Silicon wafer drying system

Abstract

The utility model provides a silicon wafer drying system. The silicon wafer drying system comprises a storage chamber, a drying chamber and a circulating pipeline, the storage chamber and the drying chamber are connected through a circulating pipeline, the storage chamber is used for storing dry gas, the circulating pipeline is used for circularly conveying the dry gas between the storage chamber and the drying chamber, and the drying chamber is used for accommodating silicon wafers; the circulating pipeline comprises at least one circulating branch, the circulating branch is communicated with the storage cavity and the drying cavity, a valve and a pump body are arranged in the circulating branch, the valve is used for opening or closing the circulating branch, and the pump body is used for driving the drying gas to circulate in the circulating branch. According to the configuration, the storage chamber and the circulating pipeline are arranged, so that the drying gas can circulate between the storage chamber and the drying chamber, and compared with an existing drying process, the direct emission of the drying gas in the drying process is avoided, the cost in the drying process is reduced, and meanwhile, the waste of resources such as the drying gas is also reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, in particular to a silicon wafer drying system. Background Art

[0002] In the semiconductor manufacturing process, silicon wafers need to be cleaned many times. In some manufacturing processes, dry gas (inert gas such as nitrogen) needs to be used to dry the silicon wafers. In the prior art, it is necessary to supply dry gas in real time through a delivery pipeline, and at the same time, heat the dry gas online through a heating device, and then spray the heated dry gas into the drying tank through a pipeline nozzle to dry multiple silicon wafers in the drying tank. Please refer to Figure 1 The drying tank is a semi-open component, and the drying gas during the drying process will be directly discharged to the outside, resulting in an increase in production costs and serious waste of resources. In addition, the heating device is always in a high-load operation state, resulting in further waste of production costs and resources.

[0003] Based on this, how to reduce the increase in production costs and waste of resources caused by direct emission of drying gas during the drying process has become a technical problem that technicians in this field need to solve. Utility Model Content

[0004] The utility model aims to provide a silicon wafer drying system to solve the problems of increased production costs and waste of resources caused by direct discharge of drying gas in the prior art.

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the utility model provides a silicon wafer drying system, comprising: a storage chamber, a drying chamber and a circulation pipeline;

[0006] The storage chamber and the drying chamber are connected via the circulation pipeline, the storage chamber is used to store dry gas, the circulation pipeline is used to circulate and transport the dry gas between the storage chamber and the drying chamber, and the drying chamber is used to accommodate silicon wafers;

[0007] The circulation pipeline includes at least one circulation branch, which connects the storage chamber and the drying chamber. A valve and a pump body are provided in the circulation branch. The valve is used to open or close the circulation branch, and the pump body is used to drive the drying gas to flow in the circulation branch.

[0008] Optionally, the circulation pipeline includes an air intake circulation branch and an air outlet circulation branch, and the air intake circulation branch and the air outlet circulation branch are both connected to the storage chamber and the drying chamber;

[0009] The drying gas enters the drying chamber from the storage chamber through the air inlet circulation branch to dry the silicon wafer; after the air pressure in the drying chamber reaches a preset value, the drying gas enters the storage chamber from the drying chamber through the air outlet circulation branch.

[0010] Optionally, a first valve and a heating device are provided in the intake circulation branch; the first valve is used to open or close the intake circulation branch; the heating device is used to heat the dry gas flowing in the intake circulation branch.

[0011] Optionally, a second valve, a first pump body and a cooling device are provided in the gas outlet circulation branch; the second valve is used to open or close the gas outlet circulation branch; the first pump body is used to drive the dry gas to flow from the drying chamber to the storage chamber; the cooling device is used to cool the dry gas flowing in the gas outlet circulation branch.

[0012] Optionally, the air outlet circulation branch has an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end is located on the side wall of the drying chamber, and the outlet end is located on the side wall of the storage chamber;

[0013] The gas outlet circulation branch is also provided with a gas-water separation device and a gas filtering device. The gas-water separation device and the gas filtering device are closer to the outlet end than the cooling device. The gas-water separation device is used to separate the liquid in the cooled dry gas; the gas filtering device is used to filter impurities in the dry gas.

[0014] Optionally, the silicon wafer drying system further includes a vacuum pipeline, which is connected to the side wall of the drying chamber, and the vacuum pipeline is used to evacuate the drying chamber to a vacuum state before drying; and to release the vacuum state of the drying chamber after drying is completed.

