Impurity collection system, water quality testing system and liquid manufacturing and supply system
The system addresses inefficiencies in analyzing multiple impurities by using branch paths and controlled flow conditions based on background concentrations, ensuring optimal analysis for each impurity and continuous processing.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2025549557
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2024-07-22
- Filing Date
- 2025-05-08
- Publication Date
- 2025-12-15
- Estimated Expiration
- 2045-05-08
AI Technical Summary
Existing systems face difficulties in efficiently analyzing multiple types of impurities in a liquid due to challenges in optimizing flow conditions based on the elements and concentration levels of the impurities.
The system employs a control device to manage multiple branch paths from a flow path, controlling the flow conditions of the test liquid based on pre-measured background concentrations for each impurity, using ion exchanger units, on-off valves, and three-way valves to optimize the analysis process.
This approach allows for efficient analysis of multiple impurities by ensuring optimal flow conditions for each impurity, enabling continuous and comprehensive analysis with minimal overlap in processing times.
Smart Images

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Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] The present invention relates to an impurity acquisition system, a water quality inspection system, and a liquid manufacturing and supply system. [Background technology]
[0002] In a system for analyzing impurities in a test liquid using an adsorbent that adsorbs the impurities, a technique has been devised for switching between passing the test liquid through the adsorbent and passing an eluent that elutes the impurities adsorbed to the adsorbent through the adsorbent (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]
[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-120536 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0004] The above-described techniques have a problem in that when analyzing multiple types of impurities contained in a liquid to be inspected, it is difficult to perform efficient analysis according to the elements and concentration levels of the impurities.
[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an impurity acquisition system, a water quality testing system, and a liquid manufacturing and supply system that can perform efficient analysis when analyzing multiple types of impurities. [Means for solving the problem]
[0006] The impurity acquisition system of the present invention comprises: An impurity acquisition system for acquiring a plurality of impurities in a test target liquid, a plurality of branch paths branching in parallel from a flow path through which the test liquid passes; and a control device that controls the flow conditions of the test liquid for each of the plurality of branch paths based on background concentrations measured in advance for each of the plurality of impurities.
[0007] Also, an impurity acquisition system for acquiring impurities in a test target liquid, a branch path branching from the flow path through which the test liquid passes; and a control device that controls the flow conditions of the test liquid through the branch path based on a background concentration measured in advance for the impurity to be acquired.
[0008] In addition, the water quality testing system of the present invention includes: An impurity acquisition system for acquiring a plurality of impurities in a test target liquid, a plurality of branch paths branching in parallel from a flow path through which the test liquid passes; an impurity acquisition system including a control device that controls a flow condition of the test liquid for each of the plurality of branch paths based on a background concentration measured in advance for each of the plurality of impurities; and an information processing device that analyzes the impurity concentration in the test liquid that has passed through the branch path and calculates the impurity concentration in the test liquid based on the analyzed impurity concentration.
[0009] The liquid manufacturing and supply system of the present invention further comprises: an impurity acquisition system for acquiring a plurality of impurities in a test object liquid, the impurity acquisition system comprising: a plurality of branch paths branching in parallel from a flow path through which the test object liquid passes; and a control device for controlling the flow conditions of the test object liquid for each of the plurality of branch paths based on background concentrations previously measured for each of the plurality of impurities; a water quality testing system including an information processing device that analyzes the impurity concentration in the test liquid passed through the branch path and calculates the impurity concentration in the test liquid based on the impurity concentration; a valve unit for controlling the supply of the test object liquid from a liquid production and supply facility that produces and / or supplies the test object liquid to a use point that uses the test object liquid; and a second control device that controls the valve unit based on the impurity concentration calculated by the information processing device. [Effects of the Invention]
[0010] In the present invention, when analyzing multiple types of impurities, the analysis can be carried out efficiently. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of an impurity acquisition system according to the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of components included in the control device illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3(A)] 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in a storage unit illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 3(B)] 3 is a diagram showing another example of information stored in the storage unit shown in FIG. 2.
