WO2018190074A1

WO2018190074A1 - Vaporization device and vaporization system

Info

Publication number: WO2018190074A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/010421
Authority: WO
Inventors: 田口　明広; 亮一姜山
Original assignee: 株式会社堀場エステック
Priority date: 2017-04-13
Filing date: 2018-03-16
Publication date: 2018-10-18
Also published as: CN110337326A; US20200018476A1; JP7148497B2; JPWO2018190074A1; KR20190132350A

Abstract

The purpose of the invention is to enable accurate detection of the liquid level of a liquid material inside a container. This vaporization device comprises: a container 10 that contains a liquid material X; a heater 30 that heats the liquid material X inside the container 10; and a liquid level sensor 20 that detects the liquid level of the liquid material inside the container 10. Viewing the interior of the container 10 from above, the container is constituted such that a vaporization region S1 in which the liquid material X is vaporized and a liquid level stable region S2 that is different from the vaporization region S1 are formed. The liquid level sensor 20 detects the liquid level of the liquid material X in the liquid level stable region S2.

Description

Vaporizer and vaporizer system

The present invention relates to a vaporizer for vaporizing a liquid material and a vaporization system using the vaporizer.

As shown in Patent Document 1, this type of vaporization apparatus includes a container into which a liquid material is introduced and a heater that heats the liquid material in the container. The liquid material is heated to vaporize and vaporize. Some are configured to lead gas out of the container and into various devices.

The vaporizer further includes a liquid level sensor inserted into the container so that the remaining amount of the liquid material in the container can be checked.

However, since bubbling occurs due to vaporization of the liquid material in the container, the liquid level can be detected correctly by shaking the liquid level or adhering the liquid material scattered from the liquid level to the liquid level sensor. There is a problem that you can not. Such a problem becomes more prominent with the downsizing of the vaporizer.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-194961

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and its main object is to provide a vaporizer that can accurately detect the liquid level of the liquid material in the container. .

That is, the vaporization apparatus of the present invention includes a container that stores a liquid material, a heater that heats the liquid material in the container, and a liquid level sensor that detects a liquid level of the liquid material in the container. A vaporization region in which the liquid material is vaporized and a liquid level stable region are formed when the inside of the container is viewed from above, and the liquid level sensor is configured such that the liquid level of the liquid material in the liquid level stable region is formed. Is detected.

In the case of the vaporization apparatus configured as described above, the vaporization region and the liquid level stable region are formed when the inside of the container is viewed from above, and the liquid level in the liquid level stable region is detected by the liquid level sensor. Therefore, the liquid level of the liquid material in the container can be detected with high accuracy.
The liquid level stable region here is not limited to a region where the liquid level is not shaken at all, and the liquid level may be shaken as long as the detection accuracy by the liquid level sensor can be improved as compared with the conventional case.

As a more specific embodiment, there is a configuration in which the heater is provided in a part of the side wall of the container or in the vicinity thereof.
With such a configuration, the side on which the heater is disposed in the container can be positively heated, and a vaporization region is formed on the heater side and a liquid level stable region is formed on the opposite side of the heater. be able to. As a result, it is possible to reduce the fluctuation generated at the liquid level in the vaporization area before reaching the liquid level stable area, or to prevent the liquid material scattered from the liquid level in the vaporization area from reaching the liquid level sensor. Therefore, it is possible to detect the liquid level of the liquid material with high accuracy.

It is preferable to further comprise a partition member that partitions the vaporization region and the liquid level stable region so that the liquid material can flow between these regions.
With such a configuration, the partition member can more reliably prevent the liquid material in the vaporization region from shaking and the liquid material scattered from the liquid surface in the vaporization region from reaching the liquid surface stable region.

In order to keep the liquid level of the vaporization region and the liquid level stable region at the same height, the partition member is a material formed by vaporizing the liquid material between the vaporization region and the liquid level stable region between these regions. It is preferable to partition the gas so that it can flow.

As a specific embodiment for forming the vaporization region and the liquid surface stability region in the container, the amount of heat given per unit time per unit volume is higher in the liquid surface stability region than in the vaporization region. The thing constituted so that there may be few is mentioned.

