discussed above, two backplanes are shown: an electrical backplane 18 and a mechanical backplane 19 stacked on the electrical backplane 18 with a gap formed therebetween. When the gas delivery system 10 is configured as a gas delivery device, the electrical backplane 18 and the mechanical backplane 19 are enclosed within the housing 11 of the gas delivery device. The system controller 12 and the controlled modules 20, 24A-24D, 26A-26D, and 30A-30P are physically mounted on the electrical backplane 18 via electrical connectors 50A-50U that include sockets configured to receive the printed circuit boards of the controlled modules. On the mechanical backplane 19, a plurality of mass flow controllers 30A-30P are physically mounted on the flow path block 81. The flow path passes through the flow path block 81 of the mass flow controllers 30A-30P and through a plurality of valves (upstream shutoff valves 32A-32P, upstream purge shutoff valves 34A-34P, flow control valves 36A-36P, downstream purge shutoff valves 38A-38P, downstream shutoff valves 40A-40P) operatively coupled to the plurality of mass flow control circuit elements 30A1-30P1 and located within the flow path. The corresponding flow path fluidly connects the plurality of valves (upstream shutoff valves 32A-32P, upstream purge shutoff valves 34A-34P, flow control valves 36A-36P, downstream purge shutoff valves 38A-38P, downstream shutoff valves 40A-40P) to the plurality of mass flow controllers 30A-30P. Also physically mounted on the mechanical backplane 19 are a plurality of valves (flow ratio cutoff valves 42A-42D and flow ratio control valves 44A-44D) operatively coupled to the flow ratio control circuits 26A1-26D1 and flow paths fluidly connecting the plurality of valves (flow ratio cutoff valves 42A-42D and flow ratio control valves 44A-44D) to the plurality of flow ratio controllers 26A-26D. Thus, the plurality of valves and flow paths are arranged in a modular array on the mechanical backplane 19.

[0044] Although Figure 4 and Figure 7 The input / output module 20 is shown as being mounted in the lower right corner of the gas delivery system 10, but it should be understood that, in addition or as an alternative, the flow rate change measurement device 21 can be mounted at the same location or adjacent to the mass flow controller 30 and the mixing manifold 48 downstream. The flow rate change measurement device 21 can be configured to measure the rate of rise (ROR) of the mass flow controller 30 to determine the flow rate or flow distribution of the mass flow controller 30, or to measure the rate of fall (ROF) of the flow ratio controller 26 to determine the flow rate or flow distribution of the flow ratio controller 26. In addition, although Figure 4 and Figure 7Both are shown as being optionally located in the same location, but it should be understood that, for example, in a space near the flow ratio controller, the input / output module 20 and one or more flow rate change measurement devices 21 can be installed downstream of the mixing manifold 48 as controlled modules. In addition, other components including an external bus expansion unit, a precursor module, a field metering system, a thermal mass flow controller, and an infinite flow mass flow controller that does not include a restrictor can be installed in this location. The precursor module can be a gas pipeline configured to transport a precursor gas. The thermal mass flow controller can be configured with a temperature sensor instead of a pressure sensor to control the flow of the fluid through the mass flow controller. The infinite flow mass flow controller can be configured to model the dynamics of the fluid flowing through the mass flow controller via a regression model or a trained machine learning model to accurately estimate the flow rate. The flow rate can be estimated based on inputs from at least two pressure sensors, a temperature sensor, and a valve position sensor. The infinite flow mass flow controller can be configured to control the position of the control valve based on the estimated flow rate and does not include a restrictor. An example of a mass flow controller without an infinite flowmeter that may be utilized is described in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62 / 953,803, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. An in-situ metrology system can receive feedback from a downstream process chamber regarding a metrology process being performed on a workpiece being manufactured and, based on the feedback, change a characteristic (e.g., temperature, pressure, flow rate, or flow duration) of the flow of gas through a gas delivery system. For example, the feedback can be a signal indicating the thickness of material deposited on a wafer within a semiconductor processing chamber, as measured by a light emitter and detector within the chamber.

[0045] continue Figure 1 and Figure 4 Each flow path between the downstream shutoff valves 40A-40P and the corresponding flow control valves 36A-36P may have a branch flow path leading to the downstream purge shutoff valves 38A-38P. When the downstream purge shutoff valves 38A-38P are opened, the downstream purge shutoff valves 38A-38P allow fluid to flow from the respective flow control valves 36A-36P into the downstream purge manifold 41 to exhaust the fluid from the gas delivery system 10. When the downstream purge shutoff valves 38A-38P are closed, the downstream purge shutoff valves 38A-38P allow fluid to flow from the flow control valves 36A-36P to the mixing manifold 48 without branching.

[0046] The downstream shutoff valves 40A-40P and the downstream purge shutoff valves 38A-38P may be controlled by the mass flow controllers 30A-30P to create a vacuum within the flow path between the flow control valves 36A-36P and the downstream shutoff valves 40A-40P. For example, when a vacuum is desired between the first flow control valve 36A and the first downstream shutoff valve 40A, the first flow control valve 36A and the downstream shutoff valve 40A may be fully closed, and the first downstream purge shutoff valve 38A may be opened to allow gas in the flow path between the first flow control valve 36A and the first downstream shutoff valve 40A to be purged into the downstream purge manifold 41 and exhausted from the gas delivery system 10, thereby effectively creating a vacuum within the flow path between the first flow control valve 36A and the downstream shutoff valve 40A. Alternatively or in addition, the first flow control valve 36A and the downstream shutoff valve 40A can be fully closed and the first downstream purge shutoff valve 38A opened to allow gas in the flow path between the first flow control valve 36A and the first downstream shutoff valve 40A to be purged into the downstream purge manifold 41 and to introduce new gas into the gas delivery system 10, thereby effectively creating pressure in the flow path between the first flow control valve 36A and the first downstream shutoff valve 40A. The vacuum source can be a vacuum pump coupled to the outlet of the purge manifold 41. Alternatively, as discussed elsewhere herein, purging can be performed by flowing purge gas (at pressure at the gas source, at vacuum at the purge manifold, or a combination thereof) into the inlet of the upstream flow path block 80 and opening the upstream and downstream shutoff valves and the upstream and downstream purge shutoff valves to allow the purge gas to flow through the flow path blocks 80-82 and out of the purge manifolds 35, 41. Thus, by controlling the respective downstream shutoff valves 40A-40P and the downstream purge shutoff valves 38A-38P, the flow paths within each module column can be directed to purge fluid from the gas delivery system 10 in a zoned manner. In other words, the system controller 12 is configured to control the respective shutoff valves 38A-38P in order to control the purge of gas within each module column on the mechanical backplane 19.

[0047] Figure 6 2 is an exemplary schematic diagram showing the flow of data and control signals for the first mass flow control circuit 30A1 and the first flow ratio control circuit 26A1. For the sake of simplicity, the flow of data and control signals for other controlled modules is not shown in this schematic diagram.

[0048] Reference Figure 6, an example of the asynchronous flow of data signals from the pressure sensor pair 52A is described. The pressure sensor pair 52A senses the pressure within the flow path corresponding to the first mass flow controller 30A and transmits the pressure signal to the first mass flow control circuit 30A1. The first mass flow control circuit 30A1 then embeds the address corresponding to the first mass flow control circuit 30A1 and the pressure sensor pair 52A into the data stream and transmits the data stream containing the embedded address and the pressure signal to the second memory interface 22B. The second memory interface 22B directs the data stream to the electrical backplane 18, which in turn transmits the data stream to the first memory interface 22A. The coprocessor 13 parallelizes the data stream and stores the data stream in the read data register of the first memory interface 22A corresponding to the first mass flow control circuit 30A1. The transfer of the data stream from the first mass flow control circuit 30A1 to the first memory interface 22A can be triggered by a request from the coprocessor 13. The system controller 12 then accesses the read data register of the first memory interface 22A corresponding to the first mass flow control circuit 30A1, and the system controller 12 identifies the pressure signal as originating from the pressure sensor pair 52A corresponding to the first mass flow controller 30A. This data can then be stored, for example, in a data log 15A within the central data repository 15 of the non-volatile memory 14, making the data in the data log 15A available for later analysis via the AI ​​model 15B. It should be understood that the pressure signals from the pressure sensors 46A and 47A of the first flow ratio controller 26A are similarly processed by the flow ratio control circuit 26A1, the fifth memory interface 22E, the electrical backplane 18, the first memory interface 22A, and the system controller 12 to store the pressure signals of the pressure sensors 46A and 47A in the data log 15A. Thus, during operation, the system controller 12 may collect valve position information and sensor information from at least a plurality of sensors and valves operably coupled to the plurality of mass flow controllers 30A-30P and flow ratio controllers 26A-26D, and store the valve position information and sensor information in the data log 15A stored in the non-volatile memory 14. For example, after operation, the valve position information and sensor information may be uploaded in batches to a remote computer.

