JP2011118654A - Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and flow rate controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that a gas flow rate of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is controlled by a mass flow controller, a flow rate control valve used therefor gives priority to control of the flow rate and fine gas outflow may be generated also in a closed state, and thereby an opening/closing valve having a high closing characteristic is inserted into the output side of the flow rate control valve, but since a passage system between the flow rate control valve and the opening/closing valve has fixed capacity, the pressure of the passage system may increase through the leakage of the flow rate control valve while the opening/closing valve is closed, and pressure rise in a space between the output side valves causes excess gas supply to a gas supplied system when the opening/closing valve is opened next. <P>SOLUTION: The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus can detect a leaked gas flow rate when the flow rate control value is closed by measuring pressure between the flow rate control valve and the opening/closing valve arranged on the exhaust side of the mass flow controller. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique effective when applied to a flow rate control device used for flow rate control of a semiconductor manufacturing device and a semiconductor manufacturing device.

  In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-202945 (Patent Document 1) or US Pat. No. 6,125,869 (Patent Document 2), as a self-diagnosis method of a mass flow controller, a flow control valve is in a predetermined open state. Technology that fills the front and rear piping parts including the flow control valve with a predetermined pressure gas, then opens the output control valve of the flow control valve, and detects the output pressure change at that time with the sensor provided on the output side Is disclosed.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-134762 (Patent Document 3) discloses a method for inspecting the use state of a mass flow controller from above a plurality of pressure sensors, temperature sensors, and the like provided in front and rear piping parts including a flow control valve. A technique for comparing the calculated applied voltage to the flow control valve with the actual applied voltage is disclosed.

  In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-246826 (Patent Document 4), as a flow control method or an operation monitoring method of a mass flow controller, outputs of a plurality of pressure sensors provided in front and rear piping parts including a flow control valve are flow controlled. A technique for monitoring the flow rate as well as for controlling the valve is disclosed.

  In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-280688 (Patent Document 5), as a flow control method or an operation monitoring method of a mass flow controller, a plurality of pipe portions provided in front and rear piping parts including a mass flow meter and a bypass passage are provided. A technique for monitoring the flow rate while using the output of the flow rate control valve and the pressure sensor to control the flow rate control valve is disclosed.

  In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-233068 (Patent Document 6), as a flow control method of a mass flow controller, outputs of pressure sensors provided at two locations on the output side of the flow control valve are used for controlling the flow control valve. Technology is disclosed.

JP-A-11-202945 US Pat. No. 6,125,869 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-134864 JP 2004-246826 A JP 2004-280688 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-233068

  The flow rate control of gas etc. of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, etc. is controlled by referring to the bypass path provided in parallel with the thermal mass flow sensor (Thermal Mass Flow Sensor) and the output of the thermal mass flow sensor. It is performed by a mass flow controller composed of, for example. Since this flow control valve is focused on adjusting the flow rate, gas flows out even when it is closed. That is, the presence of the outflow gas when closed is inevitable. For this reason, it is common to insert an open / close valve with good closing characteristics on the output side (downstream side or gas discharge side) of the flow rate adjustment valve.

  However, since the piping system between the flow rate adjusting valve and the open / close valve has a certain capacity, the pressure in the space between the valves passes through the leak of the flow rate adjusting valve (due to the leak) while the flow rate adjusting valve is closed. ), There is a problem of increasing toward the pressure on the input side (upstream side or gas inflow side). Such a pressure increase in the space between the output side valves causes a surplus gas supply to the gas supply system when the open / close valve is opened next.

  The present invention has been made to solve these problems.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or a flow control device used for flow control of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or the like.

  The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

  The following is a brief description of an outline of typical inventions disclosed in the present application.

  That is, one invention of the present application is to measure the pressure between the flow control valve on the gas discharge side of the mass flow controller and the open / close valve, thereby allowing the leak gas flow rate to pass through the flow control valve when the flow control valve is closed. This is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus capable of detecting

  The effects obtained by the representative ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.

  In other words, by measuring the pressure between the flow control valve on the gas discharge side of the mass flow controller and the open / close valve, it is possible to detect the flow of leak gas that passes through the flow control valve when the flow control valve is closed By setting it as an apparatus, generation | occurrence | production of the excess supply etc. at the time of gas supply start can be prevented.

