Liquid material vaporizer and liquid material vaporization method

Abstract

This liquid material vaporizer comprises: a gas-liquid mixing section that mixes a liquid material and a carrier gas to generate a gas-liquid mixture; a carrier gas supply channel that supplies the carrier gas to the gas-liquid mixing section; a channel section through which the gas-liquid mixture generated in the gas-liquid mixing section flows; a vaporizer that heats and vaporizes the liquid material contained in the gas-liquid mixture that flows through the channel section; and a cooling section that cools the channel section. The cooling section is connected to the carrier gas supply channel.

Description

Liquid material vaporization device and liquid material vaporization method

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid material vaporizing device and a liquid material vaporizing method.

[0002] In a DLI (Direct Liquid Injection) type liquid material vaporizer (hereinafter also referred to as a "vaporizer"), a gas-liquid mixture of a liquid material and a carrier gas is sprayed into a vaporization chamber using a nozzle, and the liquid material is vaporized. To completely vaporize the liquid material within the vaporization chamber, the vaporization chamber is heated by a heater.

[0003] However, when the vaporization chamber is heated to a high temperature, the heat of the vaporization chamber is easily transferred to the gas-liquid mixture before spraying, which may result in thermal decomposition or deterioration of the liquid material contained in the gas-liquid mixture before it is vaporized in the vaporization chamber.

[0004] In this regard, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an evaporator equipped with a cooling structure for cooling the nozzle. The cooling structure has a refrigerant passage through which a refrigerant flows. The refrigerant is water or a coolant. The refrigerant flows through the refrigerant passage, thereby cooling the nozzle. This reduces the evaporation of the liquid material before spraying due to heat in the evaporation chamber.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-109348

[0006] However, the cooling structure of the vaporizer in Patent Document 1 requires the use of a dedicated refrigerant for cooling the nozzle, which is the object to be cooled, separate from the carrier gas mixed with the liquid material. This requires equipment for introducing the refrigerant and equipment for disposing of the refrigerant after cooling the nozzle. As a result, this may lead to an increase in the size of the semiconductor processing equipment in which the vaporizer is installed. Furthermore, the installation of the equipment required for introducing and disposing of the refrigerant may also result in increased costs.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a liquid material vaporization device and a liquid material vaporization method that can effectively utilize the carrier gas mixed with the liquid material as a gas for cooling the object to be cooled, thereby preventing the semiconductor processing equipment from becoming larger and the costs from increasing.

[0008] A liquid material vaporization device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a gas-liquid mixing section that mixes a liquid material with a carrier gas to generate a gas-liquid mixture, a carrier gas supply path that supplies the carrier gas to the gas-liquid mixing section, a flow path section through which the gas-liquid mixture generated in the gas-liquid mixing section flows, an evaporation section that heats and vaporizes the liquid material contained in the gas-liquid mixture flowing through the flow path section, and a cooling section that cools the flow path section, and the cooling section is connected to the carrier gas supply path.

[0009] A liquid material vaporization method according to another aspect of the present invention includes a gas-liquid mixture generation process for generating a gas-liquid mixture by mixing a liquid material with a carrier gas in a gas-liquid mixing section; a vaporization process for heating and vaporizing the liquid material contained in the gas-liquid mixture generated in the gas-liquid mixing section and supplied to a vaporization section via a flow path section in the vaporization section; a cooling process for cooling the flow path section by supplying the carrier gas; and a carrier gas supply process for supplying the carrier gas, after cooling the flow path section in the cooling process, to the gas-liquid mixing section via a carrier gas supply path.

[0010] According to the present invention, the carrier gas mixed with the liquid material can be effectively used as a gas for cooling the object to be cooled, thereby preventing the semiconductor processing equipment in which the liquid material vaporization device is installed from becoming larger and more expensive.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the general configuration of a liquid material vaporization apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of each step of a liquid material vaporization method for vaporizing a liquid material using the liquid material vaporization apparatus. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a cooling section provided in the liquid material vaporization apparatus, taken along a cross section perpendicular to the direction of flow of a gas-liquid mixture at a connection section. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing another configuration of the liquid material vaporization apparatus. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing yet another configuration of the liquid material vaporization apparatus.

