JPH03174726A - Heater and washing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to realize and efficient heater of an in-line type being free from stay without setting a heating means in supply routes of pure water, gas or others, by constructing the heater basically of a plurality of conduits formed of a chemically stable and heat-resistant material, and of heating wires provided outside these conduits and in proximity thereto respectively. CONSTITUTION:A heater is constructed basically of a plurality of conduits SG 1 to 6 being parallel to each other and formed of a chemically stable and heat-resistant material such as silica glass, and of heating wires HW 1 to 6 wound on the out side of these conduits SG 1 to 6. Thereby an efficient heater of an in-line type being free from so-called stay can be realized without setting a heating means in supply routes of pure water, gas or others. As the result, it is possible to increase the purity of the pure water for washing, the gas for drying or others and to enhance the washing capacity of a washing apparatus provided with the heater.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention relates to a heater and a cleaning device, such as an in-line heater that heats and transmits pure water for cleaning, gas for drying, etc. The present invention also relates to a technique that is effective for use in a cleaning device equipped with such a heater.

[Conventional technology]

In the manufacturing process of semiconductor integrated circuits, compact discs, etc., there is cleaning equipment for cleaning and drying semiconductor wafers, compact discs, and their containers (carriers, cassettes, boxes, etc.). 2. Description of the Related Art There is a known method of increasing the cleaning effect by heating pure water for cleaning, gas for drying, etc., and there are heaters for this purpose.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Conventional heaters used for the above purpose include, for example, those attached to a tank for pressurizing and accumulating pure water, gas, etc., or as illustrated in FIG. There are some that are provided in a so-called in-line configuration in the supply path for gas and the like.

In the case of Fig. 4, the gas etc. input from the input port IN of the heater is heated by the heating wire HW provided in the heating chamber, and then passes through the exhaust chamber provided outside the blocking wall SW and is heated. It is output to the output port OUT of the device. Each part serving as a supply path for pure water, gas, etc. and heating wires are made of chemically stable materials such as fluororesin and stainless steel.

However, as the cleaning capacity of cleaning equipment increases and the purity required for purified water for cleaning, gas for drying, etc. increases, the above-mentioned heaters have the following problems. was revealed by the inventors of the present application. In other words, a heater that temporarily seals pure water, gas, etc. in a container and heats the container, or provides a heating means within the container, such as when attached to a tank for pressurization and storage. In this case, impurities such as bacteria are likely to occur due to the presence of so-called pools of pure water, gas, etc. In addition, as shown in Figure 4, in a heater in which a heating means such as a heating wire is installed in the supply path for pure water, gas, etc., fine impurities are likely to be generated from the heating wire itself, and each part of the heater is Since it is made of a material with relatively poor heat resistance, such as fluororesin, the heating temperature is restricted. As a result, the heating efficiency of the heater is limited, the purity of pure water, gas, etc. is reduced, and the cleaning ability of the cleaning device is reduced.

An object of the present invention is to provide an efficient in-line heater that eliminates the accumulation of pure water, gas, etc., and suppresses the generation of impurities such as bacteria.

An object of the present invention is to increase the purity of purified water for cleaning, gas for drying, etc., and to increase the cleaning ability of a cleaning device.

The above and other objects and novel features of this invention include:
It will become clear from the description of this document and the attached drawings.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A brief overview of typical inventions disclosed in this application is as follows.

In other words, in cleaning equipment used for cleaning and drying semiconductor wafers, compact disks, and their containers, heaters that heat and transmit pure water for cleaning, gas for drying, etc. are installed in parallel and with quartz glass, etc. It basically consists of multiple conduits made of highly heat-resistant and chemically stable materials, such as, and heating wires wound around the outside of these conduits.

[For production]

According to the above-mentioned means, an efficient in-line heater without accumulation can be realized without installing a heating means in the supply path of pure water, gas, etc. As a result, the purity of pure water for cleaning, gas for drying, etc. can be increased, and the cleaning ability of a cleaning device equipped with a heater can be increased.

〔Example〕

FIG. 5 shows a side sectional view of an embodiment of a cleaning device to which the present invention is applied. Also, in Figure 1, the fifth
A sectional view taken along line AA' of an example of pure water heating 1% iWH and gas heating gGH included in the cleaning device shown in the figure is shown, and FIG. 2 shows a BB' sectional view of the example. ing. Based on these figures, the configuration and features of the cleaning device and heater of this embodiment will be explained.

