Pipe temperature control system, pipe temperature control method, and semiconductor processing apparatus

Abstract

The application discloses a pipeline temperature control system, a pipeline temperature control method and a semiconductor processing equipment. The pipeline temperature control system comprises a plurality of heating bands, a plurality of transmission sections in a gas transmission pipeline are wrapped by the plurality of heating bands, each of the heating bands is internally provided with a heating resistor; an alternating current source is connected to each of the heating resistors and provides alternating current to each of the heating resistors; and a controller is configured to perform resistance detection on the plurality of heating bands in a first time slice of a preset scheduling period, and adjust the alternating current provided by the alternating current source to the corresponding heating band according to the detection result in a second time slice of the scheduling period. The application can not only realize differentiated temperature control on the plurality of transmission sections in the gas transmission pipeline, but also improve the accuracy of overall temperature measurement of the heating band, and improve the response speed of temperature measurement and temperature control, so as to meet the temperature control demand of the high-precision and high-real-time heat tracing working condition.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, and specifically to a pipeline temperature control system, a pipeline temperature control method, and a semiconductor processing equipment. Background Technology

[0002] In semiconductor processing equipment, heating belts are typically installed on gas transfer lines. These heating belts heat the lines to prevent some gases, which are liquid or solid at room temperature, from condensing during transport. This condensation can cause line blockages and affect process performance. In existing technologies, heating belts are usually wrapped around the entire gas transfer line, providing uniform heating control across multiple transfer sections. However, as the process gas approaches the chamber inlet, the gas velocity and pressure change drastically, and the heat transfer intensity fluctuates greatly, causing the temperature in this transfer section to drop rapidly. Once the temperature of the process gas in this section drops slightly below the dew point, the high concentration of process gas will liquefy and precipitate particles, causing line blockages and chamber contamination.

[0003] Furthermore, pipeline temperature control strategies often rely on temperature feedback mechanisms, requiring temperature data collected by thermocouples and temperature sensors to adjust heating power. However, temperature sensors are susceptible to interference from environmental factors such as uneven airflow and heat dissipation in industrial pipelines, leading to inaccurate temperature measurements. Moreover, the temperature measurement range of temperature sensors (such as thermocouples) is limited to a single point or localized area, failing to cover the entire heating band, resulting in a significant deviation between the measured local temperature and the actual temperature of the entire heating band. Additionally, factors such as the arrangement of the heating band, installation space, and thermocouple installation location can also easily cause inaccurate temperature sensor readings. Furthermore, temperature sensors inherently exhibit a hysteresis during measurement, unable to quickly respond to instantaneous changes in heating band temperature, resulting in slow temperature control response and difficulty adapting to high-precision, high-real-time heating conditions. If the temperature sensor's readings are inaccurate, the power adjustment of the heating band will not accurately match its actual needs, leading not only to energy waste but also to localized overheating or undercooling, affecting production quality and equipment lifespan.

[0004] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the existing technology, there is an urgent need in the field for an improved pipeline temperature control technology that can not only achieve zoned and differentiated temperature control for multiple transmission sections in the gas transmission pipeline, but also improve the accuracy of overall temperature measurement of the heating belt and improve the response speed of temperature measurement and control, thereby meeting the temperature control requirements of high-precision and high-real-time heat tracing conditions. Summary of the Invention

[0005] 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.

[0006] To overcome the aforementioned deficiencies in the existing technology, the present invention provides a pipeline temperature control system, a pipeline temperature control method, and a semiconductor processing equipment, which can not only control the heating temperature of multiple transmission sections in a gas transmission pipeline in separate zones, but also improve the accuracy of overall temperature measurement of the heating belt and increase the response speed of temperature measurement and control, thereby meeting the temperature control requirements of high-precision and high-real-time heat tracing conditions.

[0007] Specifically, the pipeline temperature control system provided according to the first aspect of the present invention includes: a plurality of heating bands wrapping a plurality of transmission sections in a gas transmission pipeline, each of the heating bands having a built-in heating resistor; an AC source connected to each of the heating resistors and providing AC current thereto; and a controller configured to: perform resistance detection on the plurality of heating bands in a first time slice of a preset scheduling cycle, and adjust the AC current provided by the AC source to the corresponding heating band in a second time slice of the scheduling cycle based on the detection result.

[0008] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of performing resistance detection on the plurality of heating bands in a first time slice of a preset scheduling cycle, and adjusting the AC current provided by the AC source to the corresponding heating band according to the detection result in a second time slice of the scheduling cycle includes: sequentially polling the plurality of heating bands using the working cycle of the AC source as the scheduling unit; providing an excitation current to each heating band for resistance detection in the first half-cycle of the working cycle corresponding to each heating band; and providing AC current to each heating band via the AC source for heating and temperature control in the second half-cycle of the working cycle corresponding to each heating band according to the detection result.