[0012] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a liquid material vaporizer 1 according to this embodiment. The liquid material vaporizer 1 is installed in, for example, a semiconductor manufacturing device (not shown). The liquid material vaporizer 1 includes a flow control valve 2, a vaporizing unit 3, a connection unit 4, and a cooling unit 5.

[0014] (1-1. Flow Control Valve) The flow control valve 2 is a mechanism for controlling the flow rate of a fluid (gas or liquid) used, and constitutes, for example, a part of a mass flow controller (flow control device). The flow control valve 2 is, for example, of a normally open type, and has a main body block 21, a support block 22, and an actuator 23.

[0015] The main body block 21 is made of a metal material such as stainless steel. The main body block 21 has a valve seat surface 21S. A seat surface 24S of a valve body 24 (described later) comes into contact with or separates from the valve seat surface 21S.

[0016] The main body block 21 is formed with a liquid material supply path 21a, a carrier gas supply path 21b, and a gas-liquid mixture discharge path 21c. The liquid material supply path 21a is a flow path that supplies the liquid material LQ, which is to be vaporized in the vaporizer 3, to a gas-liquid mixing section 29 (described later). The carrier gas supply path 21b is a flow path that supplies a carrier gas CG to the gas-liquid mixing section 29. The carrier gas CG may be, for example, an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon. The gas-liquid mixture discharge path 21c is a flow path that discharges the gas-liquid mixture MG generated in the gas-liquid mixing section 29. The gas-liquid mixture MG is a mixture of the liquid material LQ and the carrier gas CG. The carrier gas supply path 21b and the gas-liquid mixture discharge path 21c are connected via a communication path 21d provided in the valve seat surface 21S.

[0017] The support block 22 has a valve element 24. The valve element 24 is a movable body that moves in a direction (e.g., up and down) toward and away from a valve seat surface 21S of the main body block 21, and has a seating surface 24S that comes into contact with the valve seat surface 21S. The valve element 24 is supported by a support body 26 via a diaphragm 25 in a direction (e.g., horizontal direction) that intersects the above-mentioned approaching and separating direction. The support body 26 is fastened to the main body block 21 by, for example, bolts.

[0018] The actuator 23 is a drive unit that moves the valve element 24 in the above-mentioned approaching and separating directions. The actuator 23 includes, for example, a piezo stack 231. The piezo stack 231 is formed by stacking multiple piezo elements that expand and deform when a voltage is applied. The piezo stack 231 is housed in a housing 232 and applies a pressing force to the valve element 24 via a sphere 27 and a plunger 28. The housing 232 is fixed to the support body 26.

[0019] The flow rate control valve 2 further includes a gas-liquid mixing section 29. The gas-liquid mixing section 29 mixes the liquid material LQ with the carrier gas CG to generate the gas-liquid mixture MG. This mixing of the liquid material LQ and the carrier gas CG occurs in the space between the valve seat surface 21S of the main body block 21 and the seating surface 24S of the valve element 24. This space is referred to as a gas-liquid mixing chamber 29a here. Therefore, the gas-liquid mixing section 29 includes the gas-liquid mixing chamber 29a.

[0020] The gas-liquid mixing chamber 29a is a space sandwiched between the valve seat surface 21S and the seating surface 24S, and the valve seat surface 21S and the seating surface 24S form the gas-liquid mixing chamber 29a. From this, it can be said that the gas-liquid mixing section 29 is configured to include the valve seat surface 21S and the seating surface 24S that form the gas-liquid mixing chamber 29a.

[0021] In the above configuration, the valve opening (the gap between the valve seat surface 21S and the seating surface 24S) is set to a predetermined value when no voltage is applied to the piezo stack 231. In this state, the valve body 24 is biased in a first direction together with the plunger 28 by a biasing member (not shown). The first direction is, for example, a direction in which the seating surface 24S moves away from the valve seat surface 21S (e.g., upward in FIG. 1 ).

