Disc handle purging system, monitoring method of disc handle purging air pipe and semiconductor equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a disc handle purging system, semiconductor equipment and a monitoring method of a disc handle purging air pipe. The plate handle purging system comprises a gas source, a gas supply device and a gas supply device, the flow meter is connected with the gas source; the input end of the flow limiter is connected with the outlet of the flow meter through an air pipe, and the output end of the flow limiter is located at the inlet of the heating plate handle, so that the outlet pressure of the flow meter is increased to the target outlet pressure P2; and the controller is configured to determine the connection state of the air pipe based on the pressure difference value between the inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter and the target outlet pressure P2. According to the invention, the connection state of the purging air pipe in the disc handle can be monitored in real time, so that the loosening information of the air pipe can be obtained in time, the risk that a thermocouple in the disc handle is oxidized under a high-temperature atmosphere condition can be reduced, the service life of the thermocouple is prolonged, and the temperature measurement precision of the thermocouple is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and specifically to a shank purging system, a semiconductor device, a method for monitoring a shank purging air tube, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, in semiconductor equipment, the handle of the heating plate is usually equipped with a thermocouple (TC) to detect the heating temperature of the heating plate. However, the thermocouple will oxidize under high temperature and air exposure conditions, and the temperature measurement accuracy of the oxidized thermocouple will be deviated.

[0003] In this regard, such as Figure 1 As shown, in the prior art, in order to prevent the temperature control thermocouple 111 from oxidizing under high temperature atmospheric conditions, nitrogen gas is usually continuously introduced into the handle 112 of the heating plate 110 to completely isolate the temperature control thermocouple 111 from oxygen.

[0004] Furthermore, in the actual process, the heating plate 110 moves up and down. For example, before the process begins, the process spacing can be adjusted by raising and lowering the height of the heating plate 110. After the process is completed, the heating plate 110 can also be raised and lowered to facilitate wafer delivery. Therefore, the purge gas pipe 120 connected to the temperature control thermocouple 111 inside the heating plate 110 is usually a flexible hose. The flexible hose is connected to the flow meter 140 via a quick-connect coupling 130.

[0005] The current problem is that the hose connection via quick-connect connector 130 is prone to loosening when the heating plate 110 moves up and down. Once the air tube 120 detaches, without monitoring and feedback, when the heating plate 110 is continuously in a high-temperature process environment, the temperature control thermocouple 111 inside the handle 112 will be oxidized by atmospheric oxygen, thus affecting the temperature measurement accuracy.

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, there is an urgent need in the field for a purging technology for the purging tube in the purging tube that can monitor the connection status of the purging tube in the purging tube in real time so as to obtain the information of tube loosening in a timely manner. This will help reduce the risk of the thermocouple in the purging tube being oxidized under high temperature atmospheric conditions, thereby extending its service life and improving its temperature measurement accuracy. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The following provides a brief overview of one or more aspects to offer a basic understanding of them. This overview is not an exhaustive summary of all conceived aspects, nor is it intended to identify key or decisive elements of all aspects, nor to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed descriptions that follow.

[0008] To overcome the aforementioned deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a spool purging system, a semiconductor device, a method for monitoring the spool purging tube, and a computer-readable storage medium, which can monitor the connection status of the purging tube in the spool in real time, so as to obtain the tube loosening information in a timely manner, which helps to reduce the risk of the thermocouple in the spool being oxidized under high temperature atmospheric conditions, thereby extending its service life and improving its temperature measurement accuracy.

[0009] Specifically, the above-described disk handle purging system according to a first aspect of the present invention includes: a gas source for providing purging gas; a flow meter connected to the gas source; a flow restrictor, the input of which is connected to the outlet of the flow meter via a gas pipe, and the output of which is located at the inlet of the heating disk handle to increase the outlet pressure of the flow meter to a target outlet pressure P2; and a controller configured to: compare the actual pressure difference between the inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter and its actual outlet pressure P2'. and the minimum pressure difference threshold between the inlet pressure P1 and the target outlet pressure P2. Determine the connection status of the trachea.

[0010] Furthermore, the semiconductor device provided according to the second aspect of the present invention includes: a process chamber having a plurality of reaction stations inside, each of the reaction stations having a heating plate; and the spool purging system provided according to the first aspect of the present invention, for providing purging gas to the temperature-controlled thermocouples in the spools of each of the heating plates, so as to isolate the temperature-controlled thermocouples from oxygen under high-temperature atmospheric conditions.

