JP7785381B2 - Gas supply device and fluid control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a gas supply device for supplying process gases and the like to semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and a fluid control device equipped with multiple such gas supply devices.

In a semiconductor manufacturing process, a plurality of types of gases, such as process gas and purge gas, are supplied to a processing chamber to perform processes such as film formation and etching.
In order to measure and supply such gases to the processing chambers, integrated gas lines each equipped with a plurality of fluidic devices such as mass flow controllers and on-off valves are provided for each type of process gas, and the plurality of integrated gas lines for one processing chamber are arranged in parallel inside a gas supply device. In a semiconductor manufacturing device having a plurality of processing chambers, for example, the above-mentioned gas supply device is provided for each processing chamber (Patent Document 1).

As conceptually shown in Figure 7(a), the supply piping that supplies gas to these multiple gas supply devices employs a system in which supply piping 5a-5d from a gas supply source is individually connected to each of the gas supply devices 5A-5D (Patent Document 3), or a system in which a single piping runs partway through, branching off and connecting to each of the gas supply devices (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-009666 Special Publication No. 2021-533567 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-123425

However, the individual piping system shown in FIG. 7A requires piping space from the gas source to each gas supply device, which poses a concern that it is difficult to save space.
To achieve this space saving, as conceptually shown in Figure 7(b), a system (a system of a transfer pipe) 6s is provided that passes through a plurality of gas supply devices 6A to 6D arranged in a vertical row in order, and that branches (one drop) within each gas supply device 6A to 6D to supply gas to that gas supply device 6 (a system of a transfer pipe). However, the system of Figure 7(b) has a problem that the gas supply capacity is insufficient because a single transfer pipe 6s is used. While it is possible to increase the capacity by increasing the diameter of the transfer pipe 6s, this system has a problem that construction is difficult.

Also, as conceptually shown in Figure 7(c), a method is conceivable in which multiple parallel gas supply pipes 7a-7d are provided that pass through multiple gas supply devices 7A-7D arranged in a vertical row, and gas is supplied to the target gas supply device 7. This allows for both ensuring supply capacity and a certain degree of space savings. However, with this method, if the gas supply devices 7A-7D are aligned in one direction, the connection positions of the pipes supplying gas to the upstream gas supply device 7 and the downstream gas supply device 7 will be different, which is a problem: the components of the gas supply device 7 cannot be shared between the upstream gas supply device 7 and the downstream gas supply device 7. In particular, if the specifications require the pipes inside the gas supply device 7 to be heated with a heater, this method poses the problem of inconsistent temperature control, as the shape of the heater will vary depending on the gas supply device 7.

One of the objectives of the present invention is to solve these problems by providing a gas box and fluid control device that maintains gas supply capacity, saves piping space, and allows parts to be shared between gas supply devices in a fluid control device that supplies gas using multiple gas supply devices.

In order to solve the above problems, the gas supply device of the present invention comprises:
a base member on which piping and fluid equipment are arranged;
a fluid device disposed within the base member and controlling the introduced gas;
an inlet joint provided in front of the base member and formed at an end of an inlet pipe connected to the fluid device;
n passing pipes (n is an integer of 1 or more) arranged so as to pass through the base member from upstream joints provided in front of the base member to downstream joints provided in the rear of the base member;
A gas supply device having:
The n passage pipes have paths that are bent in a plan view,
When viewed from the front, the introduction joint and the downstream joint of the first passing pipe among the n passing pipes are provided at the same position, and when n≧2, the upstream joints of the first to (n-1)th passing pipes and the downstream joints of the second to nth passing pipes are provided at the same position, respectively.
With this configuration, multiple gas supply devices with the same structure are arranged from upstream to downstream, and the facing joints of adjacent gas supply devices are connected with straight piping. Parallel piping from the gas supply source is then connected to each joint on the front of the most upstream gas supply device, allowing gas to be supplied to each target gas supply device through the inside of the nearest gas supply device. This allows for maintaining the gas supply capacity, saving piping space, and sharing parts between the nearest gas supply device and the farthest gas supply device.