Although not particularly limited, the cleaning apparatus of this embodiment is installed in the manufacturing process of semiconductor integrated circuits, compact disks, etc., and is used for cleaning and drying semiconductor wafers, compact disks, containers thereof, etc.

In this embodiment, extremely pure water or ultrapure water is used for cleaning and rinsing semiconductor wafers, and similarly highly pure nitrogen gas, compressed air, or the like is used for drying. These pure water, gas, etc. are heated to a predetermined temperature by a pure water heating plate WH and a gas heating NGH provided in the cleaning device, thereby increasing the cleaning effect of the cleaning device. On the other hand, in the cleaning device of this embodiment, cleaning/drying nozzles N1 to N4, etc. are provided.
A drying chamber WDC and a drive chamber MC in which a transmission mechanism such as a drive shaft I-MS is provided are separated by a partition P. The drive chamber MC is provided with an exhaust port including an exhaust valve EV, and is set to have a predetermined negative pressure with respect to the cleaning/drying chamber WDC. Secondary contamination due to etc. is prevented.

In FIG. 5, each part of the cleaning device is mounted, although not particularly limited, in a linear case C, and within this case C, an internal case IC which has been appropriately shielded is housed. The inner case IC is divided into a cleaning/drying chamber WDC and a driving chamber MC by a partition P, although this is not particularly limited. Among these, the upper part of the cleaning/drying chamber WDC is equipped with the items to be cleaned (bath care)B.
A chamber lid CL is provided for loading and unloading. An operation panel CP for controlling the cleaning device is provided at the top of the case C.

The cleaning device automatically executes a series of cleaning and drying processes specified from the operation panel CP according to a predetermined program. During these cleaning and drying processes, the chamber lint CL is automatically opened and closed.

The transmission mechanism of the drive chamber MC is not particularly limited, but
It includes a drive shaft MS and a guide shaft GS that are provided in parallel. Among these, the driving shirt I-MS is configured by, for example, a ball screw, and is coupled to the arm A via an elevator mechanism. This arm A is also connected to the guide shaft GS through a suitable bearing unit and is further projected into the washing and drying chamber WDC through a narrow slit provided in the partition P.

Arm A holds the Basket B mentioned above.

As a result, the rotation of the forward/reverse motor (not shown) is
73 to the driving shirt I-MS, and as a result, the basket B held on the arm A is moved up and down.

The cleaning/drying chamber WDC may include, but is not particularly limited to,
A cleaning nozzle N1 and a drying nozzle N3 are installed along the partition P, and a cleaning nozzle N2 and a drying nozzle N4 are installed opposite the partition P.

Among these, the cleaning nozzles N1 and N2 are supplied with, for example, 5 kg/ell 2 from a pressurized tank (not shown) provided outside the cleaning device via a pure water heating valve WH and a pure water valve WV, although this is not particularly limited. Pure water or ultrapure water pressurized to a certain degree is supplied. Further, nitrogen gas, compressed air, or the like is supplied to the drying nozzles N3 and N4 from a pressure pump (not shown) similarly provided outside the cleaning device via the gas heating 14GH and the gas valve GV. The above washing valves N1 and N2 and drying valve N3
and N4 are selectively opened and closed according to the processing steps of the cleaning device, and during this period, the basket B is repeatedly moved up and down at a predetermined period.

An exhaust port via an exhaust valve EV is provided on the back side of the drive chamber MC, and a drain port via a drain valve DV is provided at the lower portions of the drive chamber MC and the cleaning/drying chamber WDC. Among these, a forced exhaust device (not shown) is connected to the exhaust port via the exhaust valve EV,
While the cleaning device is in operation, the exhaust valve EV is opened to perform forced exhaust. As a result, the cleaning/drying chamber WDC is brought to a predetermined negative pressure with respect to the external atmospheric pressure, and the drive chamber MC is also brought to a predetermined negative pressure with respect to the cleaning/drying chamber WDC. On the other hand, in the cleaning process, pure water etc. injected from the cleaning nozzles N1 and N2 are transferred to the cleaning/drying chamber WD by opening the drain valve DV.
C and the drain valve DV from the bottom of the drive chamber MC.
is discharged to the outside through the

The cleaning and drying processes in the cleaning apparatus of this embodiment are performed according to the following procedure.

