Automatic cleaning valve and semiconductor processing equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the utility model relates to the technical field of valves, in particular to an automatic cleaning valve and semiconductor processing equipment. The valve comprises a valve body, a valve plate and a cleaning part. The valve body comprises a front valve body and a rear valve body which are arranged in the fluid flowing direction, and fluid flows from the front valve body to the rear valve body. The valve plate is arranged on a fluid flowing path in the front valve body, and the opening degree of the automatic cleaning valve is controlled through rotation of the valve plate; the cleaning part comprises a scraper and a telescopic component which are arranged between the rear valve body and the front valve body, and a driving piece for pushing the scraper to move along the inner wall of the valve body. According to the automatic cleaning valve and the semiconductor processing equipment provided by the embodiment of the invention, valve sediments can be automatically cleaned, the downtime of the equipment is shortened, and the working efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of valve technology, and in particular to an automatic cleaning valve and semiconductor processing equipment. Background Art

[0002] The pressure control valve is a valve device that can automatically adjust the pressure of the cavity. Its working principle is to feed back the pressure in the vacuum cavity to the pressure control valve through the monitoring system, and the pressure control valve automatically adjusts the valve opening to achieve the purpose of adjusting the pressure in the control valve cavity. The semiconductor processing process usually includes etching, thin film deposition, degumming and other processes. In the processing of these processes, it is usually necessary to introduce reaction gases into the chamber of the processing equipment. After the process is completed, the reaction by-products and excess gases need to be pumped away through the exhaust pipe by the exhaust pump. In order to control the pressure in the chamber, it is necessary to install a pressure control valve on the exhaust pipe. The reaction by-products and excess gases are pumped away by the exhaust pump after passing through the pressure control valve.

[0003] The byproducts of the reactions of the common dry wafer deposition, degumming and etching equipment are easily deposited on the inner wall of the pressure control valve, especially the inner wall of the low-pressure end of the valve. Since the reaction chamber is at high temperature and high pressure, and the vacuum pump is at low temperature and low pressure, the gas suddenly changes from high pressure to low pressure at the pressure control valve, and the gas volume expands and absorbs heat, the temperature will drop accordingly, and the byproducts will change from gas to solid and deposit on the inner wall of the low-pressure end of the valve. Too many byproducts deposited at the valve will cause the valve to malfunction and require regular maintenance. The existing method of cleaning the valve requires shutting down the equipment, then opening the valve and using tools to manually clean it. The maintenance of the components on the vacuum side of the vacuum dry system also requires breaking the vacuum, which not only affects the normal use of the equipment, but also has low cleaning efficiency. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide an automatic cleaning valve and semiconductor processing equipment, which can automatically clean the deposits in the valve, reduce equipment downtime, and improve valve cleaning efficiency.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the embodiment of the present application provides an automatic cleaning valve, which includes a valve body, a valve plate and a cleaning part. The valve body includes a front valve body and a rear valve body arranged along the fluid flow direction; the valve plate is arranged on the fluid flow path in the front valve body, and the rotation of the valve plate controls the opening of the automatic cleaning valve; the cleaning part includes a scraper and a telescopic member arranged between the rear valve body and the front valve body, and a driving member that pushes the scraper to move along the inner wall of the valve body.

[0006] In addition, an embodiment of the present application also provides a semiconductor processing equipment, including the above-mentioned automatic cleaning valve and a reaction chamber, the reaction chamber is connected to an exhaust pipe, the exhaust pipe is connected to an exhaust pump, and the valve is installed at one end of the exhaust pipe away from the reaction chamber.

[0007] The embodiments of the present application provide an automatic cleaning valve and semiconductor processing equipment, which divides the valve body into a front valve body and a rear valve body, and a cleaning part including a scraper, a telescopic member and a driving member is arranged between the two. Under the control of the control system, the driving member pushes the scraper to move along the inner wall of the valve body, thereby grinding the sediment on the inner wall of the valve body through physical friction, and then the vacuum pump is turned on to suck away the sediment debris, thereby achieving the effect of automatically cleaning the valve. In this way, automatic cleaning of valve sediment can be achieved, reducing equipment downtime and improving work efficiency.