The introduction joint and the upstream joints of the first to (n-1)th passage pipes are preferably arranged in this order at equal intervals in a straight line when viewed from the front.
This configuration allows the cap-shaped nut tightening tool to easily access the inlet fitting and the upstream fittings of each of the passage pipes, facilitating attachment and detachment to and from the upstream pipes. In addition, the downstream fittings of each of the passage pipes are also arranged in this order at equal intervals in a straight line in front view, facilitating attachment and detachment to and from the upstream pipes.

Furthermore, the fluid control device of the present invention includes m gas supply devices (m is an integer of 2 or more) arranged from the upstream side, each of which is the above-mentioned gas supply device, and the inlet joint of the (i+1)th gas supply device is connected to the downstream joint of a first outlet pipe among the first to n-th outlet pipes of the i-th gas supply device (i is an integer from 1 to m-1), and when n≧2, the device includes n-1 connection pipes that connect the upstream joints of the first to n-1th outlet pipes of the (i+1)th gas supply device to the second to n-th outlet pipes of the i-th gas supply device, respectively, and pipes from a gas supply source are connected to the inlet joint of the first gas supply device of the m gas supply devices and the upstream joints of the first to n-th outlet pipes, respectively.
With this configuration, multiple gas boxes of the same structure are arranged from upstream to downstream, and the facing joints of adjacent gas boxes are connected with straight piping. Then, parallel piping from the gas supply source is connected to each joint on the front of the most upstream gas box, so that gas can be supplied to each target gas box through the inside of the front gas box. This makes it possible to share parts between the front gas box and the back gas box.

The gas supply device of the present invention includes first through nth passage pipes with curved paths. When viewed from the front, the inlet joint on the front side and the downstream output joint of the first passage pipe on the rear side are aligned, and the upstream joints of the first through n-1th passage pipes on the front side and the downstream joints of the second through nth passage pipes on the rear side are aligned. The fluid control device of the present invention, in which multiple gas supply devices with this structure are arranged from upstream to downstream and the facing joints of adjacent gas supply devices are connected with straight pipes, can supply gas to each target gas supply device by connecting parallel pipes from the gas supply source to the respective joints on the front side of the most upstream gas box, passing through the interior of the gas supply device at the front. This maintains gas supply capacity, saves piping space, and enables the use of common parts between the gas supply device at the front and the gas supply device at the back.

1A and 1B are diagrams conceptually illustrating a gas supply device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a plan cross-sectional view cut near the top surface of the housing, (b) is a front cross-sectional view cut near the side surface of the housing, and (c) is a front (forward) view. 1A is a plan cross-sectional view cut near the top surface of the housing; FIG. 1C is a front cross-sectional view cut near the side surface of the housing; and FIG. 1C is a front (forward) view. 1A and 1B are diagrams conceptually illustrating another modified example of the gas supply device of FIG. 1, in which (a) is a plan cross-sectional view cut near the top surface of the housing, (b) is a front cross-sectional view cut near the side surface of the housing, and (c) is a front (forward) view. FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually showing a fluid control device connected to the gas supply device of FIG. 1; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional plan view conceptually showing a gas supply device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, taken along the vicinity of the upper surface of a housing. FIG. 6 is a block diagram conceptually showing a fluid control device connected to the gas supply device of FIG. 5 . 1A and 1B are block diagrams conceptually showing fluid control devices connected to gas supply devices other than those of the present invention, in which (a) shows a conventional individual piping system, (b) shows a system in which gas is branched from a single passing pipe, and (c) shows a system in which parallel passing pipes are provided.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description, like elements are designated by like reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted where appropriate.
(First embodiment)
1 is a plan cross-sectional view conceptually illustrating a gas supply apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, which is an example of a gas supply apparatus for supplying process gases and the like to a processing chamber of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.
The gas supply device 1 of this embodiment includes a housing 10, an inlet joint 20, a fluid device 30, and first to third flow pipes 41 to 43.

