KR20220103240A - Process Gas Detection System and Method of Production Line - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process gas detection system and method of a production line, and more particularly, to a system and method for individually inspecting a process gas for a port in an area where a harmful gas is detected, after a process gas is inspected in order for each area where a production line is divided, if a harmful gas is detected when collectively inspecting a process gas in a production line. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a process gas detection system of a production line comprises: a production line divided into a plurality of areas by group and equipped with one or more production facilities into which a process gas is input to the areas by group; a port provided in each of the production facilities and connected to a transfer path one-to-one; an area valve connected to the transfer path and having inlets as the number of ports per area and one outlet; an integrated valve connected to the transfer path at a rear end of the area valve and having inlets as the number of area valves and one outlet; and a detection device provided in an integrated transfer path connected to a rear end of the integrated valve to determine whether a harmful gas is detected by inspecting a degree of contamination of a process gas introduced into the production line, the area, and the production facilities. Therefore, the present invention has the effect of providing a process gas detection system and method of a production line in a safe manner.

Description

Process Gas Detection System and Method of Production Line

The present invention relates to a process gas detection system and method of a production line, and more particularly, when harmful gas is detected by first collectively inspecting the process gas of the production line, the process gas is sequentially inspected for each zone divided by the production line. and then to a system and method for individually inspecting process gases for ports in areas where harmful gases are detected.

A wide variety of process gases are essentially used in the core processes of semiconductor, display, LED and electronics industries, and these process gases include acid gases such as fluorine-based, chlorine-based, bromine-based, nitric acid-based and sulfuric acid-based gases and ammonia and amines. basic gases and organic compounds.

In general, these properties are toxic and have a very strong oxidizing power, which causes abnormalities in the pattern of the product or peroxidation of the surface, and causes product defects.

In particular, ammonia in the atmosphere has a close relationship with the semiconductor production yield due to photoresist deformation and cloudiness of an optical microscope, so continuous monitoring and management are required.

In general, when manufacturing products in industrial sites such as semiconductor, display, LED, and electronic industries, it is common to go through several tens of steps. It is essential to employ a monitoring system that has the capability.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a monitoring system having a multi-port sampling function as a gas monitoring system of multiple processes.

As shown in FIG. 1 , sampling tubes installed for each process are connected to the introduction path 2 of the sampling port 1 , and the sampling gas is introduced into the gas analysis module 5 , and the gas analysis module 5 includes a plurality of A gas sensor is provided to detect the presence and concentration of various harmful gases.

Examples of the gas sensor include a PID sensor, a semiconductor sensor, an electrochemical sensor, an optical sensor, a catalytic sensor, a solid electrolyte sensor, and a hot-wire, and an appropriate sensor may be adopted and used according to the purpose.

Among the gas sensors, a photoionization detector (PID) is used to measure TVOC (total volatile organic compounds), which are organic compounds, and an electrochemical sensor method is widely used to detect HF and HCl.

On the other hand, the gas analysis module 5, which is usually provided in a fixed type, is provided with a separate gas transport pump 4 to form an appropriate gas pressure gradient, and a flow rate controller 6 is also provided to adjust the flow rate required for measurement.

The analyzed sampling gas is discharged to the outside through the exhaust path 7 through the valve or is treated according to a purification procedure (not shown).

The measurement data detected by the PID sensor 3 are transmitted to the controller 8 additionally provided in the gas analysis module 5 and analyzed and, if necessary, stored in the data storage unit 9, according to the user's request. It is processed and displayed by the display unit 10 .

The controller 8 also plays a role in supplying or controlling the power required to the PID sensor 3 and appropriately controlling the pump 4 and the flow regulator 6 to operating conditions.

The PID sensor 3 is a reliable measurement technology that can analyze various gas samples with excellent sensitivity, and photoionizes the sample by irradiating the target gas sample with ultraviolet rays having energy greater than or equal to the ionization energy corresponding to the material to be analyzed. , a technique that enables quantitative analysis of a sample by measuring and analyzing the current generated when the generated ions are collected on the electrode.

In addition, the ultraviolet lamp used in the PID sensor 3 includes xenon (Xe), krypton (Kr), argon (Ar), etc., and each lamp is 92eV (xenon lamp), 108eV (krypton lamp), 117eV ( Argon lamp) emits a certain energy in the region, so it is possible to perform limited analysis by replacing the ultraviolet lamp according to the target compound.