[0023] FIG. [Figure 4(A)] 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control method in the control device shown in FIG. [Figure 4(B)] 10 is a flowchart illustrating another example of a control method in the control device shown in FIG. [Figure 5] 2 is a time chart for explaining an example of control of the open / closed state of the on-off valve performed by the control device shown in FIG. 1; [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the impurity capturing system of the present invention. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a liquid manufacturing and supply system to which the impurity acquisition system of the present invention is applied. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a liquid manufacturing and supply system to which the impurity acquisition system of the present invention is applied. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (First embodiment)
[0013] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of an impurity capturing system of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the impurity capturing system of this embodiment includes a control device 100, ion exchanger units (ion exchangers) 200-1 to 200-3 which are adsorbents, on-off valves 300, 310-1 to 310-3, three-way valves 320-1 to 320-3, an eluent 400, and a pump 410. A branch path 20 branches off from a main path 10 which passes a liquid to be tested from the ultrapure water production facility to a use point, and three branch paths 30-1 to 30-3 branch off from the branch path 20.
[0014] The ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3 are units that adsorb impurities from a liquid to be inspected (ultrapure water) from an ultrapure water production facility. Here, the ultrapure water production facility produces ultrapure water to be supplied to a semiconductor cleaning device, which is a point of use, and supplies the ultrapure water to the semiconductor cleaning device. In the following description, this ultrapure water is the liquid to be inspected (liquid to be inspected), and the liquid to be inspected refers to the ultrapure water supplied from the ultrapure water production facility. The ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3 have an ion adsorption function (for example, an ion adsorption membrane, a monolithic organic porous film, or an ion exchange resin). The substances to be adsorbed by the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3 are impurities. These impurities include metal ions and those in the form of fine particles. In this embodiment, the functional groups of the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3 are cations, anion exchange groups, or chelate compounds. The ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3 are provided in the branch paths 30-1 to 30-3, respectively.
[0015] The on-off valve 300 is an on-off valve that controls the flow of the test liquid passed through the main path 10 to the branch path 20. The on-off valve 310-1 is an on-off valve that controls the flow of the test liquid passed through the branch path 20 to the branch path 30-1. The on-off valve 310-2 is an on-off valve that controls the flow of the test liquid passed through the branch path 20 to the branch path 30-2. The on-off valve 310-3 is an on-off valve that controls the flow of the test liquid passed through the branch path 20 to the branch path 30-3. The opening degree of each of the on-off valves 310-1 to 310-3 can be adjusted.
[0016] The eluent 400 is an acidic or alkaline aqueous solution for eluting impurities adsorbed (concentrated) on the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3. Examples of the eluent 400 include an acidic aqueous solution of nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, or the like, and an alkaline aqueous solution of an organic alkali such as trimethylhydroxyammonium or tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH). The metal impurity concentration of the eluent 400 is less than 100 ppt. The degree of dilution of the eluent 400 is not particularly limited. The eluent 400 may be an aqueous solution diluted with the test liquid to be measured. The eluent 400 is contained in a container such as a bottle. The pump 410 pumps the eluent 400 from the container and sends it to the three-way valves 320-1 to 320-3. Instead of the pump 410, gas pressure feeding may be used to send the eluent 400.
[0017] The three-way valve 320-1 switches between passing either the test liquid via the on-off valve 310-1 or the eluent 400 sent from the pump 410 through the ion exchanger unit 200-1. Specifically, the three-way valve 320-1 passes either the test liquid from the on-off valve 310-1 or the eluent 400 pumped up by the pump 410 through the ion exchanger unit 200-1 in accordance with a control signal from the control device 100. The three-way valve 320-2 switches between passing either the test liquid via the on-off valve 310-2 or the eluent 400 sent from the pump 410 through the ion exchanger unit 200-2. Specifically, the three-way valve 320-2 passes either the test liquid from the on-off valve 310-2 or the eluent 400 pumped up by the pump 410 through the ion exchanger unit 200-2 in accordance with a control signal from the control device 100. The three-way valve 320-3 switches and controls the passage of either the test liquid via the on-off valve 310-3 or the eluent 400 sent from the pump 410 through the ion exchanger unit 200-3. Specifically, the three-way valve 320-3 passes either the test liquid from the on-off valve 310-3 or the eluent 400 pumped up by the pump 410 through the ion exchanger unit 200-3 in accordance with a control signal from the control device 100.
