CN114830834A - Plasma device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a plasma device capable of more accurately judging the state of the device when an abnormality occurs. The disclosed plasma device is provided with: abnormality detection means for detecting an abnormality; and a control device for storing state information related to the state of the plasma device at predetermined time intervals, and storing abnormal state information related to the state of the plasma device when the abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection device.

Description

Plasma device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a plasma apparatus that generates plasma.

Background

Various plasma apparatuses for generating plasma have been proposed. For example, the plasma apparatus of patent document 1 described below supplies a process gas to a reaction chamber in which a pair of electrodes are arranged, and generates a discharge between the pair of electrodes to turn the process gas into plasma. The plasma device stores the state of the device in a memory device.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document 1: international publication No. WO2019/145990

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In such a plasma apparatus, for example, information on the state of the apparatus is stored as a history in a storage device at regular intervals. When an abnormality of the plasma apparatus is detected, a history of the time from the time when the abnormality is detected to a predetermined time is stored in association with the occurrence of the abnormality. However, in this storage process, only the history at regular intervals is stored, and therefore it is difficult to determine the state of the plasma apparatus at the time of occurrence of an abnormality from the history.

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a plasma apparatus capable of more accurately determining a state of the apparatus at the time of occurrence of an abnormality.

Means for solving the problems

The present specification discloses a plasma device including: abnormality detection means for detecting an abnormality; and a control device that stores state information on a state of the plasma device at predetermined time intervals, and stores abnormal state information on the state of the plasma device when the abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection device.

Effects of the invention

According to the plasma device of the present disclosure, in addition to information of state information on the state of the device at predetermined time intervals, abnormal state information of the device at the time of abnormality detection can be stored. This makes it possible to grasp the state at the time of abnormality from the abnormal state information, and grasp the states before and after the abnormality from the state information. Therefore, the state of the apparatus at the time of occurrence of the abnormality can be determined more accurately.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a plasma apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a plasma head.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the plasma head cut along the X direction and the Z direction at the positions of the electrode and the main body side plasma passage.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line a-a in fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the structure of the plasma apparatus.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing a connection structure of a current sensor, a pressure sensor, and the like.

Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining processing of storing status information, abnormal status information, setting information, and operating time information.

Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining a process of storing state information, abnormal state information, setting information, and operating time information of another example.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a display screen of the operation unit.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a display screen of the operation unit.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a display screen of the operation unit.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing a display screen of the operation unit.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, one embodiment for carrying out the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in fig. 1, the plasma device 10 of the present embodiment includes: a plasma head 11, a robot 13 and a control box 15. The plasma head 11 is detachably attached to the distal end of the robot 13. The robot 13 is, for example, a serial link type robot (may also be referred to as an articulated robot). The plasma head 11 can irradiate the plasma gas in a state of being attached to the tip of the robot 13. The plasma head 11 can move three-dimensionally by changing its orientation or the like according to the driving of the robot 13.

The control box 15 is mainly configured by a computer, and collectively controls the plasma apparatus 10. The control box 15 includes a power supply unit 15A for supplying power to the plasma head 11 and a gas supply unit 15B for supplying a process gas to the plasma head 11. The power supply unit 15A is connected to the plasma head 11 via a power cable 16 and a control cable 18. The power supply unit 15A performs control for changing a voltage applied to the electrode 33 (see fig. 3) of the plasma head 11 and control for controlling a temperature of a heater 43 (see fig. 4) described later, based on control of the control box 15.

The gas supply portion 15B is connected to the plasma head 11 via a plurality of (four in the present embodiment) gas supply pipes 19. The gas supply unit 15B supplies a reaction gas (an example of a process gas), a carrier gas (an example of a process gas), and a heating gas (an example of a process gas), which will be described later, to the plasma head 11 under the control of the control box 15. The control box 15 controls the gas supply unit 15B, and controls the amount, flow rate, and the like of the process gas supplied from the gas supply unit 15B to the plasma head 11. The plasma apparatus 10 operates the robot 13 under the control of the control box 15, and irradiates the object W placed on the stage 17 with the plasma gas from the plasma head 11.

The control box 15 includes an operation unit 15C having a touch panel and various switches. The control box 15 displays various setting screens, operation states (for example, gas supply states, etc.), and the like on the touch panel of the operation unit 15C. The control box 15 receives various information by operation input to the operation unit 15C.

The plasma head 11 is detachably mounted on a mounting plate 13A provided at the front end of the robot 13. This enables the plasma head 11 to be replaced with a different type of plasma head 11. As shown in fig. 2, the plasma head 11 includes a plasma generating portion 21, a heated gas supply portion 23, a nozzle 35, and the like. The plasma generator 21 generates a plasma gas by converting the process gas supplied from the gas supply unit 15B (see fig. 1) of the control box 15 into plasma. The plasma head 11 generates a heated gas by heating the process gas supplied from the gas supply unit 15B by a heater 43 (see fig. 4) provided therein. The temperature of the heating gas is, for example, 600 to 800 ℃. The plasma head 11 of the present embodiment discharges the plasma gas generated in the plasma generating portion 21 together with the heated gas to the object W to be processed shown in fig. 1. The process gas is supplied to the plasma head 11 from the upstream side to the downstream side in the direction of the arrow shown in fig. 2. The plasma head 11 may not include the heater 43 for heating the heating gas. That is, the plasma apparatus of the present disclosure may be configured without using a heating gas.

