Remote cleaning of engine housings

Abstract

The application discloses a remote cleaning engine shell and relates to the technical field of pipeline sealing. The remote cleaning engine shell comprises a shell body, a shell pipe, a connecting piece and a sealing piece. The shell pipe is detachably connected with the shell body through the connecting piece, and the sealing piece is arranged between the connecting piece and the shell body. The shell body is provided with a through hole communicating with the shell pipe. A sealing groove is formed in the circumferential direction of the through hole on the side of the shell body close to the connecting piece. The sealing piece comprises an extension pipe and a sealing ring. The extension pipe is formed by extending from the inner side of the hole of the through hole to the side close to the connecting piece. The side of the connecting piece close to the shell body is provided with an inner extension groove for the extension pipe to be adaptively inserted or interference-inserted. When NF3 flows into the shell pipe, it does not directly contact the sealing ring. After long-time cleaning, NF3 flows out from the gap between the flange and the extension pipe, and the path of the NF3 to the sealing ring is lengthened, so that the corrosion of the sealing ring by fluorine ions is reduced, and the service life of the sealing ring is prolonged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of pipeline sealing technology, specifically to a remote cleaning method for engine housings. Background Technology

[0002] Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a method of synthesizing coatings or nanomaterials by reacting chemical gases or vapors on a substrate surface. It is the most widely used technology in the semiconductor industry for depositing various materials. The basic principle of wafer fabrication using CVD is as follows: two or more gaseous raw materials are introduced into a reaction chamber, where they react chemically to form a new material, which is then deposited onto the wafer surface.

[0003] Currently, during wafer processing, after one process gas has finished reacting in the chamber and before the next process gas enters, NF3 needs to be introduced to clean the chamber. A current cleaning method utilizes a remote cleaning engine to clean the chamber. This remote cleaning engine includes a housing and a shell tube, which are detachably connected. A passageway connected to the shell tube is opened on the side of the housing near the shell tube. To improve the sealing at the connection between the housing and the shell tube, a sealing ring is installed between them. During chamber cleaning, NF3 first enters the housing and then flows into the chamber through the shell tube, thus cleaning the chamber. However, in some processing environments, the chamber cleaning time is long. If cleaning is not completed, NF3 may leak from the connection between the housing and the shell tube. Prolonged NF3 leakage can cause fluoride ions in the NF3 to corrode the sealing ring. Furthermore, in these processing environments, the high temperatures, when the remote cleaning engine is operating within them, accelerate the corrosion of the sealing ring by NF3 due to the high temperatures, leading to a shortened lifespan of the sealing ring and the need for frequent replacement.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a remote engine housing cleaning method that can improve the service life of seals. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a remote engine housing cleaning method that can solve the problem of short service life of sealing rings.

[0006] To solve one or more of the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution adopted in this application is:

[0007] This application provides a method for remotely cleaning an engine housing, including:

[0008] The outer shell body and the shell tube are detachably connected. The outer shell body has a passageway that communicates with the shell tube. The shell tube is detachably connected to the outer shell body through a connector. A sealing element is provided between the connector and the outer shell body.

[0009] A sealing groove is provided on the side of the outer shell body near the connector along the circumference of the passage channel;

[0010] The sealing element includes: an extension tube and a sealing ring. The extension tube extends from the inside of the opening of the passageway toward the connector. The connector has an inner groove for inserting the extension tube on the side near the outer shell body. The extension tube is adapted or interference-fitted into the inner groove.

[0011] Furthermore, the connector includes a flange, which is disposed at one end of the shell tube, and the shell tube is detachably connected to the outer shell body through the flange.

[0012] Furthermore, the flange is integrally formed with the shell tube.

[0013] Furthermore, there are two shell tubes, and two sets of connectors and seals. The two shell tubes are detachably connected to the opposite sides of the outer shell body through one set of connectors. Each set of seals is located between one set of connectors and the outer shell body.

[0014] Furthermore, the outer shell body is provided with a cooling structure for the flow of cooling medium, and the outer shell body is provided with an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe connected to the cooling structure. The inlet pipe and the outlet pipe are located on one side of the outer shell body or respectively on opposite sides of the outer shell body.

[0015] Furthermore, the outer shell body is provided with an air inlet channel, which is connected to the passage channel, and the air inlet channel is used to introduce clean gas.