[0018] Furthermore, an analysis device 500 is provided in the impurity acquisition system shown in Fig. 1 to form a water quality testing system. The analysis device 500 analyzes the impurity concentration in the eluent that has passed through the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3. The analysis device 500 is an information processing device that calculates the impurity concentration in the liquid to be tested based on the analyzed impurity concentration. A specific example of the analysis device 500 is an ICP-MS. The analysis device 500 may display or manage the analysis results for the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3 as the analysis results for one liquid to be measured (ultrapure water).
[0019] The control device 100 controls the liquid passing speed or liquid passing (concentration) time, which are the liquid passing conditions of the test liquid through the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3, based on the element and concentration level to be detected contained in the test liquid flowing through the branch paths 30-1 to 30-3.
[0020] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of components included in the control device 100 shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the control device 100 shown in Fig. 1 has an information input unit 110, an on-off valve adjusting unit 120, a timer 130, a control unit 140, and a storage unit 150. Note that Fig. 2 shows only the main components related to this embodiment among the components included in the control device 100 shown in Fig. 1.
[0021] The information input unit 110 inputs information to the control device 100 based on an operation from outside the control device 100. The method of inputting information is not particularly limited and may be an input method using a touch panel or an input method using input keys. The information input unit 110 outputs the input information to the control unit 140.
[0022] Based on instructions from the control unit 140, the on-off valve adjusting unit 120 adjusts the opening and closing and the opening degrees of the on-off valves 300, 310-1 to 310-3 and the three-way valves 320-1 to 320-3.
[0023] The timer 130 is a timer that is started based on an instruction from the control unit 140. The timer 130 is started based on an instruction from the control unit 140, and may issue a predetermined notification to the control unit 140 when the time notified by the control unit 140 is reached.
[0024] The control unit 140 stores the information input by the information input unit 110 in the storage unit 150. Specifically, the control unit 140 associates the element whose concentration is to be measured with the background concentration for each of the branch paths 30-1 to 30-3 input by the information input unit 110 and stores the association data in the storage unit 150. The background concentration is the total value of the initial impurity concentrations of the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3, the components constituting the device, and the eluent 400. The background concentration is a value measured in advance for each of the branch paths 30-1 to 30-3 and each element after the device is assembled. The control unit 140 determines the liquid flow conditions based on the elements and background concentrations. Examples of the liquid flow conditions include the liquid flow rate, the liquid flow time (concentration time), and the liquid flow amount. For example, the control unit 140 determines a longer liquid flow time for elements and branch paths with high background concentrations. The control unit 140 stores the determined liquid passage conditions and analysis target (element) in association with the element name and background concentration for each of the branch paths 30-1 to 30-3 in the storage unit 150. The control unit 140 controls the on-off valve adjuster 120 and the timer 130 using the association stored in the storage unit 150. For example, when the control unit 140 controls the liquid passage time through the branch path 30-1, the control unit 140 starts the timer 130 when starting liquid passage, and instructs the on-off valve adjuster 120 to control the on-off valves 300 and 310-1 to an open state so that the test target liquid flows into the branch path 30-1, and to control the three-way valve 320-1 so that the test target liquid from the on-off valve 310-1 flows to the ion exchanger unit 200-1. Thereafter, when the time measured by the timer 130 reaches the liquid passage time stored in the memory unit 150, the control unit 140 instructs the on-off valve adjustment unit 120 to control the three-way valve 320-1 so that the eluent sent from the pump 410 flows into the ion exchanger unit 200-1. Furthermore, when the control unit 140 controls the liquid passage rate of the branch path 30-1, the control unit 140 instructs the on-off valve adjustment unit 120 to control the opening of the on-off valve 310-1 so that the liquid passage rate of the test liquid into the ion exchanger unit 200-1 becomes the liquid passage rate stored in the memory unit 150.
[0025] The storage unit 150 stores the information input by the information input unit 110 and the values determined by the control unit 140.
