Sublimated Gas Supply System Stabilizing Concentration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sublimated gas supply systems face challenges in maintaining stable concentrations of sublimated gases due to variations in the remaining solid material, leading to inconsistent gas supply during film-forming processes in microelectronics and semiconductor manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
A sublimated gas supply system with two vacuum containers and a dilution gas line, where the concentration of sublimated gas is controlled using pressure gauges and flow meters, and a gas heating unit to maintain stable vapor pressure and prevent precipitation, ensuring consistent gas concentration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a conventional sublimated gas supply method is used, then the solid material can be heated to generate sublimated gas, but the concentration of sublimated gas changes when the remaining amount of solid material changes
Solution Approach 1:
A carrier gas is introduced as an intermediary substance to transport sublimated gas from the heating chamber to the reaction chamber. The carrier gas maintains a relatively constant concentration of sublimated gas by diluting and stabilizing the vapor stream, preventing direct variation in sublimated gas concentration due to changing solid material amounts.
Solution Approach 2:
The system controls the concentration of sublimated gas by adjusting parameters such as heating temperature and carrier gas flow rate. By dynamically adjusting these parameters, the system compensates for changes in solid material remaining and maintains stable sublimated gas concentration throughout the deposition process.
2Manufacturing precision
If the vapor pressure of precursor is decreased to meet film requirements, then film quality is improved, but the difficulty of sublimating solid material increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces direct thermal sublimation with a carrier gas-assisted transport mechanism. Instead of relying solely on thermal energy to sublime material directly into the reaction chamber, the carrier gas mechanically transports the sublimated vapor, reducing the heating requirements and enabling lower vapor pressure materials to be processed effectively.
3Productivity
If solid material is heated to sublimate, then sublimated gas is generated, but the concentration varies as remaining material changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback control mechanisms that monitor sublimated gas concentration and adjust heating power or carrier gas flow accordingly. This ensures that as solid material depletes, the system automatically compensates to maintain stable gas supply concentration, ensuring reliable and consistent film formation throughout the deposition process.
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 stabilizes the concentration of sublimated gas, enabling continuous and consistent supply to post-processes, improving the reliability of film-forming processes by maintaining precise control over gas composition and temperature.
Implementation Method 1
a container heating unit for heating the container so that a sublimated gas of the solid material is produced
Implementation Method 2
a vacuum pump line that comprises a vacuum pump and makes the vacuum containers be in a vacuum state
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a sublimated gas supply system capable of stabilizing the concentration of a sublimated gas of a solid material to be supplied and continuously supplying a sublimated gas with a stable concentration. The sublimated gas supply system includes a container; a heater for heating the container; a vacuum container configured so that a sublimated gas is introduced from the container in a vacuum state when a pressure measured with a container pressure gauge is the saturated vapor pressure of the sublimated gas; a flow amount control unit for controlling the flow amount of the dilution gas so that the concentration of the sublimated gas in the dilution gas inside the vacuum container is controlled to be a prescribed concentration based on the pressure inside the vacuum container when the sublimated gas is introduced into the vacuum container; and a lead-out line for leading out the sublimated gas from the vacuum container into a post process when the concentration of the sublimated gas in the dilution gas reaches the prescribed concentration.