Pulse gas supply method and apparatus

Abstract

To provide a pressure-controlled pulse gas delivery system which can accurately deliver a prescribed amount of gas in a prescribed pulse width (pulse duration time).SOLUTION: In a pulse gas delivery system, a chamber is pre-charged to a prescribed pressure through an upstream valve. Thereafter, a downstream control valve is opened to control a flow of gas during a gas pulse. A dedicated controller may control the downstream control valve in a feedback loop during the pulse on the basis of pressure and temperature detected during the pulse.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Related applications

[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Application No. 16 / 376,861, filed on April 5, 2019. All teachings of the said application are incorporated herein by reference. [Background technology]

[0002] In semiconductor manufacturing processes such as atomic layer deposition (ALD), it may be necessary to supply multiple different gases or gas mixtures in varying quantities across multiple steps. Generally, each gas is stored in a tank within the processing facility, and a gas metering system is used to supply each metered amount of gas from the respective tank to processing equipment such as chemical vapor deposition reactors, vacuum sputtering equipment, and plasma etching equipment. Typically, components such as valves, pressure regulators, mass flow controllers (MFCs), and mass flow ratio control systems are included within the gas metering system or in the flow path from the gas metering system to the processing equipment.

[0003] Pulsed gas supply systems have been developed to supply pulsed mass flow gas to semiconductor processing equipment. In high-speed processes, pulsed gas supply can be used to manufacture advanced 3D integrated circuits with through-silicon vias (TSVs) that provide interconnects between dies and wafers.

[0004] In conventional pressure-type pulsed gas supply devices, the volume is filled to a predetermined pressure through the inlet shut-off valve with the outlet shut-off valve closed. Then, the inlet valve is closed and the outlet valve is opened to supply gas to the processing device until the pressure of the volume drops to another predetermined level. According to the law of ideal gases, the mass of gas flowing through the open outlet valve depends on the pressure difference when the valve is opened and closed, the volume, and the temperature of the gas. Recently, mass flow controllers have been applied to pulse supply based on a feedback loop from a flow sensor. Generally, an MFC comprises an inlet, an outlet, a mass flow sensor, and a proportional control valve tuned to achieve the desired mass flow. The flow can be pulsed using a fast-closing control valve. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] This invention provides an improvement to a pressure-type pulsed gas supply system. In particular, it replaces the conventional ON / OFF shut-off valve downstream of the chamber with an adjustable control valve. By controlling the opening of this control valve, the flow can be limited and the pressure-type supply during the pulse can be controlled. With appropriate control, including a feedback loop during the pulse, a predetermined amount of gas can be precisely supplied with a predetermined pulse width (pulse duration). [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The pulsed gas supply system comprises a chamber having volume, a pressure sensor configured to detect the pressure of the gas in the chamber, and a temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of the gas in the chamber. An upstream valve is configured to control the flow of gas flowing into the chamber. A downstream control valve is configured to control the flow of the gas flowing out of the chamber. A controller is configured to control the upstream valve and the downstream control valve to fill the chamber to an initial pressure, and then to control the flow of the gas flowing out of the chamber during gas pulses (for each individual gas pulse) through the downstream control valve (via the downstream control valve), thereby controlling the duration and supply amount of the gas pulses based on the detected pressure and temperature.

[0007] The controller may be configured to control the downstream control valve via a feedback loop to adjust the flow during the pulse based on the pressure and temperature detected during the pulse.

[0008] The controller may further be configured to calculate the flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber, and control the downstream control valve to adjust the flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber based on the calculated flow rate and a target flow set point. The controller may be configured to calculate the flow rate Q based on the following equation of pressure decay rate.

[0009] Q = -(V × T stp / P stp ) × (d(P / T) / dt)

[0010] Here, V represents the volume of the chamber, T stp represents the standard temperature, P stp represents the standard pressure, P represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber, and T represents the temperature of the gas in the chamber.