It is a schematic block diagram for demonstrating the structure of the flow control apparatus (mass flow controller) which comprises the principal part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of one embodiment of this application. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the whole structure of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of one embodiment of this application. It is principal part sectional drawing of the flow control valve (For example, electromagnetic drive type control valve by a piezo effect actuator etc.) of the flow control apparatus (mass flow controller) which comprises the principal part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of one embodiment of this application. It is principal part sectional drawing of the on-off valve (for example, pneumatic drive on-off valve) of the flow control apparatus (mass flow controller) which comprises the principal part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of one embodiment of this application. It is a block flow figure showing a leak inspection sequence at the time of a flow control valve closing in a semiconductor manufacturing device of one embodiment of this application. FIG. 6 is a calculation formula explanatory diagram for explaining a calculation formula in FIG. 5. It is a pressure change figure which shows the mode of the pressure change of the to-be-measured area | region in the leak test at the time of the flow control valve closing in FIG. It is comparison explanatory drawing of the typical characteristic of the various actuators used for the flow control valve of the flow control apparatus (mass flow controller) which comprises the principal part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of one embodiment of this application. It is a time change figure of the actual flow rate of gas passing through the flow control device when the leak at closing of the flow control valve of the flow control device (mass flow controller) constituting the main part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of one embodiment of the present application is large. It is a time change figure of the actual flow rate of gas passing through the flow control device when the leak at the time of closing of the flow control valve of the flow control device (mass flow controller) constituting the main part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of one embodiment of the present application is small. Time of the actual flow rate of the passing gas in the gas flow path immediately before the wafer processing chamber when the flow rate control valve (mass flow controller) of the flow rate control device (mass flow controller) constituting the main part of the embodiment of the present application has a large leak at closing. FIG. Time of the actual flow rate of the passing gas in the gas flow path immediately before the wafer processing chamber when the flow rate control valve of the flow rate control device (mass flow controller) constituting the main part of the embodiment of the present application is small when the flow rate control valve is closed FIG.

[Outline of Embodiment]
First, an outline of a typical embodiment of the invention disclosed in the present application will be described.

1. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment including:
(A) a flow control device having a gas inlet and a gas outlet;
(B) a flow rate measurement channel provided in the flow rate control device;
(C) a bypass flow path provided in parallel with the flow rate measurement flow path;
(B) a flow rate sensor provided in the flow rate measurement channel;
(C) a flow rate control valve provided in the flow rate control device and provided on the gas outlet side of the flow rate measurement channel and the bypass channel;
(D) a flow rate control circuit that is provided in the flow rate control device and controls the flow rate sensor and the flow rate control valve;
(E) a wafer processing chamber provided outside the flow rate control device and connected to the gas discharge port;
(F) an open / close valve provided in a gas discharge channel between the flow rate control valve and the wafer processing chamber;
(G) a pressure sensor that measures the pressure of the gas discharge passages of the flow control valve and the on-off valve;
(H) a manufacturing apparatus control system for controlling the wafer processing chamber and the flow rate control apparatus;
Here, the gas passing through the flow rate control valve when the flow rate control valve is closed by measuring the pressure of the gas discharge flow path of the flow rate control valve and the opening / closing valve by the pressure sensor. The flow rate can be detected.

  2. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the item 1, the pressure sensor is provided in the flow control device.

  3. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to 1 or 2, the volume of the gas discharge flow path of the flow rate control valve and the opening / closing valve is 2 cc or less.

  4). 4. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 3, the opening / closing valve is provided in the flow control device.

  5. 5. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 4, further comprising an algorithm for detecting a gas flow rate passing through the flow rate control valve when the flow rate control valve is closed.

  6). 6. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 5, the volume of the gas discharge flow path of the flow rate control valve and the opening / closing valve is 1 cc or less.

  7. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 6, the flow control valve is driven by a piezo effect actuator.

  8). In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 7, the open / close valve is driven by a gas pressure.

  9. 9. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 8, substantially no orifice is provided in the gas discharge passage between the flow control valve and the on-off valve.

