JP2006332339A - Vacuum device and abatement system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum device and an abatement system which can reduce a cost for abatement. <P>SOLUTION: In a vacuum device 1, a process for processing a work by supplying reaction gas into a treatment bath 10 which is evacuated by a vacuum pump 11, and a process for cleaning the work by supplying cleaning gas into the treatment bath 10, are executed alternately. The device is provided with first and second supply paths 14, 15 for supplying dilution gas for diluting the reaction gas to the vacuum pump 11 in the processing process, and a dilution gas supply valve 14a of the first supply path 14 is closed in the cleaning process, thus making a supply amount of dilution gas less than in the processing process. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum apparatus that supplies a gas to a vacuum processing tank to process and clean a workpiece. The present invention also relates to a detoxification system for detoxifying the exhaust of a vacuum device.

A conventional vacuum apparatus is disclosed in Patent Document 1. This vacuum apparatus has a treatment tank that is evacuated by a vacuum pump. A workpiece such as a semiconductor substrate or a glass for a liquid crystal panel is arranged in the processing tank, and a processing gas film or etching process is performed by supplying a reactive gas such as SiH ₄ to the processing tank. In addition, a cleaning gas composed of C ₂ F ₆ (perfluoroethane) or the like is supplied to the processing tank to perform a workpiece cleaning process after processing.

Between the processing tank and the vacuum pump, there is provided a supply path for a dilution gas such as nitrogen for diluting the exhaust gas during the processing step and the cleaning step. For example, when the reaction gas is made of SiH ₄ , the explosion composition is in a wide range where the concentration of SiH ₄ is 0.66 to 95.3 Vol%. Further, when the reaction gas is made of TEOS (tetraethoxysilane), an explosion composition is obtained when the concentration of TEOS is 0.2% or more. For this reason, the exhaust gas is diluted with a dilution gas and exhausted from the vacuum apparatus at a concentration below the explosion limit. Further, the driving part of the vacuum pump is sealed with the dilution gas.

  The reaction gas and the cleaning gas exhausted from the vacuum apparatus are respectively guided to the abatement apparatus. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a detoxification system for detoxifying the exhaust of the vacuum apparatus. The abatement system 30 comprises vacuum devices 1-6 and abatement devices 21-24. The vacuum devices 1 to 3 are connected and can perform different processing by sequentially feeding the workpieces. The vacuum devices 4 to 6 are also connected in the same manner, and the workpieces are sequentially sent.

The exhaust paths A1 and B1 of the vacuum devices 1 to 3 are connected to the abatement devices 21 and 23, respectively. The exhaust paths A2 and B2 of the vacuum devices 4 to 6 are connected to the abatement devices 22 and 24, respectively. The reaction gas is detoxified by the detoxifying devices 21 and 22, and the cleaning gas is detoxified by the detoxifying devices 23 and 24. Thereby, environmental destruction, such as global warming, can be prevented.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-119633 (2nd page to 3rd page, FIG. 1)

  The processing capacity of the abatement devices 21 to 24 is generally about 200 L / min, and the supply amount of the dilution gas at the time of the processing step and the cleaning step needs about 65 L / min for each of the vacuum devices 1 to 6 for explosion prevention. It is. For this reason, one detoxifying device 21, 23 for detoxifying the reaction gas and the cleaning gas is required for each of the connected vacuum devices 1-3. Similarly, one detoxifying device 22, 24 for detoxifying the reaction gas and the cleaning gas is required for each of the connected vacuum devices 4-6. Therefore, a large number of abatement devices are installed, and there has been a problem that the cost for removing exhaust gas becomes high.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum apparatus and an abatement system that can reduce the cost of abatement.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a processing step of processing a workpiece by supplying a reaction gas into a processing tank evacuated by a vacuum pump, and supplying a cleaning gas into the processing tank. In a vacuum apparatus that performs a cleaning process of cleaning, a dilution gas for diluting the reaction gas during the processing process is supplied to the vacuum pump, and a supply amount of the dilution gas during the cleaning process is supplied to the processing process It is characterized by less than time.

According to this configuration, a work such as a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal panel is arranged in the processing tank, and a reactive gas such as SiH ₄ is supplied to the processing tank to perform processing steps such as film formation and etching. A dilution gas such as nitrogen is supplied to the vacuum pump, and the vacuum pump is sealed and the reaction gas is diluted and exhausted. Further, a cleaning gas such as C ₂ F ₆ is supplied to the processing tank to clean the workpiece after processing. The vacuum pump is supplied with a smaller amount of dilution gas than in the processing step, and the vacuum pump is sealed and the cleaning gas is diluted and exhausted.