[0015] Optionally, the vacuum pipeline includes a vacuum pumping branch and a vacuum breaking branch; the vacuum pumping branch is provided with a third valve and a second pump body, the third valve is used to open or close the vacuum pumping branch, and the second pump body is used to extract the gas in the drying chamber; the vacuum breaking branch is provided with a fourth valve, the fourth valve is used to open or close the vacuum breaking branch to introduce external gas into the drying chamber.

[0016] Optionally, the silicon wafer drying system further comprises a cover body and a driving device, wherein the cover body is connected to the driving device, and the driving device is used to drive the cover body to open or close the drying chamber; wherein a sealing ring is provided on one side of the cover body close to the drying chamber.

[0017] Optionally, the silicon wafer drying system also includes an air inlet pipeline, which is connected to the side wall of the storage chamber and is used to supply the drying gas to enter the storage chamber; wherein the air inlet pipeline is provided with a fifth valve, and the fifth valve is used to open or close the air inlet pipeline.

[0018] Optionally, the silicon wafer drying system further comprises a monitoring device, which is disposed in the storage chamber, the drying chamber and / or the circulation pipeline and is used to monitor corresponding parameters of the drying gas.

[0019] Compared with the drying device in the prior art, the silicon wafer drying system provided by the present application has the following advantages:

[0020] The silicon wafer drying system provided in the present application is provided with a storage chamber and a circulation pipeline. The storage chamber is connected to the drying chamber through the circulation pipeline, so that the drying gas can circulate between the storage chamber and the drying chamber. Compared with the existing drying process, the direct discharge of the drying gas during the drying process is avoided, the cost of the drying process is reduced, and the waste of resources such as the drying gas is also reduced.

[0021] Furthermore, by setting up an air intake circulation branch and an air outlet circulation branch, and setting up a heating device in the air intake circulation branch, the dry gas has a better drying ability when being dried in the drying chamber; at the same time, a cooling device is set in the air outlet circulation branch to cool and separate the dried gas after drying, so as to better remove the water vapor contained in the gas.

[0022] Furthermore, by arranging a gas-water separation device and a gas filtering device on the gas outlet circulation branch, and arranging the gas-water separation device and the gas filtering device at a position closer to the outlet end of the gas outlet circulation branch, the gas-water separation device can better separate the liquid in the cooled dry gas, and the gas filtering device can better filter out impurities that may exist in the dry gas, thereby further ensuring the purity of the dry gas recycled into the storage chamber.

[0023] Furthermore, by arranging a vacuum pipeline in the drying chamber, the drying gas can enter the drying chamber in a vacuum state, thereby ensuring that the purity of the circulating drying gas remains unchanged, and further increasing the number of times the drying gas can be recycled.

[0024] Furthermore, by setting a monitoring device in the storage chamber, drying chamber and / or circulation pipeline, the flow, air pressure, humidity and other parameters of the drying gas are monitored in real time, so that the operator can judge the current condition of the drying gas in real time based on the parameters, and when the condition of the drying gas cannot meet the needs of drying silicon wafers, the drying gas can be replaced in time to ensure the drying effect of the silicon wafers, thereby improving the product yield. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a drying chamber in the prior art;

[0026] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a silicon wafer drying system provided in an embodiment of the utility model.

[0027] The description of each reference numeral is as follows:

[0028] 10-storage chamber; 20-drying chamber;

[0029] 30-circulation pipeline; 300-intake circulation branch; 301-exhaust circulation branch; 302-first valve; 303-heating device; 304-second valve; 305-first pump body; 306-cooling device; 307-gas-water separation device; 308-gas filtering device;

[0030] 40-vacuum pipeline; 400-vacuum extraction branch; 401-vacuum breaking branch; 402-third valve; 403-second pump body; 404-fourth valve;

[0031] 50-cover body; 60-sealing ring;

[0032] 70-intake pipe; 700-fifth valve;

[0033] 80- monitoring device; 800- humidity detector; 801- pressure sensor; 802- flow meter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] In order to make the purpose, advantages and features of the utility model clearer, the utility model is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that the drawings are all in a very simplified form and are not drawn to scale, and are only used to conveniently and clearly assist in explaining the purpose of the embodiments of the utility model. In addition, the structure shown in the drawings is often a part of the actual structure. In particular, the emphasis of each drawing is different, and sometimes different scales are used.