10. Flow control device including:
(A) a gas inlet and a gas outlet;
(B) a flow rate measurement channel provided between the gas inlet and the gas outlet;
(C) a bypass flow path provided in parallel with the flow rate measurement flow path;
(B) a flow rate sensor provided in the flow rate measurement channel;
(C) a flow rate control valve provided on the gas discharge port side of the flow rate measurement channel and the bypass channel;
(D) a flow rate control circuit for controlling the flow rate sensor and the flow rate control valve;
(E) an open / close valve provided in a gas discharge passage between the flow control valve and the gas discharge port;
(F) a pressure sensor for measuring the pressure of the gas discharge flow path of the flow rate control valve and the on-off valve;
Here, the gas passing through the flow rate control valve when the flow rate control valve is closed by measuring the pressure of the gas discharge flow path of the flow rate control valve and the opening / closing valve by the pressure sensor. The flow rate can be detected.

  11. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the item 10, the volume of the gas discharge flow path of the flow rate control valve and the opening / closing valve is 2 cc or less.

  12 In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the item 10, the volume of the gas discharge flow path of the flow control valve and the opening / closing valve is 1 cc or less.

  13. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of Items 10 to 12, the flow control valve is driven by a piezo effect actuator.

  14 14. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of items 10 to 13, wherein the opening / closing valve is driven by gas pressure.

  15. 15. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of items 10 to 14, substantially no orifice is provided in the gas discharge flow path between the flow control valve and the opening / closing valve.

[Description format, basic terms, usage in this application]
1. In the present application, the description of the embodiment may be divided into a plurality of sections for convenience, if necessary, but these are not independent from each other unless otherwise specified. Each part of a single example, one part is the other part of the details, or part or all of the modifications. Moreover, as a general rule, the same part is not repeated. In addition, each component in the embodiment is not indispensable unless specifically stated otherwise, unless it is theoretically limited to the number, and obviously not in context.

  2. Similarly, in the description of the embodiment and the like, the material, composition, etc. may be referred to as “X consisting of A”, etc., except when clearly stated otherwise and clearly from the context, except for A It does not exclude what makes an element one of the main components. For example, as for the component, it means “X containing A as a main component”.

  3. Similarly, suitable examples of graphics, positions, attributes, and the like are given, but it is needless to say that the present invention is not strictly limited to those cases unless explicitly stated otherwise, and unless otherwise apparent from the context.

  4). In addition, when a specific number or quantity is mentioned, a numerical value exceeding that specific number will be used unless specifically stated otherwise, unless theoretically limited to that number, or unless otherwise clearly indicated by the context. There may be a numerical value less than the specific numerical value.

  5. “Wafer” usually refers to a single crystal silicon wafer on which a semiconductor device (same as a semiconductor integrated circuit device and an electronic device) is formed, but an insulating substrate such as an epitaxial wafer, an SOI substrate, an LCD glass substrate, and the like. Needless to say, a composite wafer such as a semiconductor layer is also included.

  6). In the present application, “semiconductor manufacturing apparatus” means a normal semiconductor unit, a semiconductor integrated circuit device, and a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) apparatus, an etching apparatus, a sputtering film forming apparatus, and other surfaces used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device. Including processing equipment.

  7. In the present application, the pressure is displayed based on the atmospheric pressure 101300 Pascal.

[Details of the embodiment]
The embodiment will be further described in detail. In the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar symbols or reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated in principle.

  In the accompanying drawings, hatching or the like may be omitted even in a cross section when it becomes complicated or when the distinction from the gap is clear. In relation to this, when it is clear from the description etc., the contour line of the background may be omitted even if the hole is planarly closed. Furthermore, even if it is not a cross section, it may be hatched to clearly indicate that it is not a void.