As shown in fig. 2, an attachment portion 11B to which the power cable 16 is attached is provided substantially at the center of the connection surface 11A of the plasma head 11. An attachment portion 11C to which the control cable 18 is attached is provided at one end of the attachment surface 11A. Further, a mounting portion 11D to which the gas supply pipe 19 is attached is provided on the opposite side of the mounting portion 11C with the mounting portion 11B interposed therebetween. The mounting portion 11D is connected to a mounting member 25 provided at the tip of the gas supply pipe 19, for example. The mounting portion 11D and the mounting member 25 are, for example, so-called one-touch type joints, and the gas supply pipe 19 is detachably mounted to the plasma head 11.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the plasma generating portion 21 includes a head main body portion 31, a pair of electrodes 33, a nozzle 35, and the like. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view obtained by cutting the pair of electrodes 33 and a plurality of main body-side plasma channels 71, which will be described later, at positions corresponding thereto, and fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line a-a in fig. 3. The head body 31 is formed of a ceramic having high heat resistance, and a reaction chamber 37 for generating a plasma gas is formed inside the head body 31. The pair of electrodes 33 are each fixed in a cylindrical shape, for example, in a state in which the tip end portion thereof protrudes into the reaction chamber 37. In the following description, the pair of electrodes 33 may be simply referred to as the electrodes 33. The direction in which the pair of electrodes 33 are arranged is referred to as the X direction, the axial direction of the columnar electrode 33 is referred to as the Z direction, and the direction orthogonal to the X direction and the Z direction is referred to as the Y direction.

The heated gas supply unit 23 includes a gas pipe 41, a heater 43, a connection unit 45, and the like. The gas pipe 41 and the heater 43 are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the head main body 31 and covered with a cover 47 shown in fig. 4. The gas pipe 41 is connected to the gas supply unit 15B of the control box 15 via a gas supply pipe 19 (see fig. 1). A heating gas (e.g., air) is supplied from the gas supply portion 15B to the gas pipe 41. The heater 43 is installed in the middle of the gas pipe 41. The heater 43 heats the heating gas flowing through the gas pipe 41 to generate a heating gas. The heater 43 is provided with a thermocouple 92 (see fig. 5) for detecting the heating temperature of the heater 43.

As shown in fig. 4, the connection portion 45 connects the gas pipe 41 and the nozzle 35. In a state where the nozzle 35 is attached to the head body 31, one end of the connecting portion 45 is connected to the gas pipe 41, and the other end is connected to a heated gas passage 51 formed in the nozzle 35. The heated gas is supplied to the heated gas passage 51 through the gas pipe 4 and 1.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the outer periphery of a part of the electrode 33 is covered with an electrode cover 53 made of an insulator such as ceramic. The electrode cover 53 has a substantially hollow cylindrical shape, and has openings formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The gap between the inner peripheral surface of the electrode cover 53 and the outer peripheral surface of the electrode 33 functions as a gas passage 55. The opening on the downstream side of the electrode cover 53 is connected to the reaction chamber 37. The lower end of the electrode 33 protrudes from the opening on the downstream side of the electrode cover 53.

Further, a reaction gas passage 61 and a pair of carrier gas passages 63 are formed inside the head main body 31. The reaction gas flow path 61 is provided in a substantially central portion of the head main body portion 31, is connected to the gas supply portion 15B via the gas supply pipe 19 (see fig. 1), and allows the reaction gas supplied from the gas supply portion 15B to flow into the reaction chamber 37. The pair of carrier gas channels 63 is disposed at a position in the X direction so as to sandwich the reaction gas channel 61. The pair of carrier gas flow passages 63 are connected to the gas supply unit 15B via the pair of gas supply pipes 19 (see fig. 1), respectively, and the carrier gas is supplied from the gas supply unit 15B. The carrier gas passage 63 allows the carrier gas to flow into the reaction chamber 37 through the gas passage 55. The four gas supply pipes 19 shown in fig. 1 and 2 are, for example, two gas supply pipes 19 for supplying a carrier gas to the pair of carrier gas flow passages 63, one gas supply pipe 19 for supplying a reaction gas, and a gas supply pipe 19 for supplying a heating gas (a heating gas before heating).

As the reaction gas (seed gas), oxygen (O) may be used ₂ ). The gas supply section 15B, for example, supplies oxygen and nitrogen (N) through the reaction gas channel 61 ₂ ) The mixed gas (e.g., dry Air (Air)) of (a) flows between the electrodes 33 of the reaction chamber 37. Hereinafter, for convenience, the mixed gas may be referred to as a reaction gas, and the oxygen may be referred to as a seed gas. As the carrier gas, nitrogen can be used. The gas supply unit 15B causes the carrier gas to flow from the gas passage 55 so as to surround each of the electrodes 33 of the pair of electrodes 33.

