JPH10318576A - Air circulation facility and production system integrated therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a clean room for producing a semiconductor device, or the like, in which the underfloor chamber or the ceiling chamber can be reduced and extension of the production system can be dealt with flexibly while reducing the cost. SOLUTION: The production system 1 is installed in a turbulence type clean room 3 adjacent to a layer flow type clean room 2 while directing the insertion/ take-out port 15 for parts or product toward the layer flow type clean room 2. One side of the housing 12 of the production system 1 is integrated with the boundary wall 11 of both clean rooms 2, 3. An air circulation duct 13 is secured to the surface of the boundary wall 11 on the layer flow type clean room 2 side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a facility for returning air into a clean room and a manufacturing apparatus used in the clean room.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent semiconductor manufacturing plants, for example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 (cross-sectional views taken along the line BB in FIG. 6), a turbulent clean room 3 and a laminar clean room having different cleanliness are used. 2 and a large number of manufacturing apparatuses 10
Is installed in a turbulent-type clean room 3 having a lower cleanliness, and the front surface thereof (the surface on the side of the entrance for taking in and out of parts and products) has a laminar flow-type clean room 2 having a higher cleanliness.
It is arranged to face the side.

[0003] The underfloor chamber 5 and the ceiling chamber 4 of the laminar flow type clean room 2 are connected by a return air duct 130 provided at one end in the depth direction of the laminar flow type clean room 2. Note that a fan filter unit F having an air filter a and a fan f according to cleanliness is installed on the ceilings of the clean rooms 2 and 3, respectively.

[0004]

However, in a clean room where the depth is as long as about 30 m, if the return air duct 130 is provided at one end in the depth direction as described above, the return air is generated at the other end in the ceiling chamber or the underfloor chamber. Since the pressure loss until reaching the side is large, the utilization efficiency of the circulating air is reduced. In addition, in order to secure a required amount of circulating air in a large clean room, it is necessary to enlarge the underfloor chamber 5 and the ceiling chamber 4.

Further, when the return air duct 130 is provided at one end in the depth direction of the laminar flow type clean room 2, for example, as shown in FIG.
In some cases, the operation of the laminar-flow-type clean room 2 must be temporarily stopped.

[0009] As shown in FIG. 9, when the manufacturing apparatus 10 is arranged on three wall surfaces of the laminar flow type clean room 2, the return air duct 130 is installed at a position away from the laminar flow type clean room 2. I have. In this case, in order to prevent the return air of the turbulent flow type clean room 3 from being mixed into the laminar flow type clean room 2, as shown in FIG. It is necessary to provide a partition plate 6 in the underfloor chamber 5 and to connect the return air duct 130 of the laminar flow type clean room 2 to the ceiling chamber 4 and the underfloor chamber 5 of the laminar flow type clean room 2 by the horizontal duct 7. The cost is high.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art. In a clean room for manufacturing semiconductors or the like, the underfloor chamber and the ceiling chamber can be reduced, and the number of manufacturing apparatuses can be increased. It is an object of the present invention to be able to flexibly cope with the situation and to reduce equipment costs.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 provides a method for returning one of the chambers from the underfloor chamber to a boundary wall between two adjacent chambers into which different conditioned air is introduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a return air facility characterized by integrating a return air duct for directing air to a ceiling chamber.

[0009] The invention according to claim 2 is that the lower-floor chamber of this room is provided on the boundary side between two adjacent chambers into which air of different cleanliness is introduced, on the side of the room into which air with higher cleanliness is introduced. There is provided a return air facility characterized by integrating a return air duct for returning return air to a ceiling chamber.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, two adjacent rooms into which air of different cleanliness is introduced are arranged in lower cleanliness rooms, and parts and products are taken in and out from the higher cleanroom side. In a manufacturing apparatus, one surface of a housing is integrated with a boundary wall of two chambers, and an entrance for parts and products is provided on the boundary wall. Provided is a manufacturing apparatus, wherein a return air duct for returning air from a lower floor chamber of a room to a ceiling chamber is integrated.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a manufacturing apparatus corresponding to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a clean room in which the apparatus is installed.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the manufacturing apparatus 1 is installed in a turbulent clean room 3 adjacent to a laminar clean room 2. The cleanliness of the laminar flow clean room 2 is set higher than that of the turbulent clean room 3. Note that a fan filter unit F having an air filter a and a fan f according to cleanliness is installed on the ceiling of the laminar flow type clean room 2 and the turbulence type clean room 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, the manufacturing apparatus 1 is fixed to a boundary wall 11 separating a laminar flow type clean room 2 and a turbulent flow type clean room 3, and to the boundary wall 11 on the turbulent flow type clean room 3 side. The housing 12 and the boundary wall 1
1 and a return air duct 13 fixed to the laminar flow type clean room 2 side.

The height of the housing 12 is slightly lower than the boundary wall 11, and the lower side of the boundary wall 11 from a predetermined height is the housing 1.
2 constitute one aspect. An operation panel 14 of the manufacturing apparatus 1 and an inlet / outlet 15 for parts and products into the manufacturing apparatus 1 are provided adjacent to each other at a predetermined height of this surface in the width direction of the boundary wall 11.

The return air duct 13 is fixed to the operation panel 14 in the width direction of the boundary wall 11 over the entire height direction (from the floor surface position to the ceiling surface position). Return air duct 13
Is an operation panel 1 formed of a transparent plate and provided on a boundary wall 11.
4 is visible from the laminar flow type clean room 2 side.

