JPH0568867A - Gas feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent both redischarge of a particle from a gas filter and looseness of the joint of a gas pipeline by inhibiting vibration of a gas feeder. CONSTITUTION:The connection part of a gas pipeline is fitted to a structural body 1 for fixation. A valve V and a mass flow controller MFC are fixed to the structural body 1 and also a gas filter F is interposed on the way of the gas pipeline 3 provided between these pipeline apparatus. A vibration inhibition part 5 is equipped with both a vibration-proof part in the horizontal direction and the vibration-proof part in the vertical direction. The vibration inhibition parts 5 are fitted to the four corners of the rear surface of the structural body 1 for fixation. This structural body 1 for fixation is fixed to a supporting body 4 via these vibration inhibition parts 5. When mechanical vibration is propagated to a gas feeder, the vibration component in the horizontal direction and the vibration component in the vertical direction of this vibration are inhibited.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas supply device used in, for example, a semiconductor wafer heat treatment apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus such as a heat treatment apparatus, a gas supply device is installed in a maintenance area in a clean room, and a processing gas sent from an outdoor gas supply source is pressurized through the gas supply device. The flow rate is adjusted to a predetermined value and supplied into the reaction tube of the heat treatment apparatus.

In general, a gas supply device is provided with a piping structure such as a valve or a mass flow controller on a fixing structure for ease of maintenance, and the fixing structure is, for example, a frame which is an exterior part of a heat treatment apparatus. It is configured to be supported by a support such as.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a conventional gas supply apparatus. In this example, gas pipe connecting portions 2a and 2b are attached to vertical panel portions 1a and 1b at both ends of a fixing structure 1, and For example, a gas filter Fa, a valve V, a mass flow controller MFC and a gas filter Fb are arranged between these gas pipe connection parts from the upstream side, and the heavy valve V and mass flow controller MFC are fixed via the fixed base 2. The gas filters Fa and Fb, which are fixed to the structure 1, are supported by gas pipes 3 at both ends to form a gas supply device. The fixing structure 1 is directly fixed to a support 4, for example, a frame which is an exterior part of the heat treatment apparatus, by fixing means such as bolts, and thereby the gas supply device is attached to the support 4.

[0005]

By the way, mechanical vibrations of an air conditioner, an exhaust pump, and the like are constantly propagated to the gas supply device in an atmosphere in which the gas supply device is arranged, for example, in a clean room, and therefore the gas supply device is When vibration propagates to the gas pipe and its vibration frequency matches the natural resonance frequency of the gas pipe and the gas filter, a large resonance occurs,
Moreover, since the gas filter is located at the antinode portion of the vibration as can be seen from FIG. 5, it vibrates greatly. Recently, there has been a strong demand for a more compact system, for example, there is the idea of making the gas supply system and the exhaust system of the heat treatment device an integral unit. In this case, the piping of the gas supply device is complicated in space. Since it has such a three-dimensional structure, it becomes difficult to fix the pipe, and the vibration of the pipe tends to increase. Therefore, although the gas filter was originally installed to remove particles in the process gas, some of the captured particles were separated by the vibration of the gas filter, and as a result, the particles captured by the gas filter were supplied with gas. It was a source of particles in the device.

Furthermore, the processing gas used in the semiconductor wafer manufacturing process is highly inflammable, flammable, or highly toxic, and a highly dangerous gas is used, which causes a serious accident if leaked, but the gas pipe When the vibration propagates to the pipe and its vibration frequency matches the natural resonance frequency of the joint part of the gas pipe, the joint part resonates and vibrates greatly, causing the joint part to loosen and leading to gas leakage. is there.

The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object thereof is to suppress vibration and prevent re-emission of particles captured by a gas filter and loosening of a joint portion of a gas pipe. It is to provide a gas supply device capable of performing.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gas supply device configured to fix a gas pipe and a piping device to a fixing structure, and which supplies a processing gas from a gas supply source to a processing section. 3. The invention according to claim 2, wherein the fixing structure is supported by a support through a vibration suppressing portion, wherein the vibration suppressing portion uses at least a lateral vibration suppressing member. And

[0009]

The bottom surface corner of the fixing structure is supported by the support through the vibration suppressing portion that absorbs vibrations (vibration components) in both vertical and horizontal directions. When mechanical vibration propagates to the gas supply device, the gas pipes and piping equipment vibrate in both vertical and horizontal directions, especially large vibration due to resonance, but this vibration also propagates to the vibration suppression unit where it is suppressed and damped. It As a result, the amplitude of the gas supply device is reduced in both the vertical and horizontal directions, and the vibration of the joint portion of the gas filter and the gas pipe is suppressed, so that the detachment amount of the valve is minimized and the joint portion can be prevented from loosening.