[0035] As used in this specification, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural objects, the term "or" is generally used to include the meaning of "and / or", the term "several" is generally used to include the meaning of "at least one", and the term "at least two" is generally used to include the meaning of "two or more". In addition, the terms "first", "second" and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first", "second" and "third" may explicitly or implicitly include one or at least two of the features, "one end" and "the other end" and "the proximal end" and "the distal end" generally refer to two corresponding parts, which include not only the endpoints, and the terms "installed", "connected" and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral body; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. In addition, as used in this specification, an element disposed on another element generally only indicates that there is a connection, coupling, cooperation or transmission relationship between the two elements, and the connection, coupling, cooperation or transmission between the two elements may be direct or indirect through an intermediate element, and it cannot be understood as indicating or implying the spatial position relationship between the two elements, that is, one element may be in any orientation such as inside, outside, above, below or on one side of another element, unless the content clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "upper", "lower", "top" and "bottom" are generally relative position relationships arranged in the direction of gravity; the terms "vertical, vertical direction" generally refer to the direction of gravity, which is generally perpendicular to the ground, and "horizontal, horizontal plane direction" generally refers to the direction parallel to the ground; for ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this specification can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0036] The utility model aims to provide a silicon wafer drying system to solve the problems of increased production costs and waste of resources caused by direct discharge of drying gas in the prior art.

[0037] Please refer to Figure 1The drying process of silicon wafers is usually implemented by the Marangoni effect. As can be understood by those skilled in the art, the Marangoni effect refers to the phenomenon that mass is transferred by the presence of a surface tension gradient at the interface of two phases with different surface tensions. That is, the liquid with a large surface tension exerts a strong pulling force on the liquid with a small surface tension around it, generating a surface tension gradient, so that the liquid flows from the low surface tension to the high tension direction. This phenomenon often occurs at the gas-liquid interface. When the solute concentration, surfactant concentration and temperature along the cross section change, the surface tension will usually change accordingly. Therefore, in the prior art, the drying chamber 20 is a semi-open component (i.e., there is no top cover), and the drying gas (such as inert gas such as nitrogen) heated by the heating device 303 enters the drying chamber in the form of a pipeline nozzle, and dries the wafers in the drying chamber 20. During the drying process, the drying gas will be directly discharged into the external environment, resulting in an increase in drying costs and a waste of resources. Based on this, the present application provides a silicon wafer drying system, which adds a storage chamber and a circulation pipeline, connects the storage chamber and the drying chamber through the circulation pipeline, and circulates the drying gas in the drying chamber and the storage chamber, so as to form a recycling of the drying gas, which reduces the production cost and the waste of resources. It should be noted that this embodiment only takes the drying process of silicon wafers as an example, which does not mean that the drying system shown in this embodiment can only be used in the semiconductor field. The above technical solution can be used in other scenarios that require recycling to reduce resource waste, and this embodiment does not limit this.

[0038] Please refer to Figure 2 The utility model provides a silicon wafer drying system, including: a storage chamber 10, a drying chamber 20 and a circulation pipeline 30; the storage chamber 10 and the drying chamber 20 are connected by the circulation pipeline 30, the storage chamber 10 is used to store dry gas, the circulation pipeline 30 is used to circulate and transport dry gas between the storage chamber 10 and the drying chamber 20, and the drying chamber 20 is used to accommodate silicon wafers; the circulation pipeline 30 includes at least one circulation branch, the circulation branch connects the storage chamber 10 and the drying chamber 20, and a valve and a pump body are arranged in the circulation branch, the valve is used to open or close the circulation branch, and the pump body is used to drive the dry gas to circulate in the circulation branch. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the dry gas is nitrogen or other inert gas that meets the Marangoni effect, and the drying chamber 20, the storage chamber 10 and the circulation pipeline 30 are all made of SUS316EP stainless steel, and Teflon coating is sprayed on the inner surface. Those skilled in the art can understand that Teflon is a high molecular polymer obtained by polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene as a monomer. The coating formed by Teflon coating has good non-stickiness, heat resistance, moisture resistance, wear resistance, corrosion resistance and low friction coefficient. It is widely used in machinery, automobiles, electronics and other fields. For the specific composition of Teflon coating, please refer to the existing technology, and this application will not repeat it here. Figure 2 In the illustrated example, the circulation pipeline 30 includes two circulation branches, which are used to output dry gas and recover dry gas respectively; in some other embodiments, the circulation pipeline 30 may also be provided with only one circulation branch, and the dry gas may enter the drying chamber 20 when the circulation branch is turned on, and be recovered to the storage chamber 10 when the pump body is running, and the circulation branch may be provided with a heating device 303, a cooling device 306 and a series of auxiliary equipment. At this time, the cooling device 306 should be closer to the storage chamber 10 than the heating device 303 to ensure the purity and recovery rate of the dry gas; in other embodiments, the circulation pipeline 30 may also be provided with three or more circulation branches, each circulation branch corresponding to different functions, such as air intake, recovery, heating, cooling, filtering, etc., and those skilled in the art may configure this according to actual conditions, and this embodiment does not limit this.