[0026] 3(A) is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit 150 shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3(A), the storage unit 150 shown in FIG. 2 stores, for each branch path, the background concentration, eluent volume, lower limit of quantification, concentration volume, liquid flow rate, liquid flow time, and the name of the target element assigned to the analysis path as the target of analysis, all associated with each other. The values of the background concentration, eluent volume, lower limit of quantification, and liquid flow rate are information input by the information input unit 110. The concentration volume V is a value calculated (determined) using (Equation 1).
number
[0027] 3(B) is a diagram showing another example of information stored in the storage unit 150 shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3(B), the storage unit 150 shown in FIG. 2 stores, for each branch path, the background concentration of the corresponding analysis path, the amount of eluent, the lower limit of quantification, the concentration amount, the liquid flow rate, the liquid flow time, and the name of the target element assigned to the corresponding analysis path, all associated with each other. The background concentration, the amount of eluent, the lower limit of quantification, and the liquid flow rate are information input by the information input unit 110. The lower limit of quantification is a value set based on the background concentration of each element. The concentration amount V is a value calculated (determined) using the above-mentioned (Equation 1). The association shown in FIG. 3(B) differs from the association shown in FIG. 3(A) in that the background concentrations of the branch paths 30-1 to 30-3 are the same but the lower limits of quantification are different. The branch paths are sorted according to the lower limits of quantification. Therefore, analysis can be performed according to the concentration level of the target element.
[0028] A control method in the control device 100 shown in Fig. 1 will be described below. Fig. 4(A) is a flowchart for explaining an example of the control method in the control device 100 shown in Fig. 1. This example of the control method is a method performed when the correspondence shown in Fig. 3(A) is stored in the storage unit 150 shown in Fig. 2.
[0029] First, the control unit 140 reads out from the storage unit 150 the element name, background concentration, eluent volume, and quantitation lower limit value associated with the branch path to be controlled (step S1). The control unit 140 calculates (determines) the condition (liquid flow rate or liquid flow time) based on the element name, background concentration, eluent volume, and quantitation lower limit value read out from the storage unit 150 (step S2). The control unit 140 stores the calculated (determined) condition (liquid flow rate or liquid flow time) in the storage unit 150 in association with the element name and background concentration from which the calculation was made. When it is time to pass (concentrate) the test liquid through the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3, the control unit 140 reads out from the storage unit 150 the condition (liquid flow rate or liquid flow time) assigned to the branch path to be controlled. Then, the control unit 140 starts the timer 130 based on the conditions read out from the storage unit 150, and controls the on-off valves 300, 310-1 to 310-3, and 320-1 to 320-3 using the on-off valve adjusting unit 120 (step S3).
[0030] Fig. 4(B) is a flowchart for explaining another example of a control method in the control device 100 shown in Fig. 1. This example of the control method is a method performed when the correspondence shown in Fig. 3(B) is stored in the storage unit 150 shown in Fig. 2.
[0031] First, the control unit 140 reads out from the storage unit 150 the element name, background concentration, eluent volume, and quantitation lower limit value associated with the branch path to be controlled (step S11). The control unit 140 calculates (determines) the condition (liquid flow rate or liquid flow time) based on the background concentration, eluent volume, and quantitation lower limit value read out from the storage unit 150 (step S12). The control unit 140 stores the calculated (determined) condition (liquid flow rate or liquid flow time) in the storage unit 150 in association with the background concentration used for the calculation. When it is time to pass (concentrate) the test liquid through the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3, the control unit 140 reads out from the storage unit 150 the condition (liquid flow rate or liquid flow time) assigned to the branch path to be controlled. Then, the control unit 140 starts the timer 130 based on the conditions read out from the storage unit 150, and controls the on-off valves 300, 310-1 to 310-3, and 320-1 to 320-3 using the on-off valve adjusting unit 120 (step S13).
[0032] The background concentration, which is the sum of the elution concentration from the adsorbent (e.g., ion adsorption membrane, monolithic organic porous material, ion exchange resin) and the device components through which the test liquid passes, and the initial concentration of the eluent, varies for each element whose concentration is being measured. Furthermore, the concentration time in the ion exchanger unit varies for each element whose concentration is being measured. Therefore, when impurities are obtained using multiple ion exchanger units, in a typical conventional system in which the test liquid is passed through the multiple ion exchanger units at the same (common) concentration time (flow time) and flow rate, analysis is performed under conditions based on only some of the elements contained in the test liquid. These analytical conditions cannot be said to be optimal for other elements. Therefore, in a typical conventional system, it is difficult to efficiently analyze elements for which the conditions are not suitable.