[0016] Furthermore, the cooling structure includes a cooling channel, which is spirally arranged around the axis of the air inlet channel. One end of the cooling channel is connected to the feed pipe, and the other end of the cooling channel is connected to the discharge pipe.

[0017] Furthermore, the cross-section of any channel in the cooling channel is rectangular.

[0018] Furthermore, the cooling structure includes a cooling channel that surrounds the periphery of the air intake channel, and the side of the cooling channel near the air intake channel is cylindrical.

[0019] Furthermore, a deepening groove is formed on the inner wall of the shell tube at one end near the outer shell body, and the end of the extension tube near the flange extends into the deepening groove, wherein the extension tube is adapted to or interference-fitted with the deepening groove.

[0020] According to the specific embodiments provided in this application, the following technical effects are disclosed:

[0021] By connecting an extended tube to the inner wall of the passageway and allowing the end of the extended tube to extend out of the outer shell body, and providing an inner groove on the side of the flange near the outer shell body for the extended tube to be fitted or interference-fitted, NF3 does not directly contact the sealing ring when it flows into the shell tube. After long-term cleaning, NF3 flows out from the gap between the flange and the extended tube, and its path to the sealing ring becomes longer, thereby reducing the corrosion of the sealing ring by fluoride ions and extending the service life of the sealing ring.

[0022] Furthermore, by arranging the cooling structure circumferentially along the air intake channel, the cooling effect of the cooling structure on the clean gas inside the air intake channel is improved. Attached Figure Description

[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the remote engine housing cleaning provided in Embodiment 1 of this application;

[0025] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Enlarged view of point A in the middle;

[0026] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of a remotely cleaned engine housing provided in Embodiment 1 of this application;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a top view of the remote cleaning engine housing provided in Embodiment 1 of this application;

[0028] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view of a remotely cleaned engine housing provided in Embodiment 2 of this application.

[0029] Reference numerals: 1. Outer shell body; 11. Sealing groove; 12. Passage channel; 13. Air inlet channel; 2. Shell tube; 21. Flange; 211. Inner extension groove; 22. Deepening groove; 3. Outer extension tube; 41. Feed pipe; 42. Discharge pipe. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0031] As described in the background art, in a certain wafer processing environment, cleaning the chamber using a remote cleaning engine takes a long time. NF3 used during chamber cleaning overflows from the connection between the outer casing and the tube, causing fluoride ions in the NF3 to corrode the sealing ring, resulting in a shortened lifespan and frequent replacement. Simultaneously, the high process temperature in the chamber raises the temperature of the outer casing, and the temperature of the NF3 also increases after entering the casing. Under the combined effects of high temperature and fluoride ions, the corrosion of the sealing ring accelerates, further shortening its lifespan.

[0032] To address one or more of the aforementioned technical problems in the prior art, this application creatively proposes a remote engine housing cleaning method. By setting an extension tube at the connection between the housing body and the housing tube, and setting a cooling structure inside the housing body, the corrosion of the sealing ring by fluoride ions is reduced, thereby extending the service life of the sealing ring.

[0033] The following describes in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of the present application for remote cleaning of the engine housing.

[0034] Example 1

[0035] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the housing includes: outer shell body 1, shell tube 2, connector, and seal. The shell tube 2 is detachably connected to the outer shell body 1 through the connector, and the seal is located between the connector and the outer shell body 1.

[0036] The connecting component includes a flange 21 located at one end of the shell tube 2, and the sealing component includes a sealing ring. The shell tube 2 is detachably connected to the outer shell body 1 through the flange 21. A sealing groove 11 for installing the sealing ring is provided on the side of the outer shell body 1 near the flange 21 to improve the sealing performance at the connection between the flange 21 and the outer shell body 1.

[0037] Preferably, the shell tube 2 and the flange 21 are integrally formed, which reduces the leakage of clean gas and improves the sealing performance of the connection between the shell tube 2 and the outer shell body 1.

[0038] Preferably, the shell tube 2 is cylindrical in shape. Under the same throughput, the cylindrical tube uses the least amount of material, has balanced pressure resistance, and the best pressure resistance performance; at the same time, the cylindrical tube is also least damaged by compression and impact.

[0039] It should be noted that the cleaning gas in this embodiment is NF3.

