JPH06294566A - Gas cylinder cooler for production of semiconductor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a gas cylinder cooler for the production of semiconductors which enables the checking of cost of the cooler remarkably and moreover, the reducing of complicated maintenance work. CONSTITUTION:A cooling jacket 5A is fitted into a cylinder 2 for storing a liquefied gas surrounding it. With the jetting of compressed air for cooling into the cooling jacket 5A, air is made to pass through a spiral passage pipe within the cooling jacket 5A to cool the cylinder 2 from the bottom to top. Thereafter, the air is discharged outside to meet a relationship of temperature< ambient temperature of supply line of the cylinder 2. This enables the prevention of a gas for the production of semiconductors from stagnating in the supply line associated with a difference in the temperature in the perimeter of the cylinder 2, a semiconductor production apparatus or the supply line thereby holding back the cost of the cooler significantly while reducing burden from complicated maintenance work.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas cylinder cooling device for semiconductor manufacturing which cools a gas cylinder, which stores a gas for semiconductor manufacturing, whose vapor pressure value is close to the atmospheric pressure value at room temperature, with air. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 4, a gas supply system for semiconductor manufacturing supplies a semiconductor manufacturing gas from a cylinder cabinet 1 to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 3 via a supply line 4.

The cylinder cabinet 1 which is a supply facility is installed in a supply facility (not shown), in which one cylinder 2 which is a cylinder or a plurality of cylinders including a spare are stored. The cylinder 2 is filled with a semiconductor manufacturing gas (not shown) such as silane or nitrogen.

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 3 is installed in a semiconductor manufacturing facility (not shown) different from the supply facility, and is connected to a cylinder 2 of a cylinder cabinet 1 separated by a supply line 4, Has the function of manufacturing semiconductors by randomly stopping and starting.

Further, the supply line 4 has a function of supplying the semiconductor manufacturing gas. However, in view of the installation location, space, etc., as shown in FIG. In addition to being piped, it is generally piped not only indoors but also outdoors in a complicated piping condition.

However, since the cylinder cabinet 1, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 3 and the supply line 4 are installed or piped in different facilities, the gas supply system as a whole may be partially heated or cooled. It is normal for the temperature distribution over time to not be constant.

Incidentally, in the production of semiconductors, in addition to the above-mentioned gases such as silane and nitrogen, a liquefied gas whose vapor pressure value at room temperature is almost similar to the atmospheric pressure value, in other words, it is almost 0 at room temperature around 20 °. Liquefied gas at atmospheric pressure (eg SiH ₂ C
l ₂ gas, WF ₆ gas, BCl ₃ gas, ClF ₃ gas,
F123 gas, etc.) is often used.

When this liquefied gas is used in the gas supply system for semiconductor manufacturing, it does not cause much problems during the operation of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 3, but the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 3
After the stop, there were cases where the following big problems were caused.

That is, the semiconductor manufacturing gas, which is a liquefied gas, does not require a regulator because of its characteristics.
It is supplied to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 3 in a suction state by the pump on the side, but with the stop of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 3 which repeats irregular stop and start, a part thereof remains in the supply line 4 (FIG. 4). reference).

Even if the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 3 is stopped, the cylinder cabinet 1 side is in a supply state, that is, the valve in the cylinder cabinet 1 remains open, so that the remaining semiconductor manufacturing gas is left over time. Along with this, it becomes saturated vapor, but if the supply line 4 is installed at a place where it becomes cooler than the ambient temperature of the cylinder 2, it will be liquefied and the liquefied gas will accumulate in the pipe.

However, this liquid amount increases with the passage of time and becomes a liquid seal in the worst case. If the supply of the semiconductor manufacturing gas is restarted without removing the liquid seal, the supply of the semiconductor manufacturing gas is extremely difficult. The problem arises that Further, even if the liquid is not sealed up, the liquid is formed in the tube, which causes a problem that the gas supply becomes unstable.

In order to solve this problem, a method of arranging the cylinder cabinet 1, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 3 and the supply line 4 at one place to reduce the distance between them and to make the temperature distribution of the entire system constant can be considered. To be

However, this method cannot be adopted when the supply line 4 is liable to have a high or low condition or in a complicated piping condition in the field because of the installation space or the like, and the temperature cannot be adjusted. It has the drawback of making expensive control equipment essential for control.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problem, conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a cooling jacket 5 is provided around the cylinder 2, and cooling water such as water or alcohol is placed in the cooling jacket 5. The cooling water that has cooled the cylinder 2 is caused to flow to the outside while being made to flow, so that the relationship of the temperature of the cylinder 2 <the ambient temperature of the supply line 4 is satisfied.