[0033] In this embodiment, multiple branch paths 30-1 to 30-3 are provided, branching from a single branch path 20, for sampling the liquid to be tested (ultrapure water). The branched ultrapure water flows through multiple ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3 provided in each of the multiple branch paths 30-1 to 30-3, respectively, to concentrate metals. A measurement target element is assigned to each of the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3, and the liquid flow (concentration process) is controlled under conditions corresponding to the element and the background concentration in the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3. This allows the liquid flow (concentration), elution, recovery, and analysis (including metal concentration calculation) to be controlled under optimal conditions for each metal element assigned to each of the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3 provided in each of the branch paths 30-1 to 30-3.
[0034] The control unit 140 may control the open / close states of the on-off valves 310-1 to 310-3, 320-1 to 320-3 so that the period during which the eluent 400 sent from the pump 410 is passed through the ion exchanger unit 200-1, the period during which the eluent 400 sent from the pump 410 is passed through the ion exchanger unit 200-2, and the period during which the eluent 400 sent from the pump 410 is passed through the ion exchanger unit 200-3 do not overlap with each other. In addition, the control unit 140 may control the open / close states of the on-off valves 310-1 to 310-3 and 320-1 to 320-3 so that the timings at which the passage of the test liquid to the ion exchanger unit 200-1 via the on-off valve 310-1 starts / ends, the timings at which the passage of the test liquid to the ion exchanger unit 200-2 via the on-off valve 310-2 starts / ends, and the timings at which the passage of the test liquid to the ion exchanger unit 200-3 via the on-off valve 310-3 starts / ends are different from one another, in conjunction with controlling the periods at which the eluent is passed through each of the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3 so that the periods at which the eluent is passed through each of the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3 does not overlap.
[0035] 5 is a time chart illustrating an example of control of the on-off valves 310-1 to 310-3 and 320-1 to 320-3 by the control device 100 shown in FIG. 1. A concentration step and an elution step are sequentially repeated in each of the branch path 30-1 having the ion exchanger unit 200-1, the branch path 30-2 having the ion exchanger unit 200-2, and the branch path 30-3 having the ion exchanger unit 200-3. While only the concentration step and the elution step are shown in FIG. 5, other steps, such as a cleaning step, may also be performed. The control device 100 controls the on-off valves 310-1 to 310-3 and 320-1 to 320-3 so that the timings of the elution steps, in which the eluent is passed through the ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3, do not overlap with each other. In this embodiment, an example in which three ion exchanger units 200-1 to 200-3 are arranged in parallel to one another has been described, but the number of ion exchanger units is not limited to this.
[0036] In this way, multiple systems for analyzing the test liquid are provided in parallel, and the timing of the elution steps in each system is controlled so that they do not overlap. This allows the concentration steps to be performed continuously, and therefore test results to be obtained continuously. (Second embodiment)
[0037] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the impurity acquisition system of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the impurity acquisition system of this embodiment has a branch path 30-4 instead of the branch path 30-3 of the impurity acquisition system of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1. The branch path 30-4 is provided with an on-off valve 310-4. The on-off valve 310-4 is an on-off valve that controls the flow of the test liquid passed through the branch path 20 to the branch path 30-4. Note that the branch path 30-4 does not have an ion exchanger unit like the ion exchanger units 200-1 and 200-2 provided in the branch paths 30-1 and 30-2, respectively. Therefore, the branch path 30-4 is a path for analyzing elements that cannot be concentrated or do not require concentration for analysis.
[0038] The test liquid passed through the branch path 30-4, which is not provided with an ion exchanger unit, is analyzed by the analyzer 500. The timing at which the analyzer 500 analyzes the impurities concentrated and eluted in the ion exchanger units 200-1 and 200-2 provided in the branch paths 30-1 and 30-2, respectively, corresponds to the calculated liquid flow rate and liquid flow time, as described in the first embodiment. The analyzer 500 analyzes the test liquid passed through the branch path 30-4 at a time other than the time at which the analyzer 500 analyzes the impurities concentrated and eluted in the ion exchanger units 200-1 and 200-2. This allows the analyzer 500 to be used efficiently and to perform continuous analyses in a short period of time. Furthermore, analyses can be performed over a wide range of analytical sensitivity.
