JPH11294615A - Integrated valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an integrated valve provided with tape heaters from which integrated units can be easily removed. SOLUTION: An integrated valve 1 is provided with tape heaters 31 for heating and keeping temperature of the fluid flowing in series of passages formed by connecting integrated units 6 to 10, 16 fixed to a base plate 3 through a passage in the base plate 3, and the integrated valve 1 is further provided with heater grooves 25 for loading the tape heaters, a pair of heater blocks 22, 22 provided for every units 6 to 10, 16 so that they put the integrated units 6 to 10, 16 and the base plate 3 between themselves, and energizing members 3 which are erected on both sides of the heater blocks 22, 22 to energize the pair of heater blocks 22, 22 in relation to the integrated units 6 to 10, 16 and the base plate 3 by inward elastic force.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an integrated valve used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and the like, and more particularly, to dichlorsilane (SiH) which has a high vaporization temperature and is liable to be liquefied at room temperature without external heat. _The present invention relates to an integrated valve capable of supplying process gas such as ₂ Cl ₂ ), tungsten hexafluoride (WF ₆ ), and chlorine trifluoride (ClF ₃ ) with high accuracy without liquefaction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an insulating film in a semiconductor integrated circuit, a silicon oxide thin film formed in a vapor phase has been frequently used. Such vapor deposition of silicon oxide or the like is generally performed on a wafer placed in a deposition tank by a chemical vapor deposition method. As a silicon supply source therefor, not only those which are gaseous at normal temperature and normal pressure, such as monosilane (SiH ₄ ), but also those which are easily liquefied at normal temperature and normal pressure, such as dichlorosilane, are used. .

When a process gas, such as dichlorosilane, which is easily liquefied is supplied, it is necessary to heat a gas line such as a high-pressure cylinder, a pipe, a mass flow controller, or the like, which is a supply route of the process gas. The reason is that if dichlorosilane is liquefied in the middle of the gas line, the flow rate measurement cannot be performed accurately, and the amount of gas supplied to the reaction chamber will be inaccurate, thus deteriorating the performance of the manufactured semiconductor integrated circuit and the like. is there. Further, there is also a problem that liquefied dichlorsilane or the like clogs the thin tube of the flow control valve with a mass flow meter, thereby shortening the life. For this reason, a configuration has conventionally been adopted in which a tape heater is disposed in the accumulation valve and heat is maintained so that dichlorsilane or the like is at or above the vaporization temperature.

FIG. 12 is a view showing an on-off valve constituting a part of the integrated valve. The on-off valve includes an actuator 51 and a body 52. The actuator 51 is attached to the body 52,
2 is fixed to the base plate 53. The actuator 51, the body 52, and the base plate 53 are incorporated as a part of an integrated valve, and a part of a flow path (not shown) of a fluid supplied by the integrated valve is formed. Therefore, when supplying a fluid flowing through this flow path, particularly dichlorsilane which is liquefied at normal temperature and normal pressure, heater blocks 54 and 55 for providing a tape heater for heating and maintaining the gas are provided on the body 52. Fixed on both sides. The heater blocks 54 and 55 include heater grooves 56 and 56
The tape heater 57 can be inserted and removed from above. The heater blocks 54 and 55 have holes formed in the wall portions of the holding grooves 56 and 56 so that they can be screwed to the body 52 from the side.

[0005]

