JP3588437B2 - Mounting structure of thermocouple device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mounting structure of a thermocouple device in a vertical furnace for heating a semiconductor wafer using a vertical process tube.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of a conventional thermocouple device mounting structure employed in a vertical furnace. In the figure, a thermocouple device 100 in which a thermocouple TC is housed in a quartz tube 101 has a vertically long vertical tube portion 101a (having a length of 1000 mm or more) and an L-shape formed from the lower end of the vertical tube portion 101a. And a horizontal tube portion 101b (about 100 mm in length). At the lower end of a vertical process tube (not shown), a support member 102 for supporting the horizontal tube 101b is provided. A part of the support member 102 protrudes outward to form a connection part 102a, and the outer periphery of the distal end of the connection part 102a is threaded. The horizontal tube portion 101b is inserted into the support member 102 with almost no gap, and the horizontal tube portion 101b is fixed to the support member 102 by tightening a cap 103 having an inner periphery threaded to the connection portion 102a. . The vertical tube portion 101a and the horizontal tube portion 101b are manufactured so that the angle between them is 90 degrees.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-described conventional thermocouple device mounting structure, the length of the vertical tube portion 101a is considerably larger than the length of the horizontal tube portion 101b. Therefore, if the manufacturing error, particularly the error of the angle is small, the displacement of the tip of the vertical pipe portion 101a becomes large. For example, when the angle is larger than 90 degrees, the vertical tube portion 101a is inclined inward (leftward in the figure) of the process tube, and its tip is loaded / unloaded into the process tube with a semiconductor wafer placed thereon. When the boat comes in contact with a boat (not shown), the tip of the vertical pipe 101a may be caught when the boat is carried out, and the vertical pipe 101a or the boat may be damaged. On the other hand, if the angle is smaller than 90 degrees, it is inclined to the opposite side to the above and interferes with the process tube to make attachment difficult, and if it is attempted to attach it forcibly, the vertical tube portion 101a may be damaged.
In order to avoid such a situation, the accuracy of the angle must be maintained at a very high level, which increases the manufacturing cost of the thermocouple device.
[0004]
In view of the above-described conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a thermocouple device mounting structure that can be mounted and adjusted within a predetermined range even if there is a manufacturing error.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The mounting structure of the thermocouple device of the present invention,
A vertical process tube,
A thermocouple is housed in a protective tube, and a vertical tube portion is disposed vertically along an inner wall of the process tube, and a horizontal L-shaped portion is formed laterally from a lower end of the vertical tube portion. A thermocouple device having a tube portion;
A support member provided at a lower portion of the process tube, for interpolating the horizontal tube portion, and supporting the other end side movably up and down within a predetermined range with one end of the horizontal tube portion as a fulcrum,
An adjustable mounting member fixed to the support member so that the relative position with respect to the support member can be adjusted up and down, and the other end of the horizontal tube portion is fixed to the support member ;
(i) The support member has a small-diameter portion having a locally small inner diameter, and the fulcrum is formed at a contact portion between the small-diameter portion and the horizontal pipe portion (claim 1).
In the mounting structure of the thermocouple device configured as described above, the supporting member supports the contact portion between the small-diameter portion and one end of the horizontal tube portion as a fulcrum so that the other end can move up and down within a predetermined range. I do. The adjustable mounting member is fixed so that the relative position with respect to the support member can be adjusted up and down, so that the other end of the horizontal tube portion can be moved up and down to be mounted. If there is an error in the angle between the vertical pipe and the horizontal pipe, this error is absorbed by moving the other end of the horizontal pipe up and down with the one end of the horizontal pipe as the fulcrum. The parts can be arranged in a desired posture.
Also, instead of the above (i) ,
(ii) The lateral pipe portion may have a large diameter portion having an locally large outer diameter, and the fulcrum may be formed at a contact portion between the large diameter portion and the support member. 2).