When the cleaning device is brought to a halt, arm A is stopped at its upper limit position and chamber lid CL is opened. Then, the exhaust valve EV and the drain pulp DV are closed, and furthermore, the pure water valve WV and the gas valve GV are closed. Therefore, the pure water input from the pure water input port WIN is returned to the pure water pressurizing tank via the pure water heating 11WH and the pure water output port WOUT, and the nitrogen gas etc. input from the gas input port GIN is Heating HGH and gas output port GOU
The gas is returned to the gas pressurization pump via T. At this time, the heat treatment of pure water and nitrogen gas in the pure water heating HWH and the gas heating GH is automatically stopped. This limits abnormal temperature rises of pure water, nitrogen gas, etc., and maintains continuous circulation. A basket B carrying objects to be cleaned, such as semiconductor wafers, compact disks, containers thereof, etc., is loaded onto the arm A via the opened chamber lid CL.

When the operator specifies the cleaning/drying process using the operation panel CP and starts the cleaning device, first, the chamber lid CL closes and the motor rotates. Therefore, the arm A moves downward at a predetermined speed, and the cleaning nozzle N1
And pure water or ultrapure water heated to a predetermined temperature is injected from N2. As a result, the cleaning process for the objects mounted on the bus queso B is carried out, and the waste water is discharged from the drain valve DV through the drain port. Needless to say, when arm A reaches its lower limit position, the motor automatically rotates in reverse. Therefore, arm A is moved upward. Similarly, when arm A reaches its upper limit position, the motor automatically rotates further in reverse and arm A is moved downward. These operations are repeated for a prespecified cleaning time.

Furthermore, since the exhaust valve EV is opened while this cleaning process is being performed, fine dust and other foreign matter generated from the transmission mechanism of the drive chamber MC is discharged from the exhaust pulp EV through the exhaust port.

When the specified cleaning time has elapsed, the injection of pure water etc. by the cleaning nozzles N1 and N2 is automatically stopped, and the drain valve DV is closed. At the same time, nitrogen gas or the like heated to a predetermined temperature is ejected from the drying nozzles N3 and N4. The motor of the cleaning device similarly repeats forward and reverse operations to repeatedly move the basket B up and down. As a result of this 1, the drying process of the containers loaded on Baskent B is
This process is repeated for a pre-specified drying time. Also,
During this drying process, the exhaust pulp EV is opened, so fine dust and other foreign matter generated from the transmission mechanism of the drive chamber MC is removed from the exhaust pulp EV through the exhaust port, as in the case of the cleaning process described above. is discharged.

When a predetermined drying time has elapsed, the arm A stops at the upper limit position, and the chamber lid CL provided at the top of the cleaning/drying chamber WDC is opened. Thereby, the operator can unload the basket B and take out the cleaned items to the outside. Further, by loading another bus Kent B carrying the next object to be cleaned onto the arm A and restarting the cleaning device, the above-described cleaning and drying process is repeated.

By the way, the pure water heating WH and gas heating GH provided in the cleaning device of this embodiment are not particularly limited, but as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heater cover H
It is basically constructed of six quartz tubes (conduits) SGI to SG6 provided inside C and heating wires HWI to HW6 wound close to the outside of these quartz tubes.

Among these, the quartz tubes SGI to SG6 are made of glass tubes whose main component is a highly heat-resistant and chemically stable material such as quartz, although there are no particular restrictions. It is held by heater holders HHI and HI3 made of fluororesin. These heater holders also serve as holders for the heater cover HC.
On the outside are flanges FLI and FL2 for piping connections.
are installed respectively. In this example, the total cross-sectional area of the quartz tubes SGI to SG6 is, although not particularly limited, made larger than the cross-sectional area of the piping provided before and after the heating period. Or the transmission speed of nitrogen gas or the like is intentionally slowed down.

On the other hand, the outside of the heating wires HWI to HW6 is protected by a predetermined insulating material, and these heating wires and the heater cover HC
A heat insulating material SH is filled between the two. Heating wire HWI~
Although not particularly limited, the HWs 6 are delta-coupled in combinations of two HWs, as illustrated in FIG. 3, and the commonly-coupled nodes are coupled to the connector CN as input terminals UW. Although not particularly limited, the connector CN has a 3-phase 200V voltage that is controlled according to the processing process of the cleaning equipment and the heating temperature of pure water or nitrogen gas, etc.
AC power is supplied.

