KR20080060539A - Apparatus for filtering air and air cleaning system of semiconductor production line used the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An air filtering device and an air cleaning system of a semiconductor manufacturing line with the same are provided to maximize production yield by preventing the polluted air from being transferred between a duct and a frame of the filter. A predetermined pressure air is supplied into a main body of a duct(132). A filter media(146) having multiple holes filters contaminants included in the air by passing the air from the duct main body therethrough. A filter frame(144) surrounds edges of the filter media, and is coupled with the main body of the duct. A sealing member(142) seals a gap between the filter frame and the main body of the duct, so that air can not be transferred through the gap.

Description

Apparatus for filtering air and air cleaning system of semiconductor production line used the same}

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an air cleaning system of a semiconductor manufacturing line according to the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the filtering device of FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an air cleaning system of a semiconductor manufacturing line according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 and 5 are perspective views showing the filtering device of FIG.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

110: outer fan 120: blower

130: duct 140: filtering device

150: clean room

The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to an air filtering device for filtering contaminants in air supplied into a clean room, and an air cleaning system of a semiconductor manufacturing line having the same.

Recently, due to the rapid progress of semiconductor technology, studies are being actively conducted to prevent process defects occurring in the wafer manufacturing process and to increase production yields. It is indispensable to improve the air cleanliness in a clean room which greatly affects the improvement of the production yield of semiconductors. The clean room is to realize a particle free environment, and provides a space that is independent of the surrounding environment to limit the particles present in the standard amount of air to proceed with the wafer manufacturing process. The clean room is configured to filter the particles or chemicals in the air to provide only clean air therein.

Hereinafter, an air cleaning system of a semiconductor manufacturing line employing the clean room will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an air cleaning system of a semiconductor manufacturing line according to the prior art.

As shown in Figure 1, the air cleaning system of the semiconductor manufacturing line according to the prior art, the outer tank 10 for introducing external air, and the air introduced or circulated in the outer tank 10 a predetermined pressure The clean room includes a blower 20 for blowing air into the air, a duct 30 for flowing the air blown by the blower 20, and a filtering device 40 for filtering the air flowing in the duct 30. 50 is made.

Here, the outer tank 10 includes a spraying filter for removing clean particles or chemical particles in the atmosphere to create a clean air and a pump for pumping clean air produced by the spraying filter to a predetermined pressure. The blower 20 is a device for generating a flow pressure of the air supplied into the clean room 50 through the duct 30 as an axial blower for flowing the air in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the van, or It includes a mixed flow blower.

The duct 30 is a wind degree formed so that the air blown with a predetermined pressure by the blower 20 can flow along a space independent from the outside. Thus, the duct 30 is connected to the filtering device 40 of the clean room 50 along the ceiling or wall of the building.

 The clean room 50 is formed to supply or circulate clean air in order to increase the production yield by preventing contamination of the particles or dust and contaminants in the air in a semiconductor manufacturing process. Therefore, the filtering device 40 filters the particles or chemical particles contained in the air discharged from the end of the duct 30 connected to the clean room 50 so that the clean air is inside the clean room 50. Can be supplied as

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the filtering device 40 of FIG. 1. The conventional filtering device 40 includes a duct body 32 through which air having a predetermined pressure flows, and a filter formed to be inserted into the duct body 32. Filter media (fill media) formed to fill the frame 44, the interior of the filter frame 44 and the air flowing through the duct body 32 to filter contaminants in the air, 46).

Here, the duct body 32 has at least one or more openings having a rectangular shape formed so that the air flowing through the duct 30 is discharged from the end of the duct 30, the opening is the filter frame ( 44) made of an angle material formed so as to mount while inserting.

The filter frame 44 is a structure that closes the outer circumferential surface of the filter midi and is formed to define the overall size of the filter media 46 through which the air passes. In addition, it is formed to be easily removable while being inserted into the inside of the duct body (32).

The filter media 46 is a filter medium for filtering the contaminants such as particles or chemical particles contained in the air using the pores through which the air passes. For example, the filter media 46 includes a filter cloth, paper, felt, sponge, glass fiber or synthetic resin fiber having pores of a predetermined size or less.

Accordingly, the filtering device 40 according to the related art includes a filter frame 44 surrounding the outer circumferential surface of the filter media 46 for filtering the contaminants contained in the air while passing the air flowing through the duct 30. It is formed to be inserted into the duct body 32 at the end of the duct 30.