  According to the present invention, in the vacuum apparatus configured as described above, first and second supply paths for supplying the dilution gas to the vacuum pump are provided, and the first and second supply paths are opened during the processing step, and the cleaning is performed. The first supply path is closed during the process. According to this configuration, the first and second supply paths are opened and the reaction gas is diluted during the processing step. During the cleaning process, the first supply path is closed, and the second supply path is opened to dilute the cleaning gas.

  According to the present invention, in the vacuum apparatus configured as described above, the cleaning gas is made of PFC (perfluorocarbon). According to this configuration, perfluoromethane, perfluoroethane, perfluoropropane, perfluorobutane, perfluoropentane, perfluorohexane, or the like is supplied to the processing tank, and the workpiece is cleaned.

  According to the present invention, in the vacuum apparatus having the above-described configuration, the concentration of PFC exhausted from the vacuum pump during the cleaning step is 1 to 5%. According to this configuration, the PFC supplied to the processing tank flows into the vacuum pump, is diluted to 1 to 5% with the dilution gas, and is exhausted.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the vacuum apparatus configured as described above, the dilution gas is made of nitrogen, and the supply amount of the dilution gas during the processing step is 40 to 105 L / min.

  According to the present invention, in the vacuum device having the above-described configuration, the supply amount of the dilution gas during the cleaning step is set to 10 to 25 L / min.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that in the vacuum apparatus having the above-described configuration, CVD or etching is performed by the processing step. According to this configuration, a reactive gas is supplied to the processing tank, and CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) or dry etching is performed.

  Further, the abatement system of the present invention is connected to the vacuum apparatus having the above-described configuration, a first abatement apparatus that is connected to the exhaust side of the vacuum apparatus and detoxifies the reaction gas, and is connected to the exhaust side of the vacuum apparatus. And a second detoxifying device for detoxifying the cleaning gas.

  According to the present invention, since the supply amount of the dilution gas in the cleaning process is smaller than that in the processing process, the number and the installation area of the detoxifying devices that remove the cleaning gas can be reduced. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the cost of the abatement system that abatements the exhaust of the vacuum device. In addition, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the processed product by the vacuum apparatus by reducing the amount of the dilution gas used.

  Further, according to the present invention, the first and second supply paths for supplying the dilution gas to the vacuum pump are provided, and the first supply path is closed during the cleaning process, so that the supply amount of the dilution gas can be easily varied. it can.

  According to the present invention, since the cleaning gas is made of PFC, there is no risk of explosion, and the supply amount of the dilution gas during the cleaning process can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, since the concentration of PFC exhausted from the vacuum pump during the cleaning process is 1 to 5%, the PFC can be efficiently removed by the abatement apparatus.

  According to the present invention, since the supply amount of the dilution gas composed of nitrogen during the processing step is set to 40 to 105 L / min, the reaction gas can be sufficiently diluted to prevent explosion.

  According to the present invention, since the supply amount of the dilution gas during the cleaning process is 10 to 25 L / min, the cleaning gas can be efficiently removed and the vacuum pump can be reliably sealed.

  Further, according to the present invention, since CVD or etching is performed in a processing step, exhaust when performing CVD processing or etching processing of a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal panel can be eliminated at low cost.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. For convenience of explanation, the same parts as those of the conventional example shown in FIG. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a vacuum apparatus according to an embodiment. The vacuum apparatus 1 has a treatment tank 10 that is evacuated by a vacuum pump 11. The processing tank 10 is provided with a work such as a semiconductor substrate or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel. The vacuum apparatus 1 may be a single-wafer type that feeds and processes workpieces in the treatment tank 10 or may be a batch type that batch-processes workpieces.

The treatment tank 10 is provided with a reaction gas supply path 12 for supplying a reaction gas such as SiH ₄ . The reaction gas supply path 12 is opened and closed by a reaction gas supply valve 12a. The processing tank 10 is provided with a cleaning gas supply path 13 for supplying a cleaning gas. The cleaning gas supply path 13 is opened and closed by a cleaning gas supply valve 13a. As the cleaning gas, PFC such as perfluoromethane, perfluoroethane, perfluoropropane, perfluorobutane, perfluoropentane, and perfluorohexane is used.