[0011] Furthermore, the monitoring method for the purge gas pipe of the disc handle provided by the third aspect of the present invention is implemented via the disc handle purging system provided by the first aspect of the present invention. The monitoring method includes the following steps: in response to the heating plate undergoing a high-temperature process, providing purge gas to the temperature-controlled thermocouple in the disc handle of the heating plate via a gas source in the disc handle purging system to isolate the temperature-controlled thermocouple from oxygen under high-temperature atmospheric conditions; and comparing the actual pressure difference between the inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter and its actual outlet pressure P2'. and the minimum pressure difference threshold between the inlet pressure P1 and the target outlet pressure P2. Determine the connection status of the trachea.

[0012] Furthermore, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium is provided having computer instructions stored thereon. When the computer instructions are executed by a processor, the monitoring method for the purge tube of the disk handle described above, as provided in the third aspect of the present invention, is implemented. Attached Figure Description

[0013] The above-described features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood after reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, components are not necessarily drawn to scale, and components having similar related characteristics or features may have the same or similar reference numerals.

[0014] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a prior art tumbler purging system is shown.

[0015] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a semiconductor device provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0016] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the relationship between the inlet pressure P1 and the flow rate Q of the flow meter at different radii according to some embodiments of the present invention is illustrated.

[0017] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a gas distribution test for two types of disk purging systems, namely an unlimited flow device and a limited flow device, provided according to some embodiments of the present invention, is shown.

[0018] Figure 5 A flowchart is shown of a method for monitoring a purge tube according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 6A The diagram shows a schematic representation of the different detachment locations of the air tube in a purging system according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 6B A schematic diagram of flow fluctuations transmitted by a flow meter after detachment of a trachea at different locations, according to some embodiments of the present invention, is shown.

[0021] Figure label:

[0022] 01, 02 Semiconductor equipment;

[0023] 110, 210 heating plates;

[0024] 111, 211 temperature-controlled thermocouples;

[0025] 112, 212 disk handle;

[0026] 120, 250 trachea;

[0027] 130 quick-connect fitting;

[0028] 140 and 230 flow meters;

[0029] 100 and 200 dial purge systems;

[0030] 220 gas source;

[0031] 221 manual valve;

[0032] 222 pressure regulating valve;

[0033] 240 current limiter;

[0034] 251 branch air tube;

[0035] 261 First branch trachea;

[0036] 262 Second branch airway;

[0037] Steps S510~S520 Detailed Implementation

[0038] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present invention is presented in conjunction with preferred embodiments, this does not mean that the features of the invention are limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the purpose of describing the invention in conjunction with embodiments is to cover other options or modifications that may be derived based on the claims of the present invention. To provide a thorough understanding of the invention, many specific details will be included in the following description. The invention may also be implemented without using these details. Furthermore, to avoid confusion or obscuring the focus of the invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description.

[0039] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly 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 of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0040] Furthermore, the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "horizontal," and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood as the orientations shown in the relevant paragraphs and accompanying drawings. These relative terms are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply that the described apparatus must be manufactured or operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[0041] It is understood that although terms such as "first," "second," and "third" may be used herein to describe various components, regions, layers, and / or parts, these components, regions, layers, and / or parts should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are only used to distinguish different components, regions, layers, and / or parts. Therefore, the first components, regions, layers, and / or parts discussed below may be referred to as second components, regions, layers, and / or parts without departing from some embodiments of the present invention.

[0042] As mentioned above, the current problem is that the hose connection via the quick-connect connector 130 is prone to loosening when the heating plate 110 moves up and down. Once the air tube 120 is detached, without monitoring and feedback, when the heating plate 110 is continuously in a high-temperature process environment, the temperature control thermocouple 111 inside the handle 112 will be oxidized by atmospheric oxygen, thus affecting the temperature measurement accuracy.

[0043] To address the aforementioned problems in the prior art, this invention provides a spool purging system, a semiconductor device, a method for monitoring spool purging tubes, and a computer-readable storage medium. These systems can monitor the connection status of the purging tubes within the spool in real time, enabling timely acquisition of tube detachment information. This helps reduce the risk of oxidation of the thermocouples within the spool under high-temperature atmospheric conditions, thereby extending their service life and improving their temperature measurement accuracy.