By the way, when the material gas obtained by vaporizing the liquid material condenses and liquefies in the container, the liquid material is led out from the container together with the material gas, and for example, the flow rate of the material gas may not be accurately controlled. There is.
Therefore, in order to suppress the liquefaction of the material gas, it is preferable to include a heater provided on the upper portion of the container for heating the material gas obtained by vaporizing the liquid material.

Even if the material gas is liquefied in the container, in order to prevent the liquefied liquid material from being led out of the container together with the material gas, the outlet for leading out the material gas obtained by vaporizing the liquid material from the container However, it is preferable to be provided on the vaporization region side of the container.

When the liquid material is introduced into the vaporization region, the introduced liquid material is vaporized all at once, and the pressure in the container rapidly increases. For example, the flow rate of the material gas cannot be accurately controlled. There is a fear.
Therefore, in order to avoid a sudden increase in pressure in the container, it is preferable that an inlet for introducing the liquid material into the container is formed on the liquid surface stable region side of the container.

Further, the vaporization system according to the present invention is configured to control the supply amount of the liquid material based on the vaporization device described above, a liquid material supply device that supplies the liquid material to the vaporization device, and a detection signal of the liquid level sensor. And a control device for controlling.
With such a vaporization system, the liquid level of the liquid material can be detected with high accuracy by the liquid level sensor, so that the control of the supply amount of the liquid material by the control device can be improved.

According to the present invention configured as described above, even if the apparatus is small, the liquid level of the liquid material in the container can be detected with high accuracy.

The figure which shows typically the structure of the vaporization system of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows typically the structure of the vaporization apparatus of the embodiment. The figure which looked at the vaporization apparatus of the embodiment from the surface direction of the liquid level. The figure which looked at the vaporization apparatus of other embodiment from the surface direction of the liquid level. The figure which shows typically the structure of the vaporization apparatus in other embodiment. The figure which shows typically the structure of the vaporization apparatus in other embodiment. The figure which shows typically the structure of the vaporization apparatus in other embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Vaporizer X ... Liquid material 10 ... Container 20 ... Liquid level sensor 30 ... Heater P1 ... Inlet P2 ... Outlet 11 ... Side wall S1 ... Vaporization region S2 ... Liquid level stable region 40 ... Partition member

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vaporizer according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The vaporization apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment constitutes a part of a vaporization system Z used in, for example, a semiconductor manufacturing process, and the liquid material X from the liquid material supply apparatus 200 is introduced as shown in FIG. The liquid material X is supplied through the path L1 to generate a material gas. As shown in FIG. 1, the material gas generated by the vaporizer 100 is sent to the target device via the lead-out path L2.

The introduction path L1 and the lead-out path L2 are provided with on-off valves V1 and V2, respectively. By opening and closing these on-off valves V1 and V2 according to circumstances, for example, the liquid material X is introduced into the vaporizer 100. Or the material gas is led out from the vaporizer 100. Both the on-off valves V1 and V2 can be opened, or both can be closed.
Specifically, a liquid level sensor 20 (to be described later) detects the liquid level of the liquid material X in the vaporizer 100, and a control device (not shown) of the on-off valve V1 provided in the introduction path L1 based on the detection signal. The supply amount of the liquid material X can be controlled by adjusting the opening degree.
In addition, a flow rate control device MFC such as a differential pressure type or a thermal type mass flow controller is provided in the lead-out path L2, so that the flow rate of the material gas flowing through the lead-out path L2 can be controlled to a preset target flow rate, for example. It is. In addition, the control valve which comprises the flow control apparatus MFC can be provided with the function as the above-mentioned on-off valve V2, and in that case, it is not necessary to provide the on-off valve V2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vaporization apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a container 10 that stores the liquid material X, a liquid level sensor 20 that detects the liquid level of the liquid material X in the container 10, and a liquid in the container 10. And a heater 30 for heating the material X.

The container 10 has, for example, a housing shape formed as a vaporizing chamber S in which the liquid material X is vaporized. The container 10 here is of a vertically long type, and is formed with an introduction port P1 to which the above-described introduction path L1 is connected and a lead-out port P2 to which the above-described lead-out path L2 is connected.