[0039] In this configuration, by setting up the storage chamber 10 and the circulation pipeline 30, the storage chamber 10 is connected to the drying chamber 20 through the circulation pipeline 30, so that the drying gas can circulate between the storage chamber 10 and the drying chamber 20. Compared with the existing drying process, the direct discharge of the drying gas during the drying process is avoided, the cost of the drying process is reduced, and the waste of resources such as the drying gas is also reduced.

[0040] As an optional embodiment, please continue to refer to Figure 2 The circulation pipeline 30 includes an air intake circulation branch 300 and an air outlet circulation branch 301, and the air intake circulation branch 300 and the air outlet circulation branch 301 are both connected to the storage chamber 10 and the drying chamber 20; the dry gas enters the drying chamber 20 from the storage chamber 10 through the air intake circulation branch 300 to dry the silicon wafer; after the air pressure in the drying chamber 20 reaches a preset value, the dry gas enters the storage chamber 10 from the drying chamber 20 through the air outlet circulation branch 301. It should be noted that the drying gas enters the drying chamber 20 from the storage chamber 10 through the air inlet circulation branch 300, and dries the silicon wafers contained in the drying chamber 20; when the air pressure in the drying chamber 20 reaches a preset value, the air outlet circulation branch 301 is opened, and the drying gas in the drying chamber 20 is recovered to the storage chamber 10; wherein the preset value can be obtained based on multiple tests, and the preset value can be the air pressure value with the best drying effect, or it can be the critical air pressure value that the drying chamber 20 can withstand.

[0041] Furthermore, the intake air circulation branch 300 is provided with a first valve 302 and a heating device 303; the first valve 302 is used to open or close the intake air circulation branch 300; the heating device 303 is used to heat the dry gas flowing in the intake air circulation branch 300. With such configuration, the intake air circulation branch 300 is provided with a heating device 303, and the dry gas passing through the intake air circulation branch 300 needs to be heated by the heating device 303, thereby improving the drying capacity of the dry gas. Figure 2 In the embodiment, the first valve 302 is closer to the drying chamber 20 than the heating device 303. In other embodiments, the heating device 303 may also be arranged at a position closer to the drying chamber 20, as long as the drying gas can be heated by the heating device 303 before entering the drying chamber 20. In this embodiment, a pipeline nozzle may be provided at the part where the intake circulation branch 300 is connected to the drying chamber 20, and the first valve 302 may be a pneumatic valve. When the first valve 302 is opened to conduct the intake circulation branch 300, a low pressure area may be formed in the drying chamber 20, for example, the suction is in a vacuum state, and the drying gas directly enters the drying chamber 20 from the storage chamber 10 under the action of the pressure difference; or the storage chamber 10 may be continuously supplied with gas, so as to directly replace the air in the drying chamber 20, so as to achieve the purpose of transferring the drying gas from the storage chamber 10 to the drying chamber 20. The structure and use principle of the heating device 303 may refer to the prior art, and this embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0042] Furthermore, the outlet circulation branch 301 is provided with a second valve 304, a first pump body 305 and a cooling device 306; the second valve 304 is used to open or close the outlet circulation branch 301; the first pump body 305 is used to drive the dry gas to flow from the drying chamber 20 to the storage chamber 10; the cooling device 306 is used to cool the dry gas flowing in the outlet circulation branch 301. With such a configuration, the outlet circulation branch 301 is provided with a cooling device 306, and the dry gas passing through the outlet circulation branch 301 needs to be cooled by the cooling device 306, so as to separate the moisture in the dry gas, thereby improving the purity of the dry gas. Figure 2In the embodiment, the second valve 304 is closest to the drying chamber 20, the first pump body 305 is farthest from the drying chamber 20, and the cooling device 306 is arranged between the second valve 304 and the first pump body 305. In other embodiments, the positions of the second valve 304, the first pump body 305 and the cooling device 306 can also be arranged in other ways, as long as it is ensured that the drying gas can be cooled by the cooling device 306 before being recycled to the storage chamber 10. In this embodiment, the second valve 304 can be a pneumatic valve. When the second valve 304 is opened to conduct the outlet circulation branch 301, the first pump body 305 needs to be opened at the same time to suck the drying gas in the drying chamber 20 to form a circulating airflow until the drying is completed. The structure and use principle of the cooling device 306 can refer to the prior art, and this embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0043] As a preferred embodiment, the outlet circulation branch 301 has an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end is located on the side wall of the drying chamber 20, and the outlet end is located on the side wall of the storage chamber 10; the outlet circulation branch 301 is also provided with a gas-water separation device 307 and a gas filter device 308, the gas-water separation device 307 and the gas filter device 308 are closer to the outlet end than the cooling device 306, the gas-water separation device 307 is used to separate the liquid in the dried gas after cooling; the gas filter device 308 is used to filter the impurities in the dried gas. In this configuration, by arranging the gas-water separation device 307 and the gas filter device 308 on the outlet circulation branch 301, and arranging the gas-water separation device 307 and the gas filter device 308 at a position closer to the outlet end of the outlet circulation branch 301, the gas-water separation device 307 can better separate the liquid in the dried gas after cooling, and the gas filter device 308 can better filter the impurities that may exist in the dried gas, further ensuring the purity of the dried gas recycled to the storage chamber 10. It should be noted that Figure 2 In the embodiment, the outlet circulation branch 301 is a linear pipeline, and the gas-water separation device 307 and the gas filter device 308 need to be arranged closer to the storage chamber 10 than the cooling device 306, so that the gas-water separation device 307 and the gas filter device 308 can absorb the moisture and impurities generated by the dry gas after being cooled by the cooling device 306, thereby further ensuring the recovery purity of the dry gas. The structure and use principle of the gas-water separation device 307 and the gas filter device 308 can refer to the prior art, and will not be repeated in this embodiment.