[0044] In some non-limiting embodiments, the disk handle purging system provided in the first aspect of the present invention can be configured in the semiconductor device provided in the second aspect of the present invention and used to implement the disk handle purging air tube monitoring method provided in the third aspect of the present invention.

[0045] Specifically, in some non-limiting embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium described above in the fourth aspect of the present invention stores a computer program product thereon. The computer program product includes computer instructions. A processor is connected to the memory and configured to execute the computer instructions included in the computer program product to implement the monitoring method for the purge tube of the disk handle as provided in the third aspect of the present invention.

[0046] The working principle of the aforementioned handle purging system will be described below with reference to some embodiments of monitoring methods for semiconductor devices and handle purging tubes. Those skilled in the art will understand that these embodiments of monitoring methods for semiconductor devices and handle purging tubes are merely non-limiting implementations provided by the present invention, intended to clearly demonstrate the main concepts of the invention and provide specific solutions convenient for public implementation, rather than limiting all operating modes or functions of the handle purging system. Similarly, the handle purging system is also only one non-limiting implementation provided by the present invention, and does not limit all operating modes or functions of these semiconductor devices, or the implementing entities and execution order of the steps in the handle purging tube monitoring method.

[0047] Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a semiconductor device provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0048] like Figure 2 As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the semiconductor device 02 may include a process chamber and a shank purging system 200. The process chamber may include several reaction stations. Each reaction station is equipped with a heating plate for supporting the wafer for processing. Optionally, each reaction station may perform the same process simultaneously. Furthermore, physical intervals may be provided between the reaction stations for performing the same or different processes asynchronously. The shank purging system 200 can provide purging gas to the temperature-controlled thermocouples 211 within the shank 212 of each heating plate 210. By continuously introducing purging gas into the shank 212 under high-temperature atmospheric conditions, the purging gas surrounds the temperature-controlled thermocouples 211, isolating them from oxygen. This prevents the temperature-controlled thermocouples 211 from oxidizing under high-temperature and air-contact conditions, thus avoiding deviations in their temperature measurement accuracy.

[0049] Specifically, continue as Figure 2 As shown, in some embodiments, the handle purging system 200 may include an air source 220, a flow meter 230, a flow restrictor 240, and a controller ( Figure 2 (Not shown). Gas source 220 is used to provide purge gas. Generally, the purge gas can be a chemically stable inert gas that will not interfere with the process reaction. Optionally, the purge gas can be, but is not limited to, nitrogen. Flow meter 230 is connected to the gas source and is used to accurately measure and control the flow rate of the transmitted purge gas.

[0050] Optionally, such as Figure 2As shown, a valve can be installed between the gas source 220 and the flow meter 230 to control the opening and closing of the main gas pipeline. Specifically, the valve may include a pressure regulating valve 222 for automatically maintaining a stable outlet pressure without continuous manual operation. Optionally, to ensure that the opening and closing of the main gas pipeline is always under control, a manual valve 221 can also be installed upstream of the pressure regulating valve 222, i.e., between the gas source 220 and the pressure regulating valve 222, for manual on / off control.

[0051] Continue as Figure 2 As shown, the flow restrictor 240 can be located downstream of the flow meter 230. The input of the flow restrictor 240 can be connected to the outlet of the flow meter 230 via the air pipe 250, while its output can be located at the inlet of the handle 212 of the heating plate 210. By adding the flow restrictor 240 at the inlet of the handle 212, the outlet pressure of the flow meter 230 can be increased to the target outlet pressure P2. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the controller can be configured to compare the actual pressure difference between the inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter 230 and its actual outlet pressure P2'. and the minimum pressure difference threshold between inlet pressure P1 and target outlet pressure P2. Determine the connection status of trachea 250.

[0052] Specifically, the steps for determining the connection status of the tubing 250 may further include the following process. First, the minimum inlet and outlet pressure difference threshold when the flow meter 230 is normally supplying gas can be obtained. .