[0009] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the pipeline temperature control system further includes: a drive circuit, the input terminal of which is connected to the AC source, the signal output terminal of which is connected to the controller, for providing a synchronous sampling signal to the controller to provide a timing reference for the resistance detection of each heating band, and the power output terminal of which is connected to each heating band to provide heating power to the corresponding heating band.

[0010] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the controller includes a zero-crossing detection unit and a resistance detection unit. The step of providing an excitation current to each heating zone for resistance detection during the first half-cycle of the working cycle corresponding to each heating zone includes: when the synchronous sampling signal reaches the first zero-crossing point, the zero-crossing detection unit outputs a trigger signal to interrupt the main program currently being executed by the controller; based on the interruption time corresponding to the trigger signal, the timing start point of the resistance detection of the current heating zone is calibrated; and the resistance detection unit is controlled to collect the first resistance value of the current heating zone.

[0011] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of controlling the resistance detection unit to collect the first resistance value of the current heating band includes: delaying for a preset time from the interruption time, and then starting the resistance detection unit to collect the first resistance value of the current heating band, wherein the sum of the preset time and the collection time of the resistance detection unit is less than the first half-cycle.

[0012] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the pipeline temperature control system includes: a constant current source connected to each of the heating resistors, providing them with a constant DC current as an excitation current; the step of performing resistance detection on the plurality of heating bands in a first time slice of a preset scheduling cycle, and adjusting the AC current provided by the AC source to the corresponding heating band based on the detection result in a second time slice of the scheduling cycle includes: continuously inputting a constant DC current to the plurality of heating bands through the constant current source during the first time slice; performing DC resistance detection on each heating band; and, in response to completing the DC resistance detection of each heating band, adjusting the AC power supply provided by the AC source to the corresponding heating band during the second time slice based on the detection result corresponding to each heating band.

[0013] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the controller includes an interlock control unit for isolating the DC resistance detection process from the AC heating temperature control process.

[0014] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, before the step of performing the DC resistance detection on each heating band, the method includes: determining whether the current heating band is in a heating temperature control state; in response to the current heating band being in the heating temperature control state, switching to the next heating band to perform the DC resistance detection on it; and before the step of adjusting the AC power supplied by the AC source to the corresponding heating band, the method includes: determining whether the current heating band is in a resistance detection state; in response to the current heating band being in the resistance detection state, switching to the next heating band, and performing the AC heating temperature control on it by adjusting the AC source.

[0015] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the polling frequency of the plurality of heating bands is positively correlated with the target heating temperature of their corresponding transmission segments.

[0016] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the multiple transmission segments in the gas transmission pipeline have corresponding multiple target heating temperatures, wherein the target heating temperature increases with its distance from the chamber inlet, and each of the transmission segments is wrapped by at least one set of heating bands including multiple heating resistors.

[0017] Furthermore, according to the pipeline temperature control method provided by the second aspect of the present invention, the pipeline temperature control system provided by the first aspect of the present invention is adopted for implementation. The pipeline temperature control method includes the following steps: in the first time slot of a preset scheduling cycle, resistance detection is performed on multiple heating bands, and in the second time slot of the scheduling cycle, the AC current supplied by the AC source to the corresponding heating band is adjusted according to the detection result.

[0018] Furthermore, the semiconductor processing apparatus provided by the third aspect of the present invention includes: a reaction chamber; a gas transmission pipeline disposed at the gas inlet and / or gas outlet of the reaction chamber; and the pipeline temperature control system provided by the first aspect of the present invention, wherein multiple heating bands wrap around multiple transmission sections of the gas transmission pipeline for regulating the heating temperature of each transmission section. Attached Figure Description

[0019] 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.

[0020] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a pipeline temperature control system provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0021] Figure 2 A flowchart of a pipeline temperature control method provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0022] Figure 3 A flowchart of a pipeline temperature control method provided according to other embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0023] Figure 4 for Figure 3 The diagram shows the waveform of the synchronous sampling signal in the pipeline temperature control method.

[0024] Figure 5 for Figure 3 The flowchart shown is part of the multi-channel polling pipeline temperature control method for multi-channel heaters.

[0025] Figure 6 A flowchart of a pipeline temperature control method provided according to other embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0026] Figure 7 A structural block diagram of a controller provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0027] Figure label: 100 Pipeline temperature control system; 110 Controller; 111 Memory; 112 processor; 120 heating belt; 410 Synchronous sampling signal. Detailed Implementation

[0028] 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.

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.

[0031] 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.