The introduction port P1 is located at the lower part of the container 10, and specifically, is formed at the lower end of the side wall 11 of the container 10. The introduction port P1 may be formed in the bottom wall 12 of the container 10 or may be provided in the upper part of the container 10.

The outlet P2 is located at the upper part of the container 10 and is specifically formed at the upper end of the side wall 11 of the container 10. The outlet P2 may be formed in the upper wall 13 of the container 10.

The liquid level sensor 20 is a contact type that detects the liquid level while a sensor unit (not shown) is in contact with the liquid material X, or a non-contact type that detects the liquid level when the sensor unit is not in contact with the liquid material X. Various types such as a contact type, a type having a movable part such as a float type, and a type having no movable part such as an electrode type can be used. However, since there is a possibility that particles are generated in the container 10 when the movable portion is provided, the liquid level sensor 20 having no movable portion is used here.
Specifically, the liquid level sensor 20 is a contact type that is inserted into the container 10 through an insertion hole provided in the upper wall 13 of the container 10, and includes a resistance temperature detector (not shown) such as a thermistor. The liquid level can be detected by utilizing the fact that the heat dissipation constant is different between the liquid phase and the gas phase.

The heater 30 can be various ones such as one using a cartridge heater or a heating wire heater, and is a rubber heater made of, for example, silicon. The detailed arrangement of the heater 30 will be described later.

However, as shown in FIG. 3, the vaporization apparatus 100 of the present embodiment has a liquid level surface that is stable in the container 10 as viewed from above (in the direction of arrow R in FIG. 2). As viewed from the direction), a vaporization region S1 in which the liquid material X is vaporized in the container 10 and a liquid level stable region S2 in which the liquid level is stable unlike the vaporization region S1 are formed. The liquid level sensor 20 described above is arranged so as to detect the liquid level in the liquid level stable region S2. Note that the vaporization region S1 and the liquid surface stability region S2 do not have to be strictly distinguished from each other. For example, when these regions S1 and S2 are continuously formed, the vaporization region S1 and the liquid surface stabilization region S2 are not separated. A part of the surface stable region S2 may overlap.

The vaporization region S1 is a region on the side where the above-described heater 30 is provided in the container 10, and is a region where the liquid material X is positively heated. The vaporization region S1 here is a region in which the amount of heat given per unit time per unit volume is larger than that in the liquid surface stability region S2, and bubbles of various sizes are generated.

On the other hand, the liquid level stable region S2 is a region on the side where the above-described liquid level sensor 20 is provided in the container 10, and is a region where the fluctuation of the liquid level is smaller than that of the vaporization region S1. The liquid surface stability region S2 here is a region that is cooler than the vaporization region S1, but the temperature of the liquid surface stabilization region S2 and the vaporization region S1 may be substantially the same when the container 10 is small. . The liquid level stable region S2 does not have to be a region where the liquid level is not shaken at all, and the liquid level is shaken as long as the detection accuracy of the liquid level sensor 20 can be improved as compared with the conventional case. Alternatively, bubbles may be generated, or the liquid material X may be vaporized.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the vaporization region S1 and the liquid surface stability region S2 of the present embodiment are formed by the arrangement of the heater 30 described above. Here, the vaporization region S1 and the liquid surface stability region S2 are further divided. A partition member 40 for partitioning is provided in the vaporizer 100.

More specifically, the heater 30 is provided around a part of the vaporizing chamber S without surrounding the entire vaporizing chamber S. As a result, in the vaporization chamber S, a region near the heater 30 and having a large amount of heat transfer becomes the vaporization region S1, and a region far from the heater 30 and a small amount of heat transfer becomes the liquid level stable region S2.
Here, the heater 30 is provided on a part of the side wall 11 of the container 10 and is disposed so as to partially heat the liquid material X. The heater 30 is not necessarily provided on the side wall 11, and may be provided near the side wall 11, or may be separated from the side wall 11 as long as the liquid material X can be vaporized. That is, the heater 30 may be provided integrally with the side wall 11, or may be formed separately from the side wall 11 and provided away from the side wall 11.

