KR20160011346A - Exhaust Accelerator For A Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a discharge accelerator for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and the main purpose of the present invention is to provide a discharge accelerator that may improve a discharge speed and discharge efficiency of fumes remaining on a plurality of wafers provided in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment. For this purpose, the present invention provides a discharge accelerator for accelerating discharge of an exhaust fluid flowing through a flow path inside semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The discharge accelerator comprises: a first main body including an inlet provided at one end thereof having a cylindrical tube shape to allow a fluid present inside the semiconductor manufacturing equipment to flow therein, an air supply part having at least one supply pipe such that a supply fluid can be supplied in a direction perpendicular to a lower side of the inlet, and a first fluid flowing part in which the supply fluid supplied through the air supply part flows; and a second main body including a second fluid flowing part and a fluid discharge part, wherein the second fluid flowing part is coupled with the first fluid flowing part to be symmetrical in a cross sectional view on an outer circumference of one end of the second main body coupled to one side of an inner circumference of the first main body, and has a gap spaced apart from one side of the first fluid flowing part by a predetermined distance on the end of the second main body, and a fluid discharged through the gap is discharged through the fluid discharge part. Accordingly, the discharge accelerator that may improve a discharge speed and discharge efficiency of the fumes remaining on the wafers provided in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and a load port having the same may be provided.

Description

Exhaust Accelerator for Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment

The present invention relates to a discharge accelerator, and more particularly to a discharge accelerator for supplying clean air into a semiconductor manufacturing equipment, that is, an equipment front end module (EFEM) To a semiconductor manufacturing facility discharge accelerator capable of improving a discharge speed when removing fumes which are residual gases that are generated by a semiconductor manufacturing facility.

Generally, the semiconductor manufacturing equipment includes a process module, a load port, and an equipment front end module (EFEM).

Here, the process module is a module in which the semiconductor manufacturing process of the wafer is performed. The load port is a portion where a FOUP (FOUP) loaded with a plurality of wafers is loaded, and the module before and after the process is placed between the process module and the load port And provides a clean space, and a transfer module is provided therein to transfer a plurality of wafers between the FOUP and the process module.

On the other hand, the process module performs processing or processing of the wafer while the process gas is filled.

At this time, most of the process gases are exhausted during the process, but some are left on the surface of the wafer to damage the wafer or contaminate other devices used in the process.

To solve this problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2006-086308 entitled "Semiconductor Manufacturing Apparatus" discloses a load port capable of filling inert gas and discharging the inert gas.

However, in the case of the above-mentioned prior art, there is a problem in that it is only a function of filling inert gas inside the FOUP, and is not effective in removing residual gas on the surface of the wafer.

In order to solve such a problem, as shown in Fig. 1A and Fig. 1B, there has been proposed a method of manufacturing a wafer door having a closed door device and a fume removing device, which is filed by the applicant of the present invention and patented with 10-1342037 dated December 10, And the exhaust device provided in the "exhaust device of semiconductor process equipment ", filed with the application number 10-2012-0124149 of November 05, 2012 and published as the disclosure number 10-2014-0057863, .

That is, the fume removing apparatus is provided for discharging the process gas left on the wafers provided in the side storage or the load port. For other purposes, the exhaust apparatus of the semiconductor process equipment includes an equipment front end module EFEM). ≪ / RTI >

In other words, the above-described conventional apparatus has the vortex forming unit 231 formed at the bottom of the circulation unit 230 and the circulation unit 230 formed at the lower side of the first main body, So as to improve the exhaust performance.

However, there is a problem that the compressed air in which the vortex is formed in the vortex forming portion 231 at the bottom of the circulating portion 230 is inefficient due to the frictional resistance generated when the compressed air hits the bottom surface of the first main body 100 provided on the upper side .

In order to solve such a problem, although the gap between the vortex accelerating section 271 and the bottom of the first main body 100 (the "T" marking section) is enlarged, the frictional resistance is reduced, but the pressure of the compressed air is lowered, There was a problem.

1B, when the air supply unit 250 is viewed in a plan view, the compressed air supplied at a high pressure is supplied to the circulation unit (not shown) by being provided in a direction perpendicular to the center of the second body 200 formed in a circular shape, There is a problem that the efficiency is lowered due to the resistance generated by the contact with the wall.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a discharge accelerator for improving discharge speed and discharge efficiency of a fume for removing fumes remaining in a wafer .

Another object of the present invention is to maximize exhaust efficiency by a vortex formed without friction resistance.

It is still another object of the present invention to improve the supply efficiency of compressed air by providing an air supply unit to supply compressed air to one side of a circular shape so as to stably flow without resistance.