[0011] The controller may further be configured to calculate the amount of gas supplied from the chamber, and control the downstream control valve to supply a predetermined amount of gas during the gas pulse. The controller may calculate the amount of gas supplied from the chamber based on the volume of the chamber, the initial pressure of the gas in the chamber detected by the pressure sensor at the start of the pulse, the pressure of the gas in the chamber detected by the pressure sensor during the pulse, and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor during the pulse. The molar amount Δn(t) of the gas supplied from the chamber at time t during the pulse may be calculated by the function Δn(t) = V × (P t0 - P t ) / (R × T t ). Here, V represents the volume of the chamber, P t0 represents the pressure of the gas in the volume at the start of the pulse, P t represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber at time t during the pulse, and T t represents the temperature of the gas at time t during the pulse.

[0012] The controller may be configured to adjust the flow rate during the pulse to achieve a predetermined pulse waveform. The controller may be configured to adjust the downstream control valve to achieve a substantially constant flow rate during the pulse.

[0013] In the pulse gas supply method, the downstream control valve is closed and the upstream valve is opened to fill the chamber with gas to an initial pressure. The upstream valve is closed when the initial pressure is reached. After closing the upstream valve, the downstream control valve is opened to start the pulse of the gas flowing out of the chamber. The downstream control valve is controlled during the pulse of the gas flowing out of the chamber to supply a predetermined amount in a predetermined time of the pulse.

[0014] The method for supplying a pulse of fluid may include controlling the flow of the fluid flowing into the chamber with an inlet valve, detecting the pressure of the gas in the chamber with a pressure sensor, detecting the temperature of the gas in the chamber with a temperature sensor, and controlling the flow of the fluid passing through a downstream control valve during the pulse of the fluid.

[0015] The pressure and temperature of the gas in the chamber may be detected, and the downstream control valve may be controlled based on the detected pressure and temperature. The downstream control valve may be closed when the predetermined amount or a predetermined time of the pulse is reached. Each step of the method may be repeated for a predetermined number of pulses under the control of a dedicated controller.

[0016] The flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber may be measured, and the downstream control valve may be controlled during the pulse to adjust the measured flow rate to a flow set point. Also, during the pulse, the amount of gas supplied from the chamber may be calculated, and the downstream control valve may be controlled to supply a predetermined amount of gas during the predetermined pulse time.

[0017] The flow rate may be adjusted during the pulse to achieve the predetermined pulse waveform. Alternatively, the downstream control valve may be adjusted during the pulse to achieve a substantially constant flow rate during the pulse.

[0018] The fluid flow through the downstream control valve may be controlled based on feedback from the pressure and temperature detected during the pulse. The flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber may be calculated, and the downstream control valve may be controlled to adjust the flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber based on the calculated flow rate and target flow setting point.

[0019] The method described above may include calculating the amount of gas supplied from the chamber and controlling the downstream control valve to supply a predetermined amount of gas into the gas pulse. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0020] The foregoing will become clearer from the following more specific description of exemplary embodiments in reference to the attached drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same parts across different drawings. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and are primarily for illustrative purposes. [Figure 1] This figure shows a conventional pressure-type pulse supply system. [Figure 2] Figure 1 shows the operation of a pressure-type pulsed gas supply system. [Figure 3] This figure shows a conventional pulse mass flow controller using a temperature sensor. [Figure 4] This figure shows a conventional pulse mass flow controller using a pressure-type flow sensor. [Figure 5] This figure shows a pulse supply system that is an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] This diagram shows the operation of the system in Figure 5. [Figure 7] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the pulsed gas supply system. [Figure 8] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the pulse supply process of the system. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0021] The following describes exemplary embodiments.

[0022] The gas control system is provided for pulsed supply of gases, such as process gases, in semiconductor manufacturing processes or chemical processes at a specific mass.

[0023] The mass of the gas may be specified as the desired number of moles of fluid to be supplied in the fluid pulse delivered to the processing chamber. The “mole” is the International System of Units (SI) unit of measurement for the amount of substance, with the symbol mol. A “mole” is defined as the amount or sample of substance containing the same number of constituent particles (e.g., atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, or photons) as the atoms present in 12 g of carbon-12 (12C: by definition, an isotope of carbon with a standard atomic weight of 12). This number is expressed as Avogadro’s number, approximately 6.022140857 × 10⁻¹⁵ 23 mol -1 ( 6. 022140857×10 23 The value is (V / mol). The aforementioned mole is widely used as a convenient way to express the amounts of reactants and products in chemical reactions. Molar volume (symbol V) m Molar volume is the volume occupied by one mole of a substance at a given temperature and pressure. Molar volume is equal to the molar mass (M) divided by the mass density (ρ).

