JP3532761B2 - Fluid heating device for semiconductor manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reduced pressure drying apparatus for supplying an alcohol vapor such as isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to a semiconductor substrate to dry the substrate under a reduced pressure atmosphere, and a chemical liquid in a processing tank while circulating the chemical liquid. Various types of devices such as a chemical liquid circulation type processing device that immerses a semiconductor substrate in a predetermined process and a hot pure water cleaning device that supplies hot pure water into the cleaning tank to immerse the semiconductor substrate in the hot pure water for cleaning The present invention relates to a fluid heating device used in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and used for heating various fluids such as alcohol vapor, a chemical solution, and pure water supplied through a pipe.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, for example, a vacuum drying apparatus, when alcohol vapor, for example, IPA vapor is supplied through a pipe into a chamber in which a semiconductor substrate is housed and is in a depressurized state, the IPA vapor is heated to a predetermined temperature. Need to be supplied. Conventionally, in order to heat the IPA vapor, a resistance heating heater is arranged outside a pipe formed of stainless steel or the like, the resistance heating heater is caused to generate heat, and its thermal energy is conducted through the wall surface of the pipe. , Heat transfer from the inner wall surface of the pipe to the IPA vapor flowing in the pipe,
I was trying to heat the steam.

[0003]

As described above, in the conventional heating system, the resistance heating heater first heats the pipe, and then the heat is transferred from the pipe to the IPA vapor flowing in the pipe to heat the IPA vapor. It was an indirect heating method that went through a two-stage heat transfer process. Therefore, the conventional heating method has various problems as described below.

In the conventional heating method, neither the efficiency of heat transfer from the heater to the pipes nor the efficiency of heat transfer from the pipes to the IPA vapor is 100%, and the heat transfer is in two stages. Is bad. That is, the resistance heater arranged outside the pipe has the highest temperature, and the heat directly escapes from the heater to the outside air, resulting in a large heat loss and poor thermal efficiency. Further, in order to heat the IPA vapor to a predetermined temperature, the temperature of the heater needs to be higher than the predetermined temperature, and the heater must be overheated.
Excessive power consumption. Furthermore, the heater is used for IPA
Since the steam is indirectly heated by two-stage heat transfer, and the heater is composed of the heater wire and the heat insulating material and has a large heat capacity of itself, the responsiveness of the heater is poor,
There is a problem that it is difficult to control with high precision.

In the conventional heating method, the temperature of the heater is often higher than the safe temperature in consideration of the ignition point of IPA due to overheating. For example, when trying to heat the IPA vapor to a temperature of 160 ° C, the temperature of the heater is close to 250 ° C, which is 200 ° C specified by the safety standard.
Is above the temperature. Therefore, if IPA vapor leaks from the inside of the pipe, there is a risk of fire or explosion. Furthermore, due to overheating of the heater, the heater and its surrounding environment are in a high temperature state, and a part of the human body of an operator accidentally touches the high temperature part to get burned or the high temperature part is in contact with a combustible member. There is also the possibility of causing a fire.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is more economical than the conventional indirect heating system because it can efficiently heat the fluid flowing in the pipe. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fluid heating device for a semiconductor manufacturing device, which has excellent responsiveness in temperature control when heating a fluid and can significantly improve safety.

[0007]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A fluid heating device for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which is provided in the middle of a pipe and heats a fluid flowing in the pipe, has a closed structure in which a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet connected to the pipe are formed. A heating container in which at least the heating part is formed of a non-magnetic material, an outer surface of the heating container, a coil wound around the position of the heating part, and a power supply device part for supplying a high frequency current to the coil, Inside the heating container, a heating element disposed at the position of the heating section and formed of a conductive material, and the heating element is a fluid.
Parallel to each other with a space that will be the passage of the
Is composed of a plurality of thin metal plates that are mirror- finished.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a fluid heating device for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, which is provided in the middle of a pipe to heat a fluid flowing in the pipe, a fluid inlet and a fluid which are connected to the pipe respectively. A heating container having a closed structure in which an outflow port is formed, at least a heating portion formed of a non-magnetic material, and a coil wound on the outer surface of the heating container at the position of the heating portion, Alcohol vapor is applied to a semiconductor substrate in a decompressed atmosphere, which is composed of a power supply unit for supplying a high-frequency current to a coil and a heating element disposed inside the heating container at the position of the heating unit and formed of a conductive material. In the middle of the alcohol vapor supply pipe for supplying alcohol vapor to the reduced pressure drying chamber from the evaporator of the reduced pressure drying device for drying the semiconductor substrate .
And, the nitrogen gas carrier in the middle of the nitrogen gas supply pipe for the carrier to be supplied to the evaporator, it
It is characterized in that it is provided separately .