An ac voltage is applied from the power supply unit 15A of the control box 15 to the pair of electrodes 33. By applying a voltage, for example, as shown in fig. 3, a simulated arc a is generated between the lower ends of the pair of electrodes 33 in the reaction chamber 37. When the reaction gas passes through the simulated arc a, the reaction gas is converted into plasma. Therefore, the pair of electrodes 33 generates electric discharge simulating the arc a to turn the reaction gas into plasma, thereby generating a plasma gas.

In addition, a plurality of (six in the present embodiment) main body side plasma passages 71 are formed in the head main body portion 31 at a portion on the downstream side of the reaction chamber 37. The upstream ends of the plurality of main body side plasma passages 71 are open to the reaction chamber 37, and the downstream ends of the plurality of main body side plasma passages 71 are open to the lower end surface of the head main body 31.

The nozzle 35 is formed of, for example, ceramics having high heat resistance. The nozzle 35 is fixed to the lower surface of the head body 31 by a bolt 80. Therefore, the nozzle 35 can be attached to and detached from the head body 31, and can be changed to different types of nozzles. The nozzle 35 is formed with a pair of grooves 81 opened at an upper end surface. The pair of grooves 81 communicates with, for example, three main body side plasma passages 71 that are open on the lower end surface of the head main body 31. Further, the nozzle 35 is formed with a plurality of (ten in the present embodiment) nozzle-side plasma passages 82 penetrating in the Z direction. Grooves 81 (for example, five grooves each) are connected to the upper end of the nozzle-side plasma passage 82. The shape and structure of the nozzle 35 shown in fig. 3 and 4 are examples.

Further, a heating gas passage 95 is formed in the nozzle 35 so as to surround the nozzle-side plasma passage 82. The upper portion of the heated gas passage 95 is connected to the connection portion 45 of the heated gas supply unit 23 via the heated gas passage 51. The lower end of the heating gas passage 95 opens at the lower surface of the nozzle 35.

With such a configuration, the plasma gas generated in the reaction chamber 37 is ejected into the groove 81 through the main body-side plasma passage 71 together with the carrier gas. Then, the plasma gas diffuses inside the groove 81, and is ejected from the opening 82A at the lower end of the nozzle-side plasma passage 82 through each nozzle-side plasma passage 82 of the plurality of nozzle-side plasma passages 82. The heated gas supplied from the gas pipe 41 to the heated gas passage 51 flows through the heated gas passage 95. The heating gas functions as a shielding gas for shielding the plasma gas. The heating gas flows through the heating gas passage 95, and is ejected from an opening 95A at the lower end of the heating gas passage 95 along the ejection direction of the plasma gas. At this time, the heating gas is ejected so as to surround the plasma gas ejected from the opening 82A of the nozzle-side plasma passage 82. By thus ejecting the heated gas to the periphery of the plasma gas, the function (wettability, etc.) of the plasma gas can be improved.

Next, the detailed configuration of the control box 15 will be described. As shown in fig. 5, the control box 15 includes a controller 100, a drive circuit 105, a control circuit 106, a communication unit 107, a leakage detecting device 110, a current sensor 111, a storage device 116, and the like, in addition to the power supply unit 15A, the gas supply unit 15B, and the operation unit 15C described above. The controller 100 is mainly configured by a computer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like, which are not shown. The controller 100 executes a program by the CPU to control the power supply unit 15A, the drive circuit 105, the gas supply unit 15B, and the like, thereby controlling the plasma head 11, the heating gas supply unit 23, and the like. The controller 100 that executes the program by the CPU may be described by the device name alone. For example, the description "controller 100" may mean "controller 100 that executes a program by CPU".

The controller 100 is connected to the operation unit 15C via the control circuit 106. The controller 100 changes the display of the touch panel of the operation unit 15C via the control circuit 106. Further, the controller 100 receives an operation input to the operation unit 15C via the control circuit 106. The storage device 116 is configured by combining a hard disk drive, a RAM, a ROM, and the like. The controller 100 stores, for example, state information 118 relating to the state of the plasma apparatus 10 and abnormal state information 119 relating to the state of the plasma apparatus 10 when an abnormality is detected in the storage device 116. Further, the controller 100 stores setting information 120 and operating time information 121 relating to the setting of the plasma apparatus 10 in the storage device 116. Details of the state information 118, the abnormal state information 119, the setting information 120, and the operating time information 121 will be described later.

The communication unit 107 communicates with a communication device connected to a network, not shown. The communication method is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include LAN and serial communication. The controller 100 may store the state information 118, the abnormal state information 119, the setting information 120, and the operating time information 121 in a server device on the network via the communication unit 107, instead of storing them in the storage device 116 in the control box 15.

The leakage detecting device 110 is a device that detects a leakage current of the power cable 16 connecting the power supply unit 15A and the plasma head 11 (electrode 33). The structure of the electrical leakage detection device 110 is not particularly limited. For example, the leakage detecting device 110 includes a conductive shielding member that shields the power cable 16 and a ground cable that grounds the shielding member, and detects a leakage current flowing through the ground cable. The leakage detecting device 110 outputs the detected current value of the leakage current to the controller 100.