As shown in the figure, the cooling jacket 5 is formed in a substantially C-shape in a plane that can be divided into two parts, and a circulation pipe 6 meandering in a substantially corrugated shape is usually provided inside the cooling jacket 5 in order to uniformly cool the cooling pipe. It is built in and is fitted in the cylinder 2 in a surrounding state.

An inflow pipe 7 is connected to the upper part of the cooling jacket 5 to allow the cooling water to flow into the distribution pipe 6 from a thermostat (not shown), and an outflow pipe 8 for discharging the cooling water from the distribution pipe 6 to the outside. Are connected.

Therefore, the cooling water sequentially flows from the constant temperature bath into the distribution pipe 6 in the cooling jacket 5 via the inflow pipe 7, and then flows in the distribution pipe 6 meandering in the waveform to efficiently move the cylinder 2 into the cylinder 2. After cooling, it is sequentially discharged from the distribution pipe 6 to the outside via the outflow pipe 8, and the temperature of the cylinder 2 is compared with the temperature of its surroundings by about −3 ° C. to −5.
Cool down by ° C.

[0018]

The conventional gas cylinder cooling apparatus for semiconductor manufacturing is constructed as described above, and the cooling water is made to flow into the cooling jacket 5 surrounding the cylinder 2 and the cooling water is exposed to the outside. Since it is discharged, there is a problem that the cooling device becomes extremely large and complicated and becomes extremely expensive (specifically, 500,000 to 1,000,000), and frequently complicated maintenance is forced. It was

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and provides a gas cylinder cooling device for semiconductor manufacturing which can significantly reduce the cost of a cooling device for cooling a cylinder and can reduce complicated maintenance work. Is intended.

[0020]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object in the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor manufacturing gas which is used for manufacturing a semiconductor and has a vapor pressure value almost equal to an atmospheric pressure value at room temperature. A cylinder filled with gas, a supply line for supplying the semiconductor manufacturing gas from the cylinder to the semiconductor manufacturing facility, a peripheral wall surrounding at least a part of the cylinder, and a semiconductor manufacturing device in the cylinder that flows through the peripheral wall. Compressed air for cooling the gas is provided to prevent the congestion of the supply of the semiconductor manufacturing gas in the supply line due to the difference in temperature around the cylinder, the semiconductor manufacturing facility, or the supply line.

[0021]

According to the present invention, the compressed compressed air is jetted from the outside into the peripheral wall through the cooling jet nozzle. At this time, the air is cooled by adiabatic expansion from the nozzle. The air cooled in this way flows through the peripheral wall in sequence and efficiently cools the cylinder from the lower part to the upper part,
After that, they are sequentially discharged from the peripheral wall to the outside, and the temperature of the cylinder is cooled by -3 ° C to -5 ° C as compared with the ambient temperature.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in FIGS.

In the gas cylinder cooling apparatus for semiconductor manufacturing according to the present invention, a cooling jacket 5A is installed around the cylinder 2, and compressed air for cooling is injected into the cooling jacket 5A and the cylinder 2 is cooled. The generated air is discharged to the outside so that the temperature of the cylinder 2 <the ambient temperature of the supply line 4 is satisfied.

The cylinder 2, which is a cylinder, has a liquefied gas whose vapor pressure value at room temperature is almost the same as the atmospheric pressure value, in other words, liquefied gas at almost 0 atm at room temperature around 20 ° (for example, SiH). ₂ Cl ₂ gas, WF ₆ gas, B
Cl ₃ gas, ClF ₃ gas, F123 gas, etc.) are filled and housed inside the cylinder cabinet 1 which is a supply facility.

As shown in the figure, the cooling jacket 5A is formed of a material such as stainless steel into a cylindrical shape which can be divided into two, and compressed air (not shown) for cooling is provided therein. A spiral flow pipe 6A that sequentially flows from the lower part to the upper part is built in, and is fitted in the cylinder 2 in a surrounding state.

Further, an inflow pipe 7 for injecting and supplying compressed air for cooling to the flow pipe 6A is connected to the lower portion of the outer peripheral surface of the cooling jacket 5A. However, the air is discharged from the upper part of the cooling jacket 5A from the inflow pipe 7 through the distribution pipe 6A, and is discharged to the inside of the cylinder cabinet 1.

More specifically, the cooling air is sequentially injected from the outside through the inflow pipe 7 into the circulation pipe 6A in the cooling jacket 5A, and circulates in the spiral circulation pipe 6A to flow through the cylinder 2. It is efficiently cooled from the lower part to the upper part, and after that, it is sequentially discharged from the distribution pipe 6A into the inside of the cylinder cabinet 1, and the temperature of the cylinder 2 is about -3 ° C to -5 ° C as compared with the ambient temperature. Cool it down.