[0049] The system controller 12 is not particularly limited to the collection and storage of information and is also configured to perform calculations based on stored valve position information and sensor information. In this example, the system controller 12 is also configured to calculate flow rates and control values ​​in real time during control operations based on valve position information and sensor information from the operating mass flow controllers and the operating flow ratio controllers. For example, when the system controller 12 obtains pressure information, temperature information, and valve position information for the first flow control valve 36A from the first mass flow controller 30A, the system controller 12 can calculate the flow rate and determine a new appropriate valve position accordingly, and then store the new valve position in the first memory interface 22A. The coprocessor 13 can send the new valve position back to the first mass flow controller 30A, which then adjusts the first flow control valve 36A to the new valve position. In other words, the system controller 12 can process data for the gas delivery system 10 and control calculations during real-time operation.

[0050] As an example of a practical application of the AI ​​model 15B, the system controller 12 may also be configured to execute the AI ​​model 15B stored in the non-volatile memory 14 to train the AI ​​model 15B during the optimal manufacturing process based on sensor information from a plurality of sensors and valve position information from a plurality of valves at a training time. Subsequently, during runtime, the system controller 12 may execute the AI ​​model feedback module to monitor the performance difference of the manufacturing process relative to the optimal manufacturing process, or perform feedback training on the AI ​​model 15B based on the sensor information and valve position information, and use the trained AI model 15B to determine the performance difference of the manufacturing process during runtime relative to the optimal manufacturing process.

[0051] like Figure 6As shown, in this example, a first mass flow control circuit 30A1 is operably coupled to shutoff valves 32A, 34A, 38A, and 40A, as well as flow control valve 36A. The first mass flow control circuit 30A1 can send control signals to each valve 32A, 34A, 36A, 38A, and 40A to control the open position of each valve 32A, 34A, 36A, 38A, and 40A. Conversely, each valve 32A, 34A, 36A, 38A, and 40A can send data signals to the first mass flow control circuit 30A1 indicating the open position of each valve 32A, 34A, 36A, 38A, and 40A. Similarly, a first flow ratio control circuit 26A1 is operably coupled to a flow ratio shutoff valve 42A and a flow ratio control valve 44A. The first flow ratio control circuit 26A1 can send control signals to each valve 42A and 44A to control the open position of each valve 42A and 44A. In turn, each valve 42A, 44A can send a data signal to the first flow ratio control circuit 26A1 indicating the open position of each valve 42A, 44A. For the shutoff valves 32A, 34A, 38A, 40A, and 42A, the open position can be an open state of either open or closed. For the control valves 36A and 44A, the open position can be a selectively variable open position from a plurality of possible open positions, such as a percentage or degree of openness, and can be a linear ratio.

[0052] For example, in an asynchronous process, when the system controller 12 closes the first upstream shutoff valve 32A, it sends a data stream embedded with the addresses of the first upstream shutoff valve 32A and the first mass flow control circuit 30A1. This data stream enters the first memory interface 22A and reaches the write data register corresponding to the first mass flow control circuit 30A1. The coprocessor 13 then serializes the data stream and sends it to the electrical backplane 18, where it is directed to the second memory interface 22B. The second memory interface 22B reads the addresses embedded in the data stream and forwards the data stream to the first mass flow control circuit 30A1. The first mass flow control circuit 30A1 then sends a control signal to the first upstream shutoff valve 32A according to the instructions from the system controller 12 in the data stream, thereby controlling the opening of the first upstream shutoff valve 32A. It should be understood that the system controller 12 can control other valves within the gas delivery system 10 in a similar asynchronous manner.

[0053] Steering Figure 7, shows a perspective view of the electrical backplane 18. The electrical backplane 18 includes a printed circuit board (PCB) having a plurality of backplane interfaces, each configured to mount a controlled module 20, 24A-24D, 26A-26D, 30A-30P. The backplane interfaces are in the form of electrical connectors 50A-50U. In one example, the electrical connection is a board-to-board right-angle PCB receptacle, such as a PCIe slot, configured to receive the controlled module's PCB. In this example, each mass flow control circuit 30A1-30P1 includes its own local PCB, which is physically mounted on the electrical backplane 18 via a board-to-board electrical connection between the local PCB and the backplane PCB. The system controller 12, coprocessor 13, nonvolatile memory 14, and memory interfaces 22A-22E are shown as a chipset mounted directly to the top of the electrical backplane 18, connected via electrical traces of the configuration bus 18B1 and the control bus 18B2, and connected to the power bus 16A. Alternatively, however, the system controller 12, coprocessor 13, and non-volatile memory 14 may be mounted to the back of the electrical backplane 18, or may be mounted to separate printed circuit boards and connected to the electrical backplane via slot receptacles, such as PCIe slots. Constructing the electrical backplane 18 as a single circuit board centralizes data processing and control of the hardware by the system controller, reducing bandwidth limitations and latency associated with controllers that are physically separated from the hardware they control and communicate with via a computer network. Mounting components to the electrical connectors 50A-50U may involve inserting the components into slots, such as the PCIe receptacles described above, within the electrical connectors 50A-50U. The power bus 16A can be configured to supply power to multiple mass flow controllers 30A-30P, flow ratio controllers 26A-26D, the system controller 12, and multiple valves (upstream block valves 32A-32P, upstream purge block valves 34A-34P, flow control valves 36A-36P, downstream purge block valves 38A-38P, downstream block valves 40A-40P, flow ratio block valves 42A-42D, and flow ratio control valves 44A-44D).

[0054] Figure 8 Shown according to Figure 1 3A and its corresponding first upstream shutoff valve 32A, first upstream purge shutoff valve 34A, downstream purge shutoff valve 38A, downstream shutoff valve 40A, and first flow control valve 36A. It should be understood that this standardized valve configuration and composition of the mass flow control circuitry represents a similar configuration to that described in accordance with the present invention. Figure 1The rest of the mass flow control circuitry 30B-30P of the embodiment corresponds to the hardware configuration. The standardized hardware configuration allows the mass flow control circuitry to be easily installed or removed from the electrical backplane according to user preferences. The valves and controllers are arranged in a modular, organized array, increasing the ease of management and maintenance of the gas delivery system 10. Within each column, each mass flow controller 30A-30P has an associated upstream flow path block 80 and an associated downstream flow path block 82. The first upstream shutoff valve 32A and the first upstream purge shutoff valve 34A are positioned adjacent to the upstream purge manifold 35 within the upstream flow path block 80, while the downstream purge shutoff valve 38A and the downstream shutoff valve 40A are positioned adjacent to the downstream purge manifold 41 within the downstream flow path block 82. The mass flow controller 30A is positioned in close proximity to the first flow control valve 36A, the pressure sensor pair 52A, and the shutoff valves 32A, 34A, 38A, and 40A. This close proximity and proximity allows for a compact configuration of the flow elements and circuitry of the gas delivery system 10. Furthermore, the upstream flow path block 80 and the downstream flow path block 82 have modular, standardized shapes, mounts, and connectors so as to be compatible and interoperable on the mechanical backplane 19. Thus, as long as the flow path block meets standards that allow it to connect to the mechanical backplane 19 and interoperate with the rest of the gas delivery system 10, the flow path blocks can be freely exchanged and replaced with different valves, flow paths, and sensors housed in different flow path blocks.