As shown in fig. 6, the power supply unit 15A generates high-frequency ac power to be supplied from a commercial power supply to the electrode 33, and supplies the generated ac power to the electrode 33. The current sensor 111 detects a current flowing through the power cable 16 for supplying power from the power supply unit 15A to the electrode 33. Specifically, the current sensor 111 includes, for example, a current transformer, AD-converts a detected voltage corresponding to a current value flowing through the power cable 16 detected by the current transformer, and outputs a digital value corresponding to the current value to the controller 100. Hereinafter, the digital value corresponding to the current value may be simply referred to as a current value.

The gas supply unit 15B includes a gas generation device 109, a plurality of mass flow controllers 112 (F1 to F5 in fig. 6), a plurality of pressure sensors 113 (white four corners in the figure), and the like. The gas generator 109 is a device for supplying each of the reactant gas, the carrier gas, and the heating gas. The gas generator 109 supplies, for example, nitrogen (N) ₂ ) Oxygen (O) ₂ ) Air (Air, dry Air, etc.). The gas generator 109 includes a compressor serving as a supply source of air, a dryer for removing moisture from the air supplied from the compressor, a separator for separating nitrogen and oxygen from the dry air, and the like. As oxygen of the seed gas of the reaction gas, oxygen-containing air or dry air may be used for the gas generator 109.

The gas generator 109 supplies a reaction gas (oxygen, nitrogen), a carrier gas (nitrogen), and a heating gas (air) as process gases. The mass flow controllers 112 are provided, for example, in correspondence with the respective process gases, and control the flow rates of the respective process gases based on the control of the controller 100. Each mass flow controller 112 outputs the adjusted value (measured value) of the actual flow rate supplied to the controller 100.

The pressure sensors 113 detect the pressure value of the process gas whose flow rate is adjusted by each mass flow controller 112. The pressure sensor 113 detects a pressure value of a mixed gas obtained by mixing the reactive gases (oxygen and nitrogen) in the mixer 115. Therefore, the pressure sensor 113 detects oxygen (O) as a reaction gas (seed gas) ₂ ) Nitrogen (N) mixed with oxygen ₂ ) And the pressure of the mixed gas (dry air) after mixing. The pressure sensor 113 detects the pressure of the carrier gas flowing through the gas supply pipe 19 connected to each of the pair of carrier gas flow paths 63. The pressure sensor 113 detects a pressure value of the heating gas (air before heating) supplied to the gas pipe 41. Each pressure sensor 113 outputs the detected pressure value to the controller 100.

As shown in fig. 5, the heater 43 and the thermocouple 92 attached near the heater 43 are electrically connected to the drive circuit 105. The drive circuit 105 outputs a temperature corresponding to the output value of the thermocouple 92 to the controller 100. The drive circuit 105 controls the heating temperature of the heater 43 based on the output value of the thermocouple 92 so as to be the target temperature instructed by the controller 100. The temperature sensor 114 is provided in the plasma head 11, for example. The temperature sensor 114 has, for example, a thermocouple, detects the temperature of the plasma gas, and outputs the detected temperature to the controller 100.

Next, a storage process executed by the controller 100 of the present embodiment will be described. The controller 100 starts the plasma generation control when receiving an instruction to start the plasma processing via the touch panel of the operation unit 15C, for example. In the plasma generation control, the controller 100 causes the power supply unit 15A to start control for supplying a predetermined electric power to the electrode 33, and causes the gas supply unit 15B to start supply of the process gas (carrier gas, reaction gas, heating gas). The gas supply unit 15B starts supply of the process gas at a predetermined gas flow rate and gas pressure based on the setting information 120 and the like. The controller 100 controls the drive circuit 105 to control the heating temperature of the heater 43 so as to be a predetermined temperature.

Further, when starting the plasma generation control, the controller 100 stores state information 118 relating to the state of the plasma apparatus 10 in the storage device 116 at predetermined time intervals. Fig. 7 shows a time series of processing of the storage state information 118, the abnormal state information 119, the setting information 120, and the operating time information 121. The controller 100 stores the state information 118 every 1S (second) when, for example, starting plasma generation control. The controller 100 stores, for example, a current value of the leakage current detected by the leakage current detecting device 110, a current value output from the current sensor 111, a flow rate value output from the gas supply unit 15B, a pressure value output from the pressure sensor 113, a temperature output from the drive circuit 105 and the temperature sensor 114, and the like as the state information 118 in the storage device 116 in association with a time of every 1 second. The controller 100 stores the state information 118 every 1 second, for example, and when the state information 118 of the period T1 of 10 seconds (10 times) is stored, overwrites the oldest state information 118 with the new state information 118. Thus, the controller 100 can keep the latest 10 seconds (period T1) of the status information 118 as a history. The predetermined time (1 second) for storing the state information 118 and the period T1(10 seconds) for storing the state information 118 are examples.

As shown in fig. 7, when a certain abnormal state is detected in the plasma apparatus 10, the controller 100 stores state information of the plasma apparatus 10 at the time of detection of the abnormal state as abnormal state information 119. In addition, the controller 100 stores the setting information 120 at the time of detecting the abnormality and the operating time (operating time information 121) up to the time point at which the abnormality is detected. When an abnormality is detected, the controller 100 stores the latest state information 118, which is the state information 118 10 times from the time when the abnormality is detected (or before), in the storage device 116 in association with the abnormality state information 119, the setting information 120, and the operating time information 121.