[0008] In some embodiments, the scraper includes a scraper handle connected to the valve body and a scraper ring vertically arranged at one end of the scraper handle and close to the inner wall of the valve body.

[0009] In some embodiments, the scraper ring has a wedge-shaped tip.

[0010] In some embodiments, the telescoping member is a bellows.

[0011] In some embodiments, the scraper handle is disposed in the middle of the bellows.

[0012] In some embodiments, the driving member is disposed on the outer wall of the front valve body and connected to the scraper.

[0013] In some embodiments, the automatic cleaning valve further comprises a rotating shaft fixed to the valve plate by screws, and the rotating shaft is disposed on the inner wall of the front valve body. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] One or more embodiments are exemplarily described by pictures in the corresponding drawings, and these exemplified descriptions do not constitute limitations on the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings represent similar elements, and unless otherwise stated, the figures in the drawings do not constitute proportional limitations.

[0015] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an automatic cleaning valve provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0016] Figure 2 is another cross-sectional schematic diagram of an automatic cleaning valve provided by some embodiments of the present application without a rotating shaft;

[0017] Figure 3 is a top view of an automatic cleaning valve provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0018] Figure 4 is a top view of a scraper in an automatic cleaning valve provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0019] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of semiconductor processing equipment provided by some embodiments of the present application.

[0020] Explanation of the reference numerals: 11-valve body; 111-front valve body; 112-rear valve body; 12-valve plate; 13-cleaning part; 131-scraper; 1311-scraper handle; 1312-scraper ring; 132-telescopic member; 133-driving member; 14-rotating shaft; 15-exhaust pipe; 16-exhaust pump; 17-reaction chamber. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] To make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, each embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in each embodiment of the present application, many technical details are proposed in order to enable the reader to better understand the present application. However, even without these technical details and various changes and modifications based on the following embodiments, the technical scheme claimed in the present application can also be implemented. The division of the following embodiments is for the convenience of description, and the specific implementation of the present application should not constitute any limitation, and the various embodiments can be combined with each other and referenced to each other without contradiction.

[0022] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by technicians in the technical field to which this application belongs; the terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application; the terms "including" and "having" in the specification and claims of this application and the above-mentioned figure descriptions and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

[0023] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the technical terms "first", "second", etc. are only used to distinguish different objects, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number, specific order or primary and secondary relationship of the indicated technical features. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the meaning of "multiple" is more than two, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0024] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, technical terms such as "installed", "connected", "connected" and the like should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, and it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0025] A pressure control valve is a device that can automatically adjust the pressure of a cavity. Its working principle is to feed back the pressure in the vacuum cavity to the pressure control valve through a monitoring system, and the pressure control valve automatically adjusts the valve opening, thereby achieving the purpose of adjusting the pressure in the control valve cavity. The semiconductor processing process usually includes etching, thin film deposition, degumming and other processes. During the processing of these processes, it is usually necessary to introduce reaction gases into the chamber of the processing equipment. After the process is completed, the reaction by-products and excess gases need to be pumped away through the exhaust pipe by a vacuum pump. In order to control the pressure in the chamber, a pressure control valve needs to be installed on the exhaust pipe. The reaction by-products and excess gases are pumped away by the exhaust pump after passing through the pressure control valve.

[0026] The byproducts of the reactions of the common dry wafer deposition, degumming and etching equipment are easily deposited on the inner wall of the pressure control valve, especially the inner wall of the low-pressure end of the valve. Since the reaction chamber is at high temperature and high pressure, and the vacuum pump is at low temperature and low pressure, the gas suddenly changes from high pressure to low pressure at the pressure control valve, and the gas volume expands and absorbs heat, the temperature will drop accordingly, and the byproducts will change from gas to solid and deposit on the inner wall of the low-pressure end of the valve. Too many byproducts deposited at the valve will cause the valve to malfunction and require regular maintenance. The existing method of cleaning the valve requires shutting down the equipment, then opening the valve and using tools to manually clean it. The maintenance of the components on the vacuum side of the vacuum dry system also requires breaking the vacuum, which not only affects the normal use of the equipment, but also has low cleaning efficiency.