Pure water or nitrogen gas, etc. input from the input port N of the pure water heating HWH or gas heater GH is connected to the flange F of each heater.
After passing through the LI, the flow is divided into six quartz tubes S01 to SG6, and its transmission speed is intentionally slowed down. Then, the temperature is gradually raised by heating wires HWI to I (W6) wound around the outside of each quartz tube, and the temperature is set at a predetermined temperature at the output port OUT of each heater. Gas, etc. passes through the corresponding pure water valve Wv or gas valve GV to the cleaning nozzles N1 and N2 or N3 and N.
It is injected from 4.

For these reasons, in the pure water heating HwH and gas heater GH of this embodiment, so-called accumulations are eliminated from the pure water, nitrogen gas, etc. supply path, and the generation of impurities such as bacteria is extremely reduced. In addition, since the heat treatment using a heating means such as a heating wire is performed indirectly from the supply path of pure water or nitrogen gas, that is, from the outside of the quartz tubes SGI to SG6, the generation of impurities due to the heating wire itself is prevented. At the same time, the conduit is made of quartz glass tube with high heat resistance,
The heating temperature is increased and the heating efficiency of the heater is increased.

As a result, it is possible to realize a -f-line type efficient heater, and the purity of pure water and nitrogen gas is increased, which, combined with the effect of heating pure water and nitrogen gas, improves cleaning equipment. The cleaning ability of the product is significantly improved.

As described above, in the cleaning apparatus of this embodiment, the drive chamber MC in which the transmission mechanism such as the drive shirt MS is provided,
A cleaning/drying chamber WDC in which cleaning or drying nozzles N1 to N4, etc. are provided is separated by a partition P, and a pure water adder 5 for heating pure water for cleaning, nitrogen gas, etc. for drying. A thermal HWH and a gas heated HGH are provided. In this embodiment, the pure water heater WH and the gas heater GH are provided in parallel and consist of six glass tubes etc. whose main component is a highly heat-resistant and chemically stable material such as quartz. It is basically constructed of quartz tubes SGI to SG6 and heating wires HWI to HW6 wound close to the outside of these quartz tubes. As a result, the cleaning device of this embodiment prevents secondary contamination caused by fine dust generated from the friction parts of the transmission mechanism, eliminates accumulation in the supply path of pure water, nitrogen gas, etc., and eliminates electricity. By indirectly performing heat treatment using a hot wire from the outside of the quartz tube, the purity of pure water, nitrogen gas, etc. is increased, and the cleaning ability of the cleaning device is increased.

As shown in the above embodiment, by applying the present invention to a cleaning device used for cleaning and drying semiconductor wafers, compact disks, or their containers, or a heater included in these cleaning devices, The following effects can be obtained. In other words, (11) In a cleaning device used for cleaning and drying containers, etc., of semiconductor wafers, compact disks, etc., heating water for heating pure water for cleaning, gas for drying, etc.
By basically constructing a conduit made of a highly heat-resistant and chemically stable material such as quartz glass, and a heating wire installed outside the conduit, the supply route for pure water, gas, etc. The effect is that it is possible to realize a so-called in-line efficient heater without a stagnation without installing a heating means therein.

(2) In the above (paragraph 11), the conduit is constituted by a plurality of conduits in which heating wires are installed in parallel and close to each other on the outside, and the total cross-sectional area of these conduits is provided before and after the heater. By designing the cross-sectional area to be larger than the cross-sectional area of the piping, it is possible to reduce the transmission speed of pure water, gas, etc., and increase the heating efficiency of the heater.

(3) The above items (11 and (2)) have the effect of suppressing the generation of bacteria in the pool and the generation of impurities due to the heating means itself such as heating wires, and increasing the purity of pure water, gas, etc. It will be done.