  The vacuum pump 11 is provided with first and second supply paths 14 and 15 for supplying a dilution gas. The first and second supply paths 14 and 15 are opened and closed by dilution gas first and second supply valves 14a and 15a, respectively. The vacuum pump 11 is provided with an exhaust duct 16. The exhaust duct 16 branches off, one side is provided with a reaction gas exhaust valve 16a, and the other side is provided with a cleaning gas exhaust valve 16b. The reactive gas exhaust valve 16a opens during processing of the workpiece and exhausts the reactive gas. The cleaning gas exhaust valve 16b opens during cleaning of the workpiece and exhausts the cleaning gas.

  FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the vacuum apparatus 1. The vacuum device 1 is provided with a control unit 18 that controls each unit. The reaction gas supply valve 12a, the cleaning gas supply valve 13a, the dilution gas first supply valve 14a, the dilution gas second supply valve 15a, the reaction gas exhaust valve 16a, and the cleaning gas exhaust valve 16b are opened and closed by the control signal of the control unit 18. Is controlled.

In the vacuum apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration, the processing tank 10 is maintained in vacuum by driving the vacuum pump 11. Under the control of the control unit 18, the cleaning gas supply valve 13 a is closed and the reaction gas supply valve 12 a is opened, and the reaction gas composed of SiH ₄ or the like is supplied to the processing tank 10 through the reaction gas supply path 12. Thereby, the process process which processes a workpiece | work by CVD or dry etching is performed.

  At this time, the cleaning gas exhaust valve 16b is closed under the control of the control unit 18, and the dilution gas first and second supply valves 14a and 15a and the reaction gas exhaust valve 16a are opened. Dilution gas such as nitrogen is supplied from the first supply path 14 to the vacuum pump 11 at a flow rate of about 50 L / min, and dilution gas is supplied from the second supply path 15 at a flow rate of about 15 L / min. As a result, as shown by the arrow D1, the reaction gas is diluted to a concentration below the explosion limit and exhausted from the exhaust duct 16, and the drive unit in the vacuum pump 11 is sealed.

The vacuum pump 11 may be supplied with dilution gas at a flow rate of 30 to 80 L / min and 10 to 25 L / min from the first and second supply paths 14 and 15, respectively, for a total flow rate of 40 to 105 L / min. Thereby, the reaction gas such as SiH ₄ can be sufficiently diluted to a concentration below the explosion limit.

When the processing step is finished, the reaction gas supply valve 12a is closed and the cleaning gas supply valve 13a is opened under the control of the control unit 18, and the processing tank 10 is made of C ₂ F ₆ or the like via the cleaning gas supply path 13. A cleaning gas is supplied. Thereby, a cleaning process for cleaning the workpiece is performed.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the first supply valve 14a and the reaction gas exhaust valve 16a are closed by the control of the control unit 18, and the dilution gas second supply valve 15a and the cleaning gas exhaust valve 16b are opened. Dilution gas such as nitrogen is supplied to the vacuum pump 11 from the second supply path 15 at a flow rate of about 15 L / min. As a result, as shown by the arrow D2, the cleaning gas is diluted to a concentration of 1 to 5% and exhausted from the exhaust duct 16, and the drive unit in the vacuum pump 11 is sealed.

  By setting the cleaning gas to a concentration of 1 to 5%, it is possible to efficiently remove the cleaning gas by adapting to the processing capability of the abatement apparatus that removes the exhaust gas. Further, a dilution gas such as nitrogen may be supplied to the vacuum pump 11 from the second supply path 15 at a flow rate of 10 to 25 L / min. Thereby, the vacuum pump 11 can be reliably sealed.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a detoxification system for detoxifying the exhaust of the vacuum device 1. This abatement system 30 is provided with vacuum devices 2 to 6 similar to the vacuum device 1. The vacuum devices 1 to 3 are connected to perform different processing by sequentially feeding the workpieces. The vacuum devices 4 to 6 are connected in the same manner, and the workpieces are sequentially fed.

  The reactive gas exhaust path A1 connected to the exhaust duct 16 of the vacuum devices 1 to 3 is connected to a detoxifying device 21 that detoxifies the reactive gas. The reactive gas exhaust path A2 connected to the exhaust duct 16 of the vacuum devices 4 to 6 is connected to the abatement device 22. The cleaning gas exhaust paths B1 and B2 connected to the exhaust ducts 16 of the vacuum apparatuses 1 to 6 are connected to a detoxifying device 23 that detoxifies the cleaning gas. The detoxifying devices 21 to 23 detoxify the reaction gas and the cleaning gas by adsorption with a solid adsorbent, thermal decomposition by flame combustion, oxidative overheating by an electric heating system, or the like.

