Common Inert Gas Line for Semiconductor Heat Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing heat treatment apparatuses face challenges in minimizing space for gas supply components due to the need for individual inert gas lines for flammable and combustion-supporting gases, which increases the risk of gas mixture and requires larger apparatus sizes.
Innovation Solution
A heat treatment apparatus design that shares a common inert gas line for both the combustion-supporting and flammable gas lines, along with integrated mass flow controllers and a nitrogen-filled enclosure for the mass flow controllers to prevent gas mixture and explosion risks, while minimizing space usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If individual inert gas lines are provided for flammable gas and combustion-supporting gas supply units, then gas mixture prevention is improved, but apparatus space increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the inert gas supply lines for both flammable gas and combustion-supporting gas into a single common line. The inert gas supply unit sends inert gas through this shared line to both the flammable gas supply unit and the combustion-supporting gas supply unit, replacing the need for separate inert gas lines while maintaining gas mixture prevention functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The common inert gas line serves multiple functions: it supplies inert gas to the flammable gas supply unit for purging and to the combustion-supporting gas supply unit for purging, and also supplies inert gas to the exhaust tube to attenuate gas. This multi-functional design reduces the number of components and apparatus space.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If mass flow controllers are housed in nitrogen-filled enclosure, then explosion risk is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent houses the mass flow controllers in an enclosure that is filled with nitrogen, creating an inert atmosphere environment. This prevents potential explosions by eliminating oxygen from the vicinity of the mass flow controllers, which may be exposed to flammable gases during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The mass flow controllers are nested within the nitrogen-filled enclosure, which itself is part of the gas supply unit structure. This nested design protects the mass flow controllers while integrating smoothly into the overall apparatus without requiring a completely separate external safety system.
Data Source
AI summary
A combustion-supporting gas line, a flammable gas line, and an inert gas line are connected to a chamber performing a heat treatment on a semiconductor wafer. Nitrogen is sent from the inert gas line to the combustion-supporting gas line before supplying flammable gas into the chamber to replace gas in the combustion-supporting gas line with nitrogen. Nitrogen is sent from the inert gas line to the flammable gas line before supplying combustion-supporting gas into the chamber to replace gas in the flammable gas line with nitrogen. Common one inert gas line is provided in the combustion-supporting gas line and the flammable gas line, thus a space for arranging components relating to gas supply can be reduced.