[0032] As mentioned above, in existing technologies, pipeline heating tapes typically involve wrapping a single heating tape around a gas transmission pipeline to provide unified heating control for multiple transmission sections within the pipeline. However, when the process gas is transmitted near the chamber inlet, the gas velocity and pressure change drastically, resulting in large fluctuations in the heat transfer intensity. This causes the temperature in this transmission section to drop rapidly. Once the temperature of the process gas in this section drops slightly below the dew point, the high concentration of process gas will liquefy and precipitate particles, causing pipeline blockage and chamber contamination. Moreover, pipeline temperature control strategies often rely on temperature feedback mechanisms, requiring temperature data collected by thermocouples and temperature sensors to adjust the heating power. However, temperature sensors are susceptible to interference from environmental factors such as uneven airflow and heat dissipation conditions in industrial pipelines, leading to inaccurate temperature measurements. Furthermore, temperature sensors have an inherent hysteresis during measurement, failing to respond quickly to instantaneous changes in the heating tape temperature, resulting in slow temperature control response and making them unsuitable for high-precision, high-real-time heat tracing applications.

[0033] To address the aforementioned problems in the prior art, this invention provides a pipeline temperature control system, a pipeline temperature control method, and a semiconductor processing equipment. These systems not only enable zoned control of the heating temperature of multiple transmission sections in a gas transmission pipeline, but also improve the accuracy of overall temperature measurement of the heating belt and enhance the response speed of temperature measurement and control, thereby meeting the temperature control requirements of high-precision and high-real-time heat tracing applications.

[0034] In some non-limiting embodiments, the pipeline temperature control system provided in the first aspect of the present invention can be configured in the semiconductor processing equipment provided in the third aspect of the present invention and used to implement the pipeline temperature control method provided in the second aspect of the present invention.

[0035] The working principle of the above-described pipeline temperature control system will be described below with reference to some embodiments of semiconductor processing equipment and pipeline temperature control methods. Those skilled in the art will understand that these embodiments of semiconductor processing equipment and pipeline temperature control methods 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 pipeline temperature control system. Similarly, this pipeline temperature control system is also only one non-limiting implementation provided by the present invention, and does not limit other functional components in the semiconductor processing equipment or the implementing entities of each step in the pipeline temperature control method.

[0036] In some non-limiting embodiments, the semiconductor processing equipment includes a reaction chamber, a gas transmission pipeline, and a pipeline temperature control system. The gas transmission pipeline may be located at the inlet and / or outlet of the reaction chamber. Multiple heating bands in the pipeline temperature control system wrap around multiple transmission sections of the gas transmission pipeline to regulate the heating temperature of each transmission section.

[0037] Optionally, the gas transmission pipeline can be located at the inlet end of the reaction chamber, serving as an inlet pipeline. A pipeline temperature control system heats the process gas fed into the reaction chamber, preventing the process gas, which is liquid or solid at room temperature, from condensing during transmission and clogging the pipeline. This not only wastes resources but also affects the process efficiency. In other embodiments, the gas transmission pipeline can be located at the outlet end of the reaction chamber, serving as an exhaust pipeline. A pipeline temperature control system heats the discharged reaction byproducts, preventing them from condensing and crystallizing during discharge and clogging the pipeline. Further, please see Figure 1 . Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a pipeline temperature control system provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0038] like Figure 1 As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the pipeline temperature control system 100 may include a controller 110, a plurality of heating belts 120 and an AC power source (not shown in the figures).

[0039] Specifically, multiple heating bands 120 (e.g., the first heating band…the Nth heating band) can enclose multiple transmission sections in the gas transmission pipeline. Each heating band has a built-in heating resistor. The heating resistor is a metallic resistor with temperature-sensitive characteristics. The higher the temperature, the greater the DC resistance of the heating band. An AC power source is connected to each heating resistor to provide AC current.

[0040] The controller 110 is configured to: perform resistance detection on multiple heating elements 120 in the first time slot of a preset scheduling cycle, and adjust the AC current supplied by the AC source to the corresponding heating element based on the detection results in the second time slot of the scheduling cycle. In this embodiment, the pipeline temperature control system 100 can achieve millimeter-level response and quickly and accurately obtain the real-time accurate temperature value of the heating element without relying on external temperature sensors or thermocouples, by directly acquiring the resistance value of the heating element body and converting it into the corresponding temperature. This avoids the problem of rapid heating of the heating element but lag in temperature sensor measurement.

[0041] Furthermore, in the embodiments provided by this invention, since the heating band is entirely wrapped around the gas transmission pipeline, the temperature of the heating band obtained by resistance measurement is the overall average temperature of the heating band. In traditional methods using thermocouples at several temperature measurement points on the heating band for localized temperature measurement, the thermocouple's measurement range is limited to a single point or a localized area, failing to cover the entire heating band. Moreover, factors such as the arrangement of the heating band, the installation space, and the thermocouple installation position can further lead to inaccurate temperature measurements by the thermocouple. Therefore, The above embodiment changes the temperature measurement method from local point detection of the heating belt to overall surface detection, thereby improving the accuracy of the overall temperature detection results of the heating belt.