However, in such a conventional integrated valve, since the heater blocks 54 and 55 are directly screwed to the body 52, the integrated units such as the actuator 51 and the body 52 are exchanged. When removing the tape heater 57 for maintenance or maintenance, the tape heater 57 has to be removed once, which is very troublesome. That is, the actuator 5
When the user tried to remove the body 1 or the body 52, the heater blocks 54 and 55 fixed to the body 52 had to be removed at the same time. Therefore, once the tape heater 5
7 was removed from the heater grooves 56, 56, and the removal operation had to be performed after eliminating the upward trap.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an integrated valve provided with a tape heater from which an integrated unit can be easily removed in order to solve such a problem.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided an integrated valve in which a plurality of integrated units are fixed to a base plate, and each integrated unit is communicated through a flow path in the base plate to form a series of flow paths. It is provided with a tape heater for heating and keeping the fluid flowing through the flow path, and has a heater groove for loading the tape heater, and is provided with the integrated unit and the base plate. A pair of heater blocks provided for each integrated unit so as to be sandwiched therebetween, and a pair of heater blocks provided on both sides of the heater block so as to urge the pair of heater blocks against the integrated unit and the base plate by an inward elastic force. And a biasing member.

[0008] Therefore, by heating the tape heater, the heat is transmitted from the heater block to the accumulation unit and the base plate, and the gas flowing in the accumulation valve can be heated and kept at a high temperature and supplied with high accuracy. Further, since the heater block is merely brought into contact with the stacking unit and the base plate by the urging member, when replacing the stacking unit, the heater unit is not moved and the tape unit is wound with the tape heater wound. Only can be easily removed.

Further, in the integrated valve according to the present invention, the urging member is a substantially U-shaped leaf spring whose both corners form an acute angle,
It is characterized in that the spring portions at both ends are arranged upright so as to urge the side surface of the heater block inward. Therefore, when the spring portion of the urging member is erected and arranged so as to urge the pair of heater blocks from both sides, the heater block is arranged so as to be mounted on a substantially U-shaped central portion. The bottom surface of the heater block becomes non-contact at portions other than the urging member, so that heat diffusion can be prevented.

[0010] The integrated valve according to the present invention is characterized in that the mounting plate for mounting the base plate has an opening formed at a position where the base plate overlaps. Therefore, the surface area of the mounting plate is reduced, and heat diffusion can be prevented.

[0011]

Next, an embodiment of an integrated valve according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG.
It is a side view which shows an accumulation valve. The integrated valve 1 is formed as a single unit having both ends of a base plate 3 fixed on a mounting plate 2 and an integrated unit such as a valve fixed to the base plate 3 from above to form a series of flow paths.
The integrated valve 1 includes a manual valve 6, a check valve 7, a regulator 8,
The pressure sensor 9, the filter 10, and the adapter 16 are arranged. The manual valve 6, the check valve 7, the regulator 8, the pressure sensor 9 and the filter 10
~ 15, and the body 11 ~ 15
The adapter 16 is directly screwed to the base plate 3 from above. In the present embodiment, the body 1
Manual valve 6 fixed to 1 to 15, check valve 7, regulator 8, pressure sensor 9, filter 10 and adapter 1
6 is called an integrated unit.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mounting plate 2 is cut out so as to reduce the area of the base plate 3 except for fixed positions at both ends thereof, in order to prevent diffusion of heat. As shown in FIG. 3, the base plate 3 is long and has a length enough to mount all the integrated units, and a plurality of shallow grooves 3a, 3a,. Are formed. The grooves 3a, 3a...
Are formed in accordance with the positions where are arranged.
Further, the depth of the grooves 3a is adjusted to the thickness of a clip for fixing a heater block to be described later.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the adapter 16 taken along the line AA in FIG. As shown in this figure, the clip 21 is formed of a substantially U-shaped leaf spring, and is fitted through the groove 3 a of the base plate 3 when fixing the base plate 3 to the mounting plate 2. This clip 2
Reference numeral 1 is attached to all places where the integrated units such as the manual valve 6 and the check valve 7 are arranged, and all the places have the same shape. Specifically, in the clip 21 formed of a thin elastic material such as a metal plate, an intermediate portion 21a passing through the groove 3a of the base plate 3 is provided to be longer than the width of the base plate 3, and the upright portions forming the spring portions on both sides are provided. The portions 21b, 21b are both bent upward by the same length.