The housing 10 is a base member made of, for example, stainless steel, and has a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape, with a front surface 11 and a rear surface 12 facing each other. In this embodiment, the housing 10 has a structure that completely seals the interior to prevent explosion and leakage, and the front surface 11 and the rear surface 12 are formed by physical walls. However, this configuration is not limited to this, and one or more surfaces may have an open shape. Therefore, the front surface 11 and the rear surface 12 are not necessarily limited to physical walls, but may also be open surfaces, in other words, placed on a plate-like base.

The inlet fitting 20 is a fitting that protrudes from the front face 11 and connects the inlet fitting 21, which introduces gas G1 into the fluid device 30, to the supply fitting F1 from the gas supply source S1 (see FIG. 4), described below, or the connection fitting L1 connected to the first passing fitting 41, described below. The inlet fitting 20 is made of a general-purpose male nut and is configured to be threaded with a cap-shaped nut provided on the connection fitting L1, which connects to the supply fitting F1 from the gas supply source S1 (see FIG. 2) or the downstream fitting 41b of the first passing fitting 41. In FIG. 1, the inlet fitting 20 is shown with the male nut and cap-shaped nut threaded together (the same applies to each of the fittings 41a-43a, 41b-43b, described below).

The fluidic devices 30 are disposed within the housing 10 and are devices that handle the gas G1, such as devices that control the introduced gas G1. In this embodiment, the fluidic devices 30 include fluidic devices 30A to 30E. The fluidic device 30A is an on-off valve, 30B is a mass flow controller, 30C is a through block, 30D is a pressure regulator, and 30E is a pressure sensor. Reference numeral 32 denotes an outlet pipe that supplies the gas G1 controlled by these fluidic devices 30A to 30E to, for example, a processing chamber (not shown). These fluidic devices 30A to 30E are disposed on a plurality of flow path blocks 31 that are arranged in series to form flow paths, and constitute a single integrated gas line (also referred to as an "integrated gas line (30)").
However, in the present invention, the fluid devices are not limited to these fluid devices 30A to 30E, and various other fluid devices can be used. Also, in this embodiment, only one integrated gas line (30) is arranged in the gas supply device 1, but generally, an integrated gas line (30) is formed for each type of gas used in the processing chamber, so multiple integrated gas lines (30) may be arranged in one gas supply device 1.
Furthermore, in the present invention, the fluid devices 30 do not necessarily constitute an integrated gas line, and one or more fluid devices 30 may be independently disposed within the gas supply device 1 .

The first to third passage pipes 41 to 43 are arranged to pass through the housing 10 from upstream joints 41a to 43a provided on the front surface 11 to downstream joints 41b to 43b provided on the rear surface 12, respectively, and are pipes that supply gas G1 to other gas supply devices (1).
The first to third passage pipes 41 to 43 each have a bent path with a step h in the plan view of Fig. 1. The introduction joint 20 and the first to third passage pipes 41 to 43 are arranged in parallel in this order at the same pitch as the step h in the plan view shown in Fig. 1(a).
1(c), the introduction joint 20 and the downstream joint 41b of the first passage pipe 41 are provided at the same position, and the upstream joints 41a and 42a of the first and second passage pipes 41 and 42 and the downstream joints 42b and 43b of the second and third passage pipes 42 and 43 are provided at the same position. Note that in the front view shown in FIG. 1(c), the outlines of the downstream joints 41b to 43b of the first to third passage pipes 41 to 43 are not drawn because they are on the back side of the casing 10 and completely overlap the respective joints (20, 41a, 41b) on the front side.

In the front view shown in FIG. 1(c), the inlet joint 20 and the upstream joints 41a to 43a of the first to third passage pipes 41 to 43 are arranged in this order at equal intervals in a straight line.
This configuration allows easy access for a fastening tool to the introduction joint 20 and the upstream joints 41 a to 43 a of each of the passage pipes (41 to 43), facilitating attachment and detachment to and from the upstream pipes. In addition, the downstream joints 41 b to 43 b of each of the passage pipes (41 to 43) are also arranged in this order at equal intervals on a straight line in a front view, facilitating attachment and detachment to and from the downstream pipes.

