JP3022296B2 - Chemical resistant heat exchanger - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat exchanger or a liquid temperature controller, and more particularly to a heat exchange channel structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The reaction rate of a chemical solution is almost always dependent on temperature. Therefore, in order to accurately control the reaction of a highly reactive chemical solution, particularly precise liquid temperature control is required,
As such a temperature controller for a chemical solution, for example, the one shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is used. (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-3
No. 59795).

The liquid temperature controller 100 includes a pair of heat transfer substrates 101 made of a heat conductive material such as aluminum, stainless steel, alumina or graphite.
101 are disposed facing each other at a predetermined interval, and a facing surface 102 of the heat transfer substrate 101 is coated with a fluororesin to prevent the heat transfer substrate from being eroded. To form A side wall body 103 formed of a chemical-resistant material, for example, a fluororesin, is interposed between such a pair of heat transfer substrates to form a pair of heat transfer substrates 101 and 1.
01 in a liquid-tight manner surrounding the space between the heat exchange chambers 10.
4 is formed.

[0004] The side wall 103 is provided with an inlet 105 and an outlet 106 for a chemical solution. On the outer surface of the heat transfer substrate 101, one side of the heat transfer conversion elements 107,... Is in close contact with each other so as to be able to exchange heat, and on the other side, a plate-like block made of a heat conductive material is provided. A radiator 108 having a flow path 109 through which the cooling water passes is provided in a close state so that heat can be transferred. A chemical solution, for example, a semiconductor etching solution, is introduced into the heat exchange chamber 104 from an inlet 105, adjusted to a predetermined temperature, and sent from an outlet 106 to a chemical solution tank.

[0005] In order to improve the efficiency of heat exchange with the chemical solution, the heat exchange chamber 104 is provided with a partition plate 7 in the heat exchange chamber 104 as shown in FIG. ,
A heat exchange flow path is formed, and a round hole C is provided on one side of the partition plate near the side wall body 103 to form a passage communicating between the flow paths. The contact of chemicals is improved.

[0006] The velocity distribution of the fluid flowing through the pipe is large near the center of the cross section of the pipe due to the viscosity of the fluid, and the flow velocity decreases as approaching the pipe wall surface, and the velocity is almost zero at the pipe wall surface. The same applies to the flow path of such a conventional heat exchanger. The flow rate of the chemical is large at the center of the heat exchange flow path where the round hole C is located, and the flow velocity is small near the surface of the heat transfer substrate. The chemical solution easily stays near the surface. The temperature difference between the staying chemical solution and the heat transfer substrate is reduced, and heat transfer is also reduced. Therefore, heat exchange efficiency is poor and
The responsiveness of control was poor, and it was difficult to obtain the precision required for semiconductor processing.

Also, stagnation occurs at the corners of the partition plate and the side wall, and impurities are easily deposited little by little. In long-term use, there is a risk that the deposited impurities may flow out at once and be mixed into the chemical solution.

In order to improve the heat exchange efficiency, by increasing the number of partition plates and decreasing the cross-sectional area of the flow channel, the flow velocity in the flow channel is increased, the layer of the retained chemical liquid is thinned, and the chemical liquid is uniformly distributed. It is conceivable to make contact. However, the flow path becomes complicated, causing not only an increase in manufacturing cost and flow path resistance, but also an increase in the number of places where stagnation occurs, which further increases the risk of impurities being mixed into the chemical solution.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to disclose a heat-resistant heat exchanger which has good heat exchange efficiency and control response, has a simple structure, and hardly accumulates impurities.

[0010]

A first gist of the present invention is to form a pair of a heat conductive substrate having good thermal conductivity, which are made of a chemical resistant material and are arranged opposite to each other at a predetermined distance, and a chemical resistant material. A heat exchanger having a side wall body interposed between the pair of heat transfer substrates and surrounding the heat exchange chamber together with the heat transfer substrate in a liquid-tight manner, and a fluid port for opening the heat exchange chamber to the outside; The heat exchange chamber is divided into a plurality of sections, and a partition plate that forms a heat exchange channel together with the heat transfer board is provided, and a notch is provided on a side of the partition plate that contacts the heat transfer board, whereby the heat exchange is performed. A chemical-resistant heat exchanger characterized in that a passage communicating between flow paths is formed.