[0055] Figure 9 The mass flow control circuit 30A1 of an exemplary mass flow controller 30A of the gas delivery system 10 is shown. The mass flow control circuit 30A1 includes a printed circuit board having an upper portion extending above the top surface 19A of the mechanical backplate 19, a middle portion extending through an opening 19C in the mechanical backplate 19, and a lower portion extending from below the bottom surface 19B of the mechanical backplate 19 to the electrical connector 50A on the electrical backplate 18. A solenoid driver 58 is included within non-volatile memory and can include either an electrical or pneumatic solenoid driver. A valve control circuit 68 is provided that can read the driver and the pressure signal detected by the pressure sensor pair 52A and output a drive signal to the flow control valve 36A, as well as the upstream shutoff valve 32A, the upstream purge shutoff valve 34A, the downstream purge shutoff valve 38A, and the downstream shutoff valve 40A. A CPLD circuit 62 is provided that can be configured as a memory interface to enable the valve control circuit 68 to communicate with the system controller 12 via the local bus and pins on the mass flow controller's PCB, the electrical connector 50A, and the communication bus 18B of the electrical backplane 18. It should be understood that the flow ratio controllers 26A-26D and the pressure controllers 24A-24D can be configured similarly to the mass flow controller 30A.

[0056] It should be understood that the electrical backplane 18 is not particularly limited to being operatively coupled to Figure 4 The particular configuration of flow path blocks and controlled modules shown, and optionally, may be operatively coupled to other configurations of flow path blocks and controlled modules to achieve similar potential advantages of centralized data acquisition and control.

[0057] In the figures, although the second memory interface 22B is shown as a single interface connected to multiple mass flow controllers 30A-30P, it should be understood that the second memory interface 22B can alternatively be implemented as multiple interfaces connected to multiple mass flow controllers 30A-30P. In an alternative embodiment, the second memory interface 22B can include multiple interfaces, each connected to a mass flow controller. In the figures, although the fourth memory interface 22D is shown as a single interface connected to multiple pressure controllers, it should be understood that the fourth memory interface 22D can alternatively be implemented as multiple interfaces connected to multiple pressure controllers. In an alternative embodiment, the fourth memory interface 22D can include multiple interfaces, each connected to a pressure controller. In the figures, although the fifth memory interface 22E is shown as a single interface connected to multiple flow ratio controllers, it should be understood that the fifth memory interface 22E can alternatively be implemented as multiple interfaces connected to multiple flow ratio controllers. In an alternative embodiment, the fifth memory interface 22E can include multiple interfaces, each connected to a flow ratio controller.

[0058] Figure 10A Shown Figure 1 It should be understood that the downstream flow path block 82 of the gas delivery system 10 has a similar structure and therefore will use Figure 10A and Figure 10D In similar cases, for the sake of brevity, only the upstream flow path block 80 is described. Figure 10A As shown, one structural difference between the upstream flow path block 80 and the downstream flow path block 82 is that the inlet and outlet of the downstream flow path block 82 are formed on the bottom surface of the flow path block, while the inlet of the upstream flow path block 80 is formed on the side of the flow path block. Figure 10A The dotted lines in FIG show the structure of the downstream flow path block 82 with the inlet on the bottom surface. It should be understood that the upstream flow path block 80 and the downstream flow path block 82 are respectively mounted on the dual-purpose mounting and flow path blocks 37 and 39 which will be mounted to the top surface 19A of the mechanical back plate 19 later.

[0059] like Figure 10AAs shown, a first mounting member 80A is provided on the upstream flow path block 80 to accommodate and secure the upstream shutoff valve 32A, and a second mounting member 80B is provided on the upstream flow path block 80 to accommodate and secure the first upstream purge shutoff valve 34A. A first mounting member 82A is provided on the downstream flow path block 82 to accommodate and secure the downstream shutoff valve 40A, and a second mounting member 82B is provided on the downstream flow path block 82 to accommodate and secure the downstream purge shutoff valve 38A. The first mounting member 80A and the second mounting member 80B are provided with threads 80A2 and 80B2, so that the valves 32A and 34A can be screwed onto the upstream flow path block 80. Furthermore, each mounting member 80A or 80B has a corresponding valve seat surface 80A1 or 80B1 formed therein. Two ports are formed in each of these valve seat surfaces: a first port 80A3 or 80B3 formed in the center of each valve seat surface 80A1 or 80B1, and a second port 80A4 or 80B4 formed in a partially radially arcuate shape radially outward from the first port 80A3 or 80B3. A bulge 80C in the central region of the top surface of the upstream flow path block 80 accommodates a laterally extending flow path within the flow path block, which will be described below.

[0060] Figure 10B Shown along Figure 10AAA′ of FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the upstream flow path block 80. Each upstream flow path block 80 includes an inlet 72A, an outlet 72B, and a purge port 72C. Each upstream flow path block 80 includes a branch flow path 70 that flows through the flow channel 72 from the inlet 72A to the outlet 72B of the flow channel 72, and flows through a purge branch 70C that leads from the branch point 70B of the flow channel to the purge port 72C. At least a portion of the branch flow path 70 may include a heating line that is configured to vaporize the incoming liquid into a gas supplied to the mass flow controller 30. An upstream flow path block 80 equipped with such a heated vaporization line may be referred to as a vaporization module. It should be understood that a subset of the columns of gas delivery system 10 can be provided with such a vaporization module as an upstream flow path block, and one or both of flow path blocks 37 and 39 and / or mixing manifold 48 can be provided with a channel that mixes the vaporized gas from the vaporization module with the gas that has already flowed through upstream flow path block 37 that is not provided with a heating line. Branch flow path 70 extends from inlet 72A along inlet branch 70A of the flow path to branch point 70B, where the flow path divides into outlet branch 70D and purge branch 70C. From branch point 70B, the flow path flows along outlet branch 70D, which leads from branch point 70B to outlet 72B, and along purge branch 70C from branch point 70B to purge port 72C of flow channel 72. A first upstream purge shutoff valve 34A is located within purge branch 70C and is configured to control the flow of gas from inlet 72A to purge port 72C, and a first upstream shutoff valve 32A is located within inlet branch 70A and is configured to control the flow of gas from inlet 72A to outlet 72B along outlet branch 70D through internal outlet passage 72B1. Opening the first upstream shutoff valve 32A allows gas to flow from inlet 72A to branch point 70B. Therefore, it should be understood that during a purge operation, both shutoff valves 32A and 34A are open, allowing purge gas to flow from inlet 72A to purge port 72C and ultimately out of upstream purge manifold 35. Outlet 72B of upstream flow path block 80 is connected to flow path block 37, which directs gas into the inlets of each mass flow controller. During non-purge operation, first upstream purge shutoff valve 34A is closed and upstream shutoff valve 32A is open, allowing gas to flow from gas source 28A to mass flow controller 30A through inlet branch 70A and outlet branch 70D of branch flow path 70. Another flow path block 39 is provided to direct gas from the outlet of mass flow controller 30A to the inlet of downstream flow path block 82.

[0061] Reference Figure 10CA first mounting member 82A is provided on the downstream flow path block 82 to accommodate and secure the downstream shutoff valve 40A, and a second mounting member 82B is provided on the downstream flow path block 82 to accommodate and secure the downstream purge shutoff valve 38A. The first mounting member 82A and the second mounting member 82B are threaded so that the valves 38A and 40A can be screwed onto the downstream flow path block 82. In addition, corresponding valve seat surfaces 82A1 and 82B1 are formed in each of the mounting members 82A and 82B. A bulge 82C in the central region of the top surface of the downstream flow path block 82 accommodates a laterally extending flow path within the flow path block, similar to the bulge 80C of the upstream flow path block 80.

