JP2005229786A - Cooling device for electric motor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To fully cool both a driving portion and power supply lines, while reducing weight by well arranging the power supply lines, does not cause the occurrence of an excessive load, and preventing adverse effects on other devices inside a vacuum processing chamber, when an electric motor is used inside a vacuum processing chamber. <P>SOLUTION: A driving portion 5 provided on either a stator or a mover 4 is sufficiently cooled by a cooling fluid that flows in a cooling container 6, by being stored in the cooling container 6. At the same time, a power supply line 11 that supplies electric power to the driving portion 5 is fully cooled by the cooling fluid that flows inside a cooling pipe 12c, by passing the line 11 through the cooling pipe 12c connected to the cooling container 6 to flow the cooling fluid, eliminating the need for the diameter of the line 11 to be large, and a gas and dynamic magnetic field that are generated from the line 11 are shut out to the outside, by constituting the cooling pipe 12c of a metal pipe or a pipe covered with a metal film. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling device for cooling an electric motor.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a coil cooling device for a linear motor that cools a coil by housing a coil that is a drive unit of the linear motor and flowing a refrigerant around the coil is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-275335 A

  By the way, the linear motor may be attached to, for example, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or the like and used in a vacuum processing chamber. In such a vacuum atmosphere, there is no heat dissipation due to convection in the atmosphere, heat dissipation due to heat transfer to the atmosphere, heat dissipation due to heat radiation and heat dissipation due to heat transfer through the member connected to the heat generating part, but the amount of heat dissipation is It is a very limited amount. Here, when the linear motor provided with the cooling device is disposed in the vacuum processing chamber, the coil as a heating element is cooled by the cooling device and heat is recovered, but there is no problem, but a power supply line ( In the case of lead wires (power wires), heat is generated during energization due to the electrical resistance of the wire (a wire made of a plurality of thin oxygen-free copper wires), and this generated heat is stored in a vacuum atmosphere. There is a risk of disconnection due to burning.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to use a thick power supply line (thick wire material; the thicker the electric resistance is, the smaller the electric resistance) is. With wires, handling takes time and weight increases. In addition, when the coil is a mover, the thick power supply line follows the movement of the mover and deforms, so that the deformation force of the thick power supply line becomes a resistance and causes an extra load. Become. Accordingly, the power supply line is required to have a normal thickness used in an air atmosphere.

  The power supply line generally has a structure in which the above-mentioned wire is covered with a resin insulating film. For example, in an apparatus that dislikes gas, such as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs exposure and ion implantation, The gas generated from the coating resin becomes a problem. In addition, in a device that dislikes the influence of a dynamic magnetic field (alternating magnetic field), such as a semiconductor manufacturing device that performs EB (electron beam) exposure, the dynamic magnetic field generated from the power supply line becomes a problem.

  These problems are not limited to the linear motor described above, but are problematic for all electric motors.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem. When an electric motor is used in a vacuum processing chamber, the power supply line is favorably routed, the weight is reduced, and an extra load is generated. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cooling device for an electric motor that is capable of sufficiently cooling both a drive unit and a power supply line while avoiding adverse effects on other devices in a vacuum processing chamber. .

  An electric motor cooling apparatus according to the present invention includes an electric motor including a stator and a mover, a drive unit provided in any one of them, and a power supply line for energizing the drive unit to move the mover. A cooling device for cooling the electric motor disposed in the vacuum processing chamber, which is connected to a cooling container in which at least the drive unit is accommodated and the cooling fluid flows, and a cooling fluid inlet / outlet of the cooling container, A cooling pipe through which a cooling fluid flows, and the cooling pipe is characterized in that a power supply line is passed through the inside and a metal pipe or a pipe coated with a metal film. .