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the fluid heating device according to the first or second aspect , a heating container is added
It is characterized by being formed of a tic material .

In the fluid heating device of each of the first and second aspects of the present invention, when a high frequency current is applied to the coil wound around the outer surface of the heating container by the power supply unit, a magnetic flux is generated and a magnetic field is generated. Eddy current is generated in the heating element inside the heating container inside, Joule heat is generated by the specific resistance of the conductive material forming the heating element, and the heating element generates heat. The gas or liquid fluid flowing from the pipe into the heating container through the fluid inlet is directly heated by the heating element when passing through the position where the heating element is disposed, and the heated fluid is heated by the heating container. It flows into the pipe from the inside through the fluid outlet. As described above, the heating element inside the heating container generates heat by electromagnetic induction, and the fluid is directly heated by the heating element. On the other hand, in the heating container in which the coil is wound, the heating portion is made of a non-magnetic material. Therefore, it does not generate heat by itself,
The temperature never exceeds the temperature of the fluid flowing inside.

In the fluid heating apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, the plurality of metal thin plates constituting the heating element generate heat by electromagnetic induction, and the fluid flows through the passage between the heat-generated metal thin plates. By flowing, the fluid is directly heated by heat transfer from the thin metal plate. Further, in the fluid heating apparatus of the invention according to claim 2, through alcohol vapors fed to the vacuum drying chamber through the piping alcohol vapor supplied from the evaporator of the vacuum drying apparatus, and a nitrogen gas supply pipe for carrier evaporator The carrier nitrogen gas supplied to each is heated.

In the fluid heating device of the invention according to claim 3,
The heating container is made of plastic material
Therefore, the heating container itself does not generate heat .

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a fluid heating apparatus for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof. is there. The fluid heating device is provided by being inserted in the middle of the pipe 10, and is provided inside the heating container 12, the coil 14 wound around the heating container 12, the power supply unit (not shown), and the heating container 12. The heating element 16 is formed. Note that, in FIG. 1, the coil 14 is shown in a state in which a half circumference portion is cut.

The heating container 12 has a closed cylindrical shape, and a fluid inlet 18 connected to the pipe 10 for communication therewith.
Also, the fluid outlets 20 are formed on both end surfaces.
The heating container 12 is made of a non-magnetic material such as a plastic material such as a fluororesin or a ceramic material. The entire heating container 12 does not necessarily have to be formed of a non-magnetic material, and at least the cylindrical surface around which the coil 14 is wound and serves as a heating portion may be formed of a non-magnetic material. Further, the shape of the heating container is not limited to a cylinder and may be various shapes.

A power supply unit is electrically connected to the coil 14 wound around the cylindrical surface of the heating container 12, and a high frequency current is supplied to the coil 14 by the power supply unit. The heating element 16 arranged inside the heating container 12 is made of a metal material. In this embodiment, the heating element 16 is formed by arranging a plurality of metal thin plates 22 made of stainless steel or the like having corrosion resistance and arranged in parallel with each other with a space therebetween. The metal thin plates 22 are arranged along the axial direction of the heating container 12, and the gap between the metal thin plates 22 serves as a fluid passage 24.
The surface of each of the metal thin plates 22 is mirror-finished by electrolytic polishing or the like, and is precisely cleaned. The configuration of the heating element is not limited to a configuration in which a plurality of metal thin plates 22 are arranged in parallel as in the illustrated example, but may be a structure in which a fluid passage is formed and a contact area with the fluid is secured to some extent. Any material may be used, for example, a honeycomb structure or the like.
The material of the heating element may be other than stainless steel, for example, various metals such as nickel. Alternatively, silicon carbide (SiC) or carbon (C) may be used, and the material of the heating element may be a conductive material.