In the gas supply device 1 of the present invention, the inlet joint 20 and the upstream joints 41a to 43a of the first to third passage pipes 41 to 43 are not necessarily arranged in a straight line. For example, they may be arranged as shown in FIGS. 2(a) to 2(c) and 3(a) to 3(c). In these examples, the inlet joint 20 and the downstream joint 41b of the first passage pipe 41 are aligned, and the upstream joints 41a and 42a of the first and second passage pipes 41 and 42 and the downstream joints 42b and 43b of the second and third passage pipes 42 and 43 are aligned, respectively. In these variations, the joints are vertically offset, so that even if the piping space is narrower than that shown in FIG. 1, tools do not interfere with adjacent joints during installation and removal. This further reduces the space required for arranging the pipes.
The number of passage pipes is not limited to three, and may be any number greater than or equal to one. However, when the number of gas supply devices 1 to be connected is n, it is preferable to have n-1 pipes, as this is the necessary and sufficient number to supply gas to all of the gas supply devices.

According to this embodiment, when the upstream gas supply device 1 is positioned adjacent to the downstream gas supply device 1 so that the rear surface 12 faces the front surface 11, the downstream joints 41b to 43b of the first to third passage pipes 41 to 43 of the upstream gas supply device 1 can be connected to the inlet joint 20 of the downstream gas supply device 1 and the upstream joints 41a and 42a of the first and second passage pipes 41 and 42, respectively, using straight pipes.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram conceptually showing a fluid control device 100 in which a plurality of gas supply devices 1 shown in Fig. 1 are connected together. In this fluid control device 100, four gas supply devices 1 having the above structure are arranged from upstream to downstream.
Upstream of these four gas supply devices 1 (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D), supply pipes F1 to F4 from a gas supply source S1 are connected to each joint (inlet joint 20 and upstream joints 41a to 43a of the first to third passing pipes 41 to 43) on the front surface 11 of the most upstream gas supply device 1A.
In addition, the facing joints (the downstream joints 41b to 43b of the first to third passage pipes 41 to 43 of the upstream gas supply device 1 and the inlet joint 20 of the downstream gas supply device 1 and the upstream joints 41a, 42a of the first and second passage pipes 41, 42) of adjacent gas supply devices 1 (i.e., 1A and 1B, 1B and 1C, 1C and 1D) are connected to each other by straight connecting pipes L1 to L3, respectively.

Note that the upstream joint 43a of the third passage pipe 43 of each of the gas supply devices 1B, 1C, and 1D is not connected to an upstream pipe and is sealed with a sealing member P. Therefore, the gas G1 is not supplied to each pipe downstream of these upstream joints 43a. Therefore, the gas G1 is not supplied to the third connection pipe L3 between the gas supply devices 1B and 1C and the second and third connection pipes L2, L3 between the gas supply devices 1C and 1D. Therefore, these connection pipes L3, L2, L3 may be omitted, and the joints at both ends (43b, 42a, 42b, 41a, 43b, 42a) may be sealed with a sealing member P. Furthermore, the downstream joints 41b to 43b of the first to third passage pipes 41 to 43 in the most downstream gas supply device 1D are also sealed with a sealing member P.
Although not shown in FIG. 4, outlet pipes 32 (see FIG. 1) are provided from each gas supply device 1 (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) to the respective processing chambers (not shown).