[0044] Please continue to refer to Figure 2In another optional embodiment, the silicon wafer drying system further includes a vacuum pipeline 40, which is connected to the side wall of the drying chamber 20. The vacuum pipeline 40 is used to pump the drying chamber 20 into a vacuum state before drying; and to release the vacuum state of the drying chamber 20 after drying is completed. In this configuration, by providing the vacuum pipeline 40 in the drying chamber 20, the drying gas can enter the drying chamber 20 in a vacuum state, thereby ensuring that the purity of the recycled drying gas remains unchanged, further increasing the number of times the drying gas is recycled. It should be noted that the vacuum pipeline 40 is made of SUS316EP stainless steel. Figure 2 In the illustrated example, the vacuum pipeline 40 includes two vacuum branches, one of which is used to suck the gas in the drying chamber 20 before drying to make the drying chamber 20 a vacuum state; the other vacuum branch is used to introduce gas from the outside after drying is completed to release the vacuum state in the drying chamber 20, so that the cover 50 of the drying chamber 20 can be opened and the next batch of silicon wafers can be replaced for drying. In other embodiments, the vacuum pipeline 40 may also include only one vacuum branch. Before drying, the vacuum branch is opened through a valve, and the gas is sucked through the pump body to form a vacuum; after drying is completed, only the vacuum branch is opened, and the external gas is introduced into the drying chamber 20. Those skilled in the art may configure this according to actual conditions, and this embodiment does not limit this. In some other embodiments, the silicon wafer drying system may not include the vacuum pipeline 40, but only an exhaust pipeline (not shown in the figure) is set on the side wall of the drying chamber 20. After the drying process starts, the first valve 302 turns on the air intake circulation branch 300, and the dry gas located in the storage chamber 10 diffuses into the drying chamber 20 through the air intake circulation branch 300, and squeezes part of the gas in the drying chamber 20 to be discharged from the drying chamber 20 through the exhaust pipeline, until a sufficient amount of dry gas flows into the drying chamber 20 (monitored and fed back by the flow meter 802 located on the air intake circulation branch 300, and the sufficient amount of dry gas can be determined according to the volume of the drying chamber 20), and the exhaust pipeline is closed. At this time, the dry chamber 20 contains a mixture of dry gas and other gases. However, it should be noted that in the scheme of directly using dry gas to replace the original gas in the drying chamber 20, after the drying is completed, the purity and volume of the dry gas recovered through the exhaust circulation branch 301 will be reduced.