2 is a block diagram showing a process gas detection system of a conventional production line.

As shown in FIG. 2 , a plurality of production facilities 110a, 110b, ..., 110n are installed in the production line 100, and external discharge of the process gas is provided at the outlet side of the production facilities 110a, 110b, ..., 110n. Ports 120a, 120b, ..., 120n for

At this time, each of the production facilities 110a, 110b, ..., 110n is supplied with the process gas necessary for the semiconductor production process, and the ports 120a, 120b, ..., 120n are the production facilities according to the weight of the process gas. It may be provided on the lower part (floor, etc.) or upper part (ceiling, etc.).

The process gas input and used in the production facilities 110a, 110b, ..., 110n is discharged to the outside through the transport path 130 and the exhaust path respectively connected to the ports 120a, 120b, ..., 112n.

Before being discharged to the outside through the transport path 130 and the exhaust path, the degree of contamination of the process gas must be checked to determine whether it is a harmful gas. For this purpose, in the prior art, one or two An integrated valve 200 with an outlet is provided in the middle of the transport path.

A part of the process gas that has passed through the integrated valve 200 is introduced into the detection device 300 through the transport path and analyzed to measure the degree of contamination of the process gas.

In addition, the transfer path 130 is provided with a pump 400 for discharging the process gas through the transfer path to form an appropriate gas pressure gradient, and to control the flow rate of the process gas discharged through the pump 300 . A control unit (not shown) is further provided to adjust the flow rate required for measurement.

Then, the analyzed process gas is discharged to the outside through the exhaust path through the valve or is treated according to a purification procedure (not shown).

In the process gas detection system of the conventional production line, the conventional detection method sequentially opens and closes the ports 120a, 120b, ..., 120n provided in each production facility 110a, 110b, ..., 110n of the production line to open and close each This is a method of detecting harmful gas by measuring the degree of contamination of a part of the process gas that has passed through the integrated valve 200 through the transfer path 130 .

At this time, tens or hundreds of production facilities 110a, 110b, ..., 110n are provided in one production line to detect the process gas in order for each production facility. After detecting the process gas of any one production facility, the next detection The waiting time had to be long.

However, if the process gas is contaminated during the long waiting time, it cannot be detected immediately, so it adversely affects the defect or production yield of the semiconductor product. There was a problem with exposure.

Registration No. 10-2150880 (Announcement date September 03, 2020)

The present invention has been devised to solve the above-described problems, and when harmful gas is detected through integrated inspection of the process gas of the production line, the process gas is sequentially inspected for each zone divided by the production line, and then the harmful gas is detected. By inspecting the process gas individually for each port in the area and quickly finding the port where the harmful gas was found, the yield of the production process can be improved, and through this, the worker in the polluted process gas (noxious gas) while monitoring the safe environment An object of the present invention is to provide a process gas detection system and method for a safe production line because it can prevent exposure.

A process gas detection system of a production line according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object is a production line having one or more production facilities divided into a plurality of group-specific zones and the process gas is input to each group-by-group zone;

a port provided in each of the production facilities and connected one-to-one to the transport path;

a zone valve connected to the transport path and having as many inlets and one outlet as the number of ports per zone;

an integrated valve connected to the transport path at the rear end of the zone valve and having as many inlets and one outlet as the number of zone valves; and

a detection device provided in the integrated transport path connected to the rear end of the integrated valve to determine whether harmful gas is detected by inspecting the contamination level of the process gas input to the production line, area, and production facility;

is comprised of

In addition, the detection device inspects the degree of contamination of the process gas input to the production line, and when noxious gas is detected, the zone valves are opened sequentially to sequentially inspect the degree of contamination of the process gas input to the zone for each group, For each group in which noxious gas is detected, the ports of the respective group are opened in order, and the contamination level of the process gas input to each production facility in the respective group is checked in order to find the port where the harmful gas was detected. characterized in that

And when harmful gas is detected in the process gas injected into the production line, an alarm is sounded.