[0024] Figure 1 shows a conventional pulsed gas supply device 102 using a pressure-type pulsed gas supply (for example, shown in U.S. Patent No. 7,628,860 by Shajii et al., issued December 8, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference). As shown in Figure 1, the pressure-type molar measurement technique utilizes the response of pressure (P) to time (t) in a gas introduced into a known volume. The device 102 comprises a chamber 104 having a known volume (V), an inlet valve 106 ("Vin") located upstream of the chamber 104, and an outlet valve 107 ("Vout") located downstream of the chamber 104. A pressure sensor 108 is also provided in the chamber 104, and a temperature sensor 110 measures the temperature of the chamber wall to indicate the gas temperature inside the chamber.

[0025] First, by closing the downstream valve 107 and opening the upstream valve 106, the device 102 is filled to a predetermined pressure from the gas supply 105, thereby controlling the gas flow (Q) over a certain period of time (in Figure 2, "filling" time Δt = (t1 - t0)). i The gas enters the apparatus and fills the chamber (volume) 104, causing a change in pressure. At time t1 and pressure P1, the upstream valve 106 is closed ("Vin CLOSE"). This provides a time (t2-t1) in the process for the gas in the chamber 104 to stabilize at a set point. During this time, pressure and temperature measurements are obtained by the pressure sensor 108 and temperature sensor 110. When the downstream valve 107 opens ("Vout OPEN" at time t2 in Figure 2), the gas flow (Q0) flows out of the apparatus 102 and gas pulses are supplied from the apparatus to the processing device 111 until the valve 107 is closed again at a predetermined pressure P2 ("Vout CLOSE" at time t3).

[0026] The pulsed gas supply shown in Figure 2 can be implemented by a program on the dedicated controller 112 of the device 102, which executes the supply content instructed by the host controller 114. The pulsed supply is started by a trigger signal such as a control signal from the host controller 114. The number of moles of gas to be supplied can be estimated based on the principle of the ideal gas law Δn=(ΔP×V) / (R×T).

[0027] A multi-channel pulsed gas supply system, configured to determine the flow rate based on a pressure drop within the supply chamber, is described in U.S. Patent No. 9,348,339 by Ding et al., issued on May 24, 2016 (the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference).

[0028] The methods shown in Figures 1 and 2 have several limitations. The filling pressure must be strictly controlled. The accuracy and repeatability of the pulse supply depend on the speed and reliability of the downstream shut-off valve. A shut-off valve with a fast response time is required. However, if the valve changes over time, adjustments may be necessary to adapt, which increases complexity or may necessitate valve replacement, which usually requires process interruption. Often, the pulse waveform (e.g., pulse width) is not as desired, or the pulse does not sufficiently match the desired rectangular wave. Furthermore, it takes time because a certain amount of gas must be filled into chamber 104. The gas filling time and stabilization time before each pulse limit the fast gas supply cycle time.

[0029] However, pressure-based molar measurement techniques have the advantage of being applicable even without information about the specific gas or gas mixture being measured. The gas supply amount derived by applying the mass balance and the law of ideal gases to the chamber volume is independent of the gas itself and depends on three state variables that characterize the behavior of the gas being measured: pressure (P), temperature (T), and volume (V).

[0030] Figure 3 shows a conventional pulse supply system based on a mass flow controller. In a typical mass flow controller, a proportional control valve 304 is opened at a predetermined set point of flow detected by a flow sensor 306. The flow sensor 306 may be, for example, a thermal flow sensor. The opening degree of the proportional control valve 304 is controlled using feedback from a dedicated controller 308 to match the set point. In the pulse supply system, a valve 304 capable of opening and closing at high speed is used. The host controller 114 transmits the desired set point and pulses to the dedicated controller 308 in a timely manner. The ON / OFF times of pulses in a pulse train, triggered by the host controller, may also be transmitted.