[0045] Furthermore, the vacuum pipeline 40 includes a vacuum branch 400 and a vacuum breaking branch 401; the vacuum branch 400 is provided with a third valve 402 and a second pump body 403, the third valve 402 is used to open or close the vacuum branch 400, and the second pump body 403 is used to extract the gas in the drying chamber 20; the vacuum breaking branch 401 is provided with a fourth valve 404, the fourth valve 404 is used to open or close the vacuum breaking branch 401 to introduce external gas into the drying chamber 20. Figure 2 In the illustrated example, the third valve 402 and the fourth valve 404 can both be pneumatic valves. One end of the vacuum branch 400 and the vacuum breaking branch 401 are connected to the side wall of the drying chamber 20, and the other end is connected to the external environment. Before the drying begins, the vacuum branch 400 is opened through the third valve 402, and the gas in the drying chamber 20 is sucked through the second pump body 403 to form a vacuum state; after the drying is completed, the vacuum breaking branch 401 is opened through the fourth valve 404, and the external gas is introduced into the drying chamber 20, so that the air pressure in the drying chamber 20 is restored to a normal value.

[0046] As an alternative embodiment, the silicon wafer drying system further includes a cover 50 and a driving device (not shown in the figure), the cover 50 is connected to the driving device, and the driving device is used to drive the cover 50 to open or close the drying chamber 20; wherein, a sealing ring 60 is provided on the side of the cover 50 close to the drying chamber 20. It should be noted that the cover 50 can be made of SUS316EP stainless steel, and the driving device can be a cylinder. Figure 2 Taking the embodiment shown as an example, before the drying starts, the driving device drives the cover 50 to open the drying chamber 20, a batch of silicon wafers are placed in the drying chamber 20, and the cover 50 is driven to close the drying chamber 20, and then the inside of the drying chamber 20 is sucked into a vacuum state through the vacuum branch 400; after the drying is completed, the external gas is introduced into the drying chamber 20 through the vacuum breaking branch 401, so that the air pressure in the drying chamber 20 is restored to a normal level, and the vacuum state in the drying chamber 20 is released. At the same time, the driving device drives the cover 50 to open the drying chamber 20, and the next batch of silicon wafers to be dried are replaced and enter the drying chamber 20. Among them, a sealing ring 60 is also provided on the side of the cover 50 close to the drying chamber 20, which is used to improve the sealing performance of the drying chamber 20, so that the drying chamber 20 can ensure sealing during the drying process, which is conducive to improving the purity of the drying gas and increasing the number of cycles of the drying gas. The structure and use principle of the driving device can refer to the prior art, and this embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0047] In another alternative embodiment, the silicon wafer drying system further includes an air intake pipeline 70, which is connected to the side wall of the storage chamber 10, and the air intake pipeline 70 is used to supply dry gas into the storage chamber 10; wherein the air intake pipeline 70 is provided with a fifth valve 700, and the fifth valve 700 is used to open or close the air intake pipeline 70. In this embodiment, the air intake pipeline 70 is made of SUS316EP stainless steel, and the fifth valve 700 is a pneumatic valve. One end of the air intake pipeline 70 is connected to the side wall of the storage chamber 10, and the other end is connected to the gas supply device (not shown in the figure). Before the drying starts, the dry gas is transported from the gas supply device to the storage chamber 10 by opening the fifth valve 700, so as to realize the storage of the dry gas in the storage chamber 10.

[0048] In an optional embodiment, the silicon wafer drying system further includes a monitoring device 80, which is disposed in the storage chamber 10, the drying chamber 20 and / or the circulation pipeline 30, and is used to monitor the corresponding parameters of the drying gas. It should be noted that the monitoring device 80 includes: a humidity detector 800, a pressure sensor 801 and a flow meter 802. Among them, the humidity detector 800 is disposed inside the storage chamber 10, and is used to detect the humidity of the drying gas in the storage chamber 10; the pressure sensor 801 is respectively disposed inside the storage chamber 10 and the drying chamber 20, and is used to monitor the air pressure in the storage chamber 10 and the drying chamber 20; the flow meter 802 is disposed in the intake circulation branch 300, and is used to monitor the flow of the drying gas entering the drying chamber 20 through the intake circulation branch 300. In this configuration, by setting a monitoring device 80 in the storage chamber 10, the drying chamber 20 and / or the circulation pipeline 30, the flow rate, air pressure, humidity and other parameters of the drying gas are monitored in real time, so that the operator can judge the current state of the drying gas in real time based on the parameters, and when the state of the drying gas cannot meet the demand for drying silicon wafers (monitored and fed back by the humidity detector 800 located in the storage chamber 10), the drying gas is replaced in time to ensure the drying effect of the silicon wafer, thereby improving the product yield. In other embodiments, the monitoring device 80 may also include other types of components, such as temperature sensors, etc. Those skilled in the art may configure the monitoring device 80 according to actual conditions, and this embodiment does not limit this. The structure and use principle of each monitoring device 80 can refer to the prior art, and this embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0049] Combine the following Figure 2 The use principle of the silicon wafer drying system provided by the embodiment of the utility model is further explained.