1. Description of the structure and operation of a flow control device (mass flow controller) constituting the main part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present application, and the overall configuration of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus (mainly FIGS. 1 and 2)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a structure of a flow rate control device (mass flow controller) constituting a main part of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. Based on these, the structure and operation of the flow rate control device constituting the main part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present application, and the overall configuration of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus will be described. Here, an example in which a downstream air pressure on-off valve, a pressure sensor, and the like are incorporated in the mass flow controller is shown, but these may be externally attached.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a flow rate control device 1 (mass flow controller) includes a bypass channel 5 having a large conductance and a flow rate measuring channel 4 having a small conductance connected in parallel thereto as a main part. 2 and the process gas discharge port 3. The flow rate measurement channel 4 is provided with a flow rate sensor 6 (thermal mass flow sensor) including resistance heating bodies 9 and 10, and a bridge type detection circuit 15 that forms a bridge together with the resistance heating bodies 9 and 10, The flow rate is detected. The detected flow rate data is amplified and corrected by the amplification correction circuit 16 and then output to the manufacturing apparatus control system 27 (FIG. 2) or the like via the detection data output terminal 18. Further, the detected flow rate data is sent to the comparison control circuit 17 and compared with the flow rate setting data sent from the manufacturing apparatus control system 27 via the input terminal 19 such as a set value. The state of the flow rate control valve 7 provided in the gas discharge passage 11 is controlled. Note that the flow rate control circuit 8 is configured by the bridge type detection circuit 15, the amplification correction circuit 16, the comparison control circuit 17, and the like. Since the flow rate control valve 7 is for stably controlling the flow rate, the shut-off characteristic is not good like a general pneumatic on-off valve, and there is some leakage even in a closed state. For this reason, an open / close valve 12 (pneumatic open / close valve) is provided on the gas discharge passage 11 between the flow control valve 7 and the process gas discharge port 3. The on-off valve 12 is pneumatically controlled by a signal from the manufacturing apparatus control system 27 via the pneumatic input terminal 21. A pressure sensor 14 is provided in the gas discharge passage 11 between the flow control valve 7 and the opening / closing valve 12 in order to measure the pressure in that portion. The output of the pressure sensor 14 can be directly supplied to the manufacturing apparatus control system 27 via the external output terminal 22 that outputs the detected pressure. Further, the pressure sensor 14 can exchange data with the manufacturing apparatus control system 27 and the like via the flow rate control circuit 8. That is, the pressure sensor 14 can output data and signals to the flow rate control circuit 8, the manufacturing apparatus control system 27, etc., or the pressure sensor 14 can be controlled by the flow rate control circuit 8, the manufacturing apparatus control system 27, etc. It has become.

Next, the entire configuration of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 23 according to the embodiment of the present application will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the process gas supplied from the process gas constant pressure source 24 (for example, about 100,000 Pascals, taking WF ₆ as an example, and the gas is WF ₆ unless otherwise specified) is a gas inflow channel. 25 is supplied to the flow control device 1 described in FIG. Thereafter, the process gas that has passed through the flow control device 1 is supplied to the wafer processing chamber 26 (process chamber) for processing the semiconductor wafer 28 via the gas discharge channel 11. Here, the wafer processing chamber 26, the flow rate control device 1, and the like are controlled directly or indirectly by the manufacturing apparatus control system 27. The manufacturing apparatus control system 27 may be built in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 23, but may be provided outside the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 23, or the control system and the semiconductor built in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 23. A control system including both of the control systems provided outside the manufacturing apparatus 23 may be used.

2. Detailed description of flow control valves and open / close valves used in a flow control device (mass flow controller) or the like constituting the main part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of one embodiment of the present application (mainly FIGS. 3, 4, and 8)
In this section, an outline of the structure of the flow control valve and the on-off valve described in Section 1 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional structural view of a main part of a flow rate control valve (for example, an electromagnetically driven control valve using a piezo effect actuator) of a flow rate control device (mass flow controller) constituting a main part of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. is there. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional structural view of a main part of an on-off valve (for example, a pneumatically driven on-off valve) of a flow rate control device (mass flow controller) that constitutes a main part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 8 is a comparative explanatory view of typical characteristics of various actuators used in the flow control valve of the flow control device (mass flow controller) constituting the main part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present application. Based on these, the detailed structure of the flow control valve and the opening / closing valve used in the flow control device (mass flow controller) constituting the main part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present application will be described.

  First, an example of the flow control valve 7 built in the flow control device 1 described in FIG. 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the piezoelectric effect actuator driven flow control valve 7 includes a relatively hard flow control surface 43 (usually annular) between the gas inflow portion 31 and the gas discharge portion 32, and the flow control valve 43. An output side cavity 44 (usually an annular shape) is provided so as to surround it. A metal diaphragm 33 is arranged so as to oppose these, and the piezoelectric effect actuator 34 slightly deforms the metal diaphragm 33 to control a minute gap between the lower surface of the metal diaphragm 33 and the flow control surface 43. Thus, the gas flow rate is controlled.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the type of the actuator 34 of the flow rate control valve 7 includes a piezo method, a solenoid method, a thermal method, and the like. The piezo method described here is the speed, driving force, etc. Needless to say, a solenoid system, a thermal system, and the like can also be applied.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the on-off valve 12 is provided with a seal ring installation portion 40 in the process gas flow path between the process gas inflow portion 41 and the process gas discharge port 3, and a seal resin ring 38 is provided there. The metal diaphragm 37 is provided between the cylinder 35 and the cylinder 35 so as to face the cylinder. Then, the piston 39 is driven by compressed air (air pressure) supplied from the air pressure input terminal 21 to the air pressure chamber 36, thereby pressing the metal diaphragm 37 against the seal resin ring 38 to achieve complete closure.