[0042] In traditional resistance detection methods, AC or pulse signals are typically used to detect the heating resistor. However, in this invention, since the heating band itself relies on AC for heating, if AC signals are also used for detection, the detection AC and heating AC will couple and superimpose, generating induced voltage drops and harmonic noise. This severely contaminates the sampling voltage, completely distorts the resistance calculation, and makes it impossible to distinguish between the heating voltage drop and the resistance sampling voltage drop. If pulse signals are used to detect the heating resistor, the pulse is a transient signal with an extremely narrow sampling window, insufficient time for ADC sampling and signal filtering, easily leading to missed effective voltage samples and poor measurement repeatability. Furthermore, due to the distributed capacitance of the long heating band, the pulse signal will experience charging and discharging distortion, resulting in unstable sampling voltage and poor consistency in resistance measurements.

[0043] In some embodiments of the present invention, a constant current source can be configured in the pipeline temperature control system 100 to perform high-precision resistance value acquisition of each heating element using a four-wire Kelvin resistance measurement architecture. Specifically, the constant current source (not shown in the figures) is connected to each heating resistor, providing it with a constant DC current as the excitation current. For example, a constant DC excitation current of 1mA can be selected. In the four-wire Kelvin resistance measurement architecture, two independent electrical connection points are provided at both ends of each heating element, including a current connection point and a voltage acquisition point. The current connection point is connected to the constant current source through two current excitation lines, forming an excitation loop. The voltage acquisition point is connected to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) through two voltage sampling lines, forming a sampling loop. This four-wire Kelvin resistance measurement architecture can separate the current excitation path and the voltage acquisition path, thereby eliminating measurement errors caused by lead resistance and contact resistance.

[0044] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the controller 110 may be a microcontroller unit (MCU) with a built-in 24-bit high-precision ADC. The voltage acquisition terminal (i.e., the sampling circuit mentioned above) is connected to the controller 110 to perform high-resolution analog-to-digital sampling of the actual pressure difference across the heating band. The controller 110 can calculate the real-time DC resistance value of the heating band based on Ohm's law, combining the acquired digital pressure difference with the known constant current excitation value.

[0045] In the above embodiments, a DC constant current source is used to acquire the heating resistor data. Its output current is constant and stable, without alternating components, and does not generate electromagnetic coupling noise with the heating AC current, resulting in a stable sampling signal. Furthermore, the stable DC excitation with continuous constant current output provides a sufficient sampling window for ADC acquisition and digital filtering of multiple heater resistors, facilitating subsequent multiple filtering and noise reduction, and improving measurement consistency. Therefore, using a constant current source to provide the excitation current required for resistance detection can improve the accuracy and stability of multi-channel heater temperature measurement.

[0046] Next, please combine Figure 2 Together, we can understand the control logic of the controller 110. Figure 2 A flowchart of a pipeline temperature control method provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0047] like Figure 2 As shown, in some embodiments, a pipeline temperature control method can be implemented through the above-described pipeline temperature control system 100. This pipeline temperature control method mainly includes step S200: in the first time slot of a preset scheduling cycle, resistance detection is performed on multiple heating elements, and in the second time slot of the scheduling cycle, the AC current supplied by the AC source to the corresponding heating element is adjusted according to the detection results.

[0048] Furthermore, such as Figure 3 As shown, in some optional embodiments, step S200 can be specified as steps S301 to S320.

[0049] exist Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, step S301 can be executed: Multiple heating zones are sequentially polled using the working cycle of the AC source as the scheduling unit. For example, the AC source can be mains power. The mains power frequency is 50Hz, and its corresponding working cycle is 20ms (1 / 50 = 0.02s = 20m). Each complete working cycle includes a first half-cycle and a second half-cycle, each occupying 10ms. Then, step S310 can be executed, providing an excitation current to each heating zone for resistance detection during the first half-cycle of the working cycle corresponding to each heating zone. Subsequently, step S320 can be executed, providing AC current to each heating zone via the AC source for heating and temperature control during the second half-cycle of the working cycle corresponding to each heating zone, based on the detection results.

[0050] Optionally, multiple transmission sections in the gas transmission pipeline can have corresponding target heating temperatures. The target heating temperature increases with its distance from the chamber inlet. During the transmission of the process gas, the closer the transmission section of the gas transmission pipeline wrapped with heating tape is to the process chamber, the higher the target heating temperature can be set for that transmission section to approach the target process temperature. This prevents the process gas from condensing and liquefying at the reaction chamber inlet, ensuring the stability of the purity of the gas phase components entering the process chamber. For this purpose, each transmission section can be wrapped with at least one set of heating tapes, and each set of heating tapes includes multiple heating tapes with multiple heating resistors.