Therefore, the controller 100 of the present embodiment stores the state information 118 in association with the abnormal state information 119 based on the detection value of the leakage detecting device 110 or the like that detects an abnormality. The controller 100 stores the state information 118 included in a period (a period including a period T1 of 10 seconds) from the time point when the abnormality is detected until a predetermined time.

Thus, when an abnormality is detected, the controller 100 stores the state information 118 in association with the abnormal state information 119 at the time of the abnormality. The controller 100 stores, as the state information 118, state information 118 from a point in time when an abnormality is detected until a certain time elapses. This makes it possible to store the state of the device before the occurrence of an abnormality, and to more accurately grasp the state of the device at the time of occurrence of an abnormality.

The state information 118 stored in the controller 100 in association with the abnormal state information 119 is not limited to the information before occurrence of an abnormality. For example, as shown in fig. 8, the controller 100 may store the state information 118 of 10 seconds with the time point when the abnormality is detected in association with the abnormal state information 119. Alternatively, the controller 100 may store the state information 118 of 10 seconds (10 times) after the occurrence of the abnormality in association with the abnormal state information 119.

The controller 100 stores setting information 120 relating to the setting of the plasma apparatus 10, the setting information 120 when an abnormality is detected, and the abnormal state information 119 in association with each other. The threshold value for determining the generation state of the plasma gas, the flow rate of the process gas, and other settings by which the operator uses the plasma apparatus 10 are important information for determining the cause of the abnormality. The setting information 120 (see fig. 11) which is the setting information that can be changed on the user side and is used when an abnormality occurs is stored in association with the abnormal state information 119. This makes it possible to more accurately grasp the state of the apparatus at the time of occurrence of an abnormality.

When abnormality of the apparatus is detected, for example, the controller 100 stops the supply of the processing gas by stopping the supply of the power to the electrode 33, stops the operation of the heating gas supply unit 23, and ends the plasma generation control. Thereby, the plasma generation of the plasma device 10 is stopped. When an abnormality is detected and the plasma generation control is completed, the controller 100 causes the screen of the operation unit 15C to display information of the detected abnormality.

Fig. 9 shows an example of a display screen of the operation unit 15C on which the abnormality information is displayed. As shown in fig. 9, the controller 100 displays an item field 143, a status display field 145, a representative abnormality list 147, a return button 149, and a scroll button 151 on the display screen 141 (touch panel) of the operation unit 15C. The item column 143 indicates the title of the screen displayed on the display screen 141. The controller 100 displays the text "alarm details" as a title of a screen displaying the representative abnormality list 147.

Further, the controller 100 displays the current state of the plasma apparatus 10 on the state display field 145. The states displayed in the state display column 145 are various states such as start-up, initialization, standby, and plasma processing. The return button 149 is a button for returning to the previous display state.

The representative abnormality list 147 is a display field for displaying the detected abnormalities in time series. The controller 100 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the plasma apparatus 10 when an abnormality is detected, for example, by a detection value of at least one of various sensors (the leakage detecting device 110, the current sensor 111, the mass flow controller 112, the pressure sensor 113, the temperature sensor 114, the thermocouple 92, and the like) provided in the plasma apparatus 10. The controller 100 determines that an abnormality has occurred when at least one of the flow rates of the reaction gas, the carrier gas, and the heating gas supplied from the gas supply unit 15B, the voltage value applied to the electrode 33 from the power supply unit 15A, and the current value flowing through the electrode 33 becomes a value indicating an abnormality. As shown in fig. 9 and fig. 12 described later, the controller 100 detects, for example, an abnormality of plasma leakage, an abnormality of GAS pressure rise, an abnormality of GAS pressure sensor, an abnormality of low current, an abnormality of MAIN (GAS1) flow rate, and the like as the abnormality. The type of abnormality detected by the plasma apparatus 10 is not particularly limited. For example, when the current value of the leakage current detected by the leakage current detecting device 110 exceeds the threshold value of the setting information 120, the controller 100 determines that the plasma leakage is abnormal. For example, when the pressure value of the process gas detected by the pressure sensor 113 or the like exceeds the threshold value of the setting information 120, the controller 100 determines that the gas pressure sensor is abnormal.

The controller 100 displays the representative abnormality list 147 in such a manner that the date and time when the abnormality occurred is chronological. The controller 100 displays, for example, the display name of the latest abnormality at the top of the representative abnormality list 147, and displays the display names of the past abnormalities in order from the top to the bottom of the representative abnormality list 147. The controller 100 displays numbers 1, 2, and … … on the left side of each display name in order from the new abnormality. The controller 100 displays a display name representing an abnormality not completely displayed in the abnormality list 147 based on an operation input to the scroll button 151.