In this case, the support member supports the other end side movably up and down with the contact portion with the large diameter portion at one end side of the horizontal tube portion as a fulcrum. Others are the same as above.
[0006]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a vertical furnace according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a heater 2 is provided on a side surface of a furnace body 1, and a quartz process tube 3 surrounded by the heater 2 is provided inside the furnace body 1. Inside the process tube 3, a boat 5 on which semiconductor wafers 4 are mounted in multiple stages is arranged. The boat 5 is carried into the position shown in the figure from below, and is carried out together with the lid 6 from the position shown in the figure. The thermocouple device 7 has a thermocouple housed in a quartz protective tube, and has a vertical tube portion 7a vertically arranged along the inner wall of the process tube 3, and an L-shape in the horizontal direction from the lower end of the vertical tube portion 7a. And a horizontal tube portion 7b formed in a shape. The length of the vertical tube portion 7a is, for example, about 1000 to 1335 mm, and the length of the horizontal tube portion 7b is, for example, about 100 mm. The horizontal tube portion 7b is attached to the support member 8 of the process tube 3.
[0007]
Next, a mounting structure of the horizontal tube portion 7b to the support member 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the horizontal tube portion 7b and the support member 8. In FIG. 2, a part of the support member 8 forms a cylindrical port 8a protruding outward. The horizontal tube portion 7b is inserted into the port 8a, and the right end portion slightly protrudes from the port 8a. An O-ring 9 is mounted on the right end of the port 8a, and a flange 10 as an adjustable mounting member is mounted via the O-ring 9. A retaining ring 11 is mounted in a circumferential groove 7b1 provided near the right end of the horizontal tube 7b. A cap 12 is attached to the right end of the horizontal tube portion 7b, and a lead wire 13 is led out from the end of the cap 12. A thermocouple wire 7t is provided inside the vertical tube portion 7a and the horizontal tube portion 7b, and is connected to the lead wire 13.
[0008]
FIG. 3 is a view of the flange 10 and the like viewed from the direction of arrow III in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3B, the flange 10 has a pair of left and right through holes 10a having a diameter of 6 mm, and is attached to the end face of the port 8a by M4 screws 14 as shown in FIG. . By using an M4 screw for a 6 mm hole, the relative mounting position of the flange 10 with respect to the port 8a can be adjusted up and down within a range of 2 mm. There is only a small gap between the inner diameter of the flange 10 and the outer diameter of the horizontal pipe 7b inserted in the flange 10 to such an extent that the horizontal pipe 7b can be inserted smoothly.
[0009]
On the other hand, FIG. 4A is an enlarged sectional view on the left end side of the port 8a. In the figure, the outer diameter of the horizontal tube portion 7b is 20 mm. The port 8a has a small diameter portion 8S and a large diameter portion 8L with respect to the inner diameter. The small diameter portion 8S is a portion from the left end to 10 mm, and has an inner diameter of 20.6 mm. The large diameter portion 8L is on the right side of the small diameter portion 8S and has an inner diameter of 21.6 mm. With such a cylindrical body having a two-stage inner diameter, the large-diameter portion 8L allows vertical movement of the horizontal tube portion 7b within a predetermined range, and the point contact portion between the lower portion of the small-diameter portion 8S and the horizontal tube portion 7b is horizontal. It becomes a fulcrum F that supports the pipe portion 7b. The horizontal pipe portion 7b is fixed to the port 8a, that is, the support member 8 by the fulcrum F and the flange 10 by the structure of the port 8a and the above-described structure for adjusting the mounting position of the flange 10. Here, by moving the flange 10 up and down, the horizontal pipe portion 7b can be rocked in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2 and the vertical pipe portion 7a can be rocked in the direction of arrow B. Therefore, even if there is an error in the angle between the vertical pipe portion 7a and the horizontal pipe portion 7b, which should be a right angle, this is absorbed within the range in which the flange 10 can move up and down, and the vertical pipe portion 7a is brought into a desired posture, that is, , Can be arranged vertically along the inner wall of the process tube 3.