The container 10 of the present embodiment has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and as shown in FIG. 3, a first side wall 111 and a second side wall 112 facing each other, and a third side wall interposed between them and facing each other. 113 has a fourth side wall 114. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the heater 30 is provided on the second side wall 112 without being provided on the first side wall 111. Whether or not the heater 30 is provided on the third side wall 113 or the fourth side wall 114 may be appropriately selected. However, in the case where it is provided, at least the first side wall of the third side wall 113 or the fourth side wall 114 is provided. It is preferable to provide it on the second side wall 112 side without providing it on the 111 side.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, in addition to the above-described heater 30 (hereinafter also referred to as the first heater 31), a second heater 32 that heats the material gas vaporized from the liquid material X is provided above the container 10. The third heater 33 for improving the efficiency of vaporization of the liquid material X is provided in the lower part of the container 10.
In addition, the 1st heater 31, the 2nd heater 32, and the 3rd heater 33 may each be a separate thing, and a part or all may be formed integrally.

The second heater 32 suppresses liquefaction of the material gas, and is provided at least on the vaporization region S1 side of the upper wall 13 of the container 10. The second heater 32 may be provided from the vaporization region S1 side to the liquid surface stability region S2 side of the upper wall 13 or from the upper wall 13 to the upper part of the first side wall 111. May be. Further, the second heater 32 is not necessarily provided on the upper wall 13 and may be provided in the vicinity of the upper wall 13 as long as the liquefaction of the material gas can be suppressed. It may be away from 13.

The third heater 33 heats the liquid material X and is provided on the vaporization region S1 side of the bottom wall 12 of the container 10. The third heater 33 is not necessarily provided on the bottom wall 12 and may be provided in the vicinity of the bottom wall 12. The third heater 33 is separated from the bottom wall 12 as long as the liquid material X can be heated. It doesn't matter.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the partition member 40 is interposed between the vaporization region S1 and the liquid level stable region S2 in the container 10, and is liquid between the vaporization region S1 and the liquid level stable region S2. The material X is allowed to flow, and here, the material gas is also allowed to flow between the vaporization region S1 and the liquid level stable region S2.

Specifically, the partition member 40 is provided substantially parallel to the first side wall 111 and the second side wall 112, and here, provided between the third side wall 113 and the fourth side wall 114. For example, it is a rectangular flat plate. The partition member 40 partitions these regions S1 and S2 so that the volumes of the vaporization region S1 and the liquid level stable region S2 are substantially the same. Note that the shape and arrangement of the partition member 40, the volume ratio of the vaporization region S1 and the liquid surface stability region S2 partitioned by the partition member 40, and the like may be changed as appropriate.

In the present embodiment, the lower end of the partition member 40 is separated from the bottom wall 12 to allow the liquid material X to flow through the gap, and the upper end of the partition member 40 is separated from the upper wall 13, The material gas can be communicated with each other. In other words, the liquid phase in the vaporization region S1 and the liquid phase in the liquid surface stability region S2 communicate with each other through the gap between the lower end of the partition member 40 and the bottom wall 12, and the vaporization region S1 through the gap between the upper end of the partition member 40 and the upper wall 13. And the gas phase in the liquid surface stability region S2 communicate with each other. Here, the liquid phase is a region where a liquid is present, and the gas phase is a region where a gas is present.

Here, the above-described liquid level sensor 20 is provided in the liquid level stable region S 2, and specifically, the lower end of the liquid level sensor 20 is disposed below the upper end of the partition member 40. The liquid level stable region S2 is provided with the introduction port P1 described above. Here, the introduction port P1 is formed in a position facing the first heater 31, that is, in the first side wall 111.
On the other hand, the above-described outlet P2 is provided in the vaporization region S1, and is formed above the first heater 31 in the second side wall 112 here.