In the fluid heating device having the structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when a high frequency current is passed through the coil 14 by the power supply unit, a magnetic flux is generated and an eddy current flows in the thin metal plate 22 inside the heating container 12. Occurs, Joule heat is generated in the metal thin plate 22 due to the specific resistance of the material, and the metal thin plate 22 generates heat. At this time, since the heating container 12 is made of a non-magnetic material, it does not generate heat by itself. When the metal thin plate 22 generates heat, the fluid flowing from the pipe 10 into the heating container 12 through the fluid inlet 18 flows through the passage 24 between the metal thin plates 22,
It is directly heated by heat transfer from the thin metal plate 22.
The fluid heated and raised in temperature while passing through the passages 24 between the metal thin plates 22 flows out of the heating container 12 through the fluid outlet 20 and flows into the pipe 10.

As described above, in this fluid heating device,
The metal thin plate 22 disposed inside the heating container 12 is caused to generate heat by electromagnetic induction so that the metal thin plate 22 directly heats the fluid, and the heat from the resistance heater to the pipe is heated as in the conventional heating method. Since the heat is transferred by forced convection heat transfer from the metal thin plate 22 to the fluid instead of using conduction, the fluid can be efficiently heated, and the metal thin plate 22 that generates heat is generated in the heating container 12. The heat loss due to the heat transfer to the outside air is small because it is provided in the. Further, since the metal thin plate 22 directly heats the fluid, it is not necessary to raise the temperature of the metal thin plate 22 much higher than the target temperature of the fluid, and the power consumption can be reduced. Further, in this fluid heating device, since the heat capacity of the metal thin plate 22 that generates heat is small, it is superior in responsiveness and controllability as compared with the conventional heating system. Further, only the thin metal plate 22 inside the heating container 12 generates heat and the heating container 12
Since the heating container 12 itself does not generate heat, the temperature of the heating container 12 does not become higher than the temperature of the fluid flowing therein. For example, considering the case where IPA vapor is heated by this device, when the IPA vapor is heated to a temperature of 160 ° C., the temperature of the outer surface of the heating container 12 becomes 160 ° C. or lower. Therefore, even if the IPA vapor leaks from the inside of the pipe 10, the outer surface temperature of the heating container 12 and its surrounding temperature are 200 ° C. or lower, which is the IPA safety standard temperature. , No risk of fire or explosion. Further, since the temperature of the outer surface of the heating container 12 is relatively low, by providing a simple heat insulating means on the outer surface side,
Workers are prevented from being burned or having a fire due to contact with a combustible member.

The fluid heating apparatus having the above-mentioned structure is preferably used for heating various fluids in various semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, this fluid heating apparatus is used in a reduced pressure drying apparatus that supplies IPA vapor to a semiconductor substrate to dry the substrate in a reduced pressure atmosphere. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 26 indicates a reduced pressure drying chamber, and the inside of the chamber 26 can be evacuated by a depressurizing means such as a vacuum pump (not shown) to be in a reduced pressure state. Further, reference numeral 28 is a chamber 26.
A pipe for supplying IPA vapor, which is connected to
It is a diluting nitrogen gas supply pipe connected to the IPA vapor supply pipe 28. The IPA vapor supply pipe 28 is connected to the evaporator 32 by a flow path. Evaporator 3
The IPA 34 is housed in the inside of the chamber 2, and the pump 36 supplies the IPA 34 to the injection port 40 on the ceiling of the evaporator 32 through the IPA supply path 38, thereby injecting the IPA from the injection port 40 to generate the IPA vapor. It's ready to be prepared. A nitrogen gas supply pipe 42 for a carrier is communicatively connected to the internal space of the evaporator 32. Further, the evaporator 32 has an IPA circulation pipe 44 for circulating and heating the IPA 34 housed in the evaporator 32. Is attached.