[0039] In this embodiment, multiple branch paths 30-1, 30-2, and 30-4 are provided, branching from a single branch path 20, for sampling the liquid to be tested (ultrapure water). The branched ultrapure water is passed through multiple ion exchanger units 200-1 and 200-2 provided in the multiple branch paths 30-1 and 30-2, respectively, to concentrate metals. Each ion exchanger unit 200-1 and 200-2 is assigned a target element to be measured, and the liquid flow (concentration process) is controlled under conditions corresponding to the element and the background concentration in the ion exchanger unit 200-1 and 200-2. This allows the liquid flow (concentration), elution, recovery, and analysis (including metal concentration calculation) to be controlled under optimal conditions for each metal element assigned to each ion exchanger unit 200-1 and 200-2 provided in the branch paths 30-1 and 30-2. The analytical device 500 analyzes the impurities concentrated and eluted in each of these ion exchanger units 200-1 and 200-2. Furthermore, the test liquid is also passed through the branch path 30-4, which is not provided with an ion exchanger unit, and the test liquid that has passed through the branch path 30-4 is analyzed by the analytical device 500. The branch path 30-4 is not provided with an ion exchanger unit. Therefore, the test liquid that has passed through the branch path 30-4 can be analyzed at times other than when the analytical device 500 is analyzing the impurities concentrated and eluted in each of the ion exchanger units 200-1 and 200-2.
[0040] The present invention can also be applied to a configuration in which there is only one branch path branching off from the main path 10. When there is only one branch path branching off from the main path 10, the following background concentrations are used to control the liquid flow conditions for that branch path. When a single branch path is used to acquire the concentration of a specific impurity element, the control device 100 controls the liquid flow conditions using the background concentration of that element. When a single branch path is used to acquire the concentrations of multiple impurity elements, if there is no difference between the background concentrations of the multiple impurity elements, the control device 100 controls the liquid flow conditions using the background concentration with no difference. When a single branch path is used to acquire the concentrations of multiple impurity elements, if there is a difference between the background concentrations of the multiple impurity elements, the control device 100 controls the liquid flow conditions using the background concentration with the highest concentration value among the background concentrations.
[0041] The following describes an embodiment in which the above-described impurity acquisition system is used. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a liquid manufacturing and supply system to which the impurity acquisition system of the present invention is applied. The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is a system in which ultrapure water is supplied to a semiconductor cleaning device (point of use) via CP1000, a non-regenerative ion exchange device, and UF1100, an ultrafiltration device, in an ultrapure water production facility. The ultrapure water (water to be tested) supplied to CP1000 is supplied from a liquid manufacturing and supply facility installed upstream. The liquid manufacturing and supply facility is also a facility for manufacturing ultrapure water. The dashed lines in FIG. 7 indicate the water flow path or the path of a control signal for testing the water quality of the ultrapure water to be tested.
[0042] There are two flow paths through which ultrapure water is supplied to the semiconductor cleaning apparatus. One of the flow paths is provided with an impurity removal unit 1200, and the ultrapure water is supplied to the semiconductor cleaning apparatus via the impurity removal unit 1200. An on-off valve 2000 is provided between the CP 1000 and the UF 1100. An on-off valve 2300 is provided to control the recovery of ultrapure water from the CP 1000 to the ultrapure water recovery tank. An on-off valve 2400 is provided to control the recovery of ultrapure water from the UF 1100 to the ultrapure water recovery tank. On-off valves 2100 and 2200 are provided on each of the two flow paths for supplying ultrapure water to the semiconductor cleaning apparatus.