[0050] Before the drying process begins, the first valve 302 and the second valve 304 are closed, and the fifth valve 700 is opened, so that the storage chamber 10 is filled with dry gas. At the same time, the third valve 402 and the fourth valve 404 are closed, and the driving device drives the cover body 50 to open the drying chamber 20, and a batch of silicon wafers to be dried are placed in the drying chamber 20, and then the cover body 50 is driven to close the drying chamber 20; then the third valve 402 and the second pump body 403 are opened, and the gas in the drying chamber 20 is sucked by the second pump body 403, so that the drying chamber 20 is in a vacuum state (monitored and fed back by the pressure sensor 801 located in the drying chamber 20); then the third valve 402 is closed, and the first valve 302 is opened, and the dry gas flows from the storage chamber 10 to the drying chamber 20 under the action of the pressure difference. After the air pressure inside the drying chamber 20 reaches a preset value (monitored and fed back by the pressure sensor 801 located in the drying chamber 20), the pressure in the drying chamber 20 is reduced to a certain value. 01 monitoring and feedback), open the second valve 304 and the first pump body 305, and suck the dry gas in the drying chamber 20 through the first pump body 305, so that the dry gas circulates from the drying chamber 20 to the storage chamber 10; when a sufficient amount of dry gas enters the drying chamber 20 (monitored and fed back by the flow meter 802 located in the air intake circulation branch 300), close the first valve 302, and the second valve 304 and the first pump body 305 continue to operate until the drying chamber 20 is in a vacuum state again (monitored and fed back by the pressure sensor 801 located in the drying chamber 20), and close the second valve 304 and the first pump body 305; finally, open the fourth valve 404, introduce external gas into the drying chamber 20, restore the air pressure of the drying chamber 20, and the driving device drives the cover body 50 to punch the drying chamber 20, remove the dried silicon wafers, and replace them with the next batch of silicon wafers that need to be dried, and repeat the above operation.

[0051] It should be noted that Figure 2 In the shown example, the volume of the drying chamber 20 is 80L, and the number of silicon wafers dried at a single time is 50. Compared with the drying device in the prior art, the silicon wafer drying system provided in the embodiment of the present application can reduce the drying gas consumption by about 150L for a single drying, which can significantly reduce production costs and waste of resources.

[0052] In summary, the silicon wafer drying system provided in the embodiment of the utility model includes: a storage chamber, a drying chamber and a circulation pipeline; the storage chamber and the drying chamber are connected by the circulation pipeline, the storage chamber is used to store dry gas, the circulation pipeline is used to circulate and transport dry gas between the storage chamber and the drying chamber, and the drying chamber is used to accommodate silicon wafers; the circulation pipeline includes at least one circulation branch, the circulation branch connects the storage chamber and the drying chamber, a valve and a pump body are arranged in the circulation branch, the valve is used to open or close the circulation branch, and the pump body is used to drive the dry gas to circulate in the circulation branch.

[0053] With such configuration, by setting up a storage chamber and a circulation pipeline, the storage chamber is connected to the drying chamber through the circulation pipeline, so that the drying gas can circulate between the storage chamber and the drying chamber. Compared with the existing drying process, the direct discharge of the drying gas during the drying process is avoided, the cost of the drying process is reduced, and the waste of resources such as drying gas is also reduced.

[0054] Furthermore, by setting up an air intake circulation branch and an air outlet circulation branch, and setting up a heating device in the air intake circulation branch, the dry gas has a better drying ability when being dried in the drying chamber; at the same time, a cooling device is set in the air outlet circulation branch to cool and separate the dried gas after drying, so as to better remove the water vapor contained in the gas.

[0055] Furthermore, by arranging a gas-water separation device and a gas filtering device on the gas outlet circulation branch, and arranging the gas-water separation device and the gas filtering device at a position closer to the outlet end of the gas outlet circulation branch, the gas-water separation device can better separate the liquid in the cooled dry gas, and the gas filtering device can better filter out impurities that may exist in the dry gas, thereby further ensuring the purity of the dry gas recycled into the storage chamber.