The IP supplied into the chamber 26
In order to heat the A vapor to a predetermined temperature, the IPA vapor supply pipe 28 is provided with the fluid heating device 46 having the above configuration as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. A temperature controller 48 is installed side by side. In addition, the dilution nitrogen gas supply pipe 30 is provided with a fluid heating device 50 provided with a temperature controller 52 for heating the dilution nitrogen gas, and the carrier nitrogen gas supply pipe 42 is provided with In order to heat the carrier nitrogen gas, a fluid heating device 54 provided with a temperature controller 56 is provided in an interposed manner. Furthermore, in order to heat the IPA to a predetermined temperature, the IPA circulation pipe 44 is
A fluid heating device 58 provided with a temperature controller 60 is provided so as to be interposed.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an example in which the fluid heating apparatus according to the present invention is used in a chemical liquid circulation type processing apparatus. This chemical liquid circulation type processing apparatus stores a chemical liquid 62 and a processing tank 64 in which a semiconductor substrate is immersed in the chemical liquid 62 for processing, and overflows from an upper part of the processing tank 64 attached to the processing tank 64. An overflow liquid receiving tank 66 into which the chemical liquid flows, and a chemical liquid circulation pipe that is connected to the bottom of the overflow liquid receiving tank 66 by a flow path to return the chemical liquid that has flowed into the overflow liquid receiving tank 66 to the processing tank 64 again. 68, and a pump 70 and a filter 72 that are provided so as to be inserted in the chemical liquid circulation pipe 68. Further, the fluid heating device 74 having the above-described configuration as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is provided in the chemical liquid circulation pipe 68 so as to be interposed, and the fluid heating device 74 is provided for adjusting the chemical liquid to a predetermined temperature. A temperature controller 76 is installed side by side.

The fluid heating device according to the present invention is also used in a hot pure water cleaning device. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the hot pure water supply pipe 78 for supplying hot pure water into the cleaning tank (not shown) of the hot pure water cleaning apparatus is heated by the fluid having the above-described configuration as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The pure water passing through the inside of the fluid heating device 80 is inserted through the device 80 and heated to a predetermined temperature by the temperature controller 82, and the hot pure water adjusted to the predetermined temperature is supplied to the hot pure water supply pipe 7.
Try to send to 8.

In addition to the examples shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the fluid heating apparatus according to the present invention can be used, for example, as a hot air heater for carrier cleaning or a high temperature nitrogen gas heater for pulling and drying.
Further, it can be used in various semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses such as a reaction gas heating apparatus for a CVD apparatus and a coating solution heating apparatus for a spinner.

[0024]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION When the fluid heating device for semiconductor manufacturing equipment according to each of the first and second aspects of the invention is used, the fluid flowing in the pipe can be heated more efficiently than the conventional indirect heating type. Therefore, it is economical and has excellent responsiveness and controllability when heating a fluid.

In the fluid heating device according to the first aspect of the invention, the fluid flowing through the passages between the metal thin plates is directly heated by heat transfer from the plurality of metal thin plates whose surfaces are mirror surfaces. Therefore, the fluid flowing in the pipe can be efficiently heated. Further, in the fluid heating apparatus of the invention according to claim 2, through alcohol vapors fed to the vacuum drying chamber through the piping alcohol vapor supplied from the evaporator of the vacuum drying apparatus, and a nitrogen gas supply pipe for carrier evaporator It becomes possible to efficiently heat the carrier nitrogen gas supplied to each of them, and the safety can be greatly improved.

In the fluid heating apparatus of the invention according to claim 3,
Since the heating container itself does not generate heat, the temperature of the heating container
Temperature is higher than the temperature of the fluid flowing inside
Without, this can greatly improve safety
It

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a fluid heating device for a