  As explained here, since the flow control valve 7 cannot theoretically be completely closed, an open / close valve 12 is inserted downstream of the flow control valve 7 as shown in FIG. To open and close.

3. Description of leak check sequence when flow control valve is closed in semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of one embodiment of the present application (mainly FIGS. 5 to 7)
In this section, the leak check sequence when the flow control valve is closed will be described in detail based on the descriptions in sections 1 and 2. Here, a mass flow controller having a full-scale flow rate of about 30 sccm will be described as an example.

  FIG. 5 is a block flow diagram showing a leak inspection sequence when the flow control valve is closed in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of one embodiment of the present application. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of calculation formulas for explaining the calculation formulas in FIG. FIG. 7 is a pressure change diagram showing a state of pressure change in the measurement region in the leak test when the flow control valve is closed in FIG. Based on these, the leak check sequence when the flow control valve is closed in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present application will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 7 (and FIG. 1), when the flow control valve 7 and the open / close valve 12 are in the open state, the pressure of the gas discharge passage 11 between the flow control valve 7 and the open / close valve 12 is relatively low. It remains at a low value P1 (for example, about −101300 Pascal). At this time, a leak check is started when the flow control valve is closed (leak confirmation process when closing 50 in FIG. 5). At the start of the leak check process at the time of closing, the pressure P1 in the gas discharge passage 11 between the flow control valve 7 and the opening / closing valve 12 is measured using the pressure sensor 14 (reference pressure measurement 51a in FIG. 5). At substantially the same time, the flow control valve 7 and the opening / closing valve 12 are closed. The value of the pressure P1 corresponds to the pressure in the wafer processing chamber 26 shown in FIG. 2, and if it is a vacuum processing apparatus, it is a value that is very low compared to vacuum, that is, atmospheric pressure. If so, it is about atmospheric pressure.

Thereafter, the pressure of the gas discharge passage 11 between the flow control valve 7 and the opening / closing valve 12 gradually increases. After X minutes (for example, 0.2 minutes), the pressure sensor 14 is used again to measure the pressure P2 (for example, about 100,000 Pascals) in the gas discharge passage 11 between the flow control valve 7 and the opening / closing valve 12. (Measurement of ultimate pressure 51b in FIG. 5). Next, the calculation formula shown in FIG. 6 is referred to, and the closing leak amount is calculated (calculation formula reference step 52 in FIG. 5). That is, when the capacity Y of the dead space between the flow control valve 7 and the opening / closing valve 12 is about 0.6 cc,
The closing leak amount (actually measured closing leak amount) is about 0.1 cc / min. The algorithm so far is stored in the flow rate control circuit 8 or the manufacturing apparatus control system 27.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the calculated actual leak amount at closing is compared with the set closing leak amount set as a threshold (for example, 0.15 cc / min), and the actually measured closing leak amount is set as the set closing amount. If it is smaller than the hourly leak amount, there is no problem and, for example, production is continued (production continuation determination 54). On the other hand, an alarm is issued if the leak amount at the actual closing time is equal to or greater than the leak amount at the set closing time (alarm generation step 55). Here, when necessary, the flow control valve 7 is replaced (flow control valve replacement step 56).

4). Consideration of semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or flow control apparatus according to one embodiment of the present application (mainly FIGS. 9 to 12)
In this section, the merits of the embodiments described in sections 1 to 3 and problems when not using them will be considered.