When a plurality of types of abnormalities are detected at the same time, the controller 100 selects one of the plurality of types of abnormalities as a representative abnormality and displays the selected representative abnormality in the representative abnormality list 147. Specifically, the controller 100 determines the detection values of the various sensors at a monitoring period shorter than the 1 second period of the stored state information 118, for example. When a plurality of abnormalities are detected from a plurality of detection values detected in the same monitoring cycle, the controller 100 treats these abnormalities as abnormalities occurring simultaneously. The controller 100 selects a representative abnormality from a plurality of abnormalities that occur (are detected) simultaneously, and displays the selected representative abnormality in the representative abnormality list 147. The controller 100 also displays a plurality of abnormalities that occur simultaneously, including the representative abnormality, on a display screen 167 shown in fig. 12, which will be described later. The controller 100 displays, in the representative abnormality list 147, display names of representative abnormalities occurring at different times in chronological order. Thus, when a plurality of types of abnormalities occur simultaneously, a representative abnormality can be selected from the plurality of types of abnormalities and displayed in the representative abnormality list 147. As described above, the simultaneously detected abnormality of the present disclosure treats not only two or more abnormalities as abnormalities detected at the same time (at the same timing), but also abnormalities continuously detected for a short period of time, for example, 1 second or the like, as simultaneously detected abnormalities.

The method of selecting the representative abnormality from the plurality of abnormalities is not particularly limited. For example, the plasma apparatus 10 may be set in advance so that the supplier side of the plasma apparatus 10 obtains statistics of the frequency of occurrence of the abnormality and displays the abnormality having a higher frequency of occurrence as a representative abnormality. Alternatively, the controller 100 may obtain statistics of the types of abnormalities occurring in the use environment from the start of actual use of the plasma apparatus 10 in a production line or the like, and select an abnormality with a higher frequency of occurrence or an abnormality with a lower frequency of occurrence as a representative abnormality. Further, the controller 100 may classify the types of the current abnormality, the gas abnormality, the heat abnormality, and the like among the plurality of types of the abnormalities, and select the representative abnormality from the types having a large number of occurrences.

As shown in fig. 9, when any one of the representative abnormalities displayed in the representative abnormality list 147 is touched while the representative abnormality list 147 is displayed on the display screen 141, the controller 100 displays a display screen 153 shown in fig. 10 on the operation unit 15C. As the item field 143 of the display screen 153, the controller 100 displays the number representing the abnormality selected in the display screen 141 of fig. 9. As an example, item column 143 in fig. 10 shows a case where the first (plasma leakage abnormality) in the representative abnormality list 147 is selected (a case where alarm 1 is selected).

The controller 100 also displays on the display screen 153, in a list manner, the abnormal state information 119 and the state information 118 when the representative abnormality selected in fig. 9 (in this case, the plasma leakage abnormality of alarm 1) is detected. As shown in fig. 10, the abnormality list section 155 is divided into a plurality of rows and columns, and the abnormality state information 119 and the state information 118 are displayed.

The top of the abnormality list section 155 displays item names that explain the respective columns. At the top of the abnormality list section 155, for example, time points, MG1(FR), MG2(FR), S1(FR), S2(FR), h (FR), … …, and a plurality of item names are displayed. In the present embodiment, for example, 17 item names are set in the abnormality list section 155. In fig. 10, only 6 item names out of the 17 item names are displayed in the abnormality list section 155. The controller 100 displays the right item names that are not displayed when the right scroll button 157 of the abnormality list unit 155 is operated.

The column with the item name as the time point displays the abnormal state information 119 at the top and the information of the state information 118 below it. The status information 118 displays the latest 10 seconds of information at the time point when the abnormality occurs. The state information 118 displays the old information in the order of the newest information (time point 1) and the next new information (time point 2) … … from the top, that is, every 1s as going down. Fig. 10 shows only 4 pieces of status information 118 out of the 10 pieces of status information 118 in the abnormality list section 155. The controller 100 displays the status information 118 (before 5S) that is not displayed when the scroll button 159 below the abnormality list section 155 is operated.

Further, items (columns) subsequent to MG1(FR) indicate information stored as abnormal state information 119 and state information 118. MG1(FR) is detected by the mass flow controller 112 of the gas supply unit 15B together with oxygen (O) as a reaction gas (seed gas) ₂ ) Mixed nitrogen (N) ₂ ) The flow rate of (c). MG2(FR) is a reaction gas (seed gas) detected by the mass flow controller 112 as oxygen(O ₂ ) The flow rate of (c). S1(FR) is a method of detecting the carrier gas (nitrogen (N)) supplied to one carrier gas passage 63 of the pair of carrier gas passages 63 (gas supply pipes 19) ₂ ) S2(FR) is a value obtained by detecting the carrier gas (nitrogen (N)) supplied to the other carrier gas passage 63 of the pair of carrier gas passages 63 ₂ ) ) of the flow rate. H (fr) is a value obtained by detecting the flow rate of the heating gas (air) used as the heating gas.

In addition to the above information, the controller 100 stores, for example, the heating temperature of the heater 43 detected by the thermocouple 92 as abnormal state information 119 and state information 118. Similarly, the controller 100 stores the temperature of the plasma gas detected by the temperature sensor 114. In addition, the controller 100 stores the number of times of current loss that the simulated arc a generating the plasma gas is extinguished (turned off). For example, when the value of the current flowing from the power supply unit 15A to the electrode 33 (the value of the current detected by the current sensor 111) becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value and the current value becomes equal to or less than a predetermined determination value after the generation of the simulated arc a, the controller 100 determines that the simulated arc a is extinguished and increases the number of current losses by 1. For example, each time the controller 100 starts the plasma gas generation control, the number of times of current loss is reset, and the number of times of current loss is newly measured and stored as the state information 118 and the abnormal state information 119. The controller 100 may accumulate the current missing number without resetting the current missing number for each plasma generation control, and perform measurement.