[0051] Furthermore, the polling frequency of multiple heating bands can be positively correlated with the target heating temperature of their corresponding transmission sections. Because the high-temperature section of the pipeline is close to the reaction chamber, heat loss is significant, and temperature fluctuations caused by airflow disturbances are more severe. The process gas in this section is close to its dew point, and even a slight temperature drop can easily trigger precursor condensation and particle precipitation. Therefore, the real-time requirements for temperature control are much higher than in the low-temperature, far-end transmission section. To address this, by increasing the resistance polling frequency of the heating bands surrounding this transmission section and shortening the interval between two resistance samplings, the controller can more quickly capture instantaneous temperature changes in the pipeline, reducing the temperature control response delay. This allows for precise suppression of localized temperature drops and prevention of gas condensation.

[0052] Furthermore, in Figure 3In the illustrated embodiment, the pipeline temperature control system 100 may further include a drive circuit (not shown in the figures). The input terminal of the drive circuit is connected to an AC source (e.g., mains power). Exemplarily, the mains power input bus of the AC source is connected to the drive circuit in two paths. The first branch is a sampling branch, where the AC source voltage is divided by a voltage divider resistor and opto-isolated within the drive circuit to generate an AC synchronous sampling signal. Correspondingly, the signal output terminal of the drive circuit is connected to the controller 110 to provide a synchronous sampling signal to the controller, providing a timing reference for the resistance detection of each heating band. The second branch connected to the mains power is a power branch, where the AC source main circuit is connected in series with a power switching device (e.g., a solid-state relay or a thyristor) inside the drive circuit, and the power switching device is controlled by the power output terminal of the drive circuit. This power output terminal is connected to each heating band to provide heating power to the corresponding heating band.

[0053] Next, please combine Figure 4 Let's understand together the steps S310~S320 above. Figure 4 for Figure 3 The diagram shows the waveform of the synchronous sampling signal in the pipeline temperature control method.

[0054] like Figure 4 As shown, the controller 110 includes a zero-crossing detection unit and a resistance detection unit. During the execution of the above step S310, when the synchronous sampling signal 410 reaches the first zero-crossing point A (the zero point corresponding to the transition from the negative half-cycle to the positive half-cycle) at 0ms, the zero-crossing detection unit outputs a trigger signal to interrupt the main program currently being executed by the controller 110.

[0055] In this embodiment, the 50Hz AC power zero-crossing point is the globally unique time scale for the entire ADC resistance acquisition and AC temperature control system. All sampling and switching actions must be aligned with this 20ms cycle. The MCU main program continuously polls the zero-crossing I / O port, and this polling has a fixed periodic delay. If the MCU interrupt service is not triggered before each heating resistor begins resistance measurement, subsequent polling may miss the zero point, or the time deviation for each zero-point capture may be several milliseconds. Once the zero-point capture is off, the ADC sampling will fall into the high amplitude range of the power frequency voltage, and the 50Hz harmonics will directly contaminate the 24-bit high-precision ADC, resulting in a huge error in resistance temperature measurement. To address this, in this embodiment, the MCU interrupt is used as the start trigger signal for each 20ms cycle of polling. Multi-channel polling acquisition is completed without relying on the main loop software timing, avoiding timing drift that causes the sampling window to fall at the boundary between the positive and negative half-cycles of the power frequency. This effectively blocks power frequency interference from superimposing on the heating band voltage sampling signal, thereby improving the accuracy and consistency of multi-channel heating band resistance detection.

[0056] Subsequently, the controller 110 calibrates the timing start of the resistance detection of the current heating band based on the interrupt time corresponding to the trigger signal, and then controls the resistance detection unit to collect the first resistance value of the current heating band.

[0057] In some optional embodiments, the resistance detection unit can be activated to collect the first resistance value of the heating band after a preset delay from the interruption time. Because the voltage change rate at the zero-crossing point (the moment the voltage crosses 0V) of alternating current (e.g., power frequency AC) is extremely high, it generates spikes, high-frequency harmonics, and switching induction noise. Furthermore, the voltage amplitude near the zero point is extremely low, resulting in a poor signal-to-noise ratio. To address this, by delaying the heating band resistance acquisition for a preset time after the AC synchronous sampling signal reaches the zero-crossing point, the concentrated small harmonics, voltage spikes, and electromagnetic interference near the zero-crossing point can be avoided. ADC sampling is then performed after the power frequency waveform enters a stable range, eliminating the resistance measurement deviation caused by zero-point noise and thus improving the accuracy of multi-channel heating band resistance acquisition.