Examples of the thermally conductive material include copper, aluminum or alloys thereof, metal oxides such as stainless steel and alumina, and non-metallic materials such as graphite.
It is preferably one that is easy to mold, and can be freely selected as long as the surface is coated with a chemical-resistant sheet (film) or a chemical-resistant film is formed on the surface and used and has the required rigidity.

As the material constituting the side wall body and the partition plate, a material whose outer surface is coated with a chemical resistant material may be used, but from the viewpoint of ease of manufacture and reliability, the material itself has chemical resistance. (For example, fluorine resin).

[0013] In the heat exchanger according to the first aspect, the heat exchange chamber is partitioned by a partition plate to form a heat exchange channel, and the side of the partition plate that abuts the heat transfer substrate is cut out to form a heat exchange channel. A passage communicating between them is formed. Since the chemical liquid flows out from the vicinity of the surface of the heat transfer substrate, the stagnation of the chemical liquid near the surface of the heat transfer substrate is washed away, and the contact between the heat transfer substrate and the chemical liquid is improved, so that high heat exchange efficiency can be obtained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the heat exchanger defined in the first aspect, a small hole or a small notch is provided on a side of the heat exchanger that comes into contact with the side wall of the partition plate to form a sub-passage. In the heat exchanger. By providing a small notch in the corner formed by the side wall body and the partition plate of the heat exchange flow path to create a flow, generation of stagnation can be eliminated.

[0015]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, and shows a chemical liquid temperature controller for semiconductor production. The chemical liquid temperature controller Y includes a chemical resistant heat exchanger 1 and electronic refrigerators 3 and 3 using thermoelectric conversion elements (Peltier elements).
And heat radiation blocks 6 and 6. The heat exchanger 1 includes a pair of heat transfer substrates 2 and 2 made of a good heat conductor such as aluminum or graphite, the surfaces of which are corrosion-resistant by alumite treatment or chemical-resistant resin coating.
It has a side wall member 5 interposed between the heat transfer substrates 2 and 2 to form a heat exchange chamber R together with the heat transfer substrates 2 and 2.

The outer surfaces (non-opposing surfaces) of the heat transfer substrates 2 and 2
One side (mainly acting as a cooling surface) of the electronic refrigerators 3 and 3 is pressed against each other so as to be able to exchange heat, and the other side of the electronic refrigerators is also provided with a heat-dissipating block made of a heat conductive material. 6, 6 are in contact so as to be able to exchange heat. A pair of cooling water conduits 6a, 6a are connected to the radiating blocks 6, 6, and the radiating blocks are cooled by passing cooling water through the radiating blocks. The heat exchange chamber R also has a chemical liquid inlet / outlet 5 connected to a pair of chemical liquid conduits penetrating the side wall body.
a, 5b are provided, and the inside of the heat exchange chamber R is partitioned by a partition plate 7 to form heat exchange channels r1, r2, r3. Such a configuration is the same as the structure of the conventional chemical liquid temperature controller. The feature of the heat exchanger of the present application lies in the following partition structure of the heat exchange chamber.

As shown in FIG. 2, the partition plate 7 is made of a high-purity polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) plate having a predetermined thickness. A passage A is formed by notching a predetermined area on the side that comes into contact with the heat transfer substrates 2 and 2, and a small notch is formed on the other side at a part of a corner formed by the contact between the side wall body and the partition plate. Thus, a sub passage B is formed. The partition plates 7 are provided in alternate directions so as to form a meandering flow path in the heat exchange chamber R.

By providing the partition plates 7, 7 in the heat exchange chamber 4 of FIG. 1, heat exchange channels r1, r2, r3 are formed.
The semiconductor processing chemicals flowing here are cooled or heated by electronic refrigerators 3, 3 joined to the outside of the heat transfer substrates 2, 2, respectively, and are introduced into the heat radiation blocks 6, 6 through cooling pipes. Heat exchanged with water.

When the semiconductor processing chemical liquid is introduced into the heat exchange channel r1 from the chemical liquid inlet 5a, the semiconductor processing chemical liquid is provided on the partition plate 7a while undergoing heat exchange with the heat transfer substrate under the agitation effect of the flow from the chemical liquid inlet. It flows toward passage A1. When flowing into the heat exchange channel r2, the passage A1 flows along the heat transfer substrates 2 and 2 because it is open near the surface of the heat transfer substrate. This keeps the flow velocity near the heat transfer substrate surface high,
It flows without causing stagnation on the heat transfer substrate surface.