[0053] Generally speaking, the minimum differential pressure threshold between the inlet and outlet of the flow meter 230 is... This can be determined based on the type of flow meter 230. In some alternative embodiments, the flow meter 230 is selected from the SMC PFM710 series. The minimum differential pressure threshold at the inlet and outlet of this series of flow meters 230... The value is 100 kPa, or 14.5 psi. When using other types of flow meters (230), the minimum differential pressure threshold obtained via P1-P2 is... There will be differences.

[0054] In addition, the inlet pressure P1 of flow meter 230 is usually the plant pressure. Plant pressure refers to the reference supply pressure of fluids (gas, liquid) provided by the plant to each production workshop or equipment through a centralized public engineering system (plant system).

[0055] In some embodiments, when the actual differential pressure value of the detected flow meter 230 is... (i.e., P1-P2) is lower than the aforementioned minimum differential pressure threshold. This indicates that the trachea 250 is in a loose state. And when the actual pressure difference value detected by the flow meter 230... 'At the aforementioned minimum pressure difference Based on the above, it can be determined that the trachea 250 is in a connected state.

[0056] For example, for the SMC PFM710 series flow meter 230, its minimum inlet and outlet pressure difference threshold is... The target outlet pressure P2 of flow meter 230 is 14.5 psi. This means that under normal gas delivery conditions, the target outlet pressure P2 of flow meter 230 will be at least 14.5 psi lower than its inlet pressure P1 (i.e., plant pressure). Assuming the inlet pressure P1 (i.e., plant pressure) of flow meter 230 ranges from 14.5 to 50 psi, the theoretical target outlet pressure P2 of flow meter 230 should be within the range of 0 to 35.5 psi. When the inlet pressure P1 is 50 psi and the detected actual outlet pressure P2' is 40 psi, the pressure difference between the two is... The pressure is 10 psi, lower than 14.5 psi. At this point, it can be determined that the trachea 250 is in a dislodged state. When the inlet pressure P1 is 50 psi and the detected actual outlet pressure P2' is 30 psi, the pressure difference between the two is... The pressure is 20 psi, which is above 14.5 psi. At this point, it can be determined that the trachea 250 is connected.

[0057] Furthermore, in some embodiments, after determining that the vent tube 250 is in a detached state, an alarm setting can be performed. Specifically, a flow alarm range can be preset for the flow meter 230. When the flow fluctuation at the vent tube 250 corresponding to the actual outlet pressure P2' exceeds the flow alarm range, it can be determined that the vent tube 250 is in a detached state, and an alarm signal can be output at this time. Optionally, the upper and lower limits of the flow alarm range can be set according to process performance.

[0058] In the above embodiments provided by the present invention, the flow control of the flow meter 230 requires a stable inlet and outlet pressure difference (i.e., greater than or equal to the minimum inlet and outlet pressure difference threshold). Therefore, a suitable flow restrictor 240 with an appropriate orifice diameter can be selected to increase the outlet pressure at the downstream end of the flow meter 230 to the target outlet pressure P2. At this time, the inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter 230 also needs to be increased accordingly. Figure 2 As shown, if any part of the air pipe 250 located at the rear end of the flow meter 230 becomes detached, the actual outlet pressure P2' of the flow meter 230 (that is, the inlet pressure of the flow restrictor 240) will instantly increase to the outlet pressure P3 of the flow restrictor 240. At this time, the actual pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the flow meter 230 will... (i.e., P1-P2') will decrease instantaneously. Correspondingly, the flow rate transmitted by the flow meter 230 will fluctuate significantly. When the flow rate fluctuation exceeds the flow alarm range, an alarm signal can be output to monitor the status of the airway connection.

[0059] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the orifice diameter of the flow restrictor 240 can be based on the inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter 230, the target outlet pressure P2 of the flow meter 230, and the minimum differential pressure threshold between its inlet and outlet. The outlet pressure P3 of the flow limiter 240, combined with Poiseuille's law. Determined jointly. In Poiseuille's law. , This indicates the transmission flow of the current limiter 240. This represents the inlet and outlet pressure difference of the current limiter 240, and R represents the radius of the current limiter 240. This indicates the dynamic viscosity of the purging gas. This indicates the length of the pipe within the flow limiter 240.