A method for detecting process gas in a production line according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of: (A) dividing one production line into a plurality of group zones equipped with one or more production facilities;

(B) providing each of the production facilities and connecting the ports to the transfer path one-to-one;

(C) providing a zone valve having as many inlets and one outlet as the number of ports per zone for each group in the transport path;

(D) providing an integrated valve having as many inlets and one outlet as the number of district valves in a transport path at the rear end of the district valve; and

(E) determining whether harmful gas is detected by inspecting the degree of contamination of the process gas input to the production line and group zone and production facility with a detection device connected to the rear end of the integrated valve while opening and closing the integrated valve and zone valve and port ;

is comprised of

In addition, the step (E) includes the steps of (E-1) determining whether harmful gas is detected by inspecting the contamination level of the process gas input to the production line with a detection device in a state in which the port, the zone valve, and the integrated valve are all open; ,

(E-2) repeating step (E-1) when the harmful gas is not detected;

(E-3) determining whether harmful gas is detected by sequentially switching (closed->opening) the port and the zone valve of the corresponding zone when the harmful gas is detected, and sequentially examining the contamination level of the process gas for each zone;

(E-4) Switch ports in turn (closed->open) for each group area in which the harmful gas is detected, and inspect the contamination level of the production facility process gas in the corresponding group area in turn to determine the port in which the harmful gas is detected. It is characterized in that it consists of a finding step.

In addition, when harmful gas is detected in the process gas injected into the production line in step (E-3), an alarm is sounded so that the workers of the production line can evacuate.

And in the step (E-3), the alarm is classified into a caution alarm and an emergency alarm, and when a caution alarm or an emergency alarm occurs, the caution alarm is recorded in yellow and the emergency alarm is recorded in red. .

According to the means for solving the above-mentioned problems, if harmful gas is detected by integrated inspection of the process gas of the production line, the process gas is sequentially inspected for each area divided by the production line, and then the port of the area where the harmful gas is detected By inspecting the process gas individually and quickly finding the port where the harmful gas was found, the yield of the production process can be improved, thereby preventing the worker from being exposed to the polluted process gas (noxious gas) while monitoring the safe environment. it's safe to do

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to monitor the outflow of process gas (harmful gas) from dozens of production facilities with a single detection device.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a monitoring system having a multi-port sampling function as a gas monitoring system of multiple processes.
2 is a block diagram showing a process gas detection system of a conventional production line.
3 is a block diagram showing a process gas detection system of a production line according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a process gas detection method of a production line according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It should be noted that the same components in the drawings are indicated by the same reference numbers and symbols as much as possible even though they are indicated in different drawings.

In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related well-known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, when a part "includes" a certain component, this means that other components may be further included, rather than excluding other components, unless otherwise stated.

3 is a block diagram showing a process gas detection system of a production line according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the process gas detection system of the production line according to the embodiment of the present invention, one production line 10 is divided into a plurality of zones 10a, 10b, ..., 10m for each group, and each group Zones 10a, 10b, ..., 10m are equipped with one or more production facilities 11a, 11b, ..., 11n.

Here, one production line is divided into four group zones (10a, 10b, 10c, 10d), and each group zone has two production facilities ((11a, 11b), (11c, 11d), ..., (11n). -1,11n) will be described as an example.

For example, two production facilities 11a and 11b are provided in the first zone 10a and two production facilities 11c and 11d are provided in the second zone 10b.

In addition, each group zone (10a, 10b, ..., 10m) is provided with an emergency exit 14 for escaping to the outside in case of an emergency alarm, and the emergency exit is equipped with, for example, an emergency induction lamp.

In addition, each of the production facilities (11a, 11b, ..., 11n) is provided with ports (12a, 12b, ..., 12n) are connected to the transfer path 13, the transfer path 13 has two inlets (the number of ports) The zone valves 20a, 20b, ..., 20m provided with one outlet are connected to each other, and after passing through each zone valve, they each have one transfer path.

In addition, an integrated valve 25 having one outlet at four inlets (as many as the number of regional valves) is connected to the four transport paths at the rear ends of each of the zone valves 20a, 20b, ..., 20m, and eventually, the integrated valve After passing through (25), it has one integrated transport path.

At this time, it is necessary to determine whether or not harmful gas is detected in the process gas before being discharged to the outside through the integrated transfer path. It is introduced and analyzed to measure the degree of contamination of the process gas.

Here, as a sensor for measuring the degree of contamination of the process gas, a PID sensor, a semiconductor sensor, an electrochemical sensor, an optical sensor, a catalytic sensor, a solid electrolyte sensor, and a hot-wire sensor may be selectively used.