[0062] Further references Figure 10C It should be understood that each downstream flow path block 82 includes an inlet 72A', an outlet 72B' and a purge port 72C. Figure 10C As shown, unlike upstream flow path block 80, downstream flow path block 82 has inlet 72A' located on the bottom surface of the flow path block. Each downstream flow path block 82 includes a branch flow path 70 that flows through a flow channel 72. Flow channel 72 extends from inlet 72A' to branch point 70B along inlet branch 70A of branch flow path 70. Branch flow path 70 divides into outlet branch 70D leading from branch point 70B to outlet 72B' and purge branch 70C leading from branch point 70B to purge port 72C. Downstream flow path block 82 also includes a first downstream purge shutoff valve 38A and a second downstream shutoff valve 40A. First downstream purge shutoff valve 38A is located within purge branch 70C and is configured to control the flow of gas from inlet 72A' to purge port 72C. Second downstream shutoff valve 40A is located within outlet branch 70D and is configured to control the flow of gas from inlet 72A' to outlet 72B' along outlet branch 70D. The outlet 72B' of each downstream flow path block 82 is fluidly connected to a corresponding inlet of the mixing manifold 48. The outlet 72B' of the downstream flow path block 82 is connected to the mixing manifold 48, which directs gas to the inlet of each flow ratio controller. It should be understood that during purge operation, both the downstream purge shutoff valve 38A and the downstream shutoff valve 40A are open, allowing purge gas to flow from the inlet 72A to the purge port 72C and ultimately out of the downstream purge manifold 41. During controlled flow operation of the chamber, the first downstream purge shutoff valve 38A is closed, thereby preventing gas from flowing to the purge manifold 41, and the second downstream shutoff valve 40A is open.

[0063] Reference Figure 10B and Figure 10CAt least one of the upstream flow path block 80 and the downstream flow path block 82 includes an internal channel 72C1 that extends horizontally and longitudinally and is located between the top surface 80D, 82D and the bottom surface 80E, 82E of the flow path blocks 80, 82. The internal channel 72C1 forms a portion of the cleanout branch 70C of the branch flow path 70. Figure 10A The radial shape of the second port 80B4 is shown with Figure 10C For the upstream flow path block 80, the internal channel 72C1 is fluidly connected to the first upstream purge shutoff valve 34A via the first vertical channel 72C2 extending downward from the second port 80B4. For the downstream flow path block 82, the internal channel 72C1 is fluidly connected to the downstream purge shutoff valve 38A via the first vertical channel 72C2. Figure 10B Only one of the internal channels 72C1 and vertical channels 72C2 is visible, but Figure 10A As shown by the middle dashed line, left and right internal passages 72C1 and 72C1' and left and right first vertical passages 72C2 and 72C2' are provided and fluidly connected to respective ends of the second port 80B4.

[0064] continue Figure 10B , the internal channel 72C1 is fluidly connected to the purge port 72C via the second vertical channel 72C3, and Figure 10A The internal passage 72C1′ shown in FIG. Figure 10A and Figure 10D The second vertical channel 72C3' is also shown connected to the purge port 72C. As described below, the left and right second vertical channels 72C3 and 72C3' are fluidly connected by a laterally extending channel 72C3a. Figure 10B and Figure 10C, it can be seen that each of the first upstream purge shutoff valve 34A and the second downstream shutoff valve 40A is located closer to the outlet than to the inlet. Since the internal channel 72C1 cannot be easily formed by conventional manufacturing processes such as milling or drilling due to its location inside the flow path block, an alternative manufacturing process can be used. For example, the upstream flow path block 80 including the internal channels 72C1 and 72C1′ can be formed by an additive manufacturing process such as 3D printing. Generally, additive manufacturing refers to a manufacturing process that combines materials together to create the final shape of a workpiece layer by layer based on a three-dimensional computer-aided design / computer-aided manufacturing (CAD / CAM) model, and can be contrasted with reductive processes such as machining that removes material. For example, additive manufacturing processes such as 3D printing, powder bed fusion, sheet lamination, directed energy deposition, or direct metal laser sintering can be utilized. By additively manufacturing flow path blocks, flow channels with complex internal shapes can be created within a single block of material, reducing the need to bolt, weld, machine, or otherwise join the flow path block's components together (which can cause leaks). Furthermore, additive manufacturing enables the formation of internal contours and flow paths that are not possible with conventional machining processes.

[0065] Figure 10B The operation of upstream shutoff valves 32A and 34A is also shown. Each of these valves includes an actuator that moves valve surfaces 32A1 and 34A1 upward and downward to selectively contact or separate from valve seat surfaces 80A1 and 80B1. This movement controls the opening and closing of the valves and, as shown, allows gas to selectively flow through the valves along either the inlet branch 70A or the purge branch 70C of the branch flow path 70, respectively. Figure 10C The operation of downstream purge shutoff valve 38A and downstream shutoff valve 40A is similarly illustrated. Each of these valves includes an actuator that moves valve surfaces 38A1, 40A1 up and down to selectively contact or separate from valve seat surfaces 82A1, 82B1. This motion controls the opening and closing of the valves and, as shown, allows gas to selectively flow through the valves along the corresponding inlet branch 70A or purge branch 70C of branch flow path 70. Typically, each of shutoff valves 32A, 34A, 38A, 40A is a pneumatically controlled shutoff valve, but other types of valves are also possible.

[0066] Figure 10D Shown along Figure 10AThe upstream flow path block 80 is shown in a cross-sectional view taken along line BB′. The downstream flow path block 82 is identical in this cross-sectional view. Within the upstream flow path block 80, an inverted U-shaped channel is formed by the right second vertical channel 72C3, the left second vertical channel 72C3′, and the transversely extending channel 72C3a. The channel 72C3a fluidically connects the pair of left and right second vertical channels 72C3 and 72C3′. Figure 10A As can be seen in FIG, the U-shaped channel is fluidly connected to a pair of internal horizontal channels 72C1, 72C1′ that extend from the first vertical channel 72C2 to the second vertical channel 72C3 and from the first vertical channel 72C2′ to the second vertical channel 72C3′ on the left and right sides of the upstream flow path block 80 along the longitudinal direction of the purge branch of the branch flow path. Figure 10D The central aperture of inlet channel 72A1 of inlet branch 70A of branched flow path 70 is formed in the lateral and vertical central region of upstream flow path block 80, and is surrounded by the U-shaped channel on its upper, right, and left sides. In this manner, the inlet branch of the flow path is carried into inlet channel 72A1, which, in this view, is fluidically separated from the purge branch 70C of the flow path carried in the U-shaped channel and internal horizontal channels 72C1, 72C1′. In some examples, purge branch 70C can be configured as a purge / vacuum branch, and purge manifold 35, 41 connected to the purge / vacuum branch can be connected to a vacuum pump to purge gas from the system, while in other examples, purge gas can flow through the system and out of purge manifold 35, 41 to complete the purge operation.

[0067] During operation, gas source 28A is activated, and gas flows from gas source 28A to the inlet of upstream flow block 80. Upstream shutoff valve 32A is opened to allow gas to flow through the upstream flow block, and first upstream purge shutoff valve 34A, which controls the branch flow to the purge manifold, is closed. Consequently, all gas entering the inlet is allowed to flow through upstream flow block 80 to the outlet. The gas then passes through flow block 37 to enter the inlet of mass flow controller flow block 81, as described in detail below. Mass flow controller flow block 81 includes a flow path from the inlet to the outlet of mass flow controller flow block 81. First flow control valve 36A controls the flow of gas through mass flow controller flow block 81. Gas exits mass flow controller flow block 81, passes through flow block 39, and enters downstream flow block 82. Downstream shutoff valve 40A of downstream flow block 82 is opened to allow gas to flow through downstream flow block 82, while downstream purge shutoff valve 38A is closed to prevent gas from escaping from purge manifold 41. Gas exits the outlet of downstream flow path block 82 and enters mixing manifold 48, where it mixes with gas from other trains of gas delivery system 10 before being directed to one of a plurality of flow ratio controllers 26A-26D. Each flow ratio controller 26A-26D controls the flow ratio of the gas exiting mixing manifold 48, thereby delivering a predetermined ratio of the total flow rate from its respective outlet.