The present invention, made for this purpose,

A discharge port, and an equipment front end module (EFEM), which are provided for discharging an exhaust fluid flowing through the flow path of semiconductor manufacturing equipment,

The discharge accelerator includes:

An air supply unit having an inlet formed to receive a fluid in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment at one end thereof formed in a circular tube shape and having at least one supply pipe for supplying a supply fluid in a direction perpendicular to a lower side of the inlet, A first fluid flow portion through which the supplied fluid flows;

And a second fluid flow unit coupled to the first fluid flow unit in a symmetrical manner in a cross section and having one end formed at a predetermined distance from one end of the first fluid flow unit, And a second body including a fluid discharge portion through which the fluid discharged through the gap is discharged.

In addition,

0.1 to 0.5 mm.

In addition,

A diameter enlarged portion whose diameter is expanded from the inflow side to the discharge side of the exhaust fluid is formed.

In addition,

Wherein the diameter of the inlet side of the exhaust fluid: the diameter of the outlet side is 1: 1.3 to 2.5.

In addition, the first and second fluid flow portions may include:

And a first and a second vortex forming part formed in a hemispherical shape in cross section on the lower and upper sides, respectively, so as to minimize the resistance of the air fluid supplied to the air supply part and to allow quick discharge through the air outflow part.

In addition, the air supply portion of the first main body may include:

And the supply pipe is provided so as to communicate with one side of a plane on the first and second fluid flows.

In addition,

A discharge connection pipe having one end coupled to a fluid discharge portion of the second body;

And a discharge amplifier having an inlet connected to the other end of the discharge connection pipe.

Further, a diameter of the fluid discharge portion of the discharge accelerator and an inflow portion of the discharge amplifier are the same.

The length of the discharge connection pipe is not less than 150 mm and not more than 250 mm.

In addition,

And a vortex accelerating member provided longitudinally at a supply pipe or an inlet of the first body.

Further, the vortex-

And a spiral is formed in a screw shape.

The present invention has an effect in terms of maintenance and power consumption through a discharge accelerator for increasing the efficiency of removing fume as residual gas remaining on the wafer in the FOUP mounted on the load port.

In addition, there is an effect of maximizing the exhaust efficiency by the vortex formed stably without friction resistance by the first and second vortex forming portions provided at both ends of the first and second fluid flow portions.

FIG. 1A is a view showing a configuration of a conventional discharge accelerator,
1B is a plan view as viewed from the direction " A " of Fig. 1A,
2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a discharge accelerator structure according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a combined state of discharge accelerators according to an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 4 is an exploded attempt to illustrate a discharge accelerator configuration in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a combined state of the discharge accelerator according to another embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the operation and effect of the discharge accelerator according to the present invention,
7 and 8 are perspective views showing still another embodiment of the discharge accelerator according to the present invention.

2 and 3, a semiconductor manufacturing facility discharge accelerator 10 (hereinafter referred to as "discharge accelerator") according to the present invention is roughly divided into first and second main bodies 100 and 200

The first body 100, which is in the shape of a circular tube, comprises an inlet 101, an air supply part 110, and a first fluid flow part 120.

The inlet port 101 is provided at one end of the first main body 100 and is connected to a hopper (not shown) so that exhaust fluid (fume and cleaning gas) is introduced into the semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

The air supply unit 110 is provided with at least one supply pipe 111 so that a supply fluid supplied from an air compressor (not shown) is supplied in a direction perpendicular to one side of the inlet 101.

The supply pipe 111 of the air supply unit 110 communicates with the first fluid flow unit 120 having a circular tunnel shape.

The first fluid flow unit 120 is formed in the shape of a recess on the inner wall of the first body 100 formed in a cylindrical shape.

The first fluid flow portion 120 includes first and second vortex forming portions 121 and 123 having a radial shape in a direction perpendicular to the illustrated direction and formed in a second body 200 And the first and second vortex forming portions 221 and 223 of the second fluid flowing portion 220 are symmetrical in cross section.

Thus, the vortex formation of the supply fluid supplied through the supply pipe 111 of the air supply unit 110 is promoted to increase the flow velocity.

A female screw 103 is formed on the inner side of the lower end of the first main body 100, that is, below the first and second vortex forming portions 121 and 123, So that screw connection with male screw 203 is facilitated.

The second body 200 includes a second fluid flow portion 220 and a fluid outlet portion 230.

3, the second main body 200 is symmetrically joined with the first fluid flowing part 120 on the outer periphery of one end coupled to the inner periphery of the first main body 100, A second fluid flow portion 220 is provided to form a slot-hole-type flow path.