[0027] Therefore, in order to realize automatic cleaning of valve deposits, reduce equipment downtime, and improve valve cleaning efficiency. Some embodiments of the present application provide an automatic cleaning valve and semiconductor processing equipment, by dividing the valve body into a front valve body and a rear valve body, and a cleaning part including a scraper and a telescopic member is arranged between the two. Under the control of the control system, the driving member pushes the scraper to move along the inner wall of the valve body, thereby grinding the deposits on the inner wall of the valve body through physical friction, and then turning on the vacuum pump to suck away the deposit debris, so as to achieve the effect of automatically cleaning the valve. In this way, it is possible to realize automatic cleaning of valve deposits, reduce equipment downtime, and improve work efficiency.

[0028] Combine the following Figure 1 , Figure 2 An automatic cleaning valve provided in some embodiments of the present application is described.

[0029] like Figure 1As shown, some embodiments of the present application provide an automatic cleaning valve, which includes a valve body 11, a valve plate 12 and a cleaning part 13. The valve body 11 includes a front valve body 111 and a rear valve body 112 arranged along the fluid flow direction; the valve plate 12 is arranged on the fluid flow path in the front valve body 111, and the rotation of the valve plate 12 controls the opening of the automatic cleaning valve; the cleaning part 13 includes a scraper 131 and a telescopic member 132 arranged between the rear valve body 112 and the front valve body 111, and a driving member 133 that pushes the scraper 131 to move along the inner wall of the valve body 11.

[0030] It should be noted that the valve is in the shape of a hollow cylinder and is connected to the exhaust pipe 15 of the device. The fluid in the valve body 11 flows from the front valve body 111 to the rear valve body 112. The front valve body 111 is connected to the reaction chamber of the device, and the rear valve body 112 is connected to the exhaust pump 16. The reaction chamber is high temperature and high pressure, while the exhaust pump 16 is low temperature and low pressure. The reaction gas and the by-products in the gas state suddenly change from high pressure to low pressure at the valve, and their volume expands rapidly and absorbs heat. The temperature will drop accordingly, and the by-products will change from gas to solid and deposit on the inner wall of the valve body 11 behind the valve plate 12. The sediment on the inner wall of the valve body 11 will increase, affecting the rotation of the valve plate 12, and needs to be cleaned in time. The cleaning part 13 divides the valve body 11 into two parts, front and back. The valve plate 12 is set on the inner wall of the middle position of the front valve body 111 and can rotate. One side of the scraper 131 is close to the inner wall of the valve body 11 behind the valve plate 12. The telescopic member 132 is sealed between the scraper 131 and the front valve body 111 or the rear valve body 112 to assist the movement of the scraper 131. Under the control of the control system, the driving member 133 pushes the scraper 131 to move along the inner wall of the valve body 11, thereby grinding the sediment on the inner wall of the valve body 11 through physical friction, and then the vacuum pump 16 is turned on to suck away the sediment debris, achieving the effect of automatically cleaning the valve.

[0031] When in use, first connect the front valve body 111 to the air extraction pipe 15, connect the rear valve body 112 to the air extraction pump 16, push the scraper 131 to move to the position farthest from the valve plate 12 through the driving member 133, maintain the valve at a certain opening, and the equipment works normally. Check the opening and closing torque of the valve plate 12 at any time. When the torque is close to but less than the maximum value that the valve plate 12 can rotate, then close the valve and the equipment, and move the scraper 131 back and forth on the inner wall of the valve body 11 through the driving member 133 and the telescopic member 132 to break the sediment on the inner wall. Finally, start the air extraction pump 16 to suck away the sediment debris, open the valve to a certain opening, push the scraper 131 to the position farthest from the valve plate 12, and start the equipment to work normally.