  When the electric motor is arranged in the vacuum processing chamber as described above, according to the electric motor cooling device of the present invention, the drive unit provided in either the stator or the mover is accommodated in the cooling container. Therefore, it is sufficiently cooled by the cooling fluid flowing through the cooling container. Since the power supply line that supplies power to the drive unit is connected to the cooling container and is passed through the cooling pipe that flows the cooling fluid, the power supply line is sufficiently cooled by the cooling fluid that flows through the cooling pipe and thickens the power supply line. There is no need. Since this cooling pipe is a metal pipe or a pipe coated with a metal film, the gas generated from the power supply line and the dynamic magnetic field are blocked from the outside.

  Here, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is disposed in the vacuum processing chamber, and the electric motor performs operations necessary for a predetermined manufacturing process by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. For example, in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs exposure and ion implantation. Since the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that dislikes gas, for example, performs EB exposure, dislikes the influence of a dynamic magnetic field, the above-described operation is particularly effective.

  In addition, when the power supply line is passed through the cooling pipe on the cooling fluid inlet side of the cooling container, the power supply line is cooled by the cooling fluid flowing through the cooling pipe on the cooling fluid inlet side, and the cooling liquid flows into the cooling container. The power supply line is preferably passed through a cooling pipe on the cooling fluid outlet side of the cooling container so that the temperature of the fluid increases and the cooling effect on the drive unit in the cooling container is reduced.

  Further, when the power supply line is led out from the inside of the cooling pipe outside the vacuum processing chamber, maintenance is facilitated.

  Various cooling fluids are employed, but it is preferable to employ a coolant such as pure water which has a higher cooling effect than the cooling gas and has a predetermined insulating property.

  In addition, the drive unit provided on either the stator or the mover has a coil, the other of the stator or the mover has a magnet, the coil is accommodated in the cooling container, and the power supply line is It is preferable that the electric motor is a linear motor in which the mover moves back and forth linearly as a coil lead wire and passed through the cooling pipe. Some of such linear motors require high-precision positioning, and heat accumulation is a major enemy for this high-accuracy positioning, so that the above-described operation is particularly effective.

  Further, when the mover has a coil and the cooling pipe has elasticity, the cooling pipe which is a pipe coated with a metal pipe or a metal film can easily follow the movement of the mover.

  As described above, according to the cooling apparatus for an electric motor according to the present invention, when the electric motor is used in the vacuum processing chamber, it is possible to improve the handling of the power supply line and reduce the weight by eliminating the need to thicken the power supply line. Drive unit while preventing generation of extra load and preventing gas and dynamic magnetic field generated from power supply line from being adversely affected to other devices in the vacuum processing chamber. In addition, both the power supply lines can be sufficiently cooled.

  A preferred embodiment of an electric motor cooling device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a semiconductor manufacturing facility equipped with a cooling device for an electric motor according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side configuration diagram showing the electric motor in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional configuration diagram mainly showing a configuration outside the vacuum processing chamber of the cooling device in FIG. 1. Here, the electric motor used in this embodiment is a linear motor attached to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 and the linear motor 2 are disposed in the vacuum processing chamber 3. ing.

  The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 executes a predetermined manufacturing process in a vacuum atmosphere, and is, for example, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs exposure and ion implantation, for example, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs EB exposure.

  The linear motor 2 performs an operation necessary for a predetermined manufacturing process by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and a moving object constituting the linear motor 2 rapidly reciprocates linearly, for example, an object such as a wafer or a workpiece. Is used as a high-accuracy positioning device for accurately positioning the.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the linear motor 2 includes a coil 5 and a cooling container 6 as a mover 4, and a magnet unit 8 and a base 9 as a stator 7. The coil 5 constitutes a drive unit of the linear motor 2 and is formed by winding a wire in a predetermined shape, and through a power supply line (in this embodiment, a lead wire of the coil) 11 as shown in FIG. It has three-phase coils of U, V, and W that are energized. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the coil 5 is housed in a metal box-shaped cooling container 6 and is fixed at a predetermined position in the cooling container 6 by, for example, an adhesive. In FIG. 3, the coil 5 is schematically drawn.