[0010]

EXAMPLES Examples in which the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer heat treatment apparatus will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a gas supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a fixing structure in which vertical panels 1a and 1b are formed by bending both ends of a plate-shaped body made of, for example, stainless steel to form vertical panels 1a and 1b.
Gas pipe connection portions 3a and 3b connected to the gas supply source side gas pipe Ga made of, for example, stainless steel and the heat treatment apparatus side gas pipe Gb are attached to b, respectively.
A gas filter Fa, a valve V, a mass flow controller M are provided between these gas pipe connecting portions 3a and 3b from the upstream side.
The FC and the gas filter Fb are connected in this order via the gas pipe 3, and since the valve V and the mass flow controller MFC are heavy, they are fixed to the fixing structure 1 via the fixing base 2.

At the lower four corners of the fixing structure 1, L
Character-shaped attachment members 11 are integrally provided on the vertical panel portions 1a and 1b, and the upper portions of the vibration suppressing portions 5 are attached to the attachment members 11, respectively. Each vibration suppressing portion 5 is fixed to the supporting body 4, and as a result, the fixing structure 1 is supported by the supporting body 4 via the vibration suppressing portion 5. As the support body 4, a frame which is separate from the exterior part of the heat treatment apparatus, for example, a frame for housing an exhaust system unit, a ceiling plate of the exterior part of the heat treatment apparatus, or a support stand dedicated to the gas supply device is appropriately used.

An injector 101 made of stainless steel or quartz is connected to the gas pipe Gb, and the injector 101 is introduced into a reaction tube 102 forming a heat treatment section as a treatment section of the heat treatment apparatus 100. .. 103 is a wafer boat and 104 is a heater.

Next, the detailed structure of the vibration suppressing portion 5 will be described with reference to FIG. A substrate portion 6 fixed to the surface of the support 4 via a non-slip layer 61 made of adhesive rubber, an intermediate plate portion 71 mounted on the substrate portion 6 via a horizontal vibration isolator 7, Intermediate plate portion 71
And a cover 9 mounted via a vertical vibration isolator 8.

A cylindrical first stopper 62 is provided on the base plate portion 6 so as to surround the outer periphery of the horizontal vibration isolation portion 7 so as to project upward, and the intermediate plate portion 71 is provided.
A cylindrical second stopper 72, which has a diameter larger than that of the first stopper 62 and is coaxial with the first stopper 62, is provided on the lower surface of the so as to project downward so as to overlap with the first stopper 62. And these two stoppers 6
When the intermediate plate portion 71 vibrates in the horizontal direction with respect to the substrate portion 6, the reference numerals 2 and 72 have a role of regulating the amplitude of the intermediate plate portion 71 with respect to the substrate portion 6 to a certain level or less by mutual contact. ..

The horizontal vibration isolator 7 is formed, for example, by molding laminated rubber into a cylindrical shape, and has a function of suppressing horizontal vibration of the vibration propagated from the fixing structure 1. The vertical vibration isolator 8 has an outer cylinder portion 81 whose upper end is located in the cover portion 9 with a gap and whose lower end is fixed to the upper surface of the intermediate plate portion 71, and whose both ends are open. For example, a damper body 82, which is layered on the upper surface of the intermediate plate portion 71 in the outer cylinder portion 81, and a lower end is placed on the central portion of the upper surface of the damper body 82, and a bolt fixing portion 83 is provided in the center, and the upper portion of It is composed of an inner cylinder portion 84 having an enlarged diameter and, for example, a vibration-proof rubber 85 filled between the inner cylinder portion 84 and the outer cylinder portion 81 and adhered thereto.

The cover portion 9 is formed in a bottomed tubular shape with its opening facing downward, and is provided with a flange portion 90 at the lower peripheral edge thereof, and a hem bolt is provided at the center of the upper surface of the cover portion 9. 9
1 is penetrated. A nut 92 is attached to the lower surface side of the cover portion 9 by being screwed into a bolt 91, and the attachment member 11 is fixed on the upper surface of the cover portion 9 by tightening the bolt 91 and the nut 92. .. Further, guide rods 93 project downward on both sides of the collar portion 90, and the tips of the rods penetrate the inside of the intermediate plate portion 71, while the lower ends of the bolts 91 are fixed to the bolt fixing portions 83 of the horizontal vibration isolator 8. Since the cover portion 9 is fixed by being screwed, the cover portion 9 is fixed to the intermediate plate portion 71 by the guide rod 93.
It is in a state of being vertically swingable while being guided by.