The second vortex forming part 123 at the upper end of the first fluid flowing part 120 is spaced from the upper side of the second vortex forming part 223 of the second fluid flowing part 220 by a predetermined distance, Quot; C "marking area) is formed.

That is, the supply fluid introduced through the supply pipe 111 is vortexed by the first and second vortex forming portions 121, 123, 221 and 223 of the first and second fluid flow portions 120 and 220, And is discharged through the gap 210 at a high speed.

Particularly, the second vortical flow forming portion 123 on the upper side of the first fluid flowing portion 120 is provided in such a manner as to cover the upper side of the second vortex forming portion 223 of the second fluid flowing portion 220 in an arcuate shape As a result, the eddy-current supply fluid is discharged at a higher flow rate and at a higher flow rate.

As such, the discharged supply fluid draws the exhaust fluid (fume and cleaning gas) of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment (not shown) discharged through the inlet 101 described above and discharges through the fluid discharge portion 230 at a higher speed do.

The fluid discharge portion 230 is provided with the enlarged diameter portion 231 whose diameter gradually increases from the upper side toward the lower discharge side with reference to the illustrated direction.

The enlarged diameter portion 231 is formed so as to further accelerate the vortex of the supply fluid formed as described above to accelerate the exhaust fluid.

The diameter-enlarged portion 231 is preferably formed at a ratio of 1: 1.3 to 2.5 on the upper and lower inlet side diameters: discharge side diameters based on the illustrated direction.

Meanwhile, the clearance 210 may vary according to the size of the discharge accelerator 10, but it is preferable that the size of the clearance 210 is generally 0.1 to 0.5 mm.

4 and 5 illustrate another embodiment of the discharge accelerator 10 according to the present invention. The discharge accelerator 10 and the discharge connection pipe 20 and the discharge amplifier 30 are provided below the discharge accelerator 10 (The configuration of the discharge amplifier 30 is the same as that of the discharge accelerator 10 described above and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted)

The discharge connection pipe 20 is coupled at one end to the fluid discharge portion 230 of the discharge accelerator 10 as described in the embodiment and at the other end to the inlet 31 of the discharge aeration 30, The length is preferably 150 mm or more and 250 mm or less.

This is because when the high-pressure compressed air is supplied to the air supply unit 110, the discharge accelerator 10 does not lower the pressure of the inlet 101 but the pressure of the fluid passing through the fluid outlet 230 Rise.

Also, the high-pressure compressed air is turbulently formed by the vortex formed by passing through the first and second vortex forming portions 121, 123, 221 and 223 of the discharge accelerator 10. [

Likewise, when the turbulence formed in the discharge accelerator 10 reaches the inlet 31 of the discharge amplifier 30 in the state where the pressure of the discharge port 30 is lowered at the inlet 31 side, Backward.

Therefore, since the turbulent flow requires a space for staying at a predetermined distance in order to be a stable fluid, the length of the discharge connection pipe 20 is set to 150 mm or more and 250 mm or less.

Thus, the exhaust fluid (fume and cleaning gas) introduced into the inlet 101 of the discharge accelerator 10 described above is expanded at a ratio of 1: 1.3 to 2.5 in the fluid outlet 230 through the outlet connection pipe 20 The enlarged exhaust fluid is expanded at a rate of 1.3 to 2.5 again through the fluid outlet 33 of the inlet 31 of the exhaust amplifier 30 so that the exhaust of the exhaust fluid composed of the fume or cleaning gas Maximizing efficiency.

As another method for maximizing the exhaust efficiency, the position of the supply pipes 111 and 35 provided in the discharge accelerator 10 and the discharge amplifier 30 is set to be a plane The vortex can be formed more stably without resistance of the supply fluid by arranging the first and second fluid flow portions 120 and 220 to communicate with one side on the circular plane without being disposed at the center of the circle.

Further, as shown in the lower side, it is needless to say that the desired purpose of the present invention can be achieved by arranging the positions of the supply pipes 111 and 35 in mutually staggered directions.

Next, operation effects of the discharge accelerator 10 according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 2 to 6.

First, compressed air supplied from an air compressor (not shown) to the supply pipes 111 and 35 of the discharge accelerator 10 according to the present invention is supplied to the first and second fluids A vortex is formed by the first and second vortex forming portions 121, 123, 221 and 223 provided in the vertical direction of the respective ends of the flow portions 120 and 220, It is discharged at high speed.

In this manner, the air fluid that is further accelerated by the formed vortex is diffused and discharged through the fluid discharge portion 230 without resistance.

That is, as described above, the compressed air introduced at a constant speed is further expanded by the vortex action of the first and second vortex forming portions 121, 123, 221, 223 of the discharge accelerator 10 according to the present invention, It spreads at high speed and is discharged.