  A predetermined gap is formed between the coil 5 and the cooling container 6, and the gap is used as a flow path 10 through which the cooling fluid flows. The coil 5 that generates heat when energized by the cooling fluid flowing through the flow path 10. Is cooled. Here, in the present embodiment, a cooling liquid having a higher cooling effect than a cooling gas such as air is used as the cooling fluid. As this cooling liquid, a liquid having a predetermined high insulating property and a high heat capacity is preferable. For example, HFE7200 (trade name; manufactured by Sumitomo 3M) or FC77 (trade name; manufactured by Sumitomo 3M) is preferably used. It is preferable to use pure water having a high insulation level.

  The mover 4 is supported by a predetermined support member (not shown) extending in the moving direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2; the left-right direction in the paper surface in FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the magnet unit 8 is a magnet row that is disposed so as to sandwich the cooling container 6 from both sides and extend in the moving direction of the mover 4, and is fixedly supported on a metal base 9. ing.

  And in the linear motor 2 provided with such a needle | mover 4 and the stator 7, the said needle | mover 4 becomes a support member by supplying with electricity through the electric power supply line 11 to the coil 5 which comprises the needle | mover 4. FIG. The reciprocating linear motion is repeatedly performed between the magnet units 8 and 8 at a high speed (for example, 2 m / s in the present embodiment) while being supported and guided.

  Here, the linear motor 2 is provided with a cooling device 50 for cooling the coil 5. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cooling device 50 includes the cooling container 6, a pump 30, cooling pipes 12 a to 12 d that connect the pump 30 and the cooling container 6, and in which a coolant flows, and It is equipped with.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the pump 30 is disposed outside the vacuum processing chamber 3, and circulates and supplies the cooling liquid to the cooling container 6 through the cooling pipes 12 a to 12 d by driving thereof.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cooling pipes 12 a and 12 b connecting the pump 30 and the cooling container 6 supply the cooling liquid to the cooling container 6, and the cooling pipes 12 c and 12 d collect the cooling liquid from the cooling container 6. The cooling pipe 12a is arranged outside the vacuum processing chamber 3 and connected to the coolant supply port 30a of the pump 30, and the cooling pipe 12b is arranged inside the vacuum processing chamber 3 and communicated with the cooling pipe 12a. It is connected to the inlet 6b of the cooling container 6. In addition, the cooling pipe 12 c is disposed in the vacuum processing chamber 3 and connected to the outlet 6 a of the cooling container 6, and the cooling pipe 12 d is disposed outside the vacuum processing chamber 3 and communicated with the cooling pipe 12 c and the cooling of the pump 30. It is connected to the liquid recovery port 30b.

  The cooling pipes 12b and 12c connected to the mover 4 (cooling container 6) in the vacuum processing chamber 3 are stretchable, for example, in a bellows shape or a bellows shape so as to follow the movement of the mover 4. It is set as the structure which has.

  Here, particularly in the present embodiment, the power supply line 11 is passed through the cooling pipes 12 c and 12 d on the coolant outlet side of the cooling container 6 in order to cool the power supply line 11 that supplies power to the coil 5. In addition, the cooling in which the power supply line 11 is passed in the vacuum processing chamber 3 does not adversely affect the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 in the vacuum processing chamber 3 due to the power supply line 11. The tube 12c is a metal tube or a tube coated with a metal film.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the power supply line 11 passed through the cooling pipes 12c and 12d is taken out to the outside through the terminal box 40 in the middle of the cooling pipe 12d in this embodiment. Yes.

  The terminal box 40 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped box shape in which a flat insulating cover 40b is screwed to a concave body portion 40a, for example. Flows in and out, and the power supply line 11 is introduced through the opening 40c on the inflow side. Metal terminals 40e are fixed to the insulating lid 40b through a plurality of predetermined positions. The ends of the power supply wires 11 are clamped at the inner ends of the metal terminals 40e. The end of the wire rod of the power supply line 13 from the drive circuit 60 (see FIG. 1) for energizing the coil 5 is clamped at the end.

