Cold Trap Precursor Recovery System for Semiconductor Exhaust
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Solution Overview
Problem
The semiconductor industry faces challenges in recovering and reusing expensive chemical precursors and reducing environmental impact due to the collective disposal of excess reactants and exhaust gases through scrubbers, which results in resource loss and greenhouse gas emissions.
Innovation Solution
A chemical precursor recovery system utilizing cold traps and gas separation membranes to condense and separate chemical precursors from exhaust streams in semiconductor manufacturing, allowing for the reuse of expensive precursors and reduction of environmental impact by eliminating the need for scrubbers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If chemical precursors are used in excess to ensure complete reactions, then reaction completeness is improved, but chemical loss and environmental impact worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a recovery system that captures excess chemical precursors from the exhaust stream after they leave the reaction chamber. The cold trap condenses these precursors back into liquid form, allowing them to be collected and reused. This directly addresses the contradiction by recovering the substance that would otherwise be lost, while maintaining the necessary excess precursor usage for complete reactions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts the excess chemical precursors from the exhaust gas stream using a cold trap. By separating the precursors from the gas phase and condensing them, the system removes the harmful excess chemicals from the emission stream while allowing the reaction process to continue with adequate precursor supply.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If scrubbers are used to abate and dispose of exhaust gases, then environmental compliance is improved, but chemical precursor recovery is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a scrubber that would destroy or neutralize the excess precursors, the patent employs a cold trap to condense and recover them. The harmful excess chemicals are converted from a waste stream into a recoverable resource. This approach maintains environmental compliance by removing precursors from emissions while transforming the disposal process into a recovery process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the traditional scrubber disposal method with a recovery-oriented approach. The cold trap captures precursors that would otherwise be disposed of, allowing them to be collected and reused in subsequent processing cycles, thereby eliminating both environmental harm and material loss.
3Loss of substance
If cold traps are used to condense chemical precursors, then precursor recovery is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cold trap serves as an intermediary device between the reaction chamber exhaust and the environment. It provides a simple phase-change-based separation mechanism that condenses precursors without requiring complex chemical treatment or multiple processing stages. The intermediary cold trap simplifies the overall system compared to sophisticated scrubber designs while achieving effective precursor recovery.
4Measurement precision
If multiple cold traps are arranged in series with decreasing temperature gradient, then separation precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single cold trap function into multiple segmented cold traps arranged in series, each operating at progressively lower temperatures. This segmentation allows for staged condensation of different precursors based on their volatility, improving separation precision. Each segment handles a specific temperature range, making the overall complex separation task more manageable and efficient.
Solution Approach 2:
Each cold trap in the series is assigned a specific local temperature quality, creating a temperature gradient from the first to the last trap. This local quality differentiation enables selective condensation of different chemical precursors at different stages, improving separation precision while distributing the complexity across multiple simpler units rather than one complex unit.
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
The system effectively recovers and reuses chemical precursors, reducing operational costs and environmental impact by isolating and condensing reactive species, enabling the recycling of valuable materials and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.
Implementation Method 1
Each of the cold traps is configured to condense the chemical precursor
Data Source
AI summary
Chemical precursor recovery systems and methods of recovering and reusing semiconductor manufacturing chemistry are disclosed. The recovery systems include a cold trap inlet line in fluid communication with a plurality of cold traps and a cold trap outlet line. The plurality of cold traps is configured to condense the chemical precursors and are arranged based on semiconductor manufacturing process conditions.