In addition, the integrated transport path is provided with a pump 40 for discharging the process gas through the integrated transport path to form an appropriate gas pressure gradient, and to control the flow rate of the process gas discharged through the pump 40 . A part (not shown) is provided to adjust the flow rate required for measurement.

Then, the analyzed process gas is discharged to the outside through the exhaust path through the valve or is treated according to a purification procedure (not shown).

On the other hand, the flow regulator may be electrically connected to the controller to be controlled, and may be used as a needle valve, an orifice, a ball flow meter, or the like.

In such a process gas detection system, if one production line equipped with 60 production facilities is divided into four group zones each equipped with 15 production facilities, for example, the first 60 ports are all open When a harmful gas is detected by inspecting the process gas, an alarm is generated, and when the second alarm occurs, the group mode is switched to 15 ports, the process gas is inspected for each zone by one group, and the zone for each group in which the harmful gas is detected is checked. After finding, the third alarm generation group switches to individual mode, and 15 ports are inspected one by one for process gas to find and notify the alarm generating port where harmful gas is detected.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a process gas detection method of a production line according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, one production line 10 is divided into a plurality of group-specific zones 10a, 10b, ..., 10m equipped with one or more production facilities 11a, 11b, ..., 11n (S40) (m < n) , an emergency exit 14 for evacuation in case of an emergency is formed in the zone for each group.

Each of the production facilities 11a, 11b, ..., 11n is provided with ports 12a, 12b, ..., 12n, respectively, connected to the transfer path 13, and the transfer path has two inlets (as many as the number of ports). By connecting the zone valves 20a, 20b, ..., 20m provided with one outlet, one transport path is provided after passing through each zone valve.

Here, depending on the weight of the process gas, the ports 12a, 12b, ..., 12n may be provided at the lower portion (floor, etc.) or upper portion (ceiling, etc.) of the production facilities 11a, 11b, ..., 11n.

In the transport path at the rear end of the zone valves 20a, 20b, ..., 20m, an integrated valve 25 having one outlet is connected to a plurality of inlets (as many as the number of zone valves), and eventually passed through the integrated valve 25. After that, it has one integrated transport path (S41).

A detection device 30, a pump 40, and a flow controller (not shown) are provided in one integrated transport path, and the detected process gas is discharged to the outside through an exhaust path through a valve or a purification procedure (not shown) to be processed according to

Next, both the zone valves 20a, 20b, ..., 20m and the integrated valve 25 are opened (S42) and a part of the process gas injected into the entire production line is introduced into the detection device 30 to inspect the contamination level of the process gas and compares the contamination level with a reference value to determine whether harmful gas is detected (S43).

When the harmful gas is detected, an alarm is sounded to safely evacuate the workers from the production line (S44).

At this time, the alarm can be classified into caution alarm and emergency alarm.

If the harmful gas is not detected, the entire production line is safe from harmful gas, so step S43 is repeated.

When the harmful gas is detected, the ports and valves (valves connected to the first zone) 20a of the first zone among the plurality of valves 20a, 20b, ..., 20m are opened for zone inspection by a plurality of groups, and the remaining In the state in which the ports and valves 20b, ..., 20m of the zone are closed (S45), the degree of contamination of the process gas in the first zone 10a is inspected, and the degree of contamination is compared with the standard value to see if harmful gas is detected. It is determined (S46).

When no harmful gas is detected in the first area 10a, the first area 10a is safe from harmful gas, so the emergency induction lamp provided in the emergency exit is turned on or flashed to turn on the emergency exit 14 of the first area 10a. Evacuate evacuated workers through

After the inspection of the first zone is finished, open the port and valve (the valve connected to the second zone) 20b of the second zone and close the ports and valves 20a, ..., 20m of the remaining zone (S47) ) Examine the contamination level of the process gas in the second zone 10b, and compare the contamination level with a reference value to determine whether harmful gas is detected (S46).

When no harmful gas is detected in the second area 10b, the second area 10b is safe from noxious gas, so that the evacuated worker is evacuated through the emergency exit 14 of the second area 10b.