However, the air filtering device 40 and the semiconductor manufacturing line having the same according to the prior art have the following problems.

The conventional air filtering device 40 is disposed between the duct body 32 and the filter frame 44 when the filter frame 44 is not accurately inserted into the duct body 32 so that the filter frame 44 is not closely attached or partially inserted. In the gap is generated and the contaminant is not filtered through the air can be flowed into the interior of the clean room 50 has a disadvantage that the production yield is lowered.

An object of the present invention for solving the above-described problems according to the prior art is to seal the gap between the inner wall of the duct body 32 and the filter frame 44, the air is not removed contaminant is the duct body The present invention provides an air filtering device capable of increasing or maximizing production yield by preventing movement between 32 and the filter frame 44, and a clean system of a semiconductor manufacturing line having the same.

An air filtering device according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is a duct body through which air having a predetermined pressure flows; A filter medium having pores for filtering contaminants in the air while the air flowing in the duct body passes; A filter frame surrounding an edge of the filter media and configured to engage with the duct body; And a sealing member configured to seal a gap between the filter frame and the duct body such that air does not move through the gap between the filter frame and the duct body.

In addition, another aspect of the present invention is an outer tank for purifying the outside air flows; A blower for blowing air introduced or circulated from the outer tank to a predetermined pressure; A duct for flowing the air blown by the blower; And a filter media formed with pores for filtering contaminants in the air while passing through the air at the end of the duct, a filter frame formed around the edge of the filter media and coupled to the duct body, the filter frame and the duct. An air cleaning system of a semiconductor manufacturing line including a clean room having a filtering device including a sealing member formed to seal a gap between the filter frame and the duct body so that air cannot move through the gap between the bodies. .

Hereinafter, a filtering apparatus and an air cleaning system of a semiconductor manufacturing line having the same according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described below. This embodiment is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the shape of the elements in the drawings are exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description.

3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an air cleaning system of a semiconductor manufacturing line according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 3, the air cleaning system of the semiconductor manufacturing line according to an embodiment of the present invention, the outer tank 110 for purifying and introducing the outside air, and is introduced or circulated from the outer tank 110 A blower 20 for blowing air at a predetermined pressure, a duct 130 for flowing the air blown by the blower 20, and filtering contaminants in the air at an end of the duct 130, It comprises a clean room 150 having a filtering device 140 sealed so that the air cannot be moved through a gap with the body of the duct 130.

Although not shown, the upper plenum is formed on the upper part of the clean room 150 to surround air around the duct 130 and the filtering device and to supply air having a predetermined pressure to the inside of the clean room 150. And a lower plenum for recovering the air from the lower portion of the clean room 150 opposite to the upper plenum and supplying the air to the pump and the duct 130, and a flow between the lower plenum and the upper plenum. It further comprises an air conditioner formed to adjust the temperature and humidity of the air to be.

Here, the outer tank 110 is formed to suck the air in the atmosphere at a predetermined pressure to supply the clean room 150. For example, the outer tank 110 includes a spraying filter for removing the particles or chemical particles in the air to create a clean air and a pump for pumping the clean air produced by the spraying filter to a predetermined pressure.

The blower 20 generates a flow pressure of the air supplied into the clean room 150 through the duct 130 as a device for causing the flow of air. Although not shown, the blower 20 is composed of an impeller that causes a flow, and a casing that guides the flow into and out of the van. There are various classification methods of the blower 20. The most common method is classification by the characteristics of the flow passing through the vanes, and it is an axial-flow fan, a radial-flow fan, It is divided into a mixed-flow fan. First, the axial blower can generate air flow in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the van. In most cases, the flow direction of the inlet and outlet of the vanes coincides with the axis of rotation. Propeller blowers, ie ordinary household fans, belong here. Axial blowers are used where the energy applied is primarily used to increase the velocity of the fluid, so that a lot of flow is required but not so much pressure. The radial blower is mainly designed to increase the pressure by centrifugal force and is therefore used where pressure is needed rather than flow rate. Centrifugal blowers usually use spiral casings where the vane inlet flow is in the direction of the rotational axis but the outlet flow is perpendicular to the axis of rotation, and when tubular casings are used in which the vane inlet and outlet flows are both in the direction of the axis of rotation. Are largely distinguished. Mixed-flow blowers are used when both axial and radial flows are present in the vans, and both increase in flow rate and pressure are required. In addition, a new type of blowers 20 that do not depend on the rotation of the vanes may be used for special purposes, and a blower 20 that does not require a motor using a piezoelectric element may be used. In this way, the blower 20 should be appropriately selected according to the application object and the operating characteristics thereof, and industrially it is mainly used for an air conditioning system, various intake / exhaust systems, and the like. Its size also varies from small to large industrial blower 20, such as a computer cooling fan, axial flow blower or mixed flow blower may be used in the semiconductor manufacturing line.