According to the vaporization apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, the vaporization chamber S is partitioned into the vaporization region S1 and the liquid level stable region S2 by the arrangement of the heater 30 and the partition member 40, and the liquid level sensor 20 is divided. Is configured to detect the liquid level in the liquid level stable region S2, so that the fluctuation of the liquid level due to bubbling generated in the vaporization region S1 reaches the liquid level stable region S2, or in the vaporization region S1. The liquid material X scattered from the liquid level can be prevented from adhering to the liquid level sensor 20.
As a result, the liquid level sensor 20 can accurately detect the liquid level of the liquid material X, and for example, the supply amount of the liquid material X can be accurately controlled based on the detected liquid level height. The remaining amount of the liquid material X in the container 10 can be accurately grasped. Such an operational effect is more prominent as the vaporizer 100 becomes smaller, but it goes without saying that the same operational effect can be obtained even with the large vaporizer 100.

Further, since the material gas can pass between the vaporization region S1 and the liquid surface stability region S2, the pressures of the gas phase in the vaporization region S1 and the gas phase in the liquid surface stability region S2 are substantially the same, and the vaporization region S1. In addition, the liquid level in the liquid level stable region S2 can be maintained at substantially the same height.

Furthermore, since the material gas is heated by the second heater 32, liquefaction of the material gas can be suppressed. In addition, since the outlet P2 is formed in the vaporization region S1, even if the material gas is liquefied, it is possible to prevent the liquefied liquid material X from being led out from the container 10, for example, by a mass flow controller or the like. The accuracy of flow control can be guaranteed.

In addition, since the inlet P1 is formed in the liquid level stable region S2, it is possible to prevent the liquid material X introduced into the container 10 from the inlet P1 from being vaporized all at once. Can prevent a sudden increase in pressure.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the embodiment, the heater 30 is provided on the second side wall 112, but the heater 30 is not provided on the second side wall 112, and the partition in the bottom wall 12, that is, the vaporization region S 1 side in the bottom wall 12. It may be provided closer to the first side wall 111 than the member 40 (near the first side wall 111). That is, a configuration in which the third heater 33 is provided without providing the first heater 31 in the first embodiment may be adopted.

Further, as the vaporizer 100, the heater 30 is provided on the entire circumference of the side wall 11 of the container 10 (that is, the first side wall 111, the second side wall 112, the third side wall 113, and the fourth side wall 114), or Even if the heater 30 is provided on the entire bottom wall 12 of the container 10, the liquid level stable region S2 only needs to be configured to have a lower temperature than the vaporization region S1.
Specifically, the heater 30 is configured such that the heating capability for the liquid level stable region S2 is lower than the heating capability for the vaporization region S1, or the cooling mechanism is provided in the liquid level stable region S2. Etc.

Further, the partition member 40 does not have to extend over the third side wall 113 and the fourth side wall 114, and is separated from one or both of the third side wall 113 and the fourth side wall 114 as shown in FIG. For example, it may be attached to the bottom wall 12.

Further, the partition member 40 of the above embodiment partitions the vaporization region S1 and the liquid surface stability region S2 while allowing the material gas to flow between the vaporization region S1 and the liquid surface stability region S2. If the gas phase in the region S2 is opened to the atmosphere, the material gas may not be allowed to flow between the vaporization region S1 and the liquid level stable region S2.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the introduction port P 1 may be formed on the vaporization region S 1 side, for example, on the vaporization region S 1 side in the second sidewall 112, the third sidewall 113, or the fourth sidewall 114. It may be formed.
With such a configuration, since the liquid material X is not directly introduced into the liquid level stable region S2, it is possible to suppress the liquid level of the liquid level stable region S2 from being shaken by the introduction of the liquid material X.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the outlet P 2 may be formed on the liquid surface stability region S 2 side, for example, the upper end of the first side wall 111, the third side wall 113, or the fourth side wall 114. May be formed at the upper end on the liquid level stable region S2 side.
With such a configuration, the outlet P2 can be moved away from the liquid level of the vaporization region S1, and even if the liquid material X is scattered on the liquid level in the vaporization region S1, the scattered liquid material X is directed to the outlet P2. It can suppress reaching.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the vaporizer 100 has a first container 10 A in which a vaporized region S 1 is formed, a liquid level stable region S 2 formed in the interior, and communicates with the first container 10 A. The second container 10B may be provided, and the liquid level sensor 20 may be provided in the second container 10B.