A door 16 is provided on the front plate of the return air duct 13, and the operation panel 14 can be operated by opening the door 16. At the horizontal position of the boundary wall 11 to which the return air duct 13 is fixed, there is provided a component or product entrance 15 at the same height as the operation panel 14.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of the manufacturing apparatuses 1 are arranged with return air ducts 13 facing the laminar flow type clean room 2 side, and adjacent boundary walls 11 are connected to each other.
3 is connected to the openings of the ceiling chamber 4 and the underfloor chamber 5, the room is divided into a laminar flow type clean room 2 and a turbulence type clean room 3, and at the same time, the manufacturing apparatus 1 Placed in In addition, the inlet / outlet 15 of the manufacturing apparatus 1 is connected to the laminar flow type
Turn to the side.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3, the return air of the laminar flow type clean room 2 enters the ceiling chamber 4 from the underfloor chamber 5 through the return air duct 13. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the same number of return air ducts 13 as the number of manufacturing apparatuses 1 are arranged at positions opposing each other in the width direction over the entire depth direction of the laminar flow chamber 2, so Chamber 5
Is introduced into the ceiling chamber 4 through the nearby return air duct 13. As a result, the pressure loss of the circulating air is suppressed to a small value, and the utilization efficiency of the circulating air increases. Further, even in a large clean room, a necessary amount of circulating air can be secured in the small underfloor chamber 5 and the ceiling chamber 4.

If a partition plate 6 is provided in the ceiling chamber 4 and the underfloor chamber 5, the circulating air of the laminar flow type clean room 2 and the circulating air of the turbulent flow type clean room 3 are separated, so that the laminar flow type with high cleanliness can be obtained. The air introduced into the clean room 2 can be prevented from being contaminated.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the manufacturing apparatus 1 is added, the partition wall 8 that separates the laminar flow type clean room 2 and the turbulent flow type clean room 3 is moved, and the additional manufacturing apparatus 1 is installed. It suffices to connect the manufacturing apparatus 1 and the partition wall 8, and it is not necessary to move the existing return air duct 13. That is, it is not necessary to temporarily stop the operation of the laminar flow type clean room 2 with the addition of the manufacturing apparatus 10.

Also, as shown in FIG. 5, when the manufacturing apparatus 1 is arranged on three wall surfaces of the laminar flow type clean room 2, the return air duct 13 is installed on the laminar flow type clean room 2 side. Horizontal duct 7 (see FIG. 10)
, The return air from the turbulent clean room 3 can be prevented from entering the laminar flow clean room 2. Thereby, equipment cost can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the manufacturing apparatus 1 is described in which the return air duct 13 is fixed to the boundary wall 11 between the clean rooms 2 and 3, and a part of the boundary wall 11 forms one surface of the housing. The present invention also includes, as the return air equipment, one in which a return air duct is integrated with at least one surface of the boundary wall. This makes it possible to efficiently circulate conditioned air different from that of the other chamber in one chamber separated by the boundary wall without providing the horizontal duct 7 as shown in FIG.

Further, the two chambers in which the boundary wall is separated in the return air facility are not limited to the two chambers having different cleanliness of the introduced air, and may have different temperature and humidity of the introduced air. Good.

[0024]

As described above, according to the return air facility of the first aspect, it is possible to efficiently circulate conditioned air different from that of the other chamber in one chamber separated by the boundary wall. Becomes

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to increase the air circulation efficiency in the chamber into which the air having a higher degree of cleanliness separated by the boundary wall is introduced. According to the manufacturing apparatus of claim 3, by forming the two chambers by connecting the boundary walls, the circulating air required in the small underfloor chamber and the ceiling chamber even if the room with higher cleanliness is a large clean room. Quantity can be secured. In addition, since it is possible to flexibly cope with an increase in the number of manufacturing apparatuses and the like, equipment costs can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a manufacturing apparatus corresponding to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a clean room in which the manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 is installed.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a change in a clean room due to the addition of a manufacturing apparatus in the case of the manufacturing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing another embodiment of the arrangement of the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing a clean room in which a conventional manufacturing apparatus is installed.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view showing a change in a clean room due to an additional manufacturing apparatus in the case of the conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing another conventional example of the arrangement of the manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manufacturing apparatus 2 Laminar flow type clean room (room in which air with higher cleanliness is introduced) 3 Turbulence type clean room (room in which air with lower cleanliness is introduced) 4 Ceiling chamber 5 Underfloor chamber 6 Partition plate 7 Horizontal Duct 11 Boundary wall 12 Housing 13 Return air duct 15 Doorway

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A return air duct which integrates return air from an underfloor chamber of one of the chambers to a ceiling chamber at a boundary wall between two adjacent chambers into which different conditioned air is introduced. Air equipment. 2. The return air from the underfloor chamber of this chamber is supplied to the ceiling chamber on the side of the boundary wall between two adjacent chambers into which air of different cleanliness is introduced, where the higher cleanness air is introduced. Return air equipment characterized by the integration of a return air duct that faces the air. 3. A manufacturing apparatus which is disposed in two adjacent rooms with lower cleanliness into which air of different cleanliness is introduced, and which takes parts and products in and out of the room with higher cleanliness, One surface of the housing is integrated with the boundary wall of the two chambers, and the entrance wall for parts and products is provided on the boundary wall, and the lower floor chamber of this room is placed on the side of the boundary wall where more clean air is introduced. A manufacturing apparatus characterized by integrating a return air duct for returning air to a ceiling chamber.