[0022] When a voltage is applied to the piezo stack 231, the piezo stack 231 expands. Then, the piezo stack 231 presses the valve element 24 in a second direction (e.g., downward) opposite to the first direction, via the sphere 27 and the plunger 28, against the biasing force of the biasing member. Finally, the seating surface 24S of the valve element 24 seats on the valve seat surface 21S.

[0023] Before seating surface 24S seats on valve seat surface 21S, that is, in a state in which a gap is formed between valve seat surface 21S and seating surface 24S, liquid material LQ is supplied to gas-liquid mixing section 29 (gas-liquid mixing chamber 29a) via liquid material supply path 21a, and carrier gas CG is supplied to gas-liquid mixing section 29 via carrier gas supply path 21b. In gas-liquid mixing section 29, liquid material LQ and carrier gas CG are mixed to generate a gas-liquid mixture MG, and the generated gas-liquid mixture MG is discharged to connection section 4 via gas-liquid mixture discharge path 21c and directed toward vaporization section 3.

[0024] On the other hand, when the seating surface 24S is seated on the valve seat surface 21S, the flow rate of the liquid material LQ becomes zero. Meanwhile, the carrier gas CG flows from the carrier gas supply path 21b to the gas-liquid mixture discharge path 21c via the communication path 21d provided in the valve seat surface 21S. That is, when the seating surface 24S is seated on the valve seat surface 21S, only the carrier gas CG flows through the gas-liquid mixture discharge path 21c and is discharged. Note that it is also possible to configure the flow rate of the carrier gas CG (as with the liquid material LQ) to be zero (i.e., a configuration in which neither the liquid material LQ nor the carrier gas CG flows) when the seating surface 24S is seated on the valve seat surface 21S.

[0025] In this way, with the configuration in which the valve element 24 is moved by the actuator 23, a voltage corresponding to a desired valve opening degree can be applied to the actuator 23, thereby realizing the above-mentioned valve opening degree. This makes it possible to appropriately adjust (control) the flow rate of the liquid material LQ that is supplied to the gas-liquid mixing section 29, mixed with the carrier gas CG, and discharged together with the carrier gas CG.

[0026] (1-2. Vaporization Unit) The vaporization unit 3 heats and vaporizes the liquid material LQ contained in the gas-liquid mixture MG that is discharged from the gas-liquid mixture discharge path 21c of the flow control valve 2. The vaporization unit 3 has a vaporization chamber 31 and a nozzle N. The vaporization chamber 31 is a chamber that vaporizes the liquid material LQ contained in the gas-liquid mixture MG, and is heated by a heater (not shown). The nozzle N is located upstream of the vaporization chamber 31 and communicates with the vaporization chamber 31, and sprays the gas-liquid mixture MG into the vaporization chamber 31.

[0027] (1-3. Connection Portion) The connection portion 4 connects the gas-liquid mixture discharge passage 21c of the flow control valve 2 and the vaporizing portion 3. In the configuration of FIG. 1, the connection portion 4 is configured to have a connection pipe 41. The connection pipe 41 is an annular pipe that connects the gas-liquid mixture discharge passage 21c and the nozzle N. The connection portion 4 is formed of a metal material such as stainless steel.

[0028] Here, the gas-liquid mixture discharge path 21c of the flow control valve 2 and the connection part 4 constitute the flow path part FP through which the gas-liquid mixture MG generated in the gas-liquid mixing part 29 flows. In other words, the flow path part FP is constituted by including the gas-liquid mixture discharge path 21c and the connection part 4. Therefore, it can also be said that the vaporization part 3 heats and vaporizes the liquid material LQ contained in the gas-liquid mixture MG flowing through the flow path part FP.

[0029] The cooling unit 5 cools the flow path unit FP. In particular, the cooling unit 5 cools the connection unit 4 included in the flow path unit FP. The cooling unit 5 includes a housing 51, an inlet 52, and an outlet 53.