[0058] Furthermore, the sum of the preset duration and the acquisition duration of the resistance detection unit is less than the first half-cycle. Optionally, the preset duration can be 1 / 5 of the first half-cycle. The acquisition duration of the resistance detection unit can be within 1 / 3 of the first half-cycle. For example, as... Figure 4 As shown, the mains power cycle is 20ms, with the corresponding first half-cycle being 10ms. The preset duration can be 2ms, and the acquisition duration of the resistance detection unit can be 3ms. Sufficient time is still reserved for the controller 110 to filter the acquired resistance data and perform temperature conversion, allowing the real-time DC resistance value of the heating element to be obtained before 10ms. Since 0~10ms is a dedicated detection timing window for the positive half-cycle of the mains frequency, and the negative half-cycle AC heating phase begins after 10ms, completing all detection calculations and caching temperature data in advance not only prevents overlap between the detection calculations and subsequent heating power output time domains, thus avoiding interference from AC strong noise on DC sampling accuracy, but also fully releases all timing resources for the negative half-cycle for multi-channel heater temperature control scheduling, avoiding timing conflicts and computational power contention.

[0059] Continue as Figure 4 As shown, during step S320, the zero-crossing detection unit captures the second zero-crossing point B at 10ms. The second zero-crossing point B, where the voltage switches from the positive half-cycle to the negative half-cycle, is the synchronization point for the AC heating switch. Specifically, at the second zero-crossing point B corresponding to 10ms, the power switching device's on / off actions are executed synchronously. Optionally, the heating power can be further adjusted by controlling the conduction duration of the AC current through the heating resistor. Step S320 can also be completed within 10ms. In this embodiment, by switching the power device at the AC zero-crossing moment, there is no surge, minimal electromagnetic interference, and the lifespan of the switching device is extended.

[0060] After that, please combine Figure 5 A shared understanding. Figure 5 for Figure 3 The flowchart shown is part of the multi-channel polling pipeline temperature control method for a multi-channel heater.

[0061] Combination Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, corresponding to step S301, each heating zone can sequentially match the next first zero-crossing point to start A according to the polling cycle, and then start the resistance acquisition of the next heating zone, thereby ensuring that the resistance acquisition of all channels falls within the low interference period. Figure 4 In the embodiment shown, multiple heating zones are polled sequentially using the working cycle of the power frequency AC power of 20ms as the scheduling unit. Each heating zone performs resistance detection and heating control in a time-sharing manner within the corresponding allocated power frequency cycle.

[0062] Specifically, such as Figure 5 As shown, after system startup and hardware and parameter initialization are completed, multi-channel polling is initiated. For example, assume a group of heating bands 120 includes 10 heating bands. After entering the multi-channel polling process for the multiple heaters, the process sequentially traverses the first heater, the first heater, and so on, up to the tenth heating band.

[0063] Furthermore, such as Figure 5 As shown, optionally, during the resistance detection of a single heating element, after the MCU performs digital filtering on the ADC sampled value to eliminate line noise, a first resistance value is obtained. Based on a preset upper limit of the resistance threshold, it is further determined whether the first resistance value is in a normal operating state.

[0064] Specifically, in some optional embodiments, the preset upper limit of the resistance threshold can be determined based on the maximum measurable resistance after conversion by the ADC range of this circuit. For example, the upper limit of the resistance threshold can be 1800 Ω. When the first resistance value is less than or equal to 1800 Ω, it is determined that the heating resistor of the first heating band is in normal working condition, and closed-loop temperature control calculation can continue to be performed on it. Figure 5 As shown, the first resistance value is first converted into the current actual temperature of the first heating element based on the filtered standard resistance-temperature curve. Then, the temperature difference between the current actual temperature of the first heating element and the preset target temperature is calculated. The controller 110 can execute a temperature control algorithm based on the temperature difference and output a control signal to drive the power switching device to adjust the AC heating output power of the heating element. After all the processes of the first heater's single channel are completed, the system switches to the next heating element channel and repeats the entire processing logic.

[0065] However, as Figure 5As shown, if the first resistance value is greater than 1800 Ω, the circuit of the first heating element is determined to be abnormal. In response, the controller 110 can interrupt the polling process and simultaneously output a fault alarm by using various methods such as shutting off the power to that heating element, issuing an alarm signal, and recording abnormal information. If the fault handling is completed, the process can jump to the next channel for polling. Taking N=10 as an example, when the pipeline temperature control system 100 completes temperature acquisition and control processing for all 10 heating channels, the condition N>10 is determined to be met, indicating that a complete round of polling for channels 1-10 is finished. If not, the process jumps back to the "Start Multi-Channel Polling" node to begin a new round of uninterrupted cyclic resistance detection and temperature control.

[0066] Next, please refer to Figure 6 . Figure 6 A flowchart of a pipeline temperature control method provided according to other embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0067] In some alternative embodiments, step S200 may be specified as steps S610 to S630.