[0032] The embodiment of the present application provides an automatic cleaning valve, which divides the valve body 11 into a front valve body 111 and a rear valve body 112, and a cleaning part 13 including a scraper 131, a telescopic member 132 and a driving member 133 is arranged between the two. Under the control of the control system, the driving member 133 pushes the scraper 131 to move along the inner wall of the valve body 11, thereby grinding the sediment on the inner wall of the valve body 11 through physical friction, and then the vacuum pump 16 is turned on to suck away the sediment debris, thereby achieving the effect of automatically cleaning the valve. In this way, automatic cleaning of valve sediment can be achieved, reducing equipment downtime and improving work efficiency.

[0033] In some embodiments of the present application, the scraper 131 includes a scraper handle 1311 connected to the valve body 11 and a scraper ring 1312 vertically arranged at one end of the scraper handle 1311 and close to the inner wall of the valve body 11 .

[0034] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 as well as Figure 4 As shown, the scraper 131 is in a bilaterally symmetrical L-shape in the front cross-sectional view, in a circular ring shape in the top view, and in a three-dimensional view, it is similar to the shape of a hat with an opening on the top. The scraper handle 1311 is set between the front valve body 111 and the rear valve body 112 and is the same size as the valve body 11. The scraper ring 1312 is parallel to the inner wall of the valve body 11 and is close to the inner cavity wall of the valve body 11. The width of the scraper ring 1312 is slightly smaller than the distance between the scraper handle 1311 and the valve plate 12, ensuring that the scraper ring 1312 does not touch the valve plate 12 when the scraper 131 moves toward the valve plate 12. When the equipment is working, the scraper ring 1312 is away from the valve plate 12. When the by-products are deposited to a certain extent, the scraper ring 1312 moves toward the valve plate 12 under the action of the telescopic member 132. The scraper ring 1312 moves back and forth repeatedly to remove and grind the sediment attached to the inner wall through physical friction, and finally is sucked away by the vacuum pump 16, thereby cleaning the valve.

[0035] In some embodiments of the present application, the end of the scraper ring 1312 is wedge-shaped.

[0036] It should be noted that the scraper ring 1312 can be made of metal such as stainless steel, aluminum, or other wear-resistant materials. When moving, the wedge-shaped scraper ring 1312 can be easily inserted into the contact surface between the sediment and the inner wall, making it convenient to remove the sediment.

[0037] In some embodiments of the present application, the telescopic member 132 is a bellows.

[0038] It should be noted that the bellows (not shown in the figure) is annular, arranged between the front valve body 111 and the rear valve body 112, and sealed with the valve body 11. The telescopic property of the bellows is utilized to ensure that the telescopic member 132 does not destroy the sealing of the valve body 11 while assisting in pushing the scraper 131 back and forth.

[0039] In some embodiments of the present application, the scraper handle 1311 is disposed in the middle of the bellows.

[0040] It should be noted that the scraper handle 1311 is set in the middle position of the bellows, and the scraper handle 1311 can move back and forth under the action of the driving member 133; when the scraper handle 1311 is set on the rear valve body 112 and the bellows is set on the front valve body 111, the scraper handle 1311 needs to move together with the rear valve body 112, and the rear valve body 112 is connected to the vacuum pump 16 through a pipeline, which increases the difficulty of moving the scraper 131; when the scraper handle 1311 is set on the front valve body 111 and the bellows is set on the rear valve body 112, the scraper 131 needs to move together with the front valve body 111, and the front valve body 111 is connected to equipment through a pipeline, and the weight of the equipment makes it impossible to move the scraper 131. Therefore, the middle position of the bellows is the preferred installation position of the scraper handle 1311, and there are bellows at both ends of the scraper handle 1311, which is conducive to the back and forth movement of the scraper 131.

[0041] In some embodiments of the present application, the driving member 133 is disposed on the outer wall of the front valve body 111 and connected to the scraper 131 .