  The processing capacity of the abatement devices 21 to 23 is generally about 200 L / min, and the supply amount of the dilution gas during the processing step is about 65 L / min for each of the vacuum devices 1 to 6 as described above. For this reason, one detoxifying device 21 for detoxifying the reaction gas from the connected vacuum devices 1 to 3 is required. Similarly, one detoxifying device 22 for detoxifying the reaction gas is required for the connected single-wafer type vacuum devices 4 to 6.

  Further, the supply amount of the dilution gas during the cleaning process is about 15 L / min for each of the vacuum devices 1 to 6 as described above. For this reason, what is necessary is just to provide the one detoxification apparatus 23 which detoxifies cleaning gas with respect to the connected vacuum apparatuses 1-3 and the vacuum apparatuses 4-6. As a result, the reaction gas and the cleaning gas can be removed to prevent environmental destruction such as global warming.

From the abatement apparatus 23, C ₂ F ₆ is used as the cleaning gas, nitrogen is used as the dilution gas, the flow rate of the dilution gas is 15 L / min, and the concentration of the cleaning gas in the exhaust gas is 1.3%. The composition of the exhaust gas released into the atmosphere was analyzed. As a result, a cleaning gas removal rate of 95% or more could be ensured, and the removal was possible.

  According to this embodiment, since the supply amount of the dilution gas supplied to the vacuum pump 11 during the cleaning process is smaller than that during the processing process, the number and the installation area of the abatement devices 23 that remove the cleaning gas are reduced. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost of the abatement system that abatements the exhaust of the vacuum devices 1 to 6. Moreover, the usage-amount of the gas for dilution can be reduced and the manufacturing cost of the processed goods by the vacuum apparatuses 1-6 can be reduced.

  In addition, since the first and second supply paths 14 and 15 for supplying the dilution gas to the vacuum pump 11 are provided and the first supply path 14 is closed during the cleaning process, the supply amount of the dilution gas can be easily changed. Can do. The dilution gas may be supplied to the vacuum pump 11 through a single pipe, and the supply amount of the dilution gas may be varied by narrowing the pipe.

  According to the present invention, it can be used for a vacuum apparatus that performs CVD, etching, or the like on a workpiece such as a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal panel. Moreover, it can utilize for the abatement system which removes the exhaust_gas | exhaustion of a vacuum apparatus.

The block diagram which shows the vacuum apparatus of embodiment of this invention The block diagram which shows the vacuum apparatus of embodiment of this invention The block diagram which shows the state at the time of the cleaning process of the vacuum apparatus of embodiment of this invention The block diagram which shows the abatement system which has the vacuum apparatus of embodiment of this invention Configuration diagram showing a conventional abatement system having a vacuum apparatus

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1-6 Vacuum apparatus 10 Processing tank 11 Vacuum pump 12 Reaction gas supply path 12a Reaction gas supply valve 13 Cleaning gas supply path 13a Cleaning gas supply valve 14 1st supply path 14a Dilution gas 1st supply valve 15 2nd supply Route 15a Dilution gas second supply valve 16 Exhaust duct 16a Reaction gas exhaust valve 16b Cleaning gas exhaust valve 18 Control unit 21-24 Detoxifying device 30 Detoxifying system

Claims (8)

  A vacuum apparatus that performs a processing step of processing a workpiece by supplying a reaction gas into a processing tank evacuated by a vacuum pump, and a cleaning step of cleaning the workpiece by supplying a cleaning gas into the processing tank. In the vacuum, a dilution gas for diluting the reaction gas during the processing step is supplied to the vacuum pump, and a supply amount of the dilution gas during the cleaning step is smaller than that during the processing step. apparatus.   First and second supply paths for supplying the dilution gas to the vacuum pump are provided, the first and second supply paths are opened during the processing step, and the first supply path is closed during the cleaning step. The vacuum apparatus according to claim 1.   The vacuum apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning gas is made of PFC.   4. The vacuum apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the concentration of PFC exhausted from the vacuum pump during the cleaning step is 1 to 5%.   The vacuum apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the dilution gas is made of nitrogen, and the supply amount of the dilution gas during the processing step is 40 to 105 L / min.   6. The vacuum apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a supply amount of the dilution gas during the cleaning process is set to 10 to 25 L / min.   The vacuum apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece is subjected to CVD or etching by the processing step.   A vacuum device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, a first abatement device for detoxifying the reaction gas by being connected to an exhaust side of the vacuum device, and an exhaust side of the vacuum device. A detoxification system comprising a second detoxification device for detoxifying the cleaning gas.

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