More specifically, the first container 10A and the second container 10B are spaced apart from each other via the space S3, and here are tubular members provided so that the tube axis directions are parallel to each other. is there.
The first container 10A is provided with a heater 30 (rubber heater or winding heater) on the outer periphery thereof, and its upper end communicates with a lead-out port P2 through which material gas is derived.
In the second container 10B, the liquid level sensor 20 is inserted, and the lower end of the second container 10B communicates with the introduction port P1 through which the liquid material X is introduced.

The first container 10A and the second container 10B have their upper ends communicating with each other and their lower ends communicating with each other, so that the gas phase of the first container 10A and the gas phase of the second container 10B are While communicating, it is comprised so that the liquid phase of 1st container 10A and the liquid phase of 2nd container 10B may communicate.

With such a configuration, since the space S3 interposed between the first container 10A and the second container 10B functions as the partition member 40, the partition member 40 is not provided separately from the

containers

10A and 10B. The same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

As yet another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the partition member 40 may be inclined with respect to the first side wall 111 and the second side wall 112. Specifically, the partition member 40 is provided below the liquid level sensor 20, and is arranged so as to be separated from the liquid level sensor 20 when bubbles generated in the vaporization region S 1 float along the partition member 40. Yes. In other words, in the vaporizer 100, the heater 30 is provided on the second side wall 112 side of the bottom wall 12, and the partition member 40 gradually increases from the first side wall 111 toward the second side wall 112. So as to be inclined.
Even in such a configuration, the vaporization region S1 and the liquid surface stability region S2 can be formed in the container 10 when viewed from the direction of the surface of the water surface. It becomes possible to detect the liquid level with high accuracy.

Moreover, the vaporizer 100 may not include the partition member 40.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the vaporizer 100 has a horizontally long container 10 with a heater 30 at one end in the longitudinal direction and a liquid level at the other end in the longitudinal direction. Examples include a configuration in which the sensor 20 is provided. With this configuration, the vaporization chamber S of the container 10 is formed such that one end portion in the longitudinal direction is formed as the vaporization region S1, and the other end portion in the longitudinal direction is formed as the liquid level stable region S2. It arrange | positions so that the liquid level of S2 may be detected.
With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the liquid material X scattered from the liquid level in the vaporization region S1 from reaching the liquid level sensor 20, and to accurately detect the liquid level of the liquid material X. Is possible.

In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

According to the present invention, the liquid level of the liquid material in the container can be detected with high accuracy.

Claims

A container containing a liquid material;
A heater for heating the liquid material in the container;
A liquid level sensor for detecting the liquid level of the liquid material in the container,
When the inside of the container is viewed from above, a vaporization region in which the liquid material is vaporized and a liquid level stable region are formed,
The vaporization device in which the liquid level sensor detects the liquid level of the liquid material in the liquid level stable region.
The vaporizer according to claim 1, wherein the heater is provided on a side wall of the container on the vaporization region side or in the vicinity thereof.
The vaporizer according to claim 1, further comprising a partition member that partitions the liquid material and the liquid level stable region so that the liquid material can flow between these regions.
4. The vaporizer according to claim 3, wherein the partitioning member partitions the gas region and the liquid level stable region so that a material gas obtained by vaporizing the liquid material can be circulated between these regions.
The vaporizer according to claim 1, wherein the amount of heat given per unit time per unit volume is configured to be smaller in the liquid level stable region than in the vaporized region.
The vaporizer according to claim 1, further comprising a heater provided on an upper portion of the container for heating a material gas obtained by vaporizing the liquid material.
The vaporization apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a lead-out port through which the material gas obtained by vaporizing the liquid material is led out from the container is provided on the vaporization region side of the container.
The vaporizer according to claim 1, wherein an inlet for introducing the liquid material into the container is formed on the liquid surface stable region side of the container.
A vaporizer according to claim 1;
A liquid material supply device for supplying the liquid material to the vaporizer;
A vaporization system comprising: a control device that controls a supply amount of the liquid material based on a detection signal of the liquid level sensor.