[0030] The housing 51 covers the periphery of the connection portion 4. In this embodiment, the housing 51 is located around the connection pipe 41 and is formed integrally with the connection pipe 41. In other words, the housing 51 and the connection pipe 41 are configured as a double pipe in which the housing 51 is an outer pipe and the connection pipe 41 is an inner pipe.

[0031] The inlet 52 is a port (opening) through which the carrier gas CG is introduced into the housing 51. The carrier gas CG introduced into the housing 51 is the same as the carrier gas CG mixed with the liquid material LQ by the flow control valve 2. The outlet 53 is a port (opening) through which the carrier gas CG is discharged (exhausted) from the housing 51. The inlet 52 is located on the vaporizer 3 side with respect to the outlet 53.

[0032] By flowing carrier gas CG from inlet 52 to outlet 53 within housing 51 of cooling unit 5, it is possible to cool connection unit 4 (connecting pipe 41) covered by housing 51. For example, even if the vaporizer 3 reaches a high temperature of approximately 200°C, it is possible to cool connection unit 4 by introducing carrier gas CG at the environmental temperature (e.g., approximately room temperature) where the liquid material vaporizer 1 is installed into cooling unit 5. Therefore, even if the vaporizer 3 reaches a high temperature, heat from the vaporizer 3 is less likely to be transmitted upstream (to the gas-liquid mixing unit 29 side of the flow control valve 2) via connection unit 4. This reduces the risk of thermal decomposition and deterioration of the liquid material LQ contained in the gas-liquid mixture MG before it is supplied to the vaporizer 3.

[0033] In particular, when a material with a low vapor pressure (for example, strontium) is used as the liquid material LQ, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the vaporization unit 3 higher in order to evaporate the liquid material LQ in the vaporization unit 3. Therefore, the configuration of this embodiment, in which the connection unit 4 is cooled by the cooling unit 5 in order to reduce thermal decomposition of the liquid material LQ, is effective in particular when a material with a low vapor pressure is used as the liquid material LQ.

[0034] 1 , the cooling unit 5 is in communication with the carrier gas supply path 21b of the flow control valve 2. For example, the cooling unit 5 can be in communication with the carrier gas supply path 21b by fastening the cooling unit 5 and the main body block 21 of the flow control valve 2 with bolts via a flange (not shown). In particular, the bolt fastening allows the housing 51 of the cooling unit 5 to be in communication with the carrier gas supply path 21b via the outlet 53.

[0035] 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of each step of a liquid material vaporization method for vaporizing the liquid material LQ using the liquid material vaporization apparatus 1 having the above configuration. The liquid material vaporization method of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0036] First, carrier gas CG is introduced into cooling unit 5 (S1). More specifically, carrier gas CG is introduced into housing 51 through inlet 52 of cooling unit 5. This causes cooling of flow path FP (particularly connection portion 4) by cooling unit 5 to begin (S2; cooling step). After being introduced into cooling unit 5 and cooling connection portion 4, carrier gas CG is supplied to gas-liquid mixing unit 29 via carrier gas supply path 21b (S3; carrier gas supply step). Meanwhile, liquid material LQ is supplied to gas-liquid mixing unit 29 via liquid material supply path 21a (S4; liquid material supply step).

[0037] In the gas-liquid mixing section 29, the liquid material LQ and the carrier gas CG are mixed together to generate a gas-liquid mixture MG (S5; gas-liquid mixture generating step).

[0038] The gas-liquid mixture MG produced in the gas-liquid mixing unit 29 is discharged via the gas-liquid mixture discharge path 21c to the connecting unit 4 (connecting pipe 41) (S6: discharge step). Then, the liquid material LQ contained in the gas-liquid mixture MG that is discharged via the gas-liquid mixture discharge path 21c and supplied to the vaporizing unit 3 through the connecting unit 4 is heated and vaporized in the vaporizing unit 3 (S7: vaporizing step).