[0031] Disadvantages of thermal pulsed MFCs, as shown in Figure 3, include limitations on high-temperature operation and the potential for long-term drift problems.

[0032] Figure 4 shows a conventional system using a pressure-type MFC402 for pulsed gas supply. The host controller 114 communicates with the MFC402 and provides the dedicated controller 404 with information regarding the desired pulse supply, such as the pulse mole setpoint, pulse ON time, pulse OFF time, and the number of repeating pulses. When starting a pulse supply cycle, the host controller 114 sends a trigger signal to the dedicated controller 404. The MFC402 includes a control valve 406 (e.g., a proportional control valve) for controlling the flow of fluid from the gas source into the flow path 408. The controller 404 of the MFC402 is configured to control the flow of fluid through the control valve 406 to control the fluid supplied to the processing chamber during a fluid pulse. The controller 404 controls the flow of fluid through the control valve 406 based on feedback from a flow sensor 410 provided to measure the flow rate (Q) in the flow path. The flow sensor 410 is located in the flow path 408It includes a flow limiter 412, as well as an upstream pressure sensor 414 and a downstream pressure sensor 416. The control valve 406 is located upstream of the limiter 412 and each pressure sensor. Flow control may also respond to a temperature sensor 418.

[0033] The pulse gas supply rates of the apparatus in Figures 3 and 4 are as follows: In the formula It can be calculated more accurately.

[0034]

number

[0035] Here, Δn is the number of moles of the supplied gas, Q is the flow rate measured by the flow sensor, t1 is the start time of the pulse, and t2 is the end time of the pulse.

[0036] Pulsed MFC gas delivery is further described in International Publication No. 2012 / 116281 by Junhua Ding et al. (title: “System for and Method of Fast Pulse Gas Delivery”) (its entire contents are incorporated herein by reference).

[0037] An improvement over the pressure-type MFC shown in Figure 4 is illustrated in the pending U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 887,447 filed on February 2, 2018, and the corresponding PCT Application PCT / US2019 / 015356 filed on January 28, 2019. In this system, a shut-off valve is provided at the output of the MFC, enabling faster pulse initiation and termination than when using only a proportional control valve. The controller can be configured to control the flow through the control valve and the switching of the shut-off valve based on the estimated number of moles of fluid being supplied.

[0038] Figure 5 shows an improvement over the pressure-type rate-of-decay pulsed gas supply system according to the present invention. Chamber 504 has a known volume V. The pressure of the fluid in chamber 504 is detected by a pressure sensor 506, and its gas temperature is detected by a temperature sensor 508. Both the detected pressure and temperature are sent to a dedicated controller 514 that communicates with a host controller 114. Controller 514 controls the operation of the upstream valve 510 and the downstream valve 512. The upstream valve 510 can be a conventional ON / OFF type shut-off valve, thereby filling the volume 504, but it can also be a control valve. Importantly, the downstream valve 512 is not a normal ON / OFF type shut-off valve, but an adjustable control valve such as a proportional control valve commonly used in mass flow controllers, and its opening degree can be controlled in response to a control signal.

[0039] The operation of the pulsed gas supply system in Figure 5 is shown in Figure 6, and the control flowcharts are shown in Figures 7 and 8. Figure 6 shows the formation of a controlled flow pulse 602 following a preceding pulse 604.

[0040] In 702, the host controller transmits parameters that constitute the controller 514. Two configurations are presented here. In "time-based supply," the host controller transmits the following parameters to the system: flow setpoint (Qsp), pulse ON time (Ton), pulse OFF time (Toff), and / or number of pulses (N). In "mol-based supply," the host controller transmits the following parameters to the system: pulse supply mole amount setpoint (Msp), pulse ON time (Ton), pulse OFF time (Toff), and / or number of repeating pulses (N). In this mole-based supply, assuming the pulse waveform is rectangular, the target flow rate setpoint Qsp can be calculated from the mole amount setpoint (Msp) as follows.