  The terminal box 40 has a so-called hermetic terminal box, that is, an insulating portion made of, for example, glass or resin at a plurality of predetermined positions on a metal upper lid, and a metal terminal is fixed through the insulating portion. Compared to a terminal box in which the wire end of one power supply line is soldered to the inner end of the terminal, and the wire end of the other power supply line is clamped to the outer end of the metal terminal It has a simple structure.

  And since this terminal box 40 is installed in the middle of the cooling pipe 12d outside the vacuum processing chamber 3, and the power supply line 11 is branched before the pump 30 without entering the pump 30, maintenance is easy. Has been.

  According to the semiconductor manufacturing facility including the cooling device 50 configured as described above, a predetermined manufacturing process is executed in a vacuum atmosphere by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1, and accordingly, an operation necessary for the predetermined manufacturing process is performed by a linear motor. 2, the coil 5 is energized from the drive circuit 60 through the power supply lines 13 and 11, and the movable element 4 repeatedly reciprocates linearly at high speed.

  At this time, since the cooling pipes 12b and 12c connected to the mover 4 have elasticity, the cooling pipes 12b and 12c easily follow the movement of the mover 4.

  As the coil 5 is energized, the coil 5 generates heat and is particularly located in the vacuum processing chamber 3 so that heat is stored. At this time, the pump 30 is driven and the coil 5 of the cooling container 6 is connected to the coil 5. On the other hand, since the cooling liquid is circulated and supplied through the cooling pipes 12a to 12d, the coil 5 is sufficiently cooled by the cooling liquid.

  At the same time, the power supply line 11 generates heat due to energization of the coil 5 and is stored in the vacuum processing chamber 3 in particular. However, the power supply line 11 is passed through the cooling pipes 12c and 12d. Therefore, it is sufficiently cooled by the cooling liquid from the cooling container 6. In particular, in the present embodiment, the linear motor 2 is a high-precision positioning device, and in such a high-precision positioning device, accuracy degradation due to thermal expansion or the like becomes a major enemy, so that sufficient cooling with the cooling liquid is effective. is there.

  When the power supply line 11 is passed through the cooling pipes 12a and 12b on the cooling liquid inlet side of the cooling container 6, the power supply line 11 is cooled by the cooling liquid flowing through the cooling pipes 12a and 12b, and the cooling container Since the temperature of the cooling liquid flowing into the cooling vessel 6 rises and the cooling effect on the coil 5 in the cooling vessel 6 is reduced, the cooling tubes 12c and 12d on the cooling solution outlet side of the cooling vessel 6 are passed as in this embodiment. Is preferred.

  Thus, in this embodiment, since the power supply line 11 is sufficiently cooled by the coolant, it is not necessary to make the power supply line 11 thick. For this reason, the power supply line 11 is easily routed, the weight is reduced, and an extra load is eliminated.

  When the power supply line 11 is exposed to the environment, a gas is generated from the coating resin, and a dynamic magnetic field (alternating magnetic field) is generated from the power supply line 11. Semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses that perform chemical reaction processes) dislike gas, and semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses that perform EB exposure described above dislike the influence of dynamic magnetic fields.

  Here, in particular, in the present embodiment, the power supply line 11 is passed through the cooling pipe 12c, and the cooling pipe 12c is a pipe coated with a metal pipe or a metal film. The magnetic field is blocked from the outside. For this reason, it is prevented that the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 in the same room is adversely affected.

  In this semiconductor manufacturing facility, if the temperature of the cooling liquid rises too much, the cooling liquid may evaporate in the flow path and the linear motor 2 may be destroyed, or the coil 5 may be bonded to the cooling container 6. In the high-precision positioning device as in this embodiment, the temperature of the coil 5 may be transmitted to the structural member and the thermal expansion may cause destruction of the accuracy. It is necessary to design so that the temperature of this is 30 to 40 ° C. at the highest.