[0056] Furthermore, by arranging a vacuum pipeline in the drying chamber, the drying gas can enter the drying chamber in a vacuum state, thereby ensuring that the purity of the circulating drying gas remains unchanged, and further increasing the number of times the drying gas can be recycled.

[0057] Furthermore, by setting a monitoring device in the storage chamber, drying chamber and / or circulation pipeline, the flow, air pressure, humidity and other parameters of the drying gas are monitored in real time, so that the operator can judge the current condition of the drying gas in real time based on the parameters, and when the condition of the drying gas cannot meet the needs of drying silicon wafers, the drying gas can be replaced in time to ensure the drying effect of the silicon wafers, thereby improving the product yield.

[0058] The above description is only a description of the preferred embodiment of the utility model, and is not any limitation on the scope of the utility model. Any changes and modifications made by ordinary technicians in the field of the utility model based on the above disclosure shall fall within the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A silicon wafer drying system, characterized in that: include: Storage chamber, drying chamber and circulation pipeline; The storage chamber and the drying chamber are connected via the circulation pipeline, the storage chamber is used to store dry gas, the circulation pipeline is used to circulate and transport the dry gas between the storage chamber and the drying chamber, and the drying chamber is used to accommodate silicon wafers; The circulation pipeline includes at least one circulation branch, which connects the storage chamber and the drying chamber. A valve and a pump body are provided in the circulation branch. The valve is used to open or close the circulation branch, and the pump body is used to drive the drying gas to flow in the circulation branch.

2. The silicon wafer drying system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The circulation pipeline includes an air intake circulation branch and an air outlet circulation branch, and the air intake circulation branch and the air outlet circulation branch are both connected to the storage chamber and the drying chamber; The drying gas enters the drying chamber from the storage chamber through the air inlet circulation branch to dry the silicon wafer; after the air pressure in the drying chamber reaches a preset value, the drying gas enters the storage chamber from the drying chamber through the air outlet circulation branch.

3. The silicon wafer drying system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The air intake circulation branch is provided with a first valve and a heating device; the first valve is used to open or close the air intake circulation branch; the heating device is used to heat the dry gas flowing in the air intake circulation branch.

4. The silicon wafer drying system according to claim 2, characterized in that: A second valve, a first pump body and a cooling device are provided in the gas outlet circulation branch; the second valve is used to open or close the gas outlet circulation branch; the first pump body is used to drive the dry gas to flow from the drying chamber to the storage chamber; the cooling device is used to cool the dry gas flowing in the gas outlet circulation branch.

5. The silicon wafer drying system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The air outlet circulation branch has an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end is located on the side wall of the drying chamber, and the outlet end is located on the side wall of the storage chamber; The gas outlet circulation branch is also provided with a gas-water separation device and a gas filtering device. The gas-water separation device and the gas filtering device are closer to the outlet end than the cooling device. The gas-water separation device is used to separate the liquid in the cooled dry gas; the gas filtering device is used to filter impurities in the dry gas.

6. The silicon wafer drying system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The silicon wafer drying system also includes a vacuum pipeline, which is connected to the side wall of the drying chamber. The vacuum pipeline is used to pump the drying chamber into a vacuum state before drying; and to release the vacuum state of the drying chamber after drying is completed.

7. The silicon wafer drying system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The vacuum pipeline includes a vacuum pumping branch and a vacuum breaking branch; the vacuum pumping branch is provided with a third valve and a second pump body, the third valve is used to open or close the vacuum pumping branch, and the second pump body is used to extract the gas in the drying chamber; the vacuum breaking branch is provided with a fourth valve, and the fourth valve is used to open or close the vacuum breaking branch to introduce external gas into the drying chamber.

8. The silicon wafer drying system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The silicon wafer drying system also includes a cover body and a driving device, wherein the cover body is connected to the driving device, and the driving device is used to drive the cover body to open or close the drying chamber; wherein a sealing ring is provided on one side of the cover body close to the drying chamber.

9. The silicon wafer drying system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The silicon wafer drying system also includes an air intake pipeline, which is connected to the side wall of the storage chamber and is used to supply the drying gas to enter the storage chamber; wherein the air intake pipeline is provided with a fifth valve, and the fifth valve is used to open or close the air intake pipeline.

10. The silicon wafer drying system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The silicon wafer drying system further comprises a monitoring device, which is disposed in the storage chamber, the drying chamber and / or the circulation pipeline and is used to monitor corresponding parameters of the drying gas.

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