[0039] Next, the supply of the liquid material LQ to the gas-liquid mixing unit 29 is stopped (S8). Note that S8 may be performed as necessary. Subsequently, if the process of vaporizing the liquid material LQ in the vaporizing unit 3 is to be continued (Yes in S9), the process returns to S4, and the processes from S4 onwards are repeated (because S3 is always performed). Note that in the flow control valve 2, if the flow rate of the carrier gas CG is zero while the seating surface 24S is seated on the valve seat surface 21S, the process may proceed from S9 to S3, and the processes from S3 onwards may be repeated.

[0040] On the other hand, if the above process is not to be continued (No in S9), the introduction of carrier gas CG into the cooling section 5 is stopped (S10), the cooling of the connection section 4 by the cooling section 5 is terminated (S11), and the series of processes is terminated.

[0041] (3. Effect) As described above, in this embodiment, the cooling unit 5 is connected to the carrier gas supply path 21b of the flow control valve 2. Therefore, the carrier gas CG to be mixed with the liquid material LQ in the flow control valve 2 can be supplied from the cooling unit 5 to the gas-liquid mixing unit 29 via the carrier gas supply path 21b (see S2 and S3). In other words, the carrier gas CG to be mixed with the liquid material LQ can also be used as a gas to cool the flow path FP (particularly the connection portion 4) in the cooling unit 5. This eliminates the need to prepare a dedicated refrigerant for cooling the flow path FP, separate from the carrier gas CG to be mixed with the liquid material LQ. Therefore, equipment for introducing the refrigerant is not required, and furthermore, equipment for disposing of the refrigerant after cooling is also not required. As a result, it is possible to prevent the semiconductor processing equipment in which the liquid material vaporization device 1 is installed from becoming larger, and it is also possible to prevent increases in costs due to the installation of the above equipment. Furthermore, because a dedicated refrigerant for cooling is not used, waste due to disposal of the refrigerant is not generated.

[0042] Furthermore, by using the carrier gas CG to cool the flow path portion FP, the carrier gas CG is preheated by the heat of the vaporizer 3. For this reason, the carrier gas CG is supplied from the cooling portion 5 to the gas-liquid mixing portion 29 via the carrier gas supply path 21b, and before the gas-liquid mixture MG after mixing with the liquid material LQ is vaporized in the vaporizer 3, the liquid material LQ can be heated to a temperature at which it is easily vaporized (within a temperature range that does not cause thermal decomposition, etc.). This is also expected to improve the vaporization performance of the liquid material LQ in the vaporizer 3.

[0043] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the housing 51 covers the periphery of the connection portion 4 of the flow path portion FP, forming a closed space around the connection portion 4. Because the carrier gas CG flows within this space, the diffusion of the carrier gas CG, which occurs in an open space, is reduced. This reduces the loss of cooling due to the carrier gas CG and the wasteful consumption of the carrier gas CG. Furthermore, because the housing 51 is in communication with the carrier gas supply path 21b, the carrier gas CG, which flows within the housing 51 and cools the connection portion 4, can be reliably supplied to the gas-liquid mixing portion 29 via the carrier gas supply path 21b.

[0044] 1, the carrier gas supply path 21b is connected to the outlet 53 of the cooling unit 5. In this configuration, the carrier gas CG introduced into the housing 51 from the inlet 52 of the cooling unit 5 can be supplied to the carrier gas supply path 21b via the outlet 53. In other words, a configuration in which the housing 51 is in communication with the carrier gas supply path 21b can be reliably realized.

[0045] In particular, in a configuration as shown in Figure 1 in which the inlet 52 is located on the vaporization unit 3 side relative to the outlet 53, in the cooling step S2, the connection unit 4 can be cooled by flowing carrier gas CG inside the housing 51 from the side closer to the vaporization unit 3 (downstream side in the flow direction of the gas-liquid mixture MG flowing through the connection unit 4) to the side farther away (upstream side in the flow direction of the gas-liquid mixture MG).

