Abatement Apparatus with Flow-Path Switching for Exhaust Gas Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional abatement apparatuses for semiconductor CVD processes require multiple wet treatment devices to handle process and cleaning gases separately, leading to increased costs and footprint due to the need for separate treatment of combustible and combustion-supporting gases.
Innovation Solution
An abatement apparatus with a single pre-wet treatment device and a combustion treatment device, utilizing flow-path switching devices and an operation controller to direct process and cleaning gases to their respective treatments, preventing mixing and reducing the number of wet treatment devices needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple wet treatment devices are used to separately treat process gas and cleaning gas from each process chamber, then the safety of gas treatment is improved by preventing explosion, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple wet treatment devices are merged into a single wet treatment device by introducing flow-path switching mechanisms. The switching devices direct process gas and cleaning gas to the same wet treatment device at different times, preventing simultaneous mixing while sharing the treatment resource, thus reducing device count while maintaining safety
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses dynamic flow-path switching to adapt the gas treatment route based on the type of gas being discharged. The switching devices dynamically redirect gas flows to ensure process gas receives wet treatment while cleaning gas bypasses it, providing flexible and safe treatment based on real-time conditions
2Reliability
If multiple wet treatment devices are used to separately treat process gas and cleaning gas, then the reliability of preventing gas mixing is improved, but the footprint of the abatement apparatus increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple wet treatment devices are consolidated into one shared device with flow-path switching capabilities. This merging approach maintains the reliability of preventing harmful gas mixing through controlled sequential treatment while significantly reducing the spatial footprint by eliminating redundant device installations
3Productivity
If process gas is sent to wet treatment device for removal of water-soluble components, then the efficiency of by-product prevention is improved, but the risk of explosion increases when cleaning gas is also present
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically controls the treatment path based on gas type. Process gas is directed to the wet treatment device for efficient by-product prevention, while cleaning gas is dynamically routed to bypass the wet treatment device and proceed directly to combustion treatment, eliminating explosion risk while maintaining treatment efficiency
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration reduces the number of wet treatment devices required, lowering costs and footprint while ensuring safe and efficient treatment of exhaust gases by preventing explosions and maintaining high efficiency in combustion treatment.
Implementation Method 1
Each wet treatment device 501 is configured to remove water-soluble components contained in the process gas and the cleaning gas by water
Implementation Method 2
The combustion treatment device 502 is configured to burn the process gas and the cleaning gas to render them harmless
Data Source
AI summary
An abatement apparatus capable of treating exhaust gas with less wet treatment devices than a conventional abatement apparatus is disclosed. The abatement apparatus includes: a pre-wet treatment device; a combustion treatment device; gas introduction lines coupled to process chambers of a film forming device; first flow-path switching devices coupled to the plurality of gas it lines, respectively; a first gas delivery line extending from the first flow-path switching devices to the pre-wet treatment device; a second gas delivery line extending from the first flow-path switching devices to the combustion treatment device; and an operation controller configured to control operations of the first flow-path switching devices to deliver the process gas to the pre-wet treatment device and deliver the cleaning gas to the combustion treatment device.