[0068] exist Figure 6 In the illustrated embodiment, firstly, step S610 is executed: a constant DC current is continuously input to multiple heating bands through a constant current source during a first time period. Then, step S620 is executed: DC resistance detection is performed on each heating band. The resistance values ​​of each heating band can be sequentially detected according to a preset order (e.g., numbered order or positional order). For example, resistance detection of the first heating band is started first, and after the resistance detection process of the first heating band is completed, the process is switched to the second heating band for resistance detection, and so on.

[0069] In this embodiment, by configuring a constant current source to continuously and stably output DC excitation current to complete the resistance detection of each heating zone, the resistance detection mode relying on AC zero-crossing triggering in the above embodiment is eliminated, and there is no need to rely on the power frequency zero-crossing synchronous start detection. Therefore, in this embodiment, not only are the resistance detection results not affected by the coupling interference of the power frequency alternating waveform, but the DC excitation only collects pure resistance, thereby improving measurement accuracy, but the polling frequency of resistance detection is also not constrained by the AC working cycle (e.g., a 20ms power frequency cycle), and the detection frequency can be flexibly increased, thereby improving the temperature control response speed and temperature control stability.

[0070] Optionally, the resistance detection time for each heating band can be independently parameterized. Those skilled in the art can match the appropriate time according to the electrical characteristics of the corresponding heating band.

[0071] Furthermore, the polling frequency of multiple heating bands can be positively correlated with the target heating temperature of their corresponding transmission sections. Because the high-temperature section of the pipeline is close to the reaction chamber, heat loss is significant, and temperature fluctuations caused by airflow disturbances are more severe. The process gas in this section is close to its dew point, and even a slight temperature drop can easily trigger precursor condensation and particle precipitation. Therefore, the real-time requirements for temperature control are much higher than in the low-temperature, far-end transmission section. To address this, by increasing the resistance polling frequency of the heating bands surrounding this transmission section and shortening the interval between two resistance samplings, the controller can more quickly capture instantaneous temperature changes in the pipeline, reducing the temperature control response delay. This allows for precise suppression of localized temperature drops and prevention of gas condensation.

[0072] like Figure 6 As shown, after completing the DC resistance testing of each heating band, step S630 can be executed: based on the test results of each heating band, the AC power supplied by the AC source to the corresponding heating band is adjusted during the second time period. Similarly, the heating power of each heating band can be adjusted sequentially according to a preset order (e.g., numbering order or position order). For example, after the resistance test of the first heating band is completed, the corresponding rated heating power is output to the first heating band to complete temperature control. After the first temperature control is completed, the temperature control adjustment of the second heating band is switched, and so on.

[0073] Optionally, the duration of temperature control for each heating zone can also be configured independently. Those skilled in the art can customize this according to the heating and thermal hysteresis characteristics of the corresponding heating zone.

[0074] Furthermore, in some optional embodiments, the controller 110 includes an interlock control unit for isolating the two processes of DC resistance detection and AC heating temperature control. Specifically, before executing step S620, it can be determined whether the current heating element is in a heating temperature control state. If the current heating element is in a heating temperature control state, the current channel is skipped, and the process switches to the next heating element to perform DC resistance detection. Similarly, before executing step S630, it can be determined whether the current heating element is in a resistance detection state. If the current heating element is in a resistance detection state, the current channel is skipped, and the process switches to the next heating element, where AC heating temperature control is performed by adjusting the AC source. In this embodiment, through the interlock signal control provided by the interlock control unit, the resistance detection process and the heating temperature control process are electrically and temporally independent, thereby achieving stable parallel polling scheduling.

[0075] exist Figure 6 In the above embodiments, a constant DC current is continuously input to multiple heating bands through a constant current source during the first time period, without relying on AC zero-crossing timing, and the detection duration and polling frequency of each channel can be configured independently. Furthermore, with the addition of an interlock signal, the detection and heating processes are completely isolated, thereby improving the long-term temperature control accuracy and stability of multi-channel pipeline heat tracing.

[0076] Next, please refer to Figure 7 . Figure 7 A structural block diagram of a controller provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0077] like Figure 7 As shown, in some non-limiting embodiments, the controller 110 includes a memory 111 and a processor 112. Here, the memory 111 includes a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions. The processor 112 is connected to the memory 111 and configured to execute the computer instructions stored in the memory 111, enabling the implementation of the pipeline temperature control method as provided in the second aspect of the invention.

[0078] In summary, this invention provides a pipeline temperature control system, a pipeline temperature control method, and a semiconductor processing equipment. By combining temperature monitoring of multiple heating bands with dynamic power adjustment, it can not only control the heating temperature of multiple transmission sections in the gas transmission pipeline in different zones, but also improve the accuracy of overall temperature measurement of the heating bands and increase the response speed of temperature measurement and control, thereby meeting the temperature control requirements of high-precision and high-real-time heat tracing conditions.

[0079] 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.

[0080] 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.

[0081] 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.

[0082] 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.

[0083] 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.