[0046] This allows the downstream side of the connection part 4, to which heat from the vaporizer 3 is most easily transferred, to be cooled more efficiently (given priority) than the upstream side. As a result, it is possible to reliably make it difficult for heat from the vaporizer 3 to be transferred to the upstream side via the connection part 4, and to reliably reduce the risk of thermal decomposition and deterioration of the liquid material LQ before vaporization in the vaporizer 3.

[0047] The inlet 52 may be located on the opposite side of the outlet 53 from the vaporizer 3. However, in this positional relationship, it is necessary to form a long flow path that connects the outlet 53 and the carrier gas supply path 21b.

[0048] (4. Desirable Position of Inlet) Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cooling unit 5 taken along a cross section perpendicular to the flow direction of the gas-liquid mixture MG in the connection unit 4 (connection pipe 41). As shown in the figure, the inlet 52 of the cooling unit 5 is desirably positioned so as to overlap with a tangent line T to the outer peripheral surface 51a of the housing 51 within the cross section. The outer peripheral surface 51a of the housing 51 is a cylindrical surface that covers the outer peripheral surface 41a of the cylindrical connection pipe 41 of the connection unit 4 with a gap therebetween.

[0049] In this configuration, the carrier gas CG is introduced into the housing 51 through the inlet 52 from the direction of the tangent line T to the outer peripheral surface 51a of the housing 51. This makes it easy to cause the carrier gas CG to swirl and flow around the connection part 4 within the housing 51. The swirling of the carrier gas CG allows the connection part 4 to be cooled by being surrounded by the carrier gas CG in the circumferential direction, thereby improving the cooling efficiency of the connection part 4.

[0050] From the above, in the configuration equipped with the cooling section 5 shown in Figure 3, in the cooling step S2, it can be said that the connection section 4 is cooled by flowing the carrier gas CG into the housing 51 from the direction of the tangent T of the outer peripheral surface 51a of the housing 51 that surrounds the connection section 4 within the above cross section, thereby obtaining the effect of improving the cooling efficiency of the connection section 4.

[0051] 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing another configuration of the liquid material vaporizer 1 of this embodiment. The liquid material vaporizer 1 of Fig. 4 has the same configuration as that of Fig. 1, except that the housing 51 of the cooling unit 5 has a spiral gas flow path 51P.

[0052] The gas flow path 51P is a flow path formed in a spiral shape around the connection part 4 (connection pipe 41) inside the housing 51. The housing 51 having such a gas flow path 51P can be realized, for example, by configuring the housing 51 with a plurality of divided housings and bonding the individual divided housings together by welding or bolting. The spiral gas flow path 51P is in communication with the inlet 52 and the outlet 53 described above, respectively.

[0053] 4 , when carrier gas CG is introduced into housing 51 from inlet 52, the carrier gas CG flows spirally along spiral gas flow path 51P around connection part 4 within housing 51. This allows connection part 4 to be cooled by being circumferentially enveloped by carrier gas CG, thereby improving the cooling efficiency of connection part 4.

[0054] From the above, in the configuration of Figure 4, in the cooling step S2, it can be said that the connection part 4 is cooled by flowing carrier gas CG through a spiral gas flow path 51P formed around the connection part 4 within the housing 51 that covers the connection part 4, thereby obtaining the effect of improving the cooling efficiency of the connection part 4.

[0055] 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing another configuration of the liquid material vaporizer 1 of this embodiment. The liquid material vaporizer 1 of Fig. 5 has the same configuration as that of Fig. 1 except that the cooling unit 5 has fins 54 inside the housing 51.

[0056] The fins 54 are flat heat dissipation plates, and a plurality of them are provided inside the housing 51. Each fin 54 is connected to the outer peripheral surface 41a (see FIG. 3) of the connection portion 4 (connection pipe 41) by, for example, welding. The fins 54 are arranged side by side on the outer peripheral surface 41a at predetermined intervals in the direction in which the connection portion 4 extends inside the housing 51. The fins 54 may be made of the same metal material as the connection portion 4, or may be made of a metal material (e.g., aluminum, copper, or an alloy thereof) having a higher thermal conductivity than the metal constituting the connection portion 4.