[0042] It should be noted that when the scraper 131 is located in the middle of the telescopic member 132, the driving member 133 can be arranged on the outer wall of the front valve body 111 or the outer wall of the rear valve body 112; when the scraper 131 is arranged on the rear valve body 112 and the telescopic member 132 is arranged on the front valve body 111, the driving member can only be installed on the front valve body 111; however, when the driving member 133 works and drives the scraper 131 to move, the driving member 133 will be subjected to a force opposite to the driving force of the scraper 131, so the position where the driving member 133 is installed must withstand this opposite force, and the front valve body 111 is connected to the equipment through a pipeline, and its weight is heavier, which is more conducive to bearing this opposite force. It is a better choice to arrange the driving member 133 on the outer wall of the front valve body 111. The driving member 133 can be electric or pneumatic, and can be an electric push rod.

[0043] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the automatic cleaning valve further includes a rotating shaft 14 fixed to the valve plate 12 by screws, and the rotating shaft 14 is arranged on the inner wall of the front valve body 111 .

[0044] That is to say, the valve plate 12 is driven to rotate by the rotation of the rotating shaft 14, and the rotating shaft 14 is connected to a motor or other common power source. This valve is a butterfly valve, which can be a pressure-controlled butterfly valve.

[0045] Some embodiments of the present application also provide a semiconductor processing equipment, including any one of the above-mentioned automatic cleaning valves and a reaction chamber 17, the reaction chamber 17 is connected to an exhaust pipe 15, the exhaust pipe 15 is connected to an exhaust pump 16, and the valve is installed at one end of the exhaust pipe 15 away from the reaction chamber 17.

[0046] Specifically, such semiconductor processing equipment includes dry wafer deposition, degumming and etching equipment, etc. After the gas reaction occurs in the reaction chamber 17, it is pumped away by the pump 16, and the reaction byproducts are easily deposited on the inner wall of the pressure control valve on the pumping pipe 15. Figure 5 As shown, the automatic cleaning valve is installed in the exhaust pipe 15 of the semiconductor processing equipment, the front valve body 111 is connected to the reaction chamber 17 through the exhaust pipe 15, and the rear valve body 112 is connected to the exhaust pump 16. The exhaust pipe 15 of the semiconductor equipment is divided into two parts, the upper and lower parts, by the automatic cleaning valve. When the scraper 131 is set in the middle of the telescopic member 132, in order to ensure the normal operation of the telescopic member 132, the upper and lower parts of the exhaust pipe 15 need to be fixedly installed, and space is left for the extension and contraction of the telescopic member 132 and the movement of the scraper 131.

[0047] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above-mentioned embodiments are specific examples for implementing the present application, and in actual applications, various changes may be made thereto in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An automatic cleaning valve, characterized in that: include: The valve body comprises a front valve body and a rear valve body arranged along the fluid flow direction; A valve plate, arranged on the fluid flow path in the front valve body, wherein the rotation of the valve plate controls the opening of the automatic cleaning valve; The cleaning part comprises a scraper and a telescopic member arranged between the rear valve body and the front valve body, and a driving member for pushing the scraper to move along the inner wall of the valve body.

2. An automatic cleaning valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: The scraper comprises a scraper handle connected to the valve body and a scraper ring vertically arranged at one end of the scraper handle and close to the inner wall of the valve body.

3. An automatic cleaning valve according to claim 2, characterized in that: The end of the scraper ring is wedge-shaped.

4. An automatic cleaning valve according to claim 2, characterized in that: The telescopic member is a bellows.

5. An automatic cleaning valve according to claim 4, characterized in that: The scraper handle is arranged in the middle of the corrugated tube.

6. The automatic cleaning valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving member is arranged on the outer wall of the front valve body and is connected with the scraper.

7. The automatic cleaning valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a rotating shaft fixed to the valve plate by screws, and the rotating shaft is arranged on the inner wall of the front valve body.

8. A semiconductor processing equipment, characterized in that: It comprises an automatic cleaning valve and a reaction chamber as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the reaction chamber is connected to an exhaust pipe, the exhaust pipe is connected to an exhaust pump, and the valve is installed at one end of the exhaust pipe away from the reaction chamber.

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