[0084] 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 pipeline temperature control system, characterized in that, include: Multiple heating bands wrap around multiple transmission sections in the gas transmission pipeline, and each heating band has a built-in heating resistor. An AC source is connected to each of the heating resistors to provide them with AC current; as well as The controller is configured to: perform resistance detection on the plurality of heating bands in the first time slot of a preset scheduling cycle, and adjust the AC current supplied by the AC source to the corresponding heating band based on the detection result in the second time slot of the scheduling cycle.

2. The pipeline temperature control system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The steps of performing resistance detection on the plurality of heating bands in the first time slot of the preset scheduling period, and adjusting the AC current supplied by the AC source to the corresponding heating band based on the detection results in the second time slot of the scheduling period, include: Using the working cycle of the AC source as the scheduling unit, the plurality of heating zones are polled sequentially. During the first half-cycle of the working cycle corresponding to each heating zone, an excitation current is provided to each heating zone for resistance detection; and During the second half of the working cycle corresponding to each heating zone, based on the detection results, AC current is supplied to each heating zone via the AC source for heating and temperature control.

3. The pipeline temperature control system as described in claim 2, characterized in that, Also includes: The driving circuit has its input terminal connected to the AC source and its signal output terminal connected to the controller. It is used to provide a synchronous sampling signal to the controller to provide a timing reference for the resistance detection of each heating band. Its power output terminal is connected to each heating band to provide heating power to the corresponding heating band.

4. The pipeline temperature control system as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The controller includes a zero-crossing detection unit and a resistance detection unit. The step of providing an excitation current to each heating zone for resistance detection during the first half-cycle of the working cycle corresponding to each heating zone includes: When the synchronous sampling signal reaches the first zero-crossing point, the zero-crossing detection unit outputs a trigger signal to interrupt the main program currently being executed by the controller; Based on the interrupt time corresponding to the trigger signal, the timing start point for the resistance detection of the current heating band is determined; and The resistance detection unit is controlled to collect the first resistance value of the current heating band.

5. The pipeline temperature control system as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The step of controlling the resistance detection unit to acquire the first resistance value of the current heating band includes: After a preset time delay from the interruption time, the resistance detection unit is activated to collect the first resistance value of the current heating band, wherein the sum of the preset time and the collection time of the resistance detection unit is less than the first half-cycle.

6. The pipeline temperature control system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, include: A constant current source, connected to each of the heating resistors, provides them with a constant DC current as an excitation current. The steps of detecting the resistance of the multiple heating elements in the first time slot of a preset scheduling cycle, and adjusting the AC current provided by the AC source to the corresponding heating element based on the detection result in the second time slot of the scheduling cycle, include: The constant current source continuously inputs a constant DC current to multiple heating elements during the first time period. Perform DC resistance testing on each heating zone; and In response to the completion of the DC resistance detection of each heating zone, the AC power supply provided by the AC source to the corresponding heating zone is adjusted according to the detection results of each heating zone during the second time period.

7. The pipeline temperature control system as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The controller includes an interlock control unit for isolating the DC resistance detection process from the AC heating temperature control process.

8. The pipeline temperature control system as described in claim 7, characterized in that, Before performing the DC resistance detection on each heating band, the following steps are included: Determine whether the heating element is currently in a heating and temperature control state; In response to the current heating band being in the heating and temperature control state, switch to the next heating band and perform the DC resistance detection on it. Before the step of adjusting the AC power supplied by the AC source to the corresponding heating belt, the following steps are included: Determine whether the heating element is currently in resistance detection mode; In response to the current heating band being in the resistance detection state, switch to the next heating band and perform AC heating temperature control on it by adjusting the AC source.

9. The pipeline temperature control system as described in claim 2 or 8, characterized in that, The polling frequency of the multiple heating bands is positively correlated with the target heating temperature of their corresponding transmission segments.

10. The pipeline temperature control system as described in claim 9, characterized in that, The gas transmission pipeline has multiple transmission sections with corresponding target heating temperatures, wherein the target heating temperature increases with its distance from the chamber inlet. Each of the transmission segments is wrapped by at least one set of heating bands comprising multiple heating resistors.

11. A pipeline temperature control method, characterized in that, The pipeline temperature control system as described in any one of claims 1 to 10 is adopted, and the pipeline temperature control method includes the following steps: In the first time slot of the preset scheduling cycle, resistance is detected for multiple heating elements, and in the second time slot of the scheduling cycle, the AC current supplied by the AC source to the corresponding heating element is adjusted according to the detection results.

12. A semiconductor processing apparatus, characterized in that, include: reaction chamber; A gas transmission pipeline is provided at the gas inlet and / or gas outlet of the reaction chamber; as well as According to any one of claims 1 to 10, the pipeline temperature control system includes multiple heating bands wrapping around multiple transmission sections of the gas transmission pipeline for regulating the heating temperature of each transmission section.

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