The duct 130 is a passage and structure through which a fluid, such as air, flows and is also referred to as a wind path through which air flows. The duct 130 is generally connected along the ceiling or the wall of the building, and the cross-section of the rectangular or circular is used a lot, there are also oval. The duct 130 is wound around the duct 130 when the temperature of the air flowing therein is different from the temperature around it to prevent the movement of heat occurs. For example, the duct 130 is made of zinc iron plate, vinyl chloride, or glass fiber material.

 The clean room 150 is formed to supply or circulate clean air in order to increase the production yield by preventing contamination of the particles or dust and contaminants in the air in a semiconductor manufacturing process. For example, a micro-industry that deals with over 100,000 semiconductor devices such as transistors and resistors, ultra-high density integrated circuits (VLSI), and small genes in cells such as genetic engineering within a size of only 2 mm2. In), fine dust and bacteria also have a great effect. In particular, in the exposure equipment of the semiconductor manufacturing line, contaminants such as particles or dust may be fatal factors of poor production. In addition, a human, such as a worker who works in the clean room 150, scatters thousands of pieces of dust in one minute from skin, hair, and clothing. Therefore, it is better not to let people into the clean room as much as possible, but in reality, most people have to go in and work, so they wear sterile clothing.

The clean room 150 is formed such that the air circulates with a constant flow in the vertical direction in the space between the upper and lower plenums. In this case, the air may be circulated and supplied to the clean room 150 by removing contaminants such as particles or dust generated from the worker, the semiconductor manufacturing facility, or the transfer facility. Thus, the upper plenum and the The lower plenum is provided with a filtering device 140 in each of the clean room 150 to supply the clean air filtered the contaminants, and to filter the contaminants generated in the clean room 150, have.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the filtering device 140 of FIG. 3. The filtering device 140 of the present invention includes a duct body 132 through which air having a predetermined pressure flows, and the duct body 132. A filter media 146 formed with pores for filtering contaminants in the air as air passes therein, a filter frame 144 formed around the edges of the filter media 146 and coupled to the duct body; And a sealing member 142 formed to seal a gap between the filter frame 144 and the duct body such that air does not move through the gap between the filter frame 144 and the duct body.

Here, the duct body 132 is formed so that the air flowing through the duct 130 is discharged from the end of the duct 130. For example, the duct body 132 is formed of an angle material having a rectangular opening that extends from the inner wall of the duct 130 to surround at least one or more of the filter frame 144 and mount the filter frame 144. It comprises at least one cradle made of.

The filter media 146 means the contaminant, and is generally referred to as a filter or a filter. The filter media 146 may be used differently depending on the characteristics of the target material. For example, the filter media 146 used to purify the air is made of a medium such as filter cloth, paper, felt, sponge, etc., and is relatively inexpensive and has a good dust collecting effect, thereby having a wide application range. The material of the filter cloth is various kinds by natural fiber and artificial fiber. Carbon, metal, plastic, etc. are used as the porous material, and high mechanical strength is used for industrial high pressure filter. Here, carbon is suitable for filters that must withstand corrosion well. The filter media 146 must have the following characteristics: ① fine pore size, ② good adhesion, ③ hole not clogged, ④ resistant to pressure or friction, ⑤ good corrosion resistance, ⑥ small filtration resistance, ⑦ low value. In particular, the filter media 146 having a structure in which glass fibers or synthetic resin fibers are combined in an undirected direction may be employed in the clean room 150 of the semiconductor manufacturing line.

The filter frame 144 is a structure that closes the outer circumferential surface of the filter MIDI and is formed to define the size of the filter media 146 through which the air passes. In addition, it is formed to be easily removable while being inserted into the inside of the duct body 132. In this case, the filter frame 144 is formed to be in close contact with the duct body 132 by the load of the filter media 146, but if the weight of the filter media 146 is inserted small or partially twisted the duct The gap may be generated between the body 132 and the filter frame 144, and air through which the contaminant is not filtered may flow into the clean room 150. As described above, the duct body 132 is made of an angle holder made of an angle material formed so as to flatly mount the filter frame 144 while inserting the filter frame 144 over a predetermined depth.