[0041] Qsp = k1 × Msp / Ton (2)

[0042] Here, k1 is a transformation constant.

[0043] In either method, the process proceeds as follows: At 704, the downstream valve 512 is closed, and at 706, the upstream valve is opened, filling the chamber 504 to a predetermined pressure measured at 708. Then, at 710, the upstream valve is closed. At 712, the host controller sends a trigger signal to the dedicated controller 514, initiating the pulsed gas supply process shown in Figure 8.

[0044] In step 802, the pulse ON timer in the controller 514 is reset. In step 804, at time t0 when pulse 604 in Figure 6 starts, the downstream valve 512 is opened, and the opening degree of the downstream valve is controlled using a feedback control loop, thereby adjusting the flow to the target flow setpoint (Qsp) based on the pulse amount setpoint and pulse ON time so that the pulse supply satisfies a predetermined amount setpoint and pulse ON time. The measured flow rate is calculated as follows based on the attenuation rate method for the supply chamber volume.

[0045] Q = -(V × T) stp / P stp ) × (d(P / T) / dt)

[0046] Here, Q is the gas flow through valve 512, V is the volume of chamber 504, and T stp P is the standard temperature constant. stp is the standard pressure constant, P is the pressure measured by sensor 506, and T is the gas temperature measured by temperature sensor 508.

[0047] In a time-based supply method, when the pulse ON time (Ton) is reached, 806 In this state, the controller 514 closes the downstream valve 512, ending the supply of one pulse.

[0048] In the molar-based supply method, an additional feedback control loop is provided at 804. The amount of gas supplied during a supply pulse may be calculated using the following formula.

[0049] Δn(t) = V × (P t0 -P t ) / (R×T)

[0050] Here, Δn(t) is the number of moles of gas passing through valve 512 with respect to time, and P t0 P is the initial filling pressure when the downstream valve is first opened. t is the final pressure when the downstream valve is closed at t1, T is the gas temperature, and R is the ideal gas constant.

[0051] The system may estimate the total amount of gas supplied when the pulse ON time is reached, in moles.

[0052] The system may adjust the flow setpoint Qsp if the estimated value does not satisfy the mole setpoint Msp. In other words, the flow setpoint Qsp is adjusted using a second feedback loop. The first feedback control loop is always used to control the flow rate to the flow setpoint in both time-based and mole-based supply. In mole-based supply, during pulse supply, the controller 514 automatically adjusts the flow setpoint Qsp, thereby adjusting the control valve 512 based on feedback of the calculated number of moles supplied in the pulse, so that the desired number of moles is supplied precisely within the target pulse ON time for each pulse. In mole-based supply, both the mole setpoint (Msp) and pulse ON time (Ton) requirements can be satisfied with the two feedback control loops.

[0053] The controller can also adjust the opening degree of the control valve 512 based on feedback from the previous pulse supply.

[0054] In 806, at time t1, the downstream control valve 512 is closed when the pulse ON time has elapsed or the amount has reached. In either case, in 808, the pulse OFF timer is reset. In 810, at time t1, the upstream valve is opened to fill the chamber to a predetermined pressure. Figure 6 shows the case where the upstream valve opens immediately after the downstream valve closes, but a suitable delay may be provided. In 812, when the predetermined pressure is reached at t2, the upstream valve is closed. In 814, the system waits during the pulse OFF time, during which time the gas in the chamber stabilizes. Thanks to the control provided by the control valve 512, the starting pressure P after the stabilization operation is reached. t0 This is not as important as the conventional attenuation rate methods. As a result, the pulse OFF time can be relatively shorter. In 816, if the number of supplied pulses is less than the pulse number setting point, steps 802 to 814 are repeated.

[0055] The system described herein offers several advantages. It provides accurate molar supply by controlling the flow rate during pulse supply time. The pulse waveform can be controlled. High-temperature operation is possible. High-speed filling can be achieved by fully opening the upstream valve. Since the flow rate and supply amount are gas-independent, the ideal gas equation can be used (although the non-ideal gas equation can also be used). Because the amount of moles supplied can be calculated during the pulse and the flow can be controlled, the initial pressure P t0 The accuracy does not need to be that high. The system can be used in many high-speed pulse supply applications such as ALD / ALE processes and TSV processes.