[0040] Specifically, the outer shell body 1 has several first mounting holes on the side near the shell tube 2, and the flange 21 has several second mounting holes coaxial with the first mounting holes. The bolts are passed through the second mounting holes and screwed into the first mounting holes until the flange 21 is tightly fitted to the outer wall of the outer shell body 1. At the same time, the flange 21 completely blocks the sealing ring and squeezes the sealing ring to achieve a sealing effect.

[0041] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the outer shell body 1 has a passageway 12 connected to the shell tube 2 on the side near the shell tube 2. The passageway 12 is coaxially arranged with the sealing groove 11. The inner wall of the passageway 12 extends towards the flange 21 to form an extended tube 3. The flange 21 has an inner extension groove 211 for inserting the extended tube 3 on the side near the outer shell body 1. The extended tube 3 and the inner extension groove 211 are adapted or interference-fitted to reduce the possibility of clean gas flowing out from the gap between the extended tube 3 and the inner extension groove 211.

[0042] Specifically, after the cleaning gas enters the outer casing 1 and flows into the shell tube 2, after a prolonged cleaning of the chamber, a small amount of cleaning gas will flow from the gap between the extended tube 3 and the flange 21 to the sealing ring, thus corroding the sealing ring. However, the extended tube 3 avoids a large amount of cleaning gas from directly contacting the sealing ring, and at the same time extends the path for the cleaning gas to contact the sealing ring. Therefore, after a cleaning cycle, the corrosion of the sealing ring by the cleaning gas is greatly reduced, the service life of the sealing ring is extended, and the number of times the sealing ring needs to be replaced is reduced.

[0043] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, an air inlet channel 13 is provided on one side of the outer shell body 1. The air inlet channel 13 is connected to the passage channel 12. The axis of the air inlet channel 13 is perpendicular to the axis of the passage channel 12 to facilitate the flow of clean gas. A cooling structure (not shown) for the flow of cooling medium is provided inside the outer shell body 1. An inlet pipe 41 and an outlet pipe 42 are provided along the direction from the outer shell body 1 to the shell tube 2. Both the inlet pipe 41 and the outlet pipe 42 are connected to the cooling structure to facilitate the flow of cooling medium into the cooling structure and the replacement of the cooling medium.

[0044] In the embodiments of this application, the type of cooling medium is cooling water. However, it is understood that cooling water is only an example of the cooling medium in the embodiments of this application and not a limiting description. Without departing from the inventive concept of this application, any type of liquid coolant can be used as the cooling medium in this application.

[0045] Preferably, the feed pipe 41 and the discharge pipe 42 are located at opposite ends of the outer casing 1. Here, the opposite ends of the outer casing 1 are aligned with the direction of the outer casing 1 pointing towards the casing tube 2, and the feed pipe 41 and the discharge pipe 42 are symmetrically distributed about the axis of the air inlet channel 13. This arrangement of the feed pipe 41 and the discharge pipe 42 avoids interference with components located on other sides of the outer casing 1, and also extends the residence time of the cooling medium within the cooling structure, thereby enhancing the cooling effect.

[0046] Specifically, the feed pipe 41 can be connected to a storage component (not shown) that supplies cooling medium, and the discharge pipe 42 can be connected to a recovery component (not shown) that recovers cooling medium. When cleaning the chamber, the storage component and the recovery component are turned on to continuously cool the cleaning gas in the outer shell 1 and the passage 12, thereby reducing the corrosive effects of temperature and cleaning gas on the sealing ring.

[0047] In one embodiment, the cooling structure includes a cooling channel, which is spirally arranged around the axis of the air inlet channel 13. One end of the cooling channel is connected to the feed pipe 41, and the other end is connected to the discharge pipe 42. When the cooling medium flows into the cooling channel from the feed pipe 41, it flows along the path around the passage 12 to the discharge pipe 42, thereby prolonging the time of the cooling medium in the outer shell body 1 and enhancing the cooling effect.

[0048] Preferably, the cross-section of any cooling channel is rectangular, thereby increasing the indirect contact area between the multiple channels in the cooling channel and the passageway 12, and enhancing the cooling effect.

[0049] Preferred, refer to Figure 3 As shown, a deep groove 22 is provided on the inner wall of the shell tube 2 near the outer shell body 1. The end of the extension tube 3 near the flange 21 extends into the deep groove 22 and is adapted to or interference-fitted with the deep groove 22, thereby further extending the path of the clean gas to the sealing ring.