The controller 100 stores the pressure of the mixed reaction gas (nitrogen + oxygen), the pressure of the carrier gas (for each gas supply tube 19), and the pressure of the heating gas as state information 118 and abnormal state information 119. The controller 100 can detect these pressures through the pressure sensor 113.

Further, the controller 100 stores the current value of the leakage current detected by the leakage detecting device 110. For example, a leakage current flowing from the shield member of the power cable 16 to the ground flows by electromagnetic induction or the like at the time of power supply for generating plasma, that is, a constant current value flows in normal power supply in which the power cable 16 is not disconnected or the like. Therefore, the controller 100 may store a reference value that is a reference in normal power supply, and an upper limit value and a lower limit value that have a constant width from the reference value. The upper limit value and the lower limit value are values for determining an electrical leakage abnormality. Note that the 17 item names from the time point described above to the MG1(FR) to the upper limit value and the lower limit value are examples, and can be changed as appropriate depending on the configuration of the plasma apparatus 10.

Therefore, as shown in fig. 10, the controller 100 of the present embodiment displays the abnormality state information 119 and the state information 118 when the representative abnormality is detected in a matrix on the operation unit 15C based on the operation input to the operation unit 15C (the touch operation of the representative abnormality list 147). Thus, the user can confirm the abnormality state information 119 and the state information 118 representing the abnormality by collectively displaying them by operating the operation unit 15C. The abnormal state information 119 and the state information 118 at the time of abnormality can be compared in time series order, and the presence or absence of a state such as an abnormal value can be easily checked.

As shown in fig. 10, when the device information button 161 below the abnormality list section 155 is touched and operated in a state where the abnormality list section 155 is displayed on the display screen 153, the controller 100 displays a display screen 163 shown in fig. 11 on the operation section 15C. As the item field 143 of the display screen 163, the controller 100 displays the time information representing the abnormality selected in the display screen 141 of fig. 9.

Further, the controller 100 displays the setting information 120 and the operating time information 121 on the display screen 163. As shown in fig. 11, the controller 100 stores, for example, a version (control version) of a program (control program for plasma generation control) executed by the CPU of the controller 100 and a version (system version) of an operating system as the setting information 120, and displays the setting information on the display screen 163. Similarly, the controller 100 stores and displays a gas pressure (kPa) which is a threshold value for determining a change in the gas pressure (pressure of the reaction gas, etc.) due to attachment/detachment of the nozzle 35, a target pressure (plasma pressure) of the plasma gas, a preheating completion pressure for determining completion of preheating of the heater 43, and the like as the setting information 120. These threshold values and target pressures used for determination can be changed by the user, and are important information for determining the cause of an abnormality. Therefore, the controller 100 stores the threshold value and the like at the time of the abnormality as the setting information 120 and displays the same on the display screen 163.

The controller 100 stores the operation time of the plasma head 11, the electrode 33, the nozzle 35, and the control box 15 as the operation time information 121, and displays the operation time information on the display screen 163. Therefore, as the operation time information 121, it is possible to use information for storing various operation times related to the plasma apparatus 10, such as an operation time of the plasma apparatus 10 itself, and an operation time of each device provided in the plasma apparatus 10. The controller 100 continuously measures the operation time of each device and the like, and when an abnormality is detected, stores the operation time up to that point in the storage device 116 as operation time information 121. The controller 100 stores the operating time information 121 in association with the abnormal state information 119 and the like, and displays the operating time information on the display screen 163. As shown in fig. 11, the controller 100 may display the remaining time of the notification time for notifying the periodic cleaning of the plasma head 11 as the operation time information 121.

The setting information 120 and the operating time information 121 shown in fig. 11 are examples. The controller 100 may store and display information indicating the type of the nozzle 35, a set flow rate of the carrier gas or the like, a set value of the heating temperature of the heater 43, and the like. Each time the OK button 165 displayed on the lower portion of the display screen 163 is touched, the controller 100 displays the setting information 120 and the operating time information 121 that are not completely displayed on the display screen 163.

Therefore, the controller 100 of the present embodiment stores the setting information 120 regarding the setting of the plasma apparatus 10, the setting information 120 when the representative abnormality is detected, and the operating time information 121 when the representative abnormality is detected. The controller 100 displays the setting information 120 and the operating time information 121 on the operation unit 15C based on the touch operation of the device information button 161 on the operation unit 15C. Thus, the user can check the setting information 120 and the operating time information 121 when the representative abnormality is detected by operating the operation unit 15C. The status of the device at the time of abnormality can be easily collected and confirmed.