  FIG. 9 is a time change diagram of the actual flow rate of the gas passing through the flow control device when the leak at the time of closing the flow control valve of the flow control device (mass flow controller) constituting the main part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of one embodiment of the present application is large. It is. FIG. 10 is a time change diagram of the actual flow rate of the gas passing through the flow control device when the leak at the time of closing the flow control valve of the flow control device (mass flow controller) constituting the main part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present application is small. It is. FIG. 11 shows the actual amount of gas passing through the gas flow path immediately before the wafer processing chamber when the leak at closing of the flow rate control valve of the flow rate control device (mass flow controller) constituting the main part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of one embodiment of the present application is large. It is a time change figure of flow volume. FIG. 12 shows the actual gas passing through the gas flow path immediately before the wafer processing chamber when the flow rate control valve (mass flow controller) of the flow rate control device (mass flow controller) constituting the main part of the embodiment of the present application has a small leak at the time of closing. It is a time change figure of flow volume. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B, based on these drawings, the advantages of the above-described embodiment, problems when not using the embodiment, and the like will be described.

  First, the time change of the actual flow rate at the point A (FIGS. 2 and 3) when the leak at closing is large will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, when the flow control valve 7 and the opening / closing valve 12 are opened, the flow rate rises toward the set flow rate and converges rapidly in a relatively short time. Next, the time change of the actual flow rate at the point A (FIGS. 2 and 3) when the leak at closing is small will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, also at this time, when the flow control valve 7 and the opening / closing valve 12 are opened, the flow rate rises toward the set flow rate and converges rapidly in a relatively short time. That is, it is understood that the time change of the actual flow rate at the point A (FIGS. 2 and 3) does not substantially depend on the leakage amount at the time of closing. This is because surplus gas due to leakage at the time of closing is downstream of point A.

  Next, the time change of the actual flow rate at the point B (FIGS. 2 and 3) is observed. First, the time change of the actual flow rate at point B (FIG. 1) when the leak at closing is large will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, when the flow control valve 7 and the opening / closing valve 12 are opened, the flow rate rises toward the set flow rate in a relatively short time, but overshoots beyond the set flow rate and then takes time. It converges to the flow rate. In such a case, the shaded portion corresponds to the excessive supply of gas. On the other hand, when the leak at the time of closing is small, the time change of the actual flow rate at the point B (FIG. 1) will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, when the flow control valve 7 and the opening / closing valve 12 are opened, the flow rate rises toward the set flow rate and converges rapidly in a relatively short time. That is, when the leak at the time of closing is small, the same behavior as the point A is shown. This is because when the leak at closing is small, excess gas is not accumulated in the dead space between the flow control valve 7 and the opening / closing valve 12.

  As described above, the dead space between the flow control valve 7 and the on-off valve 12 can be obtained by using the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 23 or the flow control apparatus 1 that can check the leakage at the time of closing with a simple procedure. Various problems due to surplus gas accumulated in the gas can be avoided. Note that mass flow controllers (flow rate control devices) in which these problems are particularly important mainly have a full-scale flow rate of 1 sccm (Standard Cubic Centimeter per Minute, that is, 1 cc / min under conditions of 0 degrees Celsius and 1 atmosphere) to 1000 sccm. Of the range.

  Note that the smaller the dead space capacity between the flow control valve 7 and the on-off valve 12, the smaller the problem due to the accumulation of surplus gas. Therefore, the dead space capacity should be as small as possible. In the above-described embodiment, for example, it is about 0.6 cc, but 2 cc or less is desirable in a practical range. Moreover, 1 cc or less is particularly suitable for mass production.

  In order to keep the dead space capacity small, it is particularly effective to incorporate one or both of the on-off valve 12 and the pressure sensor 14 into the flow control device 1.

  In the above embodiment, since there is no substantial orifice between the flow control valve 7 and the on-off valve 12, a degree of freedom as a flow control unit of the flow control device or the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus can be ensured. .

5). Summary As described above, the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. .