[0050] Example 2

[0051] Corresponding to Embodiment 1 above, this application also provides a remote engine housing cleaning method. In this embodiment, content that is the same as or similar to that in Embodiment 1 can be referred to the above description and will not be repeated hereafter. (See also...) Figure 5 As shown, the housing includes:

[0052] Two shell tubes 2 are located on both sides of the outer shell body 1 along the axial direction of the passage 12, and are symmetrically arranged about the outer shell body 1. Both shell tubes 2 are detachably connected to the outer shell body 1 through flanges and flanges 21. The passage 12 penetrates the outer shell body 1, thereby connecting the two shell tubes 2, and is also connected to the air inlet 13 to facilitate the flow of clean gas.

[0053] Preferably, the two outer tubes 3 are integrally formed, completely covering the inner wall of the passage 12, that is, the outer tube 3 and the inner wall of the passage 12 are integrally formed, which facilitates the processing of the outer tube 3.

[0054] As the cleaning gas flows in through the inlet 13, it gradually flows out through the two symmetrical shell tubes 2, which can clean the chamber evenly and expand the cleaning range.

[0055] In this embodiment, the number of shell tubes 2 is two. However, it is understood that the two shell tubes 2 are only an example of the number of shell tubes 2 in this embodiment and not a limiting description. Without departing from the inventive concept of this application, any number of shell tubes 2 required for shell assembly can be used as the number of shell tubes 2 in this application.

[0056] As one implementation method, refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the cooling structure includes a cooling channel, which is coaxially arranged with the air inlet channel 13. The inner wall of the cooling channel near the air inlet channel 13 is a cylindrical surface, and two through holes are formed on the inner wall of the cooling channel away from the air inlet channel 13. The feed pipe 41 and the discharge pipe 42 are respectively connected to the cooling channel through one of the two through holes. When the cooling medium flows into the cooling ring groove through the feed pipe 41, the contact area between the cooling medium and the air inlet channel 13 is maximized because the inner wall of the cooling channel near the air inlet channel 13 is a cylindrical surface. At the same time, the clean gas in the air inlet channel 13 can be cooled more evenly while cooling the outer shell body 1, thus enhancing the cooling effect.

[0057] The foregoing has provided a detailed description of a remote engine housing cleaning method provided in this application. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. The descriptions of the above embodiments are merely for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of this application. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the ideas of this application, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

[0058] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "vertical," "parallel," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, are used only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this application. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0059] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0060] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A remote cleaning engine housing, the housing comprising an outer shell body and a shell tube, the shell tube being detachably connected to the outer shell body, the outer shell body having a passageway communicating with the shell tube, characterized in that, The shell tube is detachably connected to the outer shell body via a connector, and a sealing element is provided between the connector and the outer shell body; The sealing element includes: an extended tube and a sealing ring. The extended tube is formed by extending from the inside of the opening of the passage channel toward the direction close to the connector. The connector has an inner groove for inserting the extended tube on the side close to the outer shell body. The extended tube is adapted or interference-fitted into the inner groove. The outer shell body has a sealing groove for installing the sealing ring along the circumference of the passage channel on the side near the connector. A deepening groove is formed on the inner wall of the shell tube at one end near the outer shell body, and the end of the extension tube near the connector extends into the deepening groove. The extension tube is adapted to or interference-fitted with the deepening groove. The outer shell body is provided with a cooling structure for the flow of cooling medium. The outer shell body is provided with an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe connected to the cooling structure. The inlet pipe and the outlet pipe are located on one side of the outer shell body or on opposite sides of the outer shell body. The outer shell body has an air inlet channel, which is connected to the passage channel, and the air inlet channel is used to introduce clean gas; The cooling structure includes a cooling channel, which is spirally arranged around the axis of the air inlet channel. One end of the cooling channel is connected to the feed pipe, and the other end of the cooling channel is connected to the discharge pipe.

2. The remote engine housing cleaning method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The connector includes a flange, which is located at one end of the shell tube, and the shell tube is detachably connected to the outer shell body through the flange.

3. The remote engine housing cleaning method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The flange is integrally formed with the shell tube.

4. The remote engine housing cleaning method according to claim 1, characterized in that, There are two shell tubes, and there are two sets of connectors and seals. The two shell tubes are detachably connected to the opposite sides of the outer shell body through one set of connectors. Each set of seals is located between one set of connectors and the outer shell body.

5. The remote engine housing cleaning method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cross-section of any channel in the cooling channel is rectangular.

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