[0043] The concentration / elution / recovery device 1300 corresponds to the impurity acquisition system shown in Figures 1 and 5. The ultrapure water from the CP1000 or the ultrapure water from the UF1100, which is the water to be tested, is subjected to the processing described in the first and second embodiments. The ICP-MS1400 corresponds to the analysis device 500 shown in Figures 1 and 5. The ICP-MS1400 is an apparatus (information processing device) that analyzes the impurity concentration in the acquired eluent and calculates the impurity concentration in the water to be tested based on the analyzed impurity concentration. The ICP-MS1400 is equipped with an information processing function for calculating concentration. The concentration / elution / recovery device 1300 and the ICP-MS1400 constitute a water quality testing system. The control device 1500 is a second control device that controls the opening and closing of the on-off valves 2000, 2100, 2200, 2300, and 2400 based on the impurity concentration calculated by the ICP-MS1400.
[0044] When the impurity concentration calculated by the ICP-MS 1400 for the outlet water of the CP 1000 exceeds a preset concentration threshold, the control device 1500 controls the on-off valve 2000 to a closed state. At this time, the control device 1500 controls the on-off valve 2300 to an open state. Furthermore, when the impurity concentration calculated by the ICP-MS 1400 for the outlet water of the CP 1000 is equal to or lower than the concentration threshold, the control device 1500 opens the on-off valve 2000. At this time, the control device 1500 closes the on-off valve 2300. Furthermore, when the impurity concentration calculated by the ICP-MS 1400 for the outlet water of the UF 1100 exceeds a preset concentration threshold, the control device 1500 controls the on-off valves 2100 and 2200 to a closed state. At this time, the control device 1500 controls the on-off valve 2400 to an open state. Furthermore, when the impurity concentration calculated by the ICP-MS 1400 for the outlet water of the UF 1100 is equal to or lower than the concentration threshold, the control device 1500 opens the on-off valves 2100 and 2200. At this time, the control device 1500 controls the on-off valve 2400 to a closed state. Note that the control device 1500 may control the on-off valve 2100 to an open state when the impurity concentration calculated by the ICP-MS 1400 for the outlet water of the UF 1100 is equal to or lower than a first concentration threshold, control the on-off valve 2200 to an open state and control the on-off valve 2100 to a closed state when the impurity concentration calculated by the ICP-MS 1400 exceeds the first concentration threshold and is equal to or lower than a second concentration threshold, and control the on-off valves 2100 and 2200 to a closed state when the impurity concentration calculated by the ICP-MS 1400 exceeds the second concentration threshold. This is because even if the impurity concentration in the flow path in which the impurity removal unit 1200 is installed is relatively high, the impurities contained in the ultrapure water are removed by the impurity removal unit 1200, thereby reducing the impurity concentration in the ultrapure water supplied to the semiconductor cleaning device.
[0045] FIG. 8 illustrates another example of a liquid manufacturing and supply system incorporating the impurity capture system of the present invention. In the application example illustrated in FIG. 8, the CP1000, UF1100, concentration / elution / recovery device 1300, ICP-MS1400, control device 1500, and on-off valve 2400 are the same as those illustrated in FIG. 7 . Ultrapure water, which is the outlet water from the UF1100, is distributed into multiple flow paths and supplied to multiple semiconductor cleaning devices connected to the respective flow paths. Each of the multiple flow paths branches into a flow path leading to the concentration / elution / recovery device 1300. The ultrapure water flowing through each of the branched flow paths is treated as test water in the concentration / elution / recovery device 1300, as described in the first and second embodiments. The flow path through which the ultrapure water flowing is to be treated is selected by the control device 1500 controlling the opening and closing of on-off valves 2500-1 to 2500-4 provided in each branch path. As in the process described above, the control device 1500 controls the opening and closing of on-off valves 2100-1 to 2100-4 provided in each flow path based on the impurity concentration calculated by the ICP-MS 1400. The control device 1500 may have a threshold value corresponding to each of the multiple semiconductor cleaning devices, and may control the opening and closing of on-off valves 2100-1 to 2100-4 based on a comparison between the impurity concentration calculated by the ICP-MS 1400 and the threshold value corresponding to each semiconductor cleaning device.