Further, exhaust gas is exhausted at a higher flow rate and a higher flow rate through the exhaust connection pipe 20 and the exhaust amplifier 30, thereby maximizing the exhaust efficiency of the exhaust fluid, that is, the fume and the process gas.

As shown in the following Table 1, the performance comparison between the conventional discharge accelerator (see FIG. 1) disclosed by the present applicant and the discharge accelerator 1 according to the present invention is compared.

The discharge accelerator 10 according to the present invention exhibits a lighter per minute (LPM) that is approximately twice as large as that of the conventional discharge accelerator, in contrast to the compressed air pressure at the same pressure supplied to the air supply unit 110.

Compressed air pressure 0.1 MPa 0.2 MPa 0.3 MPa 0.4 MPa 0.5 MPa Conventional discharge accelerator 28LPM 51LPM 77LPM 95LPM 124LPM According to the present invention, 52LPM 111LPM 157LPM 202LPM 254LPM

As described above, the efficiency of the fume removing operation is improved by performing the fume removing operation in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment shielded from the outside by the discharge accelerator 10 according to the present invention.

Furthermore, the discharge accelerator 10 according to the present invention widely provides a discharge accelerator capable of improving discharge speed and discharge efficiency for removing exhaust fumes such as fumes and process gases remaining on a wafer, Respectively.

Also, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the discharge accelerator 10 according to the present invention further includes an eddy promoting member 300 in each flow channel, thereby maximizing efficiency.

7, the vortex accelerating member 300 may be provided in the longitudinal direction inside the supply pipe 111 to form a vortex in the supply fluid, as shown in Fig. 8, (Fume and process gas) passes through the inlet port 101 to form a vortex in the exhaust fluid, so that the exhaust gas can be exhausted more quickly.

The vortex accelerating member 300 may be provided in the discharging accelerator 10, but it may be provided in the discharging amplifier 30 as described above.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific exemplary embodiments described above and that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. And such modified embodiments are within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

10: Discharge accelerator 20: Discharge connector
30: exhaust amplifier 100, 200: first and second main bodies
101: inlet 110: air supply
111: supply pipe 120: first fluid flow portion
121, 123, 221, 223: first and second vortex forming parts
210: Clearance 220: Second fluid flow portion
230: fluid discharge part 231:
300: vortex acceleration member

Claims (11)

A discharge accelerator for discharging an exhaust fluid flowing through a channel of a semiconductor manufacturing equipment such as a process module, a load port, and an equipment front end module (EFEM)
An air supply unit having an inlet formed to receive a fluid in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment at one end thereof formed in a circular tube shape and having at least one supply pipe for supplying a supply fluid in a direction perpendicular to a lower side of the inlet, A first fluid flow portion through which the supplied fluid flows;
And a second fluid flow unit coupled to the first fluid flow unit in a symmetrical manner in a cross section and having one end formed at a predetermined distance from one end of the first fluid flow unit, And a second body including a fluid discharge portion through which fluid discharged in the gap is discharged. The method according to claim 1,
Preferably,
0.1 to 0.5 mm. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > 11. < / RTI > The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the fluid discharge portion includes:
Wherein a diameter-enlarged portion is formed from the inlet side to the outlet side of the exhaust fluid. The method of claim 3,
The diameter-
Wherein the diameter of the inlet side of the exhaust fluid: the diameter of the outlet side is 1: 1.3 to 2.5. The method according to claim 1,
The first and second fluid flow portions, which are respectively provided in the first and second bodies,
Further comprising a first and a second vortex forming part formed in a hemispherical shape in cross section on the lower and upper sides, respectively, so as to minimize the resistance of the air fluid supplied to the air supplying part and to allow quick discharge through the air outflow part. Plant Expenditure Accelerator. The method according to claim 1,
The air supply portion of the first main body,
And the supply pipe is provided so as to communicate with one side of a circular plane of the first and second fluid flow portions. The method according to claim 1,
The discharge accelerator includes:
A discharge connection pipe having one end coupled to a fluid discharge portion of the second body;
Further comprising a discharge amplifier having an inlet connected to the other end of the discharge connection pipe. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein a diameter of the fluid discharge portion of the discharge accelerator and an inlet portion of the discharge amplifier are the same. 8. The method of claim 7,
The length of the discharge connection tube,
Wherein the semiconductor manufacturing facility discharge accelerator is 150 mm or more and 250 mm or less. The method according to claim 1,
The discharge accelerator includes:
Further comprising a vortex accelerating member provided longitudinally in a supply pipe or an inlet of the first body. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the vortex accelerating member is formed with a screw in a screw shape.

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