[0010]
Note that, in the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the vertical tube portion 7a is arranged vertically and the horizontal tube portion 7b is arranged horizontally. It goes without saying that the structure of the port 8a as described above and the structure for adjusting the mounting position of the flange 10 can be applied.
In the above embodiment, the support member 8 is provided with the small diameter portion 8S and the large diameter portion 8L. However, as a modification having the same operation and effect as this, as shown in FIG. Can be adopted in which the inner diameter is constant and the large-diameter portion 7L and the small-diameter portion 7S are provided in the horizontal tube portion 7b.
Further, the mounting structure of the above embodiment can be applied not only to a thermocouple device but also to a thin tube member of a similar form such as a gas tube for introducing a processing gas into a process tube.
[0011]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention configured as described above has the following effects.
According to the thermocouple device mounting structure of the first aspect, when there is an error in the angle between the vertical tube portion and the horizontal tube portion , the contact portion between the small diameter portion and one end side of the horizontal tube portion is used as a fulcrum. By moving the other end up and down as described above, this error can be absorbed and the vertical pipe portion can be arranged in a desired posture. Therefore, even if there is a manufacturing error, it is possible to perform mounting adjustment to absorb the manufacturing error within a predetermined range, and as a result, a required accuracy error is reduced. Therefore, the thermocouple device can be easily manufactured, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
According to the thermocouple device mounting structure of the second aspect, when there is an error in the angle between the vertical tube portion and the horizontal tube portion, the large diameter portion on one end side of the support member and the horizontal tube portion. By moving the other end up and down with the contact portion with the fulcrum as a fulcrum, this error can be absorbed and the vertical pipe portion can be arranged in a desired posture. Thereby, the same effect as above can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a vertical furnace according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a horizontal tube portion and a support member in the vertical furnace shown in FIG.
3 (a) is a view of a flange and the like viewed from a direction of III in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 (b) is a view showing a through hole in a part on the right end side before screw mounting.
4A is an enlarged sectional view of a left end portion of a port of a support member shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4B is another structural example of the portion.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of a conventional thermocouple device mounting structure.
[Explanation of symbols]
3 Process tube 7 Thermocouple device 7a Vertical tube portion 7b Horizontal tube portion 7t Thermocouple wire 8 Support member 10 Flange (adjustable mounting member)
F fulcrum

Claims (2)

A vertical process tube,
A thermocouple is housed in a protective tube, and a vertical tube portion is disposed vertically along an inner wall of the process tube, and a horizontal L-shaped portion is formed laterally from a lower end of the vertical tube portion. A thermocouple device having a tube portion;
A support member provided at a lower portion of the process tube, for interpolating the horizontal tube portion, and supporting the other end side movably up and down within a predetermined range with one end of the horizontal tube portion as a fulcrum,
An adjustable mounting member fixed to the support member so that the relative position with respect to the support member can be adjusted vertically, and the other end of the horizontal tube portion is fixed to the support member ;
The mounting structure for a thermocouple device, wherein the support member has a small-diameter portion whose inside diameter is locally small, and the fulcrum is formed at a contact portion between the small-diameter portion and the horizontal tube portion . A vertical process tube,
A thermocouple is housed in a protective tube, and includes a vertical tube portion vertically arranged along an inner wall of the process tube, and a horizontal L-shaped member formed in a lateral direction from a lower end of the vertical tube portion. A thermocouple device having a tube portion;
A support member provided at a lower portion of the process tube, which inserts the horizontal pipe portion, and supports the other end side movably up and down in a predetermined range with one end of the horizontal pipe as a fulcrum,
An adjustable attachment member fixed vertically adjustable relative to the support member, and fixing the other end of the horizontal tube portion to the support member;
The mounting structure for a thermocouple device, wherein the horizontal tube portion has a large-diameter portion having a locally large outer diameter, and the fulcrum is formed at a contact portion between the large-diameter portion and the support member.

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