Wafer Boat Cooling Wall With High Heat Absorptance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wafer boat handling devices under vertical batch furnaces face inefficiencies in cooling due to high heat radiation surface absorptance of walls, which reflects heat rather than absorbing it, leading to slower cooling of wafer boats and processed wafers.
Innovation Solution
A wafer boat handling device with a wall part adjacent the cooldown position having a heat radiation surface absorptance of at least 0.6 to effectively absorb heat radiation, combined with a gas circulation system for enhanced cooling, utilizing a metal or anodized aluminum wall with a heat sink and cooling channels to manage heat absorption and dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If a stainless steel wall with heat radiation surface absorptance of 0.3-0.4 is used, then the wall reflects heat away from the wafer boat, but this results in slower cooling of the wafer boat
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the heat radiation surface absorptance parameter of the wall from 0.3-0.4 (stainless steel) to at least 0.60 (black anodized aluminum or black painted metal), fundamentally altering the thermal radiation characteristics to improve cooling efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies black anodization or black paint coating to the wall surface, changing its color and corresponding thermal radiation properties. The black surface has higher absorptance (≥0.60) compared to stainless steel (0.3-0.4), enabling more effective heat absorption from the wafer boat
2Temperature
If the wall absorptance is increased to at least 0.60, then heat radiation is absorbed more effectively, but this requires special coating or material treatment
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses black anodization or black paint coating on standard metal walls to achieve high absorptance (≥0.60). These are conventional surface treatment techniques that are relatively easy to apply to metal walls, making the solution practical for manufacturing
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite structure by applying a black coating layer (anodization or paint) on top of a metal wall, combining the structural properties of metal with the high absorptance properties of the black surface layer
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 solution significantly reduces the cooling time of wafer boats from 300 to 800 degrees Celsius to 25 to 100 degrees Celsius, allowing for quicker retrieval of processed wafers and improved operational efficiency of the handling device.
Implementation Method 1
A part of the wall adjacent the cool down position may be a wall part having a heat radiation surface absorptance of at least 0.60 so as to absorb heat from the wafer boat which is in the cooldown position by means of heat radiation absorption
Implementation Method 2
In wafer boat handling devices, this cooling may be improved by a circulation of air or gas which may be cooled by using a heat-exchanger
Data Source
AI summary
A wafer boat handling device, configured to be positioned under a process chamber of a vertical batch furnace. The wafer boat handling device comprises a main housing having a wall defining and bounding a wafer boat handling space, and a boat transporter comprising a wafer boat support for supporting a wafer boat and configured to transport the wafer boat to a cooldown position within the wafer boat handling space. A part of the wall adjacent the cooldown position is a wall part with a heat radiation surface absorptance of at least 0.60 so as to withdraw heat from the wafer boat which is in the cooldown position by means of heat radiation absorption.