[0060] According to Poiseuille's law, when the flow rate Q is constant, as the radius R of the flow limiter 240 decreases, the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the flow limiter 240 also decreases. It will increase. However, when the radius R of the flow limiter 240 is constant, increasing the flow rate R will increase the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the flow limiter 240. It will increase. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present invention, as can be seen from the above Poiseuille's law formula, after adding the flow limiter 240, the above parameter R becomes smaller, and with the flow rate Q remaining constant, the inlet and outlet pressure difference of the flow limiter 240 will increase. (i.e., P2-P3) will increase. Since P3 is usually atmospheric pressure, which is a constant value, P2 will increase, thereby completing the operation of increasing the outlet pressure of the flow meter 230 through the flow restrictor 240.

[0061] Furthermore, it can be combined with Figure 2 To gain a common understanding, the first thing that needs to be clarified is the inlet pressure of the flow meter 230. Furthermore, the outlet pressure P2 of the flow meter 230 is equal to the inlet pressure of the flow restrictor 240; therefore, the inlet pressure of the flow restrictor 240 is... The radius R of the flow limiter 240 can be made to satisfy the following relationship between the inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter 230 and the transmission flow rate Q of the flow limiter 240:

[0062]

[0063] Among them, the target outlet pressure P2 of the flow meter 230 is the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the flow restrictor 240. The sum of the outlet pressure P3 of the flow restrictor 240. Therefore, = .

[0064] For example, for the SMC PFM710 series flow meter 230, its minimum inlet and outlet pressure difference threshold is... It is 14.5 psi. Therefore, Based on the relationship between the inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter 230 and the transmission flow rate Q of the flow restrictor 240, the inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter 230 required for different orifice diameters φ (φ=2R) and different flow rates Q can be calculated.

[0065] Can be combined Figure 3 Common understanding Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the relationship between the inlet pressure P1 and the flow rate Q of the flow meter at different radii according to some embodiments of the present invention is illustrated.

[0066] exist Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiments, two types of flow limiters 240 are shown: one with an orifice diameter φ of 0.2 mm (radius R = 0.1 mm) and the other with an orifice diameter φ of 0.25 mm (radius R = 0.125 mm), and the required inlet pressure P1 for different flow rates. Figure 3 As shown, in the flow restrictor 240 with an orifice diameter φ of 0.2 mm, the maximum flow rate Q that can be transmitted is 4 SLM, and the corresponding inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter 230 is 40 psi. If it is necessary to further increase the transmittable flow rate Q, the orifice diameter φ of the flow restrictor 240 needs to be increased. Therefore, based on the minimum differential pressure threshold of the flow meter 230... Based on the calculation, for flow restrictors 240 with different orifice diameters, under different process requirements for flow rate Q, a suitable plant pressure can be selected as the inlet pressure P1 of flow meter 230.

[0067] like Figure 3As shown, for the SMC PFM710 series flow meter 230, when the transmission flow rate Q of the flow restrictor 240 is within the range of 0.5~4 SLM, the orifice diameter φ of the flow restrictor 240 can be 0.2~0.25mm. In this type of embodiment, if the orifice diameter φ of the flow restrictor 240 is less than 0.2mm, it will cause the inlet pressure of the flow restrictor 240, that is, the outlet pressure P2 of the flow meter 230, to be too high. At the same time, since the inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter 230 is limited by the plant end and cannot be increased indefinitely, the flow meter 230 will not work properly. When the orifice diameter φ of the flow restrictor 240 is greater than 0.25mm, during the transmission of a small flow rate of purging gas, the outlet pressure P2 of the flow meter 230 is too low, almost the same as P3. At this time, if the gas pipe 250 located at the rear end of the flow meter 230 is disconnected, P2 hardly changes, and correspondingly, the flow rate in the gas pipe 250 also hardly fluctuates. In this situation, the system cannot detect the loosening of the trachea 250, and the flow meter 230 cannot output an alarm value, resulting in monitoring failure.

[0068] For example, such as Figure 2 As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, when a flow limiter 240 with an orifice diameter of 0.25 mm is added at the inlet of the handle 212 of the heating plate 210, the flow rate set of the flow meter 230 can be 4 SLM, and its flow alarm range can be 4 0.2 SLM. When the air pipe 250 at the inlet of the handle 212 of the heating plate 210 is disconnected, the flow rate transmitted by the flow meter 230 suddenly changes to 7 SLM, at which point an alarm value can be output.