Next, the operation of the fluid control device 100 configured as described above will be described. A portion of the gas G1 from the gas supply source S1 is supplied to the first gas supply device 1A through the supply pipe F1. Another portion of the gas G1 is supplied to the gas supply device 1B through the supply pipe F2, the passing pipe 41 inside the first gas supply device 1A, and the connection pipe L1. Another portion of the gas G1 is supplied to the third gas supply device 1C through the supply pipe F3, the passing pipe 42 inside the first gas supply device 1A, the connection pipe L2, the passing pipe 41 inside the second gas supply device 1B, and the connection pipe L1. Another portion of the gas G1 is supplied to the fourth gas supply device 1D through the supply pipe F4, the passing pipe 43 inside the first gas supply device 1A, the connection pipe L3, the passing pipe 42 inside the second gas supply device 1B, the connection pipe L2, the passing pipe 41 inside the third gas supply device 1C, and the connection pipe L1.
The measured gas G1 is supplied from each gas supply device 1 (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) to the respective processing chambers (not shown) through the outlet pipes 32 (see FIG. 1).

By connecting in this manner, gas G1 can be supplied to each target gas supply device 1 while passing through the inside of the gas supply device 1 in front. This makes it possible to share parts between the gas supply device 1 in the front and the gas supply device 1 in the back.

Second Embodiment
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional plan view conceptually showing a gas supply device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
The gas supply device 2 of this embodiment is obtained by adding a connecting pipe 60 for supplying a second gas G2 to the gas supply device 1 of the first embodiment.
That is, the gas supply device 2 of this embodiment includes a second fluid device 50, a connecting pipe 60, and a branch pipe 70 in addition to the configuration of the gas supply device 1. The same parts of this embodiment as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The second fluid device 50, like the fluid device 30 of the first embodiment, forms a single integrated gas line (also referred to as the "second integrated gas line (50)") and is equipped with an outlet pipe 52 that supplies gas G2 controlled by the fluid device 50 to, for example, a processing chamber (not shown). The configuration of the second fluid device 50 is similar to the configuration of the fluid device 30 of the first embodiment, so a detailed description will be omitted.

The connecting pipe 60 is arranged to pass through the housing 10 from an upstream joint 60a provided on the front surface 11 of the housing 10 to a downstream joint 60b provided on the rear surface 12, and is a pipe through which the second gas G2 flows. Since the connecting pipe 60 is a straight pipe in this embodiment, the upstream joint 60a on the front surface 11 side and the downstream joint 60b on the rear surface 12 side are in the same position when viewed from the front (not shown).
The branch pipe 70 is a pipe that branches off from the connecting pipe 60 and supplies the second gas G2 to the second fluid device 50.

With this configuration, for the first gas G1, which is used in a larger amount compared to the capacity of the supply pipe, the gas can be supplied to each gas supply device 1A-1D via pipes from the parallel gas supply source, the first to third passing pipes 41-43, and the first to third connecting pipes L1-L3. For the second gas G2, which is used in a smaller amount compared to the capacity of the supply pipe, a single supply pipe (transfer pipe 60 and transfer connecting pipe L0) from the second gas supply source passes through multiple gas supply devices 1A-1D in sequence, branches (one drop) within each gas supply device 1A-1D, and supplies the gas to that gas supply device 1A-1D.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram conceptually showing a fluid control device 200 in which a plurality of gas supply devices 2 shown in Fig. 5 are connected together. In this fluid control device 200, four gas supply devices 2 having the above structure are arranged from upstream to downstream.
On the upstream side of these four gas supply devices 2 (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D), similar to the gas supply device 1 of the first embodiment, supply pipes F1 to F4 from the gas supply source S1 are connected to the inlet joint 20 on the front side of the most upstream gas supply device 2A and the upstream joints 41a to 43a of the first to third passing pipes 41 to 43, and further, the transfer supply pipe F0 is connected to the upstream joint 60a of the transfer pipe 60.

The facing joints of adjacent gas supply devices 2 (i.e., 2A and 2B, 2B and 2C, 2C and 2D) (the downstream joints 41b to 43b of the first to third passage pipes 41 to 43 of the upstream gas supply device 2 and the inlet joint 20 and the upstream joints 41a, 42a of the first and second passage pipes 41, 42 of the downstream gas supply device 2) are connected by straight connecting pipes L1 to L3, respectively, and the downstream joint 60b of the connecting pipe 60 of the upstream gas supply device 2 and the upstream joint 60a of the connecting pipe 60 of the downstream gas supply device 2 are also connected by a straight connecting pipe L0.
Although not shown in FIG. 5, outlet pipes 32, 52 (see FIG. 5; two pipes per one processing chamber) are provided from each gas supply device 2 (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D) to the respective processing chambers (not shown).