[0056] While exemplary embodiments have been described in detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the form and details without departing from the scope of the embodiments included in the appended claims. Furthermore, the present invention includes the following embodiments. [Aspect 1] A chamber having volume, A pressure sensor configured to detect the pressure of the gas in the chamber, A temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of the gas in the chamber, An upstream valve configured to control the flow of gas into the chamber, A downstream control valve configured to control the flow of the gas flowing out of the chamber, A pulsed gas supply system comprising: a controller configured to control the upstream valve and the downstream control valve to fill the chamber to an initial pressure, and then control the flow of the gas flowing out of the chamber through the downstream control valve during a gas pulse, thereby controlling the duration and supply amount of the gas pulse based on the detected pressure and temperature. [Aspect 2] A pulsed gas supply system according to Embodiment 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the downstream control valve via a feedback loop to adjust the flow out of the system during the pulse based on the pressure and temperature detected during the pulse. [Aspect 3] A pulse gas supply system according to Embodiment 1, wherein the controller is configured to further calculate the flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber and to control the downstream control valve to adjust the flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber based on the calculated flow rate and the target flow setting point. [Aspect 4] A pressure-type pulsed gas supply system according to Embodiment 3, wherein the controller is configured to calculate the flow rate Q based on the following function. Q = -(V × T) stp / P stp ) × (d(P / T) / dt) Here, V represents the volume of the chamber, and T stp represents the standard temperature, P stprepresents the standard pressure, P represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber, and T represents the temperature of the gas in the chamber. [Aspect 5] A pulse gas supply system according to embodiment 3, wherein the controller is configured to further calculate the amount of gas supplied from the chamber and to control the downstream control valve to supply a predetermined amount of gas in the gas pulse. [Aspect 6] A pulsed gas supply system according to Embodiment 5, wherein the controller is configured to calculate the amount of gas to be supplied from the chamber based on the volume of the chamber, the initial pressure of the gas in the chamber detected by the pressure sensor at the start of the pulse, the pressure of the gas in the chamber detected by the pressure sensor during the pulse, and the temperature of the gas detected by the temperature sensor during the pulse. [Aspect 7] A pulsed gas supply system according to embodiment 6, wherein the controller is configured to calculate the amount Δn(t) of the gas supplied from the chamber at time t in the pulse using the following function. Δn(t) = V × (P t0 -P t ) / (R×T t ) Here, V represents the volume of the chamber, and P t0 P represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber at the start of the pulse, t represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber at time t during the pulse, and T t This represents the temperature of the gas at time t during the pulse. [Aspect 8] A pulse gas supply system according to Embodiment 1, wherein the controller is configured to further calculate the amount of gas supplied from the chamber and to control the downstream control valve to supply a predetermined amount of gas in the gas pulse. [Aspect 9] A pulsed gas supply system according to embodiment 8, wherein the controller is configured to calculate the amount of gas to be supplied from the chamber based on the volume of the chamber, the initial pressure of the gas in the chamber detected by the pressure sensor at the start of the pulse, the pressure of the gas in the chamber detected by the pressure sensor during the pulse, and the temperature of the gas detected by the temperature sensor during the pulse. [Aspect 10] A pulsed gas supply system according to embodiment 9, wherein the controller is configured to calculate the amount Δn(t) of the gas supplied from the chamber at time t in the pulse using the following function. Δn(t) = V × (P t0 -P t ) / (R×T t ) Here, V represents the volume of the chamber, and P t0 P represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber at the start of the pulse, t represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber at time t during the pulse, and T t This represents the temperature of the gas at time t during the pulse. [Aspect 11] A pulsed gas supply system according to Embodiment 1, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the flow rate during the pulse to realize a predetermined pulse waveform. [Aspect 12] A pulsed gas supply system according to Embodiment 1, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the downstream control valve to achieve a substantially constant flow