[0069] In other embodiments, when the transmission flow rate Q of the current limiter 240 is greater than 4 SLM, the orifice diameter φ of the current limiter 240 can be 0.3~0.4mm. The reason for choosing this orifice diameter range in these embodiments is the same as above, and will not be repeated here.

[0070] Furthermore, returning to Figure 1 As shown, in some optional embodiments, the process chamber in the semiconductor device may include multiple reaction stations, and each reaction station is provided with a corresponding heating plate 110. In the prior art, the inconsistent length of the gas pipe 120 will cause uneven gas distribution in the handle 112 of each station, thereby affecting the air intake flow of the heating plate handle 112 in different reaction stations. This results in the temperature control thermocouple 111 in some heating plates 110 not being completely covered by the purging gas, thus causing partial oxidation.

[0071] To address the shortcomings of this existing technology, such as Figure 2As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the handle purging system 200 may include multiple flow restrictors 240. Each flow restrictor 240 may be connected in parallel, with its input end connected to the outlet of the flow meter 230 via multiple branch air pipes 251, and its output end located at the inlet of its respective heating plate handle 212. In this embodiment, since the gas distribution is directly related to the flow resistance of the parallel branch air pipes 251, the greater the flow resistance in the branch air pipes 251, the smaller the gas volume distributed. The flow resistance generated by the flow restrictor 240 is very large, accounting for approximately 99% of the total air pipe flow resistance. Therefore, in this case, the difference in gas distribution caused by the length of each branch air pipe 251 is negligible and will not significantly affect the gas distribution flow rate of each heating plate 110. For this purpose, the lengths of each branch air pipe 251 may be the same or different.

[0072] Can be combined Figure 4 As shown, Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a gas distribution test for two types of disk purging systems, namely an unlimited flow device and a limited flow device, provided according to some embodiments of the present invention, is shown.

[0073] exist Figure 4 In some embodiments shown, in a purging system without a flow limiter, there is a significant difference in the flow rate of the purging gas between the first and second purging plates. However, in the purging system 200 provided by the present invention with the addition of the flow limiter 240, the difference in the flow rate of the purging gas entering the two purging plates is significantly reduced. Therefore, in this embodiment, after adding the flow limiter 240 to the purging system 200, even if the pipe lengths of the branch gas pipes 251 connecting each heating plate are different, the uniformity of gas distribution on each side will be significantly improved.

[0074] In this invention, the current limiter 240 in the above-mentioned disk handle purging system 200 can be an existing product, and its structure does not involve the technical improvement of this invention, so it will not be described in detail here.

[0075] This concludes the basic description of the semiconductor device 02 provided by one aspect of the present invention, and the main structure of the shank purging system 200 configured therein. Next, the working principle of the shank purging system 200 will be further explained in conjunction with the shank purging air tube monitoring method provided by another aspect of the present invention.

[0076] Please refer to Figure 5 , Figure 5 A flowchart is shown of a method for monitoring a purge tube according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0077] like Figure 5As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the monitoring method of the purging gas pipe of the handle may include steps S510 and S520. Step S510 is to provide purging gas to the temperature control thermocouple in the handle of the heating plate via the gas source in the purging system of the handle, in response to the high-temperature process of the heating plate, so as to isolate the temperature control thermocouple from oxygen under high-temperature atmospheric conditions.

[0078] Specifically, in some embodiments, the heating plates in each reaction station within the process chamber can be adjusted to near the required process temperature. During high-temperature processes, such as heat treatment, thin film preparation, and metallization, the heating plates can be heated to quickly reach the desired process temperature. Figure 2 As shown, when the heating plate is undergoing a high-temperature process, a purge gas (such as nitrogen) can be supplied to the temperature-controlled thermocouple 211 inside the handle 212 of the heating plate 210 via the gas source 220 in the handle purging system 200. By continuously introducing the purge gas into the handle 212 under high-temperature atmospheric conditions, the purge gas surrounds the temperature-controlled thermocouple 211, isolating it from oxygen. This prevents the temperature-controlled thermocouple 211 from oxidizing under high-temperature and air-contact conditions, thus avoiding deviations in its temperature measurement accuracy.