In this way, by opening each zone's ports and zone valves (20a, 20b, ..., 20m) in order, the degree of contamination of the process gas injected into each zone (10a, 10b, ..., 10m) is inspected and the presence or absence of detection of harmful gas and evacuate the worker through the area where no toxic gas is detected.

In the area where harmful gas is found, it switches to individual mode and switches each port in the area where noxious gas is detected in turn, finds the port where noxious gas is detected, generates an alarm, and informs you.

For example, in a state in which one production line with 60 production facilities is divided into 4 groups with 15 production facilities, first, a large number of ports (60) are opened simultaneously and harmful gas is released through the integrated valve. When harmful gas is detected while monitoring After finding the area of the group in which the harmful gas was detected, finally, each port in the area of the group is switched (closed -> open) to the individual mode of the group, and the harmful gas among the 15 ports is It finds the detected port and notifies it.

Although the technical idea of the present invention has been described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the preferred embodiment of the present invention is exemplarily described and does not limit the present invention.

In addition, it is a clear fact that anyone with ordinary skill in the art can make various modifications and imitations within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

10: production line 10a, 10b, ... ,10m: Zone
11a, 11b,… ,11n: production equipment
12a, 12b,… ,12n: port 13: traversing path
14: emergency exits 20a, 20b,… ,20m: zone valve
25: integrated valve 30: detection device
40: pump

Claims (7)

a production line divided into a plurality of group zones and equipped with one or more production facilities in which process gas is input to each group zone;
a port provided in each of the production facilities and connected one-to-one to the transport route;
a zone valve connected to the transport path and having as many inlets and one outlet as the number of ports per zone;
an integrated valve connected to the transport path at the rear end of the zone valve and having as many inlets and one outlet as the number of zone valves; and
a detection device provided in the integrated transport path connected to the rear end of the integrated valve to determine whether harmful gas is detected by inspecting the contamination level of the process gas input to the production line, area, and production equipment;
Process gas detection system of the production line comprising a. According to claim 1,
The detection device inspects the degree of contamination of the process gas input to the production line, and when noxious gas is detected, the zone valves are opened sequentially to sequentially inspect the degree of contamination of the process gas input to the zone for each group, and the hazardous gas It is characterized in that the ports in each group are opened in order for each group in which the toxic gas is detected, and the contamination level of the process gas input to each production facility in the respective group is inspected in order to find the port in which the harmful gas was detected. The process gas detection system of the production line with 3. The method of claim 2,
Process gas detection system of a production line, characterized in that when a harmful gas is detected in the process gas injected into the production line, an alarm sounds. (A) dividing one production line into a plurality of group zones equipped with one or more production facilities;
(B) providing each of the production facilities to connect the ports to the transfer path one-to-one;
(C) providing a zone valve having as many inlets and one outlet as the number of ports per zone for each group in the transport path;
(D) providing an integrated valve having as many inlets and one outlet as the number of district valves in a transport path at the rear end of the district valve; and
(E) determining whether harmful gas is detected by inspecting the degree of contamination of the process gas input to the production line and group zone and production facility with a detection device connected to the rear end of the integrated valve while opening and closing the integrated valve and zone valve and port ;
Process gas detection method of the production line comprising a. 5. The method of claim 4,
The step (E) includes (E-1) determining whether harmful gas is detected by inspecting the contamination level of the process gas introduced into the production line with a detection device in a state in which the port, the zone valve, and the integrated valve are all open;
(E-2) repeating step (E-1) when the harmful gas is not detected;
(E-3) determining whether harmful gas is detected by sequentially switching (closed -> open) the port and the zone valve of the corresponding zone when the harmful gas is detected, and sequentially examining the contamination level of the process gas for each zone;
(E-4) Switch ports in turn (closed -> open) for each group in which the harmful gas is detected, and inspect the contamination level of the production facility process gas in the corresponding group area in turn to determine the port in which the harmful gas is detected. Process gas detection method of the production line, characterized in that consisting of the step of finding. 6. The method of claim 5,
Process gas detection method of a production line, characterized in that when harmful gas is detected in the process gas injected into the production line in step (E-3), an alarm is sounded so that the workers of the production line can evacuate. 7. The method of claim 6,
In step (E-3), the alarm is classified into caution alarm and emergency alarm, and when a caution alarm or an emergency alarm occurs, the caution alarm is recorded in yellow and the emergency alarm is recorded in red. Process gas detection method in line.

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