[0068] Now refer to Figure 11A , the perspective view shows a mass flow controller flow path block 81 of the mass flow controller 30A, a flow control valve 36A, a flow restrictor housing 53 that accommodates a flow restrictor 53A, a pressure sensor pair 52A including a first pressure sensor 52A1 positioned to measure the pressure in the fluid channel on the first side of the flow restrictor 53A and a second pressure sensor 52A2 positioned to measure the pressure in the fluid channel on the second side of the flow restrictor 53A, and an upstream pressure sensor 51 installed upstream of the flow restrictor 53A and configured to measure the pressure in the flow path adjacent to the flow control valve 36A. It should be understood that the first pressure sensor 52A1 and the second pressure sensor 52A2 are respectively located on opposite sides of the flow restrictor 53A. A pair of threaded holes 25A are located on the side of the mass flow controller flow path block 81, and fasteners 25B (refer to Figure 4 ) can be inserted into the threaded hole, thereby fastening the printed circuit board of the mass flow control circuit 30A1.

[0069] exist Figure 11BIn the view of FIG, upstream pressure sensor 51, pressure sensor pair 52A, and flow control valve 36A are omitted to illustrate valve seat surface 83A, against which the flow control valve seat abuts to seal the valve. Threads 83C for securing flow control valve 36A to the flow path block are shown. Mounting surface 83B is shown on mass flow controller flow path block 81 and is configured to accommodate and secure first pressure sensor 52A1 and second pressure sensor 52A2 of pressure sensor pair 52A.

[0070] Reference Figure 11C , which shows a cross-sectional view of a mass flow controller flow path block 81. In this figure, the upstream pressure sensor 51, the flow restrictor 53A, the first pressure sensor 52A1 and the second pressure sensor 52A2 of the pressure sensor pair 52A, and the flow control valve 36A are schematically shown in their general connection position, which is at Figure 11A 86A extends from the inlet 86A to the outlet 86B. The inlet branch 84A of the flow path 84 extends from the inlet 86A, passes the upstream pressure sensor 51, and flows through the flow control valve 36A. The flow control valve 36A is mounted on the inlet branch 84A in the flow path 84 and is configured to control the flow rate of the gas flowing through the flow path 84. The upstream pressure sensor 51 is mounted upstream of the control valve 36A and is configured to detect the pressure of the gas flowing along the flow path 84 in the inlet branch 84A upstream of the control valve 36A. The first pressure sensor 52A1 and the second pressure sensor 52A2 of the pressure sensor pair 52A are mounted downstream of the flow control valve 36A. When the gas flows from Figure 11C When the gas flows from the inlet to the outlet, the first pressure sensor 52A1 is located upstream of the restrictor 53A, while the second pressure sensor 52A2 is located downstream of the restrictor 53A. The restrictor 53A is arranged in the internal channel 86C to block the flow of gas in the internal channel 86C. The first pressure sensor 52A1 is located at the end of the first branch channel 86D branching from the internal channel 86C on the upstream side of the restrictor 53A, and is configured to detect the pressure of the gas flowing along the main internal branch 84C upstream of the restrictor 53A. The main internal branch 84C of the flow path 84 flows through the internal channel 86C, wherein the main internal branch 84C first flows horizontally in a generally lateral direction, then flows downward toward the restrictor 53A, and then turns upward back to the outlet 86B. It should be understood that such a structure involving an internal channel 86C having multiple 90-degree bends cannot be manufactured in an integrated flow path block using conventional methods such as drilling or milling. Therefore, the mass flow controller flow path block 81 having such an internal horizontal channel can be manufactured by an additive manufacturing process like the other flow path blocks described herein.

[0071] A second branch channel 84D is provided in the internal channel 86C on the downstream side of the restrictor 53A, branching from the outlet branch 84B of the flow path 84. The second pressure sensor 52A2 of the pressure sensor pair 52A is located at the end of the second branch channel 84D and is configured to detect the pressure of the gas flowing along the outlet branch 84B downstream of the restrictor 53A. The pressures upstream and downstream of the restrictor 53A are measured by the first pressure sensor 52A1 and the second pressure sensor 52A2, respectively, and the flow rate of the flowing gas can be calculated based on the difference between these detected pressures. For example, in a feedback control loop, the mass flow control circuit 30A1 of the mass flow controller 30A can continuously use this information to control the flow through the flow control valve 36A to tend toward the flow set point, that is, the desired flow rate. In this way, gas can be delivered from the outlet 86B of the mass flow controller 30A at a stable flow rate. Upstream pressure sensor 51 detects pressure upstream of flow restrictor 53A near flow control valve 36A, and processing circuitry of mass flow controller 30A checks to ensure that the detected pressure is within an acceptable operating range during operation.

[0072] It should be understood that in other embodiments, the pressure sensor pair 52A may be replaced with a single pressure sensor or a single thermal mass flow sensor 54. For example, Figure 11C As shown, when the mass flow controller 30A is configured as a thermal mass flow controller, the pressure sensor pair 52A can be configured as a single thermal mass flow sensor 54 that measures the temperature change associated with adding a known amount of heat to the flowing fluid or the amount of heat required to maintain the thermal mass flow sensor 54 at a constant temperature. Here, instead of two branch channels 86D and 84D provided at the respective ends of the two pressure sensors 52A1 and 52A2, a bypass line 54a is provided to the thermal mass flow sensor 54. It should be understood that, unlike a pressure mass flow controller, a thermal mass flow controller has a flow path through the bypass line 54a that runs from one side of the restrictor to the other, that is, the flow path fluidically connects the two branch channels 86D and 84D.

[0073] Reference Figure 12, shows a partial top view of a mixing manifold 48 mounted on a mechanical backplate 19 according to an example of the present disclosure. In the figure, the open downstream shut-off valves 40A-40D are causing gas to flow into the inlet ports 41A-41D of the mixing manifold 48. The gas flowing into the inlet ports 41A-41D is mixed within the mixing chamber 48A, which is configured to induce turbulence within the mixing chamber 48A to promote mixing of the gas entering the mixing manifold 48. For example, structural elements within the mixing chamber 48A that facilitate mixing of the gas may include spiral grooves and / or serpentine flow paths. The gas mixed within the mixing chamber 48A flows out of the mixing manifold 48 through the outflow ports 43A-43C and exits the mixing manifold 48 into the flow ratio shut-off valves 42A-42D. In Figure 12 In the example shown, gas flows through flow ratio cutoff valves 42A-42D and reaches chambers 90A, 90B.

[0074] According to the present disclosure, tighter gas control and delivery are achieved by reducing redundancy within the gas delivery system. Material costs are reduced due to the reduction of redundant components, resulting in smaller overall size and weight. Centralized data acquisition, data communication and control improve long-term repeatability. Local data storage maintains all data from each process run, allowing end users to examine the relationship between production and gas delivery performance. Comprehensive real-time central control can process all sensor data, control the entire gas delivery and record all data in real time to a central data repository in one location. In addition, with all real-time sensor data stored in one location, complex performance analysis can be performed through machine learning and real-time in-process adjustment of flow parameters, thereby improving the performance and repeatability of the gas delivery system.