Further, the controller 100 displays, for example, a display screen 167 shown in fig. 12 as a final screen switched each time the OK button 165 is touch-operated. In the example shown in fig. 11 and 12, each time the OK button 165 is touched and operated, the controller 100 sequentially increments 1/3, 2/3, and 3/3 the numbers on the display screen to display the display screen 167 at 3/3. The controller 100 displays the abnormality list 169 on the display screen 167. The controller 100 displays, for example, the representative abnormality selected in the representative abnormality list 147 of fig. 9 on the uppermost surface of the abnormality list 169 (in the event of an alarm), and sequentially displays the types of other abnormalities detected simultaneously with the representative abnormality below the representative abnormality (such as the low-current abnormality and the MAIN (GS1) flow abnormality in fig. 12). In addition, when all of the abnormality types detected at the same time cannot be displayed in the abnormality list 169, the controller 100 displays another abnormality type that cannot be displayed in response to a touch operation on the scroll button 171 displayed on the right side of the abnormality list 169. When OK button 165 of display screen 167 is touched, controller 100 displays display screen 141 shown in fig. 9, for example.

Therefore, the controller 100 of the present embodiment collectively displays a plurality of types of abnormalities occurring simultaneously on the operation unit 15C based on the touch operation on the OK button 165 of the operation unit 15C. Thus, the user can confirm what kind of abnormality has occurred simultaneously with the representative abnormality through one display by operating the operation unit 15C. When a plurality of abnormalities occur simultaneously, all kinds of abnormalities can be easily checked by displaying on a screen. As shown in fig. 9 to 12, the user can confirm the information about the representative abnormality selected by the user in order by operating the operation unit 15C, and can confirm all the information about the abnormality by a simple operation. In other words, the plasma apparatus 10 of the present embodiment can collectively manage and display various kinds of information related to the abnormality.

The display forms shown in fig. 9 to 12 are examples. For example, the controller 100 may display the values of the abnormal state information 119 and the state information 118 shown in fig. 10 on a graph with the time axis as the horizontal axis.

The operation unit 15C is an example of a display device or a reception device. The controller 100 is an example of a control device and an abnormality detection device. The power supply unit 15A, the gas supply unit 15B, the electrical leakage detection device 110, the current sensor 111, the mass flow controller 112, the pressure sensor 113, the temperature sensor 114, and the thermocouple 92 are examples of abnormality detection devices.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the following effects are obtained.

In one embodiment of the present embodiment, the controller 100 stores state information 118 regarding the state of the plasma apparatus 10 at predetermined time intervals, and stores abnormal state information 119 when an abnormality is detected in addition to the state information 118. Thus, in addition to the information of the state information 118 concerning the state of the device at predetermined time intervals, the abnormal state information 119 of the device at the time of abnormality detection can be stored. This makes it possible to grasp the state at the time of abnormality from the abnormal state information 119 and grasp the state before abnormality from the state information 118. Therefore, the state of the device at the time of occurrence of the abnormality can be determined more accurately. As shown in fig. 8, the controller 100 may store the state information 118 before and after the abnormality or the state information 118 after the abnormality.

It is needless to say that the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, the controller 100 may store the state information 118, the abnormal state information 119, the setting information 120, and the operating time information 121 without associating them with each other. In this case, the user can operate the operation unit 15C to individually check different information stored in the storage device 116.

The operation unit 15C includes a touch panel having two functions of a display device and a receiving device, but may include a display device and a receiving device, respectively.

In the above embodiment, the kind of the process gas supplied from the gas supply pipe 19 is an example. For example, as the process gas, a gas other than oxygen or nitrogen may be used.

Description of the reference numerals

10 plasma device, 15A power supply unit (abnormality detection device), 15B gas supply unit (abnormality detection device), 15C operation unit (display device, reception device), 100 controller (control device, abnormality detection device), 110 electric leakage detection device (abnormality detection device), 111 current sensor (abnormality detection device), 112 mass flow controller (abnormality detection device), 113 pressure sensor (abnormality detection device), 114 temperature sensor (abnormality detection device).

Claims (7)

1. A plasma device is provided with:

abnormality detection means for detecting an abnormality; and

and a control device for storing state information on the state of the plasma device at predetermined time intervals, and storing abnormal state information on the state of the plasma device when the abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection device.

2. The plasma apparatus according to claim 1,

the control device stores the state information in association with the abnormal state information based on the detection of the abnormality by the abnormality detection device, and stores the state information included in a period from a time point at which the abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection device until a certain time.

3. The plasma apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

the control device stores setting information relating to setting of the plasma device, the setting information when the abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection device, and the abnormal state information in association with each other.

4. The plasma apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the plasma device is provided with a display device,

when a plurality of types of abnormalities are simultaneously detected by the abnormality detection means, the control means selects one of the plurality of types of abnormalities as a representative abnormality to be displayed on the display means.

5. The plasma apparatus according to claim 4,

the plasma device is provided with a receiving device for receiving operation input from a user,

the control device displays the abnormal state information and the state information at the time of detection of the representative abnormality on the display device together based on an operation input to the reception device.

6. The plasma apparatus according to claim 4 or 5,

the plasma device is provided with a receiving device for receiving operation input from a user,

the control means stores setting information on setting of the plasma apparatus and the setting information when the representative abnormality is detected by the abnormality detecting means and an operating time related to the plasma apparatus when the representative abnormality is detected by the abnormality detecting means,

the control device displays the setting information and the operating time on the display device based on an operation input to the reception device.

7. The plasma apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6,

the plasma device is provided with a receiving device for receiving operation input from a user,

the control device displays the plurality of types of abnormalities detected simultaneously on the display device in a lump based on an operation input to the reception device.

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