Further, the surface of the heat transfer substrate and the heat exchange channels r2 and r
A vortex is formed due to the difference in the flow velocity of the chemical solution with the central portion of 3, and the chemical solution near the surface of the heat transfer substrate and the central portion flows while being stirred, so that the contact property between the heat transfer substrate and the chemical solution is improved, and heat exchange is performed efficiently. Is performed.

A sub-passage B having a small notch is provided at the corner of the partition plate 7 where the stagnation is likely to occur, where the passage is not formed, on the side where the passage is not formed. ing. As a result, a flow is generated at the corner where stagnation is likely to occur, and merges with the main flow of the heat exchange flow path and is quickly washed away, so that impurities do not accumulate at the corner and heat exchange is performed efficiently.

Then, the chemical solution is supplied to the heat exchange channels r1, r2, r
In the same manner, the flow proceeds while sequentially exchanging heat in the same manner, and finally flows out from the chemical solution outlet 5b to be subjected to semiconductor processing.

The shape of the heat exchange chamber R and the numbers of the partition plates 7 and the heat exchange channels r can be appropriately changed without being limited to the above embodiment. For example, depending on the shape and the like of the heat exchange chamber, the passage A may be located near the middle between the two sides contacting the side wall body.
Are alternately provided with partition plates having passages A formed in the vicinity of both ends contacting the side wall body, so that the flow path is outside,
It may be inside, ...

As for the shape of the passage A, as shown in FIG. 4, the notch is tapered so that the opening is widened toward the side wall body, so that the notch has a gradient in accordance with the shape of the heat exchange flow path. For example, the flow may be made to flow more evenly in the next-stage heat exchange flow path by adding a mark. Further, the sub passage B
May be provided so that the small notch is in contact with the heat transfer substrates 2, 2.

[0025]

As described in the above embodiment, the heat exchanger of the present application forms a passage communicating between the heat exchange flow passages by cutting out a part of the side where the heat transfer substrate and the partition plate abut. Therefore, the stagnation of the chemical solution on the heat transfer substrate surface is eliminated, and a vortex is formed due to the flow velocity difference between the vicinity of the heat transfer substrate surface and the center of the chemical solution, thereby improving the contact between the heat transfer substrate and the chemical solution. The heat exchange efficiency is improved, and the size of the device can be reduced. Further, by improving the control responsiveness, more precise temperature control becomes possible.

In the heat exchange flow passage, a sub-passage is provided at the corner between the side where the passage of the partition plate where the stagnation is likely to occur and the side wall is not formed, so that impurities are formed at the corner. Since impurities are not deposited, impurities can be prevented from being mixed into the chemical solution, and the reliability of semiconductor processing quality can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a chemical liquid temperature controller incorporating a heat exchanger according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a heat exchange chamber showing a first embodiment of a partition plate of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a heat exchange chamber showing a second embodiment of the partition plate of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a conventional chemical liquid temperature controller.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a heat exchange chamber showing a conventional partition plate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Y Chemical temperature controller 1 Chemical resistant heat exchanger 2 Heat transfer board 3, 3 Electronic refrigerator 5 Side wall 5 a Chemical liquid inlet 5 b Chemical liquid outlet 6, 6 Heat radiating block 6 a, 6 a Cooling water conduit 7 Partition plate R Heat exchange chamber r1, r2, r3 heat exchange channels A, A1, A2 passage B sub passage C round hole

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F28F 9/24 F28D 21/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pair of thermally conductive heat conductive substrates made of a chemical resistant material and opposed to each other at a predetermined interval, and a pair of heat conductive substrates made of a chemical resistant material. In a heat exchanger including a heat exchange substrate and a side wall body surrounding the heat exchange chamber in a liquid-tight manner together with the heat transfer substrate, and a chemical liquid inlet / outlet opening the heat exchange chamber to the outside, the heat exchange chamber is divided into a plurality of sections. A partition that forms a heat exchange channel with the heat transfer substrate is provided, and a cutout is provided on a side of the partition plate that contacts the heat transfer substrate, thereby forming a passage communicating between the heat exchange channels. Chemical resistant heat exchanger. 2. A sub-passage communicating between the heat exchange flow passages is provided by providing a small hole or a small cutout in a side of the partition plate that contacts the side wall body. The described chemical resistant heat exchanger.