[0057] By providing multiple fins 54 connected to the outer peripheral surface 41a of the connection part 4 inside the housing 51, the surface area of ​​the outer peripheral surface 41a of the connection part 4 is essentially equivalent to a configuration in which the surface area of ​​the outer peripheral surface 41a of the connection part 4 is increased by the surface area of ​​the multiple fins 54. Therefore, inside the housing 51, the carrier gas CG is applied not only to the outer peripheral surface 41a of the connection part 4 but also to the fins 54 with large surface areas, allowing the connection part 4 to efficiently dissipate heat. In other words, the cooling efficiency of the connection part 4 can be improved.

[0058] The liquid material vaporization apparatus 1 described above is configured such that the vaporization unit 3 has a nozzle N, the connection unit 4 has a connection pipe 41, and the cooling unit 5 cools the connection unit 4 (connection pipe 41). In this configuration, the cooling unit 5 is in communication with the carrier gas supply path 21b, so that the carrier gas CG mixed with the liquid material LQ can be effectively used as a gas for cooling the connection unit 4, thereby achieving the effects of the present embodiment described above, such as suppressing increases in size and cost of the semiconductor processing equipment in which the liquid material vaporization apparatus 1 is installed.

[0059] 4. Still another configuration of the liquid material vaporizer Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic diagram of still another configuration of the liquid material vaporizer 1 of this embodiment. The liquid material vaporizer 1 of Figure 6 has the same configuration as Figure 1, except that the nozzle N is provided at the connection part 4, which is outside the vaporizer 3, and the cooling part 5 cools the connection part 4, including the nozzle N. It should be noted that the configuration of the cooling part 5 shown in Figures 3 to 5 can of course also be applied to the liquid material vaporizer 1 of Figure 6.

[0060] 6 , the connection unit 4 has a connection pipe 41 and a nozzle N. The nozzle N is located between the connection pipe 41 and the vaporizer 3, and sprays the gas-liquid mixture MG into the vaporization chamber 31 of the vaporizer 3. In other words, the nozzle N is located outside the vaporizer 3 and upstream of the vaporizer 3. The housing 51 of the cooling unit 5 covers both the connection pipe 41 and the nozzle N.

[0061] Even with the configuration of Figure 6, as with the configuration of Figure 1, the cooling section 5 is connected to the carrier gas supply path 21b, so that the carrier gas CG mixed with the liquid material LQ can be effectively used as a gas for cooling the connection section 4, thereby achieving the effects of the present embodiment described above, such as preventing the semiconductor processing apparatus in which the liquid material vaporization apparatus 1 is installed from becoming larger and costly.

[0062] [5. Supplementary Information] In a configuration in which the nozzle N is provided outside (upstream of) the vaporizer 3, the connection unit 4 may be configured to consist of only the nozzle N. That is, the connection unit 4 may not have the connecting pipe 41, and the gas-liquid mixture discharge path 21c of the flow control valve 2 and the vaporizer 3 may be connected via the nozzle N. In this configuration, the nozzle N can be cooled by covering the periphery of the nozzle N with a housing 51 and flowing a carrier gas CG into the housing 51. Therefore, by connecting a cooling unit 5 having such a housing 51 to the carrier gas supply path 21b, the same effect as in this embodiment can be obtained.

[0063] In this embodiment, the flow control valve 2 provided in the liquid material vaporization apparatus 1 is of a normally open type, but the configuration of this embodiment, which connects the carrier gas supply path 21b and the cooling unit 5, can also be applied to a normally closed type flow control valve 2. In this case, the gas-liquid mixing unit 29 may be appropriately modified to have a configuration suitable for the normally closed type.