[0075] The following paragraphs provide additional support for the claims of this application. One aspect provides a gas delivery system comprising: an electrical backplane; a system controller operably coupled to the electrical backplane; and a plurality of mass flow controllers, each mass flow controller comprising a respective mass flow control circuit operably coupled to the electrical backplane, the system controller and each mass flow control circuit being physically mounted to the electrical backplane. In this aspect, additionally or alternatively, each mass flow controller may be physically mounted to the electrical backplane via a respective electrical connector. In this aspect, additionally or alternatively, the electrical backplane may comprise a backplane printed circuit board; each mass flow control circuit may comprise a respective local printed circuit board, the local printed circuit board being physically mounted to the electrical backplane via a board-to-board electrical connection between the local printed circuit board and the backplane printed circuit board. In this aspect, additionally or alternatively, the gas delivery system may further comprise a mechanical backplane, the plurality of mass flow controllers being physically mounted to the mechanical backplane. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the mechanical backplate may include a top surface, a bottom surface, and a plurality of openings extending from the top surface to the bottom surface; the electrical backplate may be mounted to the bottom surface of the mechanical backplate and may be spaced apart from the bottom surface by a gap; each of the mass flow controllers may be mounted to the top surface of the mechanical backplate; and a portion of each of the mass flow controllers may extend through a corresponding opening in the plurality of openings to reach the electrical backplate. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the plurality of mass flow controllers may be mounted in columns, each column including associated flow paths extending from a respective inlet to a mixing manifold. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the plurality of mass flow controllers may be selected from the group consisting of a pressure mass flow controller, a thermal mass flow controller, and a mass flow controller with an infinite flowmeter. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, each of the mass flow controllers may include: a mass flow controller flow path block, the mass flow controller flow path block including a flow path from an inlet to an outlet of the mass flow controller flow path block; a flow control valve, the flow control valve being installed in the flow path and configured to control the flow rate of gas flowing through the flow path; a pressure sensor pair, the pressure sensor pair including a first pressure sensor and a second pressure sensor located on opposite sides of a restrictor in the flow path; and an upstream pressure sensor, the upstream pressure sensor being installed upstream of the restrictor and configured to measure the pressure in the flow path adjacent to the flow control valve.In this regard, additionally or alternatively, in each column, each of the mass flow controllers may have an associated upstream flow path block; each of the upstream flow path blocks may include an inlet, an outlet, and a purge port, and each of the upstream flow path blocks may include a branch flow path, the branch flow path including an inlet branch from the inlet to a branch point, an outlet branch from the branch point to the outlet, and a purge branch from the branch point to the purge port; an upstream stop valve, the upstream stop valve being located in the inlet branch and being configured to control the flow of gas along the outlet branch from the inlet to the outlet; and an upstream purge stop valve, the upstream purge stop valve being located in the purge branch and being configured to control the flow of gas from the inlet to the purge port. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, in each column, each of the mass flow controllers may have an associated downstream flow path block; each of the downstream flow path blocks may include an inlet, an outlet, and a purge port; each of the downstream flow path blocks may include: a branch flow path, the branch flow path including an inlet branch from the inlet to a branch point, an outlet branch from the branch point to the outlet, and a purge branch from the branch point to the purge port; a downstream purge shutoff valve located within the purge branch and configured to control the flow of gas from the inlet to the purge port; and a downstream shutoff valve located within the inlet branch and configured to control the flow of gas along the outlet branch from the inlet to the outlet. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, at least one of the upstream flow path block and the downstream flow path block may include: an internal channel extending horizontally and located between a top surface and a bottom surface of the upstream flow path block or the downstream flow path block, the internal channel forming a portion of the purge branch of the flow path. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the internal passageway may be fluidly connected to one of the upstream purge shutoff valve and the downstream purge shutoff valve via a first vertical passageway; the internal passageway may be fluidly connected to the purge port via a second vertical passageway; and one of the upstream purge shutoff valve and the downstream purge shutoff valve may be located closer to the outlet than to the inlet. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the internal passageway may be formed via an additive manufacturing process. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the gas delivery system may further include a plurality of flow ratio controllers, each of the flow ratio controllers including a respective flow ratio control circuit operatively coupled to the electrical backplane, each of the flow ratio control circuits being physically mounted to the electrical backplane. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the gas delivery system may further include a mixing manifold configured to receive gases from each of the mass flow controllers, mix the gases, and direct the gases to a respective inlet of each of the flow ratio controllers.In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the gas delivery system may further include a plurality of pressure controllers, each of the pressure controllers including a respective pressure control circuit operatively coupled to the electrical backplane, each of the pressure control circuits being physically mounted to the electrical backplane. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the electrical backplane may further include an electrical bus system including a control bus configured to route control signals between the system controller and each controlled mass flow controller. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the electrical backplane may further include an electrical bus system including a configuration bus configured to route configuration signals between the system controller and each controlled mass flow controller. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the electrical backplane may further include a power bus configured to supply power to each of the mass flow control circuits, the system controller, and the plurality of valves. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the gas delivery system may further include non-volatile memory operatively coupled to the system controller. The system controller may also be configured to collect valve position information and sensor information from at least a plurality of sensors and valves operably coupled to each mass flow control circuit, and store the valve position information and sensor information in a data log stored in the non-volatile memory. Additionally or alternatively, the gas delivery system may further include a coprocessor mounted to the electrical backplane. The coprocessor may coordinate asynchronous data communications between the system controller and each of the mass flow control circuits. Additionally or alternatively, the coprocessor may parallelize serialized data streams from each of the mass flow control circuits to generate a parallelized data stream and transmit the parallelized data stream to the system controller; and the coprocessor may further serialize data streams from the system controller to generate a serialized data stream and transmit the serialized data stream to each of the mass flow control circuits. Additionally or alternatively, each data stream may include an address of the mass flow control circuit transmitting the data stream.

[0076] Another aspect provides a gas delivery system comprising: an electrical backplane; a system controller operably coupled to and physically mounted to the electrical backplane; and a plurality of controlled modules, each of the controlled modules comprising a respective printed circuit board operably coupled to the electrical backplane, the printed circuit board of each controlled module being electrically connected to and physically mounted to the electrical backplane via a board-to-board electrical connector. The plurality of controlled modules are selected from the group consisting of a mass flow controller, a flow ratio controller, a pressure controller, an external bus expansion, a precursor module, a field metering system, a thermal mass flow controller, and a mass flow controller without an infinity flowmeter. In this regard, the gas delivery system may additionally or alternatively include a non-volatile memory mounted to the electrical backplane and operably coupled to the system controller. The system controller may also be configured to collect valve position information and sensor information from at least a plurality of sensors and valves operably coupled to the printed circuit boards of each of the controlled modules, and store the valve position information and sensor information in a data log stored in the non-volatile memory. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the gas delivery system may further include a mechanical backplane, the plurality of controlled modules being physically mounted on the mechanical backplane, the mechanical backplane comprising a top surface, a bottom surface, and a plurality of openings extending from the top surface to the bottom surface. The electrical backplane may be mounted to the bottom surface of the mechanical backplane and spaced apart from the bottom surface by a gap; each of the controlled modules may be mounted to the top surface of the mechanical backplane; and a portion of the printed circuit board of each of the controlled modules may extend through a corresponding opening in the plurality of openings to reach a corresponding one of the board-to-board electrical connectors on the electrical backplane.

[0077] Another aspect provides a gas delivery system comprising: an electrical backplane; a system controller operably coupled to and physically mounted to the electrical backplane; and a plurality of controlled modules, each of the controlled modules comprising respective circuitry operably coupled to the electrical backplane, the system controller and each of the controlled modules being physically mounted to the electrical backplane. The controlled modules are selected from the group consisting of mass flow controllers, flow rate controllers, and pressure controllers. The electrical backplane comprises: an electrical bus system having a control bus configured to route control signals between the system controller and each of the controlled mass flow controllers; a first memory interface having read registers and write registers for exchanging data between the system controller and the electrical bus system; and a second memory interface having read registers and write registers for exchanging data between the controlled modules and the electrical bus system. In this regard, additionally or alternatively, the system controller may be further configured to collect valve position information and sensor information from at least a plurality of sensors and valves operably coupled to printed circuit boards of each of the controlled modules, and store the valve position information and sensor information in a data log stored in non-volatile memory on the electrical backplane. Additionally or alternatively, the system controller may be further configured to execute an artificial intelligence model stored in the non-volatile memory to train the artificial intelligence model during training time based on the sensor information from the plurality of sensors and the valve position information from the plurality of valves in an optimal manufacturing process, and, during runtime, use the trained artificial intelligence model to determine performance differences of the manufacturing process at runtime relative to the optimal manufacturing process. Additionally or alternatively, the electrical bus system may also include a configuration bus configured to route configuration signals between the system controller and each controlled mass flow controller. Additionally or alternatively, the electrical bus system may also include a power bus configured to supply power to each mass flow control circuit, the system controller, and the plurality of valves.