According to the above construction, the cooling jacket 5A surrounding the cylinder 2 is supplied with the air cooled by adiabatic expansion instead of the cooling water, and the air cooled by the cylinder 2 is discharged to the outside. Since the relation of the temperature of 2 <the ambient temperature of the supply line 4 is satisfied, the congestion of the semiconductor production gas in the cylinder 2, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 3, or the supply line 4 due to the difference in the ambient temperature of the supply line 4 is prevented. In addition to that, it is possible to expect a significant reduction in the cost of the cooling device (specifically, about tens of thousands of yen).

Specifically, in the case of water cooling, the cooling jacket 5A must be made thick to take measures against water leakage and rust, and moreover, a large space for installing auxiliary equipment of the cooling device must be secured. I have to do it.

On the other hand, in the case of air cooling according to the present invention, the cooling jacket 5A can be made thin, there is no need to take measures against water leaks and rust, and the compressed air in the semiconductor manufacturing facility is simple. Therefore, it is possible to significantly reduce the installation space of the auxiliary equipment of the cooling device. Further, unlike the case of water, an expensive circulating device is not necessary, and it is sufficient to simply discharge it into the inside of the cylinder cabinet 1, and the structure is extremely simple.

Further, in the case of water cooling, it is sufficient to cool the temperature of the cylinder 2 by −3 ° C. to −5 ° C. as compared with the surrounding temperature, but there is a drawback that an over-spec (constant temperature) problem occurs. However, in the case of air cooling according to the present invention, the problem of over-spec can be reliably solved.

Furthermore, in the case of air cooling according to the present invention, the cooling jacket 5A can be made thin and there is no need to take measures against water leaks, rust, etc., so the burden of complicated maintenance work is reduced. It becomes possible to do.

Next, FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this case, a plurality of bands 9 are provided on a part of the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 2 to form a stand column 5B having a substantially planar shape. An inflow pipe 7 is connected to the lower part of the vertical surface of the stand column 5B so that the cooling air is circulated in the upward direction from the lower part indicated by the arrow.

In the present embodiment, the entire outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 2 is not surrounded as in the above embodiment, but the temperature of the cylinder 2 <
Since the relationship of the ambient temperature of the supply line 4 can be used, the congestion of the semiconductor manufacturing gas in the cylinder 2, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 3, or the supply line 4 due to the difference in the ambient temperature of the supply line 4 can be prevented. At the same time, it is obvious that the cost of the cooling device can be greatly suppressed.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, the cylindrical cooling jacket 5A and the grooved stand column 5B are used. However, as long as the requirement of air cooling is satisfied, the shape of the bowl is almost flat. -Even if it is constructed in a structure or the like, the same operation and effect as those of the above-mentioned embodiments can be obtained.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, the air cooled by adiabatic expansion is introduced into the peripheral wall surrounding the cylinder, and the air cooled by the cylinder is discharged to the outside, so that the temperature of the cylinder <supply. Since the relationship is based on the ambient temperature of the line, it is possible to reliably prevent the congestion of the semiconductor manufacturing gas in the supply line due to the difference in temperature around the cylinder, the semiconductor manufacturing facility, or the supply line, and to cool the cooling device. There is a remarkable effect that the cost of can be greatly suppressed.

Furthermore, since air cooling is utilized, there is no need to take measures against water leaks and rust, and there is a special effect that the work burden of complicated maintenance work can be greatly reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a gas cylinder cooling device for semiconductor manufacturing according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory sectional view showing an embodiment of a gas cylinder cooling device for semiconductor manufacturing according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the gas cylinder cooling device for semiconductor manufacturing according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an overall explanatory diagram showing a gas supply system for semiconductor manufacturing.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional gas cylinder cooling device for semiconductor manufacturing.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing a conventional gas cylinder cooling device for semiconductor manufacturing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Cylinder cabinet 2 ... Cylinder 3 ... Semiconductor manufacturing equipment (semiconductor manufacturing equipment) 4 ... Supply line 5.5A ... Cooling jacket (peripheral wall) 5B ... Stand support (peripheral wall) 6.6A ... Distribution pipe

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A semiconductor manufacturing gas which is used for manufacturing a semiconductor and has a vapor pressure value close to an atmospheric pressure value at room temperature, a cylinder filled with the semiconductor manufacturing gas, and a semiconductor manufacturing facility from the cylinder to the semiconductor manufacturing gas. A cylinder, a semiconductor manufacturing system, comprising a supply line for supplying a manufacturing gas, a cooling wall surrounding at least a part of the cylinder, and cooling air flowing through the cooling wall to cool the semiconductor manufacturing gas in the cylinder. A gas cylinder cooling device for semiconductor manufacturing, which prevents congestion of supply of semiconductor manufacturing gas in a supply line due to a difference in temperature around the equipment or the supply line.