Here, although the piping equipment is shown for convenience in FIG. 1, a large number of piping equipment and gas supply path systems are provided in an actual gas supply apparatus, and FIG. 3 shows an example of the gas supply apparatus. The whole perspective view is shown. In FIG. 3, F is a gas filter.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. A process gas from a gas supply source (not shown) flows through a pipe device such as a gas filter Fa in the gas supply device through a gas pipe Ga, and further, the gas pipe Gb and the injector 101.
Is sent to the inside of the reaction tube 102 of the heat treatment apparatus 100 through a predetermined heat treatment such as oxidation, diffusion, and CVD. Then, when mechanical vibration of an air conditioner or a pump in a clean room propagates to the gas supply device, the structure 1 vibrates. Then, the horizontal vibration (vibration component) is suppressed by the damping action of the laminated rubber which is the horizontal vibration isolator 7, and the vertical vibration (vibration component) constitutes the vertical vibration isolator 8 as well. And the damping effect of the anti-vibration rubber 85 suppresses the vibration, and as a result, both horizontal and vertical vibrations of the gas supply device are suppressed.

The gas pipe and the gas filter float in the air and are liable to cause resonance with respect to lateral vibrations, and particles are easily separated. Therefore, it is very effective to suppress horizontal vibration, and as a result, re-emission of particles from the gas filters Fa and Fb can be prevented, so that a clean processing gas can be supplied to the heat treatment apparatus 100 and the gas pipes can be supplied. Looseness of the joint can be reliably prevented.

In order to investigate the damping function of the vibration suppressing portion 5 shown in FIG. 2, the low natural frequency in the horizontal direction is 1.3H.
z, a load of 300 Kgw was applied to the vibration suppressing portion 5 having a low natural frequency of 4.5 Hz in the vertical direction, the vibration frequency was changed, and the magnitude of the vibration transmissibility was examined. As shown in FIG.
The characteristics shown by the solid line in (B) were obtained. However, (A),
(B) corresponds to horizontal vibration and vertical vibration, respectively. Further, when the same test was performed using a coil spring, the results shown by the dotted lines in FIGS. 4A and 4B were obtained.
From this result, it is understood that the vibration suppressing portion 5 has a large damping function, and it is very effective to apply the vibration suppressing portion 5 to a gas supply device exposed to mechanical vibration having a low frequency.

FIG. 5 is an example in which the gas supply apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a vertical heat treatment apparatus, which is composed of a heat treatment apparatus main body 10 and a supply apparatus 12. A vacuum exhaust device 14 is housed in the lower part of the supply device 12, and a gas supply device 16 is housed in the upper part. Although the vibration generated from the vacuum evacuation device 14 is quite large, the gas supply device 16 is fixed to the vacuum evacuation device 14 via the vibration suppressing portion, so that in the vertical heat treatment device, Generation of particles is small, and the yield of semiconductor elements to be processed can be improved.

In the above description, the present invention is not limited to the structure of the embodiment as the vibration suppressing portion, but may be an air spring, a coil spring, or a laminated rubber having a large lateral vibration damping function, and a combination of these. The solid may be interposed between the fixing structure and the support.

The gas supply apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the heat treatment apparatus, but may be applied to one that supplies a processing gas to a processing apparatus that performs an etching process without heating.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the mechanical structure vibrates due to mechanical vibration because the fixing structure for fixing the piping equipment and the gas pipe is supported by the support through the vibration suppressing portion. Vibration of the gas supply device is suppressed even when propagating to the supply device, and as a result, re-emission of particles from the gas filter can be prevented, and a clean processing gas can be supplied to the processing unit, and at the same time, gas can be supplied. It is possible to prevent loosening of pipe joints. Especially for parts that are floating in the air, such as gas pipes and gas filters, it is easy for resonance to accompany horizontal vibrations.
It is very effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a vibration suppressing portion used in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a gas supply device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing frequency characteristics of a vibration suppressing unit.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an example in which the gas supply apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a vertical heat treatment apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional example of a gas supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Fixing Structure 3, Ga, Gb Gas Pipe 4 Support 5 Vibration Suppressor 7 Horizontal Vibration Isolator 8 Vertical Vibration Isolator 9 Cover 100 Heat Treatment Device Fa, Fb Gas Filter

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A gas supply device configured to fix a gas pipe and a piping device to a fixing structure and supplying a processing gas from a gas supply source to a processing section, wherein vibration of the fixing structure is suppressed. A gas supply device characterized by being supported by a support through a section. 2. The gas supply device according to claim 1, wherein the vibration suppressing portion suppresses at least lateral vibration.