[0079] Step S520 involves comparing the actual pressure difference between the inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter and its actual outlet pressure P2', and the minimum pressure difference threshold between the inlet pressure P1 and the target outlet pressure P2, to determine the connection status of the air pipe.

[0080] Specifically, combined Figure 2 A shared understanding. For example... Figure 2 As shown, firstly, the minimum inlet and outlet pressure difference threshold during normal gas transmission of the flow meter 230 can be obtained. Generally speaking, the minimum differential pressure threshold between the inlet and outlet of the flow meter 230 is... This can be determined based on the type of flow meter 230. The actual differential pressure value detected by the flow meter 230... (i.e., P1-P2) is lower than the aforementioned minimum differential pressure threshold. This indicates that the trachea 250 is in a loose state. And when the actual pressure difference value detected by the flow meter 230... 'At the aforementioned minimum pressure difference Based on the above, it can be determined that the trachea 250 is in a connected state.

[0081] Furthermore, it can be combined with Figure 6A and Figure 6B A shared understanding. Figure 6A The diagram shows a schematic representation of the different detachment locations of the air tube in a purging system according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 6BA schematic diagram of flow fluctuations transmitted by a flow meter after detachment of a trachea at different locations, according to some embodiments of the present invention, is shown.

[0082] exist Figure 6A In the illustrated embodiment, in the embodiment including two heating plates, the first branch air pipe 261 includes two detachment points A and C. The second branch air pipe 262 includes two detachment points B and D. (Combined with...) Figure 6B As shown, when a flow limiter 240 with an orifice diameter of 0.2~0.25mm is installed in the purging system 200, its normal transmission flow rate Q is set to approximately 2 SLM. Based on the normal transmission flow rate of 2 SLM, the upper and lower limits of the flow alarm range of the flow meter 230 can be set to... SLM.

[0083] In some other embodiments, the flow limiter 240, also with an orifice diameter φ of 0.2~0.25mm, is set to have a normal transmission flow rate Q of approximately 0.5 SLM. The upper and lower limits of the flow alarm range of the flow meter 230 can be... SLM. In other embodiments, the normal transmission flow rate Q of the flow limiter 240 with an orifice diameter φ of 0.2~0.25mm is set to approximately 4 SLM. In this case, the upper and lower limits of the flow alarm range of the flow meter 230 can be... SLM.

[0084] exist Figure 6B In the illustrated embodiment, after disconnecting the branch gas tubes at points A, B, C, and D respectively, the flow rate fluctuation transmitted by the flow meter 230 exceeds the flow alarm range. At this time, the flow meter 230 can output an alarm signal.

[0085] In the above embodiments provided by the present invention, the outlet pressure of the flow meter 230 increases after the flow restrictor 240 is added. To maintain a stable flow rate of purge gas transmitted by the flow meter 230, the inlet pressure of the flow meter 230 also increases accordingly. When the gas pipe 250 between the flow restrictor 240 and the flow meter 230 is disconnected, the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the flow meter 230 changes. At this time, the flow rate transmitted by the flow meter 230 will fluctuate. Once the flow rate fluctuation exceeds the flow alarm range, the system can issue an alarm signal. In this embodiment, the connection status of the feedback gas path can be monitored through the alarm indication of the flow meter 230.

[0086] In summary, the present invention provides a spool purging system, a semiconductor device, a method for monitoring the spool purging tube, and a computer-readable storage medium, which can monitor the connection status of the purging tube in the spool in real time so as to obtain the tube loosening information in a timely manner, which helps to reduce the risk of the thermocouple in the spool being oxidized under high temperature atmospheric conditions, thereby extending its service life and improving its temperature measurement accuracy.

[0087] Although the methods described above are illustrated and depicted as a series of actions for the sake of simplicity, it should be understood and appreciated that these methods are not limited by the order of the actions, as some actions may occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other actions from the illustrations and descriptions herein or not illustrated and described herein but which may be understood by those skilled in the art, according to one or more embodiments.

[0088] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are described above in a generalized manner in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of the invention.