[0078] In some embodiments, the methods and processes described herein can be associated with a computing system of one or more computing devices. In particular, such methods and processes can be implemented as a computer application or service, an application programming interface (API), a library, and / or other computer program products.

[0079] Figure 13 A non-limiting embodiment of a computing system 300 that can implement one or more of the above processes is schematically shown. The computing system 300 is shown in simplified form. The computing system 300 can be specifically implemented as Figure 1-4 The above-mentioned system controller 12 or controlled modules 20, 24A-24D, 26A-26D, 30A-30P are shown.

[0080] The computing system 300 includes a logic processor 302, a volatile memory 304, and a non-volatile storage device 306. Optionally, the computing system 300 may include a display subsystem 308, an input subsystem 310, a communication subsystem 312, and / or Figure 13 Other components not shown.

[0081] Logical processor 302 includes one or more physical devices configured to execute instructions. For example, a logical processor may be configured to execute instructions that are part of one or more applications, programs, routines, libraries, objects, components, data structures, or other logical structures. These instructions may be executed to perform a task, implement a data type, transform the state of one or more components, achieve a technical effect, or otherwise obtain a desired result.

[0082] The logical processor may include one or more physical processors (hardware) configured to execute software instructions. Additionally or alternatively, the logical processor may include one or more hardware logic circuits or firmware devices configured to execute hardware-implemented logic or firmware instructions. The processor of the logical processor 302 may be single-core or multi-core, and the instructions executed thereon may be configured for sequential, parallel and / or distributed processing. Optionally, the various components of the logical processor may be distributed between two or more separate devices that may be remotely located and / or configured for coordinated processing. Various aspects of the logical processor may be virtualized and executed by a remotely accessible network computing device configured in a cloud computing configuration. In this case, it will be understood that these virtualized aspects are run on different physical logical processors of various different machines.

[0083] The non-volatile storage device 306 includes one or more physical devices configured to store instructions executable by a logical processor to implement the methods and processes described herein. When implementing these methods and processes, for example, the state of the non-volatile storage device 306 may be transformed to store different data.

[0084] The non-volatile storage device 306 may include removable and / or built-in physical devices. The non-volatile storage device 306 may include optical storage (e.g., CD, DVD, HD-DVD, Blu-ray disc, etc.), semiconductor memory (e.g., ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, etc.), and / or magnetic storage (e.g., hard disk drive, floppy disk drive, tape drive, MRAM, etc.), or other mass storage device technologies. The non-volatile storage device 306 may include non-volatile, dynamic, static, read / write, read-only, sequential access, location addressable, file addressable, and / or content addressable devices. It should be understood that the non-volatile storage device 306 is configured to retain instructions even when the non-volatile storage device 306 is powered off.

[0085] Volatile memory 304 may include a physical device with random access memory. Typically, logical processor 302 utilizes volatile memory 304 to temporarily store information during the processing of software instructions. It should be understood that, typically, when volatile memory 304 is powered off, volatile memory 304 does not continue to store instructions.

[0086] Aspects of the logic processor 302, volatile memory 304, and non-volatile storage 306 may be integrated together into one or more hardware logic components. For example, such hardware logic components may include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), program and application specific integrated circuits (PASIC / ASICs), program and application specific standard products (PSSP / ASSPs), systems on chips (SOCs), and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs).

[0087] The terms "module," "program," and "engine" may be used to describe aspects of computing system 300, which is typically implemented in software by a processor to use a portion of volatile memory to perform a specific function that involves conversion processing specifically configured to perform the function. Thus, a module, program, or engine may be instantiated via logical processor 302, which uses a portion of volatile memory 304 to execute instructions held by non-volatile storage 306. It should be understood that different modules, programs, and / or engines can be instantiated from the same application, service, code block, object, library, routine, API, function, etc. Similarly, the same module, program, and / or engine can be instantiated by different applications, services, code blocks, objects, routines, APIs, functions, etc. The terms "module," "program," and "engine" may encompass individual or grouped executable files, data files, libraries, drivers, scripts, database records, etc.

[0088] When a display subsystem 308 is included, the display subsystem 308 is used to present a visual representation of the data held by the non-volatile storage device 306. The visual representation can take the form of a graphical user interface (GUI). As the methods and processes described herein change the data held by the non-volatile storage device and thereby transform the state of the non-volatile storage device, the state of the display subsystem 308 can also be transformed to visually represent the changes in the underlying data. The display subsystem 308 can include one or more display devices utilizing virtually any type of technology. Such a display device can be combined with the logic processor 302, the volatile memory 304, and / or the non-volatile storage device 306 in a common housing, or such a display device can be a peripheral display device.

[0089] When input subsystem 310 is included, input subsystem 310 may include, or be connected to, one or more user input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, or the like.

[0090] When the communication subsystem 312 is included, the communication subsystem 312 can be configured to communicatively couple the various computing devices described herein to each other, as well as to communicatively couple to other devices. The communication subsystem 312 can include wired and / or wireless communication devices compatible with one or more different communication protocols. As non-limiting examples, the communication subsystem can be configured to communicate via a wireless telephone network or a wired or wireless local area network or wide area network (e.g., an HDMI connection via Wi-Fi). In some embodiments, the communication subsystem can allow the computing system 300 to send and / or receive messages to and / or from other devices via a network such as the Internet.

[0091] It should be understood that the formation and / or method described herein are exemplary in nature, and these specific embodiments or examples should not be considered as restrictive, because there can be many variations. The specific routines or methods described herein can represent one or more of any number of processing strategies. Therefore, the various actions shown and / or described can be performed in the sequence shown and / or described, in other sequences, in parallel, or omitted. Similarly, the order of the above-mentioned processing can be changed.

[0092] The subject matter of the present disclosure includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various processes, systems and compositions, and other features, functions, acts, and / or properties disclosed herein, as well as any and all equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A gas delivery system comprising: electrical backplane; a system controller operatively coupled to the electrical backplane; and a plurality of mass flow controllers, each of said mass flow controllers comprising a respective mass flow control circuit operatively coupled to said electrical backplane, said system controller and each of said mass flow control circuits being physically mounted to said electrical backplane, wherein each of the mass flow controllers is physically mounted on the electrical backplane via a respective electrical connector; The electrical backplane includes a backplane printed circuit board; and Each of the mass flow control circuits includes a respective local printed circuit board physically mounted on the electrical backplane via board-to-board electrical connections between the local printed circuit board and the backplane printed circuit board.

2. The gas delivery system of claim 1 , further comprising: A mechanical backplate on which the plurality of mass flow controllers are physically mounted.

3. The gas delivery system of claim 2, wherein The mechanical back plate includes a top surface, a bottom surface, and a plurality of openings extending from the top surface to the bottom surface; The electrical backplane is mounted to the bottom surface of the mechanical backplane and is separated from the bottom surface by a certain gap; Each of said mass flow controllers is mounted to said top surface of said mechanical back plate; and A portion of each of the mass flow controllers extends through a corresponding opening of the plurality of openings to the electrical backplane.

4. The gas delivery system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of mass flow controllers are mounted in columns, each column including associated flow paths extending from a respective inlet to a mixing manifold.

5. The gas delivery system of claim 4, wherein the plurality of mass flow controllers are selected from the group consisting of pressure mass flow controllers, thermal mass flow controllers, and mass flow controllers without flow restriction.