Incidentally, in the linear motor 2 of the present embodiment, it is necessary to pass a current of about 10 Arms through the power supply line 11, but according to experiments by the present inventors, the case where the power supply line 11 is used in the atmosphere. Similarly, even when three wires having a thickness of 0.75 mm ² are used, it was confirmed that the performance of the linear motor 2 is sufficiently exhibited without causing disconnection or the like.

  The present invention has been specifically described above based on the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the coil 5 is accommodated in the cooling container 6 and Although the coil 5 is cooled, the coil and other components are also accommodated in a cooling container such as a tank, and can be cooled by bathing them in a coolant.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although a cooling fluid is used as a cooling fluid because the cooling effect is high, it is also possible to use a cooling gas.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, since the coil 5 which is a drive part is provided in the needle | mover 4, the electric power supply line 11 is connected to the needle | mover 4, but the coil 5 is provided in the stator 7. If it is, the power supply line 11 is connected to the stator 7.

  In the above embodiment, the application to the linear motor 2 is described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a rotary motor, and can also be applied to a DC motor, an AC motor, a stepping motor, a servo motor, and the like. Furthermore, it can be applied to an ultrasonic motor that moves a rotor that is a mover pressed against the piezoelectric ceramic by using the piezoelectric ceramic as a drive unit and energizing the piezoelectric ceramic to vibrate. Yes, in short, it is applicable to all electric motors. Of course, the use of the electric motor is not limited to the high-precision positioning device.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the semiconductor manufacturing equipment provided with the cooling device of the electric motor which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a side block diagram which shows the electric motor in FIG. FIG. 3 is a front sectional configuration diagram of a mover of the electric motor shown in FIG. 2. It is a partial cross section block diagram which mainly shows the structure outside the vacuum processing chamber of the cooling device in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, 2 ... Linear motor (electric motor), 3 ... Vacuum processing chamber, 4 ... Movable element, 5 ... Coil (drive part), 6 ... Cooling container, 6a ... Outlet of cooling fluid, 6b ... Cooling fluid 7 ... Stator, 8 ... Magnet, 11 ... Power supply line (coil lead wire), 12a-12d ... Cooling pipe, 30 ... Pump, 40 ... Terminal box, 50 ... Cooling device.

Claims (7)

Attached to an electric motor comprising a stator and a mover, a drive unit provided in any one of them, and a power supply line for energizing the drive unit to move the mover, A cooling device for cooling the electric motor arranged,
A cooling vessel that houses at least the drive unit and through which a cooling fluid flows;
A cooling pipe connected to a cooling fluid inlet / outlet of the cooling container, and through which the cooling fluid flows,
The cooling pipe of the electric motor is characterized in that the cooling pipe has a metal pipe or a pipe coated with a metal film while the power supply line is passed through the cooling pipe. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is disposed in the vacuum processing chamber,
The cooling apparatus for an electric motor according to claim 1, wherein the electric motor performs an operation necessary for a predetermined manufacturing process by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.   3. The cooling device for an electric motor according to claim 1, wherein the power supply line is passed through a cooling pipe on the cooling fluid outlet side of the cooling container.   The cooling apparatus for an electric motor according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the power supply line is led out from the inside of the cooling pipe outside the vacuum processing chamber.   The cooling device for an electric motor according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cooling fluid is a coolant having a predetermined insulating property. The drive unit provided on either the stator or the mover has a coil, and the other of the stator or the mover has a magnet,
The coil is accommodated in the cooling container,
The power supply line is a lead wire of the coil and is passed through the cooling pipe,
The electric motor cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the electric motor is a linear motor in which the movable element reciprocates linearly. The mover has the coil;
The cooling device for an electric motor according to claim 6, wherein the cooling pipe has elasticity.

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