[0089] The various illustrative logic modules and circuits described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in alternatives, it may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0090] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor such that the processor can read and write information to / from the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In an alternative, the processor and storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0091] In one or more exemplary embodiments, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software as a computer program product, the functionality may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on or through a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, encompassing any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and is accessible to a computer. Any connection is also legitimately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of a medium. As used in this article, disk and disc include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital multi-purpose discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of these should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0092] The prior description of this disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use this disclosure. Various modifications to this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A spool purging system, characterized in that, include: Gas source, providing purging gas; Flow meter, connected to the gas source; A flow restrictor, whose input is connected to the outlet of the flow meter via an air tube, and whose output is located at the inlet of the heating plate handle, to increase the outlet pressure of the flow meter to the target outlet pressure P2; and The controller is configured to compare the actual pressure difference between the inlet pressure P1 and the actual outlet pressure P2' of the flow meter. and the minimum pressure difference threshold between the inlet pressure P1 and the target outlet pressure P2. Determine the connection status of the trachea.

2. The shank purging system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The actual pressure difference between the inlet pressure P1 and the actual outlet pressure P2' of the flow meter is compared. The steps for determining the connection status of the trachea, based on the minimum pressure difference between the inlet pressure P1 and the target outlet pressure P2, include: Obtain the minimum inlet and outlet pressure difference threshold when the flow meter is supplying gas normally. ; In response to the actual pressure difference value Below the minimum differential pressure threshold The trachea is determined to be in a dislodged state; and In response to the actual pressure difference value At the minimum differential pressure threshold Based on the above, it is determined that the trachea is in a connected state.

3. The shank purging system as described in claim 2, characterized in that, After the step of determining that the trachea is in a dislodged state, the method further includes: Preset flow alarm range; and If the flow rate fluctuation at the air tube corresponding to the actual outlet pressure P2' exceeds the flow alarm range, it is determined that the air tube is in a detached state, and an alarm signal is output.

4. The shank purging system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The orifice diameter of the flow restrictor is based on the inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter, the target outlet pressure P2 of the flow meter, and the minimum differential pressure threshold. The outlet pressure P3 of the flow limiter, combined with Poiseuille's law. It was jointly determined that, This indicates the transmission flow rate of the current limiter. R represents the inlet and outlet pressure difference of the current limiter, and R represents the radius of the current limiter. This indicates the dynamic viscosity of the purging gas. This indicates the length of the pipe within the flow limiter.

5. The shank purging system as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The radius R of the flow limiter satisfies the following relationship between the inlet pressure P1 of the flow meter and the transmission flow rate Q of the flow limiter: Wherein, the target outlet pressure P2 of the flow meter is the inlet and outlet pressure difference of the flow restrictor. The sum of the outlet pressure P3 of the flow limiter.

6. The shank purging system as described in claim 5, characterized in that, Minimum differential pressure threshold at the inlet and outlet of the flow meter When the current limiter is 14.5 psi and the transmission flow rate Q is in the range of 0.5 to 4 SLM, the orifice diameter of the current limiter is 0.2 to 0.25 mm. When the transmission flow rate Q is greater than 4 SLM, the orifice diameter of the current limiter is 0.3 to 0.4 mm.

7. The shank purging system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It includes multiple flow restrictors, all of which are connected in parallel. Their input ends are connected to the outlet of the flow meter via multiple branch air pipes, while their output ends are located at the inlet of their respective heating plate handles. The lengths of the branch air pipes may be the same or different.

8. A semiconductor device, characterized in that, include: The process chamber includes several reaction stations, each of which is equipped with a heating plate; as well as The purging system for the handle as described in any one of claims 1 to 7 is used to provide purging gas to the temperature-controlled thermocouples within the handles of each of the heating plates, so as to isolate the temperature-controlled thermocouples from oxygen under high-temperature atmospheric conditions.

9. A method for monitoring a purge tube, characterized in that, Implemented via the shank purging system as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, the monitoring method includes the following steps: In response to the high-temperature process performed on the heating plate, purge gas is supplied to the temperature-controlled thermocouple within the handle of the heating plate via a gas source in the handle purging system, thereby isolating the temperature-controlled thermocouple from oxygen under high-temperature atmospheric conditions; and Compare the actual pressure difference between the inlet pressure P1 and the actual outlet pressure P2' of the flow meter. and the minimum pressure difference threshold between the inlet pressure P1 and the target outlet pressure P2. Determine the connection status of the trachea.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions thereon, characterized in that, When the computer instructions are executed by the processor, the monitoring method for the purge air tube as described in claim 9 is implemented.

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