[0046] In this way, if the concentration of impurities contained in the ultrapure water exceeds a predetermined concentration threshold, the on-off valve is controlled to prevent the supply of ultrapure water to the semiconductor cleaning equipment. This prevents contamination of semiconductor devices and components within the ultrapure water facility. The liquid (water) to be measured is not limited to ultrapure water; it can also be chemicals such as IPA (isopropyl alcohol), PGMA (polyglycerol methacrylate), and PGMEA (propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate). While the embodiment using a bottle to collect the eluent has been described, the collected eluent can also be sprayed directly into an analytical device for quantitative analysis. The concentration of metal impurities measured by this impurity collection system is not particularly limited, but is desirably 100 ng / L or less, preferably 1 ng / L or less, and more preferably 0.1 ng / L or less.
[0047] Although the above description has been given by allocating each function (process) to each component, this allocation is not limited to the above. Furthermore, the configuration of the components is also not limited to the above-described embodiments, which are merely examples. Furthermore, each embodiment may be combined.
[0048] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention.
[0049] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-116933, filed July 22, 2024, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. [Explanation of symbols]
[0050] 10 Main Route 20,30-1~30-4 Branching Route 100,1500 control device 110 Information input section 120 On-off valve adjustment section 130 Timer 140 Control Unit 150 Storage section 200-1~200-3 Ion Exchange Unit 300, 310-1 to 310-4, 2000, 2100, 2100-1 to 2100-4, 2200, 2300, 2400, 2500-1 to 2500-4 On-off valve 320-1~320-3 Three-way valve 400 Eluent 410 Pump 500 Analyzer 1000 CP 1100 UF 1200 Impurity Removal Unit 1300 Concentration / Elution / Recovery Device 1400 ICP-MS
Claims
1. An impurity acquisition system for acquiring a plurality of impurities in a test target liquid, a plurality of branch paths branching in parallel from a flow path through which the test liquid passes; a control device; an adsorbent that adsorbs impurities in the test liquid is disposed in at least some of the branch paths; The control device is an impurity acquisition system that controls the flow conditions of the liquid to be tested for each of the multiple branch paths based on a background concentration that is the sum of the concentration of the impurity eluted from a component that constitutes each of the multiple branch paths and the concentration of the impurity contained in an eluent that elutes the impurity adsorbed to an adsorbent placed in each of the multiple branch paths, which background concentration has been measured in advance for each of the multiple impurities in each of the multiple branch paths.
2. The impurity capture system according to claim 1, The control device controls the amount of the test liquid passing through each of the adsorbents based on the background concentrations of the plurality of impurities.
3. The impurity collection system according to claim 1 or 2, The control device sets a plurality of range thresholds indicating ranges of background concentrations according to the background concentrations of the plurality of impurities, and controls the flow conditions of the test liquid for each of the plurality of branch paths based on the set plurality of range thresholds.
4. The impurity collection system according to claim 1 or 2, The control device sets quantitative lower limit values for the plurality of impurities according to the background concentrations of the plurality of impurities, and controls the flow conditions of the test liquid for each of the plurality of branch paths based on the quantitative lower limit values.
5. The impurity collection system according to claim 1 or 2, The control device uses a flow rate of the test liquid through the plurality of branch paths as the liquid flow condition.
6. The impurity collection system according to claim 1 or 2, The control device uses a time period during which the test liquid passes through the plurality of branch paths as the liquid passing condition.
7. An impurity acquisition system for acquiring impurities in a test target liquid, a branch path branching from the flow path through which the test liquid flows, and having an adsorbent disposed therein that adsorbs impurities in the test liquid; and a control device that controls the flow conditions of the test liquid in the branch path based on a background concentration that is the sum of the concentration of the impurity to be acquired that is eluted from a component that constitutes the branch path and the concentration of the impurity contained in an eluent that is used to elute the impurity adsorbed to the adsorbent, which is measured in advance for the impurity to be acquired.
8. The impurity capture system according to claim 1; A water quality testing system comprising: an information processing device that analyzes the impurity concentration in the test liquid passed through the branch path and calculates the impurity concentration in the test liquid based on the impurity concentration.
9. The water quality testing system according to claim 8, a valve unit for controlling the supply of the test object liquid from a liquid production and supply facility that produces and / or supplies the test object liquid to a use point that uses the test object liquid; a second control device that controls the valve unit based on the impurity concentration calculated by the information processing device.
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