[0064] The liquid material vaporization apparatus 1 of this embodiment is configured to employ an internal mixing method in which the liquid material LQ and the carrier gas CG are mixed inside the flow control valve 2 to produce a gas-liquid mixture MG, and the carrier gas supply path 21b is connected to the cooling unit 5. Even in an external mixing method in which the liquid material LQ and the carrier gas CG are mixed outside the flow control valve 2, it is possible, for example, to mix the liquid material LQ with the carrier gas CG after the nozzle N has been cooled by the cooling unit 5 when spraying into the vaporization chamber 31, and even in this case, the same effect as in this embodiment can be obtained.

[0065] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these, and the invention can be expanded or modified without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0066] The present invention can be used, for example, in a vaporizer provided in the upstream stage of a semiconductor manufacturing device.

[0067] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Liquid material vaporizer 3 Vaporizer 4 Connection part 5 Cooling part 21a Liquid material supply path 21b Carrier gas supply path 21c Gas-liquid mixture discharge path 29 Gas-liquid mixing part 31 Vaporization chamber 41 Connection pipe 41a Outer circumferential surface 51 Housing 51P Gas flow path 51a Outer circumferential surface 52 Inlet 53 Outlet 54 Fin CG Carrier gas FP Flow path part LQ Liquid material MG Gas-liquid mixture N Nozzle T Tangent

Claims

1. a gas-liquid mixing section that mixes the liquid material with a carrier gas to generate a gas-liquid mixture; a carrier gas supply path for supplying the carrier gas to the gas-liquid mixing section; a flow path section through which the gas-liquid mixture generated in the gas-liquid mixing section flows; a vaporization section that heats and vaporizes the liquid material contained in the gas-liquid mixture flowing through the flow path section; A cooling unit that cools the flow path unit, The liquid material vaporizing apparatus, wherein the cooling section is in communication with the carrier gas supply path.

2. The flow path portion is a gas-liquid mixture discharge passage for discharging the gas-liquid mixture generated in the gas-liquid mixing section; a connection portion that connects the gas-liquid mixture discharge path and the vaporization portion, The liquid material vaporizing device according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling section cools the connection section.

3. The cooling unit has a housing that covers the periphery of the connection unit, The liquid material vaporizing device according to claim 2 , wherein the housing is in communication with the carrier gas supply path.

4. The cooling unit includes: an inlet for introducing the carrier gas into the housing; an outlet for discharging the carrier gas from the housing, The liquid material vaporizing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the carrier gas supply path is connected to the outlet.

5. The liquid material vaporizing device according to claim 4 , wherein the inlet is located on the vaporizing section side with respect to the outlet.

6. In a cross section perpendicular to the flow direction of the gas-liquid mixture at the connection portion, The liquid material vaporizing device according to claim 4 , wherein the inlet is positioned so as to overlap a tangent to an outer circumferential surface of the housing.

7. The liquid material vaporizing device according to claim 3 , wherein the housing has a gas flow passage formed in a spiral shape around the connecting portion.

8. The liquid material vaporizing device according to claim 2 , wherein the cooling portion has a fin connected to an outer circumferential surface of the connection portion.

9. the vaporizing unit has a nozzle that sprays the gas-liquid mixture into the vaporizing chamber, The liquid material vaporizing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the connection portion has a connection pipe that connects the gas-liquid mixture discharge path and the nozzle.

10. The connection portion is A connection pipe connected to the gas-liquid mixture discharge passage; 3. The liquid material vaporizing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a nozzle positioned between said connecting pipe and said vaporizing section, said nozzle spraying said gas-liquid mixture into a vaporizing chamber of said vaporizing section.

11. a gas-liquid mixture generating step of generating a gas-liquid mixture by mixing the liquid material and the carrier gas in the gas-liquid mixing section; A vaporization step of heating and vaporizing the liquid material contained in the gas-liquid mixture generated in the gas-liquid mixing section and supplied to the vaporization section through the flow path section; A cooling step of cooling the flow path section by supplying the carrier gas; A carrier gas supply step of supplying the carrier gas after cooling the flow path section in the cooling step to the gas-liquid mixing section through a carrier gas supply path, the method for vaporizing a liquid material including these steps.