(4) Items (11 to (3)) above provide the effect that the cleaning ability of a cleaning device equipped with a heater can be significantly improved.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically explained above based on Examples, it goes without saying that this invention is not limited to the above Examples and can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof. Nor. For example, in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conduits for heating and transmitting pure water, gas, etc. may be branched into more than six, or may have a spiral shape, for example. In this case, the conduits are made of a highly heat-resistant and chemically stable material, and heating wires are required to be provided close to each other on the outside of each conduit. If the heating power of the heating wire is high or if the conduit has sufficient length, there is no need to branch the conduit into multiple parts. The heating wire provided on the outside of the conduit may be, for example, in the form of a strip or in the form of a sheet deposited on the outside surface of the conduit. In FIG. 3, the heating wires do not need to be delta-coupled, and the heating power source can have any voltage value. In FIG. 4, the cleaning device may be one that moves the Vascera) B or the like in the horizontal direction, and its transmission mechanism may be one that uses another transmission mechanism instead of the pole screw. Furthermore, the liquid used for cleaning and rinsing the object to be cleaned may be something other than pure water or ultrapure water, and the gas used for drying the object may be something other than nitrogen gas or compressed air. Good too. The heater may be provided only for either pure water for cleaning or gas for drying. Furthermore, various embodiments may be adopted, such as the specific configuration of the heater shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the cleaning device shown in FIG. 5, their connection method, and the procedure of cleaning and drying processing.

The above explanation mainly concerns the case where the invention made by the present inventor is applied to a cleaning device and a heater for cleaning and drying semiconductor wafers, compact disks, containers thereof, etc., which are the field of application that formed the background of the invention. Although described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and includes, for example, heaters used alone to heat various liquids and gases such as chemical solutions and paints, and various cleaning devices equipped with such heaters. It can also be applied to The present invention provides heating and heating of at least a fluid.
It is widely applicable to in-line heaters for transmission and cleaning equipment equipped with such heaters.

〔Effect of the invention〕

A brief explanation of the effects obtained by typical inventions disclosed in this application is as follows. In other words, in a cleaning device used for cleaning and drying semiconductor wafers, compact disks, or their containers, a heater for heating pure water for cleaning, gas for drying, etc. is installed in parallel and with a heater made of quartz glass, etc. By basically configuring multiple conduits made of highly heat-resistant and chemically stable materials such as , and heating wires installed close to the outside of these conduits, the supply route for pure water, gas, etc. It is possible to realize an efficient in-line type heater without so-called stagnation without installing a heating means inside. As a result, the generation of bacteria in the pool and the generation of impurities due to the heating means itself, such as electric heating wires, can be suppressed, and the purity of pure water and gas can be increased, so the cleaning ability of cleaning equipment equipped with heating type can be improved. can be significantly increased.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an AA' sectional view showing an embodiment of a heater to which the present invention is applied; FIG. 2 is a BB" sectional view showing an embodiment of the heating type shown in FIG. 1; 3 is a wiring diagram showing an embodiment of the heater shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a structural diagram showing an example of a conventional heater, and FIG. 5 is a diagram of a cleaning device to which the present invention is applied. It is a side sectional view showing one example.HC...Heater cover, HHI-HH2...Heater holder, FLI-FL2...Flange, SGI
~SG6...Quartz tube, HWI~HW6...Heating wire,
SH...insulation material, CN...connector, SW...blocking wall. C...Case, IC-...Internal case, cp...Operation panel, CL...Chamber lid, WDC...Cleaning/drying chamber, MC...Drive chamber, MS...
・Drive shaft, GS...Guide shaft, S...
Pulley, A...arm, B...basket, P...
・Partition, N1-N2...Cleaning nozzle, N3-N4・
...Drying nozzle, Wv...Pure water valve, WH...Pure water heating line, GV...Gas valve, GH...Gas heating type, EV...Exhaust valve, DV...Drain valve.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A heater characterized by comprising a conduit made of a predetermined material that is highly heat resistant and chemically stable, and a heating wire provided close to the outside of the conduit. 2. The heater according to claim 1, wherein the conduit is made of a glass tube whose main component is quartz. 3. The heating device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heater is for heating and transmitting pure water for cleaning or gas for drying to a predetermined cleaning device. Heater. 4. The above-mentioned conduit is branched into a plurality of conduits that are parallel to each other and each of which has the heating wire close to its outside. heater. 5. A cleaning device comprising a heater comprising a conduit made of a glass tube containing quartz as a main component and a heating wire provided close to the outside of the conduit. 6. The cleaning device is characterized in that the transmission mechanism for moving the object to be cleaned is installed in a drive chamber that is provided substantially independently of the cleaning chamber and the drying chamber. The cleaning device according to item 5.