6. The gas delivery system of claim 4, wherein each of said mass flow controllers comprises: a mass flow controller flow path block, the mass flow controller flow path block comprising a flow path from an inlet to an outlet of the mass flow controller flow path block; a flow control valve installed in the flow path and configured to control a flow rate of gas flowing through the flow path; a pressure sensor pair comprising a first pressure sensor and a second pressure sensor located on opposite sides of a flow restrictor within the flow path; and An upstream pressure sensor is mounted upstream of the flow restrictor and is configured to measure pressure within a flow path adjacent to the flow control valve.

7. The gas delivery system of claim 6, wherein In each column, each of said mass flow controllers has an associated upstream flow path block; Each of the upstream flow path blocks includes an inlet, an outlet and a purge port, Each of the upstream flow path blocks includes a branch flow path, the branch flow path including an inlet branch from the inlet to a branch point, an outlet branch from the branch point to the outlet, and a purge branch from the branch point to the purge port; an upstream shutoff valve located within the inlet branch and configured to control the flow of gas along the outlet branch from the inlet to the outlet; and An upstream purge shutoff valve is located within the purge branch and is configured to control the flow of gas from the inlet to the purge port.

8. The gas delivery system of claim 7, wherein In each column, each of said mass flow controllers has an associated downstream flow path block; Each of the downstream flow path blocks includes an inlet, an outlet and a purge port, Each of the downstream flow path blocks includes a branch flow path, the branch flow path including an inlet branch from the inlet to a branch point, an outlet branch from the branch point to the outlet, and a purge branch from the branch point to the purge port; a downstream purge shutoff valve located within the purge branch and configured to control the flow of gas from the inlet to the purge port; and A downstream shutoff valve is located within the inlet branch and is configured to control the flow of gas along the outlet branch from the inlet to the outlet.

9. The gas delivery system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the upstream flow path block and the downstream flow path block comprises: An internal passage extending horizontally and located between the top and bottom surfaces of the upstream flow path block or the downstream flow path block, the internal passage forming a portion of the purge branch of the flow path.

10. The gas delivery system of claim 9, wherein the internal passage being fluidly connected to one of the upstream purge stop valve and the downstream purge stop valve via a first vertical passage; The internal passage is fluidly connected to the purge port via a second vertical passage; and One of the upstream purge stop valve and the downstream purge stop valve is located closer to the outlet than to the inlet.

11. The gas delivery system of claim 10, wherein the internal passage is formed by an additive manufacturing process.

12. The gas delivery system of claim 1 , further comprising: A plurality of flow ratio controllers, each said flow ratio controller including a respective flow ratio control circuit operatively coupled to said electrical backplane, each said flow ratio control circuit being physically mounted to said electrical backplane.

13. The gas delivery system of claim 12, further comprising: A mixing manifold is configured to receive gases from each of the mass flow controllers, mix the gases, and direct the gases to respective inlets of each of the flow ratio controllers.

14. The gas delivery system of claim 1 , further comprising: A plurality of pressure controllers, each said pressure controller including a respective pressure control circuit operatively coupled to said electrical backplane, each said pressure control circuit being physically mounted to said electrical backplane.

15. The gas delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the electrical backplane comprises: An electrical bus system includes a control bus configured to route control signals between the system controller and each controlled mass flow controller.

16. The gas delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the electrical backplane further comprises: An electrical bus system includes a configuration bus configured to route configuration signals between the system controller and each controlled mass flow controller.

17. The gas delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the electrical backplane comprises: A power bus is configured to supply power to each of the mass flow control circuits, the system controller, and the plurality of valves.

18. The gas delivery system of claim 1 , further comprising a non-volatile memory operably coupled to the system controller, wherein The system controller is further configured to collect valve position information and sensor information from a plurality of sensors and valves operatively coupled to each of the mass flow control circuits and store the valve position information and the sensor information in a data log stored in the non-volatile memory.

19. The gas delivery system of claim 1 , further comprising: a coprocessor mounted to the electrical backplane, wherein The coprocessor coordinates asynchronous data communications between the system controller and each of the mass flow control circuits.

20. The gas delivery system of claim 19, wherein The coprocessor parallelizes the serialized data streams from each of the mass flow control circuits to generate a parallelized data stream and sends the parallelized data stream to the system controller; and The coprocessor also serializes the data stream from the system controller to generate a serialized data stream, and sends the serialized data stream to each of the mass flow control circuits.

21. The gas delivery system of claim 20, wherein Each data stream includes the address of the mass flow control circuit that sent the data stream.

22. A gas delivery system comprising: an electrical backplane, the electrical backplane comprising a backplane printed circuit board; a system controller operatively coupled to and physically mounted to the backplane printed circuit board; and a plurality of controlled modules, each of the controlled modules comprising a respective local printed circuit board operatively coupled to the backplane printed circuit board, the local printed circuit board of each controlled module being electrically connected to and physically mounted to the backplane printed circuit board via a board-to-board electrical connector between the local printed circuit board and the backplane printed circuit board; The plurality of controlled modules are selected from the group consisting of a mass flow controller, a flow ratio controller, a pressure controller, an external bus expansion unit, a precursor module, a field metering system, a thermal mass flow controller, and a mass flow controller without an infinite flow controller.

23. The gas delivery system of claim 22, further comprising a non-volatile memory mounted to the electrical backplane and operably coupled to the system controller, wherein The system controller is further configured to collect valve position information and sensor information from a plurality of sensors and valves operably coupled to each printed circuit board of each of the controlled modules, and store the valve position information and the sensor information in a data log stored in the non-volatile memory.

24. The gas delivery system of claim 22, further comprising: A mechanical backplane, wherein the plurality of controlled modules are physically mounted on the mechanical backplane, the mechanical backplane comprising a top surface, a bottom surface, and a plurality of openings extending from the top surface to the bottom surface, wherein The electrical backplane is mounted to the bottom surface of the mechanical backplane and is separated from the bottom surface by a certain gap; Each of the controlled modules is mounted to the top surface of the mechanical backplane; and A portion of the printed circuit board of each of the controlled modules extends through a corresponding opening of the plurality of openings to reach a corresponding one of the board-to-board electrical connectors on the electrical backplane.

25. A gas delivery system comprising: an electrical backplane, the electrical backplane comprising a backplane printed circuit board; a system controller operatively coupled to and physically mounted to the electrical backplane; a plurality of controlled modules, each of the controlled modules comprising a respective local printed circuit board operatively coupled to the electrical backplane, the system controller and the respective local printed circuit boards of the controlled modules being physically mounted to the electrical backplane via respective electrical connectors, the respective electrical connectors establishing a board-to-board electrical connection between the local printed circuit boards and the backplane printed circuit board, wherein the controlled modules are selected from the group consisting of a mass flow controller, a flow ratio controller, and a pressure controller, wherein The electrical backplane comprises: an electrical bus system having a control bus configured to route control signals between the system controller and each controlled mass flow controller, a first memory interface having read and write registers for exchanging data between the system controller and the electrical bus system, and A second memory interface having a read register and a write register for exchanging data between the controlled module and the electrical bus system.

26. The gas delivery system of claim 25, wherein the system controller is further configured to collect valve position information and sensor information from a plurality of sensors and valves operably coupled to each printed circuit board of each of the controlled modules, and store the valve position information and the sensor information in a data log stored in a non-volatile memory on the electrical backplane.

27. The gas delivery system of claim 26 , wherein the system controller is further configured to execute an artificial intelligence model stored in the non-volatile memory to train the artificial intelligence model at a training time during an optimal manufacturing process based on the sensor information from the plurality of sensors and the valve position information from the plurality of valves, and to determine, during runtime, a performance difference of the manufacturing process at runtime relative to the optimal manufacturing process using the trained artificial intelligence model.

28. The gas delivery system of claim 25, wherein the electrical bus system further comprises a configuration bus configured to route configuration signals between the system controller and each controlled mass flow controller.

29. The gas delivery system of claim 25, wherein the electrical bus system further comprises a power bus configured to supply power to each mass flow control circuit, the system controller, and a plurality of valves.

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