rate during the pulse. [Aspect 13] (i) Filling the chamber to the initial pressure by closing the downstream control valve and opening the upstream valve, (ii) When the initial pressure is reached, the upstream valve is closed, (iii) After reaching the initial pressure and closing the upstream valve, opening the downstream control valve to start the pulse of the gas flowing out of the chamber, (iv) A pulsed gas supply method comprising controlling the downstream control valve during the pulse of the gas flowing out of the chamber to supply a predetermined amount of the gas for a predetermined duration of the pulse. [Aspect 14] A pulsed gas supply method according to embodiment 13, further comprising detecting the pressure and temperature of the gas in the chamber during the pulse, and controlling the downstream control valve based on the detected pressure and temperature. [Aspect 15] A pulse gas supply method according to embodiment 13, further comprising controlling the downstream control valve to close when the predetermined amount of gas is reached. [Aspect 16] A pulse gas supply method according to embodiment 13, further comprising controlling the downstream control valve to close when a desired pulse ON time is reached. [Aspect 17] A pulsed gas supply method according to embodiment 13, further comprising repeating (i) to (iv) for each certain number of pulses under the control of a dedicated controller. [Aspect 18] A pulsed gas supply method according to embodiment 13, further comprising measuring the flow rate of gas flowing out of the chamber and controlling the downstream control valve during the pulse to adjust the measured flow rate to a target flow setting point. [Aspect 19] A pulsed gas supply method according to embodiment 13, further comprising calculating the amount of gas supplied from the chamber during the pulse, and controlling the downstream control valve to supply a predetermined amount of gas during a predetermined pulse time. [Aspect 20] A pulsed gas supply method according to embodiment 13, further comprising adjusting the flow rate during the pulse to realize a predetermined pulse waveform. [Aspect 21] A pulsed gas supply method according to embodiment 13, further comprising adjusting the downstream control valve during the pulse to achieve a substantially constant flow rate during the pulse. [Aspect 22] A method for supplying fluid pulses, The inlet valve controls the flow of fluid into the chamber, The pressure sensor detects the pressure of the gas in the chamber, The temperature of the gas in the chamber is detected by a temperature sensor, A method comprising controlling the flow of fluid through a downstream control valve during a pulse of the fluid. [Aspect 23] A method according to embodiment 22, wherein the flow of the fluid through the downstream control valve is controlled based on feedback from the pressure and temperature detected during the pulse. [Aspect 24] A method according to embodiment 22, further comprising calculating the flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber, and controlling the downstream control valve to adjust the flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber based on the calculated flow rate and the target flow setting point. [Pattern 25] A method according to embodiment 24, further comprising calculating the flow rate Q based on the following function. Q = -(V × T) stp / P stp ) × (d(P / T) / dt) Here, V represents the volume of the chamber, and T stp represents the standard temperature, P stp represents the standard pressure, P represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber, and T represents the temperature of the gas in the chamber. [Aspect 26] A method according to embodiment 22, further comprising calculating the amount of gas supplied from the chamber and controlling the downstream control valve to supply a predetermined amount of gas in the gas pulse. [Aspect 27] A method according to embodiment 22, further comprising calculating the amount of gas supplied from the chamber based on the volume of the chamber, the initial pressure of the gas in the chamber detected by the pressure sensor at the start of the pulse, the pressure of the gas in the chamber detected by the pressure sensor during the pulse, and the temperature of the gas detected by the temperature sensor during the pulse. [Aspect 28] The method according to embodiment 27, further comprising calculating the amount Δn(t) of the gas supplied from the chamber at time t in the pulse using the following function. Δn(t) = V × (P t0 -P t ) / (R×T t ) Here, V represents the volume of the chamber, and P t0 P represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber at the start of the pulse, t represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber at time t during the pulse, and T t This represents the temperature of the gas at time t during the pulse. [Aspect 29] A method according to embodiment 22, further comprising adjusting the flow rate during the pulse to realize a predetermined pulse waveform. [Aspect 30] A method according to embodiment 22, further comprising adjusting the downstream control valve to achieve a substantially constant flow rate during the pulse.