Therefore, the filtering device 140 of the present invention includes a sealing member 142 protruding from the outer circumferential surface of the filter frame 144 by a predetermined thickness or more, so that the duct body 132 into which the filter frame 144 is inserted. Since it is possible to seal between the inner wall of the can be prevented from generating a gap between the filter frame 144 and the duct body 132, the air that has not been removed from the conventional contaminant through the gap is moved Can be prevented.

For example, the sealing member 142 may include a gasket and a sealing agent inserted between the gap between the filter frame 144 and the duct body 132. First, an elastic material having a predetermined elasticity is inserted into a gap between the filter frame 144 and the duct body 132, but it may be difficult to completely fill the gap unless the continuity of the elastic material is provided. have. The sealing agent may completely fill the gap, but a curing time may be required to be cured while completely removing volatile components contained in the sealing agent.

In addition, the sealing member 142 includes an air tube formed to wind the outer circumferential surface of the filter frame 144. The air tube has an inert gas such as argon or nitrogen gas having a predetermined pressure therein according to the distance (gap) between the inner wall of the duct body 132 coupled to the filter frame 144 and the filter frame 144. May be injected. The air inlet 148 of the air tube may be formed as shown in FIG. 5 so as to protrude outward through a hole formed in an inner wall of the duct body 132 into which the filter frame 144 is inserted.

Table 1 compares the amount and efficiency of pollutants measured at the air filtering inlet and the air filtering outlet using each of the conventional filtering device 40 and the filtering device 140 of the present invention.

Here, 'Alcohol' is a pollutant of a volatile component such as alcohol, and 'Aromatic', 'DOP', 'Ketone', 'PR', 'Siloxnae', or 'TXIB' is a pollutant of an organic component. In addition, the number of contaminants in the air discharged through the outlet by removing the air containing the corresponding number of contaminants sucked from the inlet by using the conventional filtering device 40 and the filtering device 140 of the present invention. Is measured and shown. It can be seen that the filtering device 140 of the present invention has been improved to have a filtering efficiency of about 94.9% from the filtering efficiency of about 31% of the conventional filtering device 40.

Therefore, the filtering device 140 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an air tube protruding from the outer circumferential surface of the filter frame 144 by a predetermined thickness or more, so that the duct body 132 into which the filter frame 144 is inserted. Production gap since the gap between the inner wall of the filter and the filter frame 144 can be sealed, and air without contaminants can not be moved between the duct body 132 and the filter frame 144. Can be increased or maximized.

In addition, the inventive concepts and embodiments disclosed herein may be used by those skilled in the art as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. In addition, such modifications or altered equivalent structures by those skilled in the art may be variously changed, substituted, and changed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention described in the claims.

As described above, according to the present invention is provided with an air tube protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the filter frame more than a predetermined thickness to seal the gap between the inner wall of the duct body into which the filter frame is inserted and the filter frame, Since contaminant-free air can be prevented from moving between the duct body and the filter frame, the production yield can be increased or maximized.

Claims (4)

A duct body through which air having a predetermined pressure flows; A filter medium having pores for filtering contaminants in the air while the air flowing in the duct body passes; A filter frame surrounding an edge of the filter media and configured to engage with the duct body; And And a sealing member configured to seal a gap between the filter frame and the duct body to prevent air from moving through the gap between the filter frame and the duct body. The method of claim 1, And the sealing member comprises an air tube formed along an outer circumferential surface of the filter frame. The method of claim 3, wherein And the air tube includes an air inlet formed to protrude out of the duct body to allow air of a predetermined pressure to be injected therein. External tank for purifying the outside air flows into; A blower for blowing air introduced or circulated from the outer tank to a predetermined pressure; A duct for flowing the air blown by the blower; And A filter media formed with pores for filtering contaminants in the air while passing through the air at an end of the duct, a filter frame formed around the edge of the filter media and coupled to the duct body, the filter frame and the duct body And a clean room having a filtering device including a sealing member formed to seal a gap between the filter frame and the duct body such that air cannot move through the gap between the air of the semiconductor manufacturing line. Clean system.

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