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the opening / closing valve 12 and the pressure sensor are built in the flow control device has been specifically described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the opening / closing valve is provided outside the flow control device. Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to one or both of the pressure sensor 12 and the pressure sensor.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the pneumatic valve was demonstrated concretely as an on-off valve, it cannot be overemphasized that an electromagnetic valve may be used for this invention, without being limited to it. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the flow control valve has been described mainly using a piezo actuator, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and it goes without saying that another actuator may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flow control apparatus 2 Process gas inflow port 3 Process gas discharge port 4 Flow rate measurement flow path 5 Bypass flow path 6 Flow rate sensor (mass flow meter)
7 Flow control valve 8 Flow control circuit 9, 10 Resistance heating element 11 Gas discharge flow path 12 Downstream opening / closing valve (pneumatic opening / closing valve)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 Pressure sensor 15 Bridge circuit 16 Amplification correction circuit 17 Comparison control circuit 18 Detection data output terminal 19 Input terminal of setting values etc. 21 Air pressure input port 22 Detection pressure external output terminal 23 Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 24 Process gas constant pressure source 25 Gas inflow flow Path 26 Wafer processing chamber 27 Manufacturing apparatus control system 28 Semiconductor wafer 31 Gas flow-in portion of flow control valve 32 Gas discharge portion of flow control valve 33 Metal diaphragm 34 Piezo-effect actuator 35 Cylinder 36 Pneumatic chamber 37 Metal diaphragm 38 Seal resin ring 39 Piston 40 Seal ring installation part 41 Process gas inflow part of on-off valve 43 Flow rate control surface 44 Output side cavity 50 Leak check start at closing 51a Reference pressure measurement 51b Ultimate pressure measurement 52 Refer to calculation formula 53 Comparison judgment 54 Production Line 55 alarming 56 exchange A mass flow controller center B wafer processing chamber gas flow path immediately before

Claims (15)

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment including:
(A) a flow control device having a gas inlet and a gas outlet;
(B) a flow rate measurement channel provided in the flow rate control device;
(C) a bypass flow path provided in parallel with the flow rate measurement flow path;
(B) a flow rate sensor provided in the flow rate measurement channel;
(C) a flow rate control valve provided in the flow rate control device and provided on the gas outlet side of the flow rate measurement channel and the bypass channel;
(D) a flow rate control circuit that is provided in the flow rate control device and controls the flow rate sensor and the flow rate control valve;
(E) a wafer processing chamber provided outside the flow rate control device and connected to the gas discharge port;
(F) an open / close valve provided in a gas discharge channel between the flow rate control valve and the wafer processing chamber;
(G) a pressure sensor that measures the pressure of the gas discharge passages of the flow control valve and the on-off valve;
(H) a manufacturing apparatus control system for controlling the wafer processing chamber and the flow rate control apparatus;
Here, the gas passing through the flow rate control valve when the flow rate control valve is closed by measuring the pressure of the gas discharge flow path of the flow rate control valve and the opening / closing valve by the pressure sensor. The flow rate can be detected.     In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the item 1, the pressure sensor is provided in the flow control device.     In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the item 2, the volume of the gas discharge channel of the flow rate control valve and the opening / closing valve is 2 cc or less.     In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the item 3, the opening / closing valve is provided in the flow control device.     The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to Item 4, further comprising an algorithm for detecting a gas flow rate passing through the flow rate control valve when the flow rate control valve is closed.     In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the item 2, the volume of the gas discharge flow path of the flow control valve and the opening / closing valve is 1 cc or less.     In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of item 4, the flow control valve is driven by a piezo effect actuator.     In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the item 7, the open / close valve is driven by gas pressure.     In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the item 1, an orifice is substantially not provided in the gas discharge channel between the flow control valve and the opening / closing valve. Flow control device including:
(A) a gas inlet and a gas outlet;
(B) a flow rate measurement channel provided between the gas inlet and the gas outlet;
(C) a bypass flow path provided in parallel with the flow rate measurement flow path;
(B) a flow rate sensor provided in the flow rate measurement channel;
(C) a flow rate control valve provided on the gas discharge port side of the flow rate measurement channel and the bypass channel;
(D) a flow rate control circuit for controlling the flow rate sensor and the flow rate control valve;
(E) an open / close valve provided in a gas discharge passage between the flow control valve and the gas discharge port;
(F) a pressure sensor for measuring the pressure of the gas discharge flow path of the flow rate control valve and the on-off valve;
Here, the gas passing through the flow rate control valve when the flow rate control valve is closed by measuring the pressure of the gas discharge flow path of the flow rate control valve and the opening / closing valve by the pressure sensor. The flow rate can be detected.     In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the item 10, the volume of the gas discharge flow path of the flow rate control valve and the opening / closing valve is 2 cc or less.     In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the item 10, the volume of the gas discharge flow path of the flow control valve and the opening / closing valve is 1 cc or less.     In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the item 11, the flow control valve is driven by a piezo effect actuator.     In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the item 13, the open / close valve is driven by gas pressure.     In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of item 10, substantially no orifice is provided in the gas discharge channel between the flow control valve and the on-off valve.

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