In the fluid control device 200 of this embodiment configured as described above, for gas G1, which is used in a quantity greater than the capacity of the supply pipe, gas can be supplied to each gas supply device 2 via the first to third flow pipes 41 to 43 and the first to third connection pipes L1 to L3, which are arranged in parallel. For second gas G2, which is used in a quantity less than the capacity of the supply pipe, a single supply pipe (transfer pipe 60 and transfer connection pipe L0) from the second gas supply source S2 passes through multiple gas supply devices 2A to 2D in sequence, branches (one drop) within each gas supply device 2, and supplies gas G2 to that gas supply device 2. This further reduces piping space.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to these specific examples, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as set forth in the claims.

1, 1A to 1D Gas supply devices 2, 2A to 2D (of the first embodiment) Gas supply devices 5A to 5D (of the second embodiment) Gas supply devices 5a to 5d (of FIG. 7(a)) Supply pipes 6, 6A to 6D Gas supply device 6s (of FIG. 7(b)) Passing pipe (crossover pipe)
7, 7A to 7D (in FIG. 7(c)) gas supply devices 7a to 7d, passage pipe 10, housing (base member)
11 Front surface 12 Rear surface 20 Inlet joint 30 Fluid equipment 30A to 30E Fluid equipment 31 Flow path block 32 Outlet pipes 41 to 43 First to third passing pipes (passing pipes)
41a to 43a: Upstream joints 41b to 43b (of the first to third passing pipes); Downstream joint 50 (of the first to third passing pipes); Second fluid control device 52: Outlet pipe 60; Connecting pipe 60a: Upstream joint 60b (of the connecting pipe 60); Downstream joint 70 (of the connecting pipe 60); Branch pipes 100, 200: Fluid control device F0; Connecting supply pipes F1 to F4: First to fourth supply pipes (supply pipes)
G1 Gas G2 Second gas L0 Transfer connection pipes L1 to L3 First to third connection pipes (connection pipes)
P: sealing member S1: gas supply source S2: second gas supply source

Claims (3)

a base member on which piping and fluid equipment are arranged;
a fluid device disposed within the base member and controlling the introduced gas ;
an inlet joint provided in front of the base member and formed at an end of an inlet pipe connected to the fluid device;
n passing pipes (n is an integer of 1 or more) arranged so as to pass through the base member from upstream joints provided in front of the base member to downstream joints provided in the rear of the base member;
A gas supply device having:
The n passage pipes have paths that are bent in a plan view,
When viewed from the front, the introduction joint and a downstream joint of a first passage pipe among the n passage pipes are provided at the same position, and when n≧2, the upstream joints of the first to (n−1)th passage pipes and the downstream joints of the second to nth passage pipes are provided at the same position, respectively. The gas supply device of claim 1, wherein the inlet joint and the upstream joints of the first to nth passage pipes are arranged at equal intervals on a straight line when viewed from the front. a fluid control device including m gas supply devices (m is an integer of 2 or more) arranged from the upstream side, each of which is the gas supply device according to claim 1, and wherein the inlet joint of the (i+1)th gas supply device is connected to a downstream joint of a first passing pipe among first to n passing pipes of the i-th gas supply device (i is an integer from 1 to m-1); and when n≧2, the device includes n-1 connection pipes connecting upstream joints of the first to n-1th passing pipes of the (i+1)th gas supply device to second to n passing pipes of the i-th gas supply device, respectively; and wherein pipes from a gas supply source are connected to the inlet joint of the first gas supply device and the upstream joints of the first to n-1th passing pipes of the (i+1)th gas supply device among the m gas supply devices.