Claims

1. A chamber having volume, A pressure sensor configured to detect the pressure of the gas in the chamber, A temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of the gas in the chamber, An upstream valve configured to control the flow of gas into the chamber, A downstream control valve with an adjustable opening is configured to control the flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber, A controller configured to control the upstream valve and the downstream control valve to fill the chamber to an initial pressure, and then control the flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber through the downstream control valve during a gas pulse, thereby controlling the duration and number of moles supplied for the gas pulse based on the detected pressure and temperature, is provided. A pulse gas supply system wherein the controller is further configured to calculate the flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber and to control the downstream control valve to adjust the flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber based on the calculated flow rate and a target flow rate setting point.

2. A pulse gas supply system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to calculate the flow rate Q based on the following function. Q=-(V×T ｓｔｐ / P ｓｔｐ )×(d(P / T) / dt) Here, V represents the volume of the chamber, and T ｓｔｐ represents the standard temperature, P ｓｔｐ represents the standard pressure, P represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber, and T represents the temperature of the gas in the chamber.

3. A pulse gas supply system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to further calculate the number of moles of the gas supplied from the chamber, and to control the downstream control valve based on the calculated number of moles of gas to supply a predetermined number of moles of gas in the gas pulse.

4. A pulsed gas supply system according to claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to calculate the number of moles of the gas supplied from the chamber based on the volume of the chamber, the initial pressure of the gas in the chamber detected by the pressure sensor at the start of the pulse, the pressure of the gas in the chamber detected by the pressure sensor during the pulse, and the temperature of the gas detected by the temperature sensor during the pulse.

5. A pulsed gas supply system according to claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to calculate the number of moles Δn(t) of the gas supplied from the chamber at time t in the pulse using the following function. Δn(t)=V×(P ｔ０ -P ｔ ) / (R×T ｔ ) Here, V represents the volume of the chamber, and P ｔ０ represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber at the start of the pulse, and P ｔ represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber at the time t during the pulse, T ｔ represents the temperature of the gas at the time t during the pulse, and R represents the ideal gas constant.

6. A method for supplying gas pulses, The inlet valve controls the flow of gas into the chamber, The pressure sensor detects the pressure of the gas in the chamber, The temperature of the gas in the chamber is detected by a temperature sensor, Controlling the flow rate of gas passing through a downstream control valve with adjustable opening during the gas pulse, The flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber is calculated, and the downstream control valve is controlled to adjust the flow rate of the gas flowing out of the chamber based on the calculated flow rate and the target flow rate setting point. A method for providing this.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising calculating the flow rate Q based on the following function. Q=-(V×T ｓｔｐ / P ｓｔｐ )×(d(P / T) / dt) Here, V represents the volume of the chamber, and T ｓｔｐ represents the standard temperature, P ｓｔｐ represents the standard pressure, P represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber, and T represents the temperature of the gas in the chamber.

8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising calculating the number of moles of the gas supplied from the chamber, and controlling the downstream control valve based on the calculated number of moles of gas to supply a predetermined number of moles of gas into the gas pulse.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising calculating the number of moles of the gas supplied from the chamber based on the volume of the chamber, the initial pressure of the gas in the chamber detected by the pressure sensor at the start of the pulse, the pressure of the gas in the chamber detected by the pressure sensor during the pulse, and the temperature of the gas detected by the temperature sensor during the pulse.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising calculating the number of moles Δn(t) of the gas supplied from the chamber at time t in the pulse using the following function. Δn(t)=V×(P ｔ０ -P ｔ ) / (R×T ｔ ) Here, V represents the volume of the chamber, and P ｔ０ P represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber at the start of the pulse, ｔ represents the pressure of the gas in the chamber at time t during the pulse, and T ｔ R represents the temperature of the gas at time t during the pulse, and R represents the ideal gas constant.

11. A method according to claim 6, further comprising adjusting the flow rate during the pulse to realize a predetermined pulse waveform.

12. The method according to claim 6, further comprising adjusting the downstream control valve to achieve a substantially constant flow rate during the pulse.

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