Each of the bending angles is bent so as to be acutely inward, so that when a vertical surface of a heater block, which will be described later, comes into contact with the heater block, an elastic urging force is applied to the heater block. Further, the standing portion 21b,
At both ends of 21b, ridges 21c, 21c bent inward are formed. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, clips 21, 21... Are fitted into grooves 3a, 3a.

Thus, the integrated units 6 to 10, 1
6 and the clips 21, 21...
A heater block is mounted every 16 blocks. FIG. 5 is a side view showing the integrated valve 1 after the heater block is mounted, and FIG.
Is a plan view of the same. The heater block 22 in the integrated valve 1 of the present embodiment is mounted so as to sandwich each of the integrated units 6 to 10 and 16 as illustrated.
Next, FIG. 7 is a view showing a cross section taken along the line BB of the adapter 16 shown in FIG. 6. In the state shown in FIG. is there.

The heater block 22 includes an inner block 23 that directly contacts the adapter 16 and an outer block 24 that directly contacts the clip 21.
It is screwed from the 4 side and formed as one. Further, a step is formed in the upper inside of the outer block 24 to form a gap for inserting the tape heater 31, and the step is opened upward when the inner block 23 and the outer block 24 are overlapped. Heater groove 25
Is configured. The heater blocks 22, 22,... In the other integrated units 6 to 10 are similarly formed.
For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the regulator 8 (a cross section taken along the line C-C in FIG. 6), the heater block 22 is composed of an inner block 23 and an outer block 24, which are screwed together to form an integral unit. Have been.

However, for example, the sizes of the adapter 16 and the body 13 of the regulator 8 are different. Therefore, the structure of the heater blocks 22, 22,... Is the same, but the thickness of the inner block that directly contacts each of the integrated units 6 to 10, 16 is adjusted so that the heater grooves 25, 25,. It is formed. Further, since the lengths of the bodies 11 to 15 and the adapter 16 in the longitudinal direction are different, as shown in FIG.
There are some differences in the width of 22 ... Are made of a material having high thermal conductivity (for example, aluminum or aluminum alloy).

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the integrated units 6 to 10 and 16 are fixed to the base plate 3, and the clips 21 and 21 are provided between the base plate 3 and the mounting plate 2.
... in a state in which the integrated units 6 to 10, 1
., And a pair of heater blocks 22, 22,. That is, the upright portion 2 of the clip 21
With the first block 1b outside, the heater block 22 is inserted between the upright portion 21b and the body 11 to 15 or the adapter 16 and lowered until the lower ends of the heater blocks 22, 22... Therefore, the ridge 21c at the tip of the clip 21 fits into the groove formed in the outer block 24 of the heater block 22 and is positioned.

Therefore, the pair of heater blocks 22, 22 fitted on both sides of the integrated units 6 to 10, 16 are
The clip 21 is urged inward by the elastic force of the clip 21 and is held without looseness by the positioning of the ridge 21c. In a state where such a heater block is inserted into all the integrated units, as shown in FIG.
Are positioned so as to overlap on a straight line. Therefore, the tape heater 31 is horizontally inserted into the heater groove, and the tape heater 31 is made to make three rounds so as to surround the outer periphery of the integrated valve 1. The tape heater 31 fitted into the heater groove 25 is moved up and down 3 times within the heater groove 25.
It is stacked on the steps.

In the integrated valve 1 to which the tape heater 31 is attached, the temperature is adjusted by the tape heater 31 so that dichlorsilane or the like which is easily liquefied at room temperature is appropriately supplied in a highly accurate vaporized state. Become. That is,
In the integrated valve 1, when a material such as dichlorosilane which is easily liquefied at normal temperature and normal pressure is flowing, the tape heater 3 is used.
When the heating wire is energized to generate Joule heat, the heat is transmitted through the heater blocks 22, 22,... To the bodies 11 to 15, the adapter 16, and the base plate 3 where the flow paths are formed. Therefore, the temperature in the flow path is maintained at or above the coagulation temperature of dichlorsilane or the like which is easily liquefied at room temperature, and is appropriately supplied in a highly accurate vaporized state.

In the meantime, the integrated valve 1 including the heater block 22 having such a configuration has a very great effect in terms of ease of handling when performing maintenance or replacement of each integrated unit. For example, in the integrated valve shown in FIG.
Since the heater blocks 54 and 55 are formed integrally with the integrated units 51 and 52 as described in the above-mentioned subject, the tape heater 57 is removed from the heater blocks 54 and 55, and the heater blocks 54 and 55 and the integrated units 51 and 52 are removed.
52 had to be removed together.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when one of the integrated units (for example, the manual valve 6) is to be removed for maintenance, the heater block 22 is positioned by being sandwiched by the clips. If the connection between the body 11 of the manual valve 6 and the base plate 3 is released as shown in FIG. 9 (cross section taken along the line DD in FIG. 6), only the integrated unit can be easily extracted without touching the tape heater 31. Can be. This is the other integrated unit 7
The same applies to the cases of 〜１０10 to １６16. Therefore, since the position of the tape heater 31 does not shift and the setting of the applied voltage does not need to be changed, the heating and warming state before and after the replacement can be maintained in the same state.

Further, the integrated valve 1 of the present embodiment is also effective in that the heat-retaining state during heating and heat-retaining is good. Then, the test results of the heat retention state of the conventional integrated valve and the integrated valve 1 of the present embodiment are shown and compared. In this test, the heater blocks 22 and 55 were temperature-controlled and the set temperature was set to 45.
℃, 50 ℃, 55 ℃ and 60 ℃ to increase the temperature while confirming the state, at the set temperature of 60 ℃,
Check the temperature status of each part. Here, FIG. 10 is a graph showing the case of the present embodiment, and FIG. 11 is a graph showing the case of the conventional one. In all cases, bold lines indicate tape heaters 31 and 5.
7, thin line is base plate 3, 53, broken line is body 1
3 and 52 (see FIGS. 8 and 12). Therefore, the temperature of the heater block is set to 45 ° C., 50 ° C., 55 ° C. and 60 ° C. by an electronic temperature controller (not shown).
° C and gradually increase.

To control the temperature of the heater blocks 22 and 55, the voltage applied to the heating wires of the tape heaters 31 and 57 is gradually increased to gradually generate large Joule heat. However, when the temperature rises, a large voltage is applied for a certain time to rapidly raise the temperature of the tape heaters 31, 57 to raise the temperature of the heater blocks 22, 55 to a set value. Looking at the changes in the temperatures of the base plates 3 and 53 and the body at this time, it can be seen that in any case, the temperature increases stepwise as the temperature of the heater blocks 22 and 55 increases. Here, although the temperature values of the bodies 13 and 52 hardly change between the present embodiment and the conventional example, the values of the base plates 3 and 53 greatly differ. That is, in the integrated valve of the present embodiment, the body 13
The temperature difference between the body 52 and the base plate 53 is large, while the temperature difference between the body 52 and the base plate 3 is small. For this reason, in the conventional integrated valve, the heat of the heater block 55 is
It can be seen that it is not properly transmitted to 3.

Specifically, when the heater blocks 22 and 55 are set at 60 ° C., the body of the present embodiment is 55.7 ° C. and the base plate is 52.4 ° C. The body in the example was 53.7 ° C. and the base plate was 37.9 ° C. (all temperatures here are average values). That is, while the integrated valve according to the present embodiment has a temperature difference of about 3 ° C., the integrated valve according to the related art has a temperature difference of about 15 ° C. or more. Therefore, in the conventional integrated valve, in order to supply dichlorsilane or the like flowing through the base plate in an appropriate state, measures such as setting the tape heater 57 to a higher temperature or providing a separate tape heater to the base plate are taken. Was needed.

The integrated valve 1 of the present embodiment is excellent in the heat insulation effect as described above, and the tape heater 31 has a lower temperature.
By generating heat, power consumption can be reduced, and waste such as providing a tape heater dedicated to the base plate can be eliminated. The integrated valve 1 is mounted with the heater block 22 mounted on the clip,
Since there is no direct contact with the mounting plate 2, the diffusion of heat can be prevented by that much, and the base plate 3 and the integrated units 6 to 1 can be prevented.
More heat can be transferred to 0,16. In addition, since the mounting plate 2 was largely cut away, diffusion of heat from the mounting plate 2 was suppressed, and heat insulation was improved.

The integrated valve of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the integrated valve 1 of the embodiment, the clip 21 is used as the urging member to fix the heater block 22, but the upright portion 2
What is equivalent to 1b may be directly formed on the mounting plate 2. Also, although the clips 21, 21... Are provided for each of the stacking units 6 to 10, 16, a single urging member may be used to urge the heater blocks 22, 22. Further, for example, in the integrated valve 1 of the embodiment, as the combination of the integrated units, the manual valve 6, the check valve 7, the regulator 8,
Although the one provided with the pressure sensor 9, the filter 10, and the adapter 16 is shown, the configuration may be another integrated unit.

[0028]

According to the present invention, a plurality of integrated units are fixed to a base plate, and a series of flow passages are formed by connecting the integrated units via flow passages in the base plate. A tape heater for heating and keeping the fluid flowing through the flow path, having a heater groove for loading the tape heater, and provided for each stacking unit so as to sandwich the stacking unit and the base plate. A pair of heater blocks and a pair of biasing members erected on both sides of the heater block so as to bias the pair of heater blocks against the integrated unit and the base plate by an inward elastic force. Thus, it is possible to provide an integrated valve provided with a tape heater in which the integrated unit can be easily removed.

Further, according to the present invention, the urging member is a substantially U-shaped leaf spring whose both corners form an acute angle, and the spring members at both ends of the urging member are erected so as to urge the side surfaces of the heater block inward. With this configuration, the bottom surface of the heater block is in non-contact with a portion other than the urging member, and it is possible to provide an integrated valve that can prevent heat diffusion. In addition, the present invention provides an integrated valve that has a configuration in which the mounting plate for mounting the base plate has an opening formed at a position where the base plate overlaps, so that the surface area of the mounting plate is reduced and heat diffusion can be prevented. It became possible to do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an integrated valve according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the mounting plate 2. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the base plate 3;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1 showing an adapter 16;

FIG. 5 is a side view showing the integrated valve 1 after the heater block 22 is mounted.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the integrated valve 1 after the heater block 22 is mounted.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 6, showing the adapter 16;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 6, showing the regulator 8;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 6 showing the manual valve 6;

FIG. 10 is a graph showing a test result of the integrated valve 1 of the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing test results of a conventional integrated valve.

FIG. 12 is a view showing an on-off valve which constitutes a part of a conventional integrated valve.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Integrated valve 2 Mounting plate 3 Base plate 6 Manual valve 7 Check valve 8 Regulator 9 Pressure sensor 10 Filter 11-11 Body 16 Adapter 21 Clip 22 Heater block 25 Heater groove 31 Tape heater

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of integrated units are fixed to a base plate, and a series of flow passages are formed by connecting the respective integrated units via flow passages in the base plate. An integrated valve provided with a tape heater for heating and keeping the fluid flowing therethrough, having a heater groove for loading the tape heater, sandwiching the integrated unit and the base plate,
A pair of heater blocks provided for each of the integrated units; and a pair of urging members erected on both sides of the heater blocks so as to urge the pair of heater blocks against the collecting unit and the base plate by an inward elastic force. And a member. 2. The integrated valve according to claim 1, wherein the biasing member is a substantially U-shaped leaf spring having both corners forming an acute angle, and the spring portions at both ends of the spring are located inside the side surface of the heater block. An integrated valve, wherein the integrated valve is arranged so as to be erected so as to urge it. 3. The integrated valve according to claim 1, wherein the mounting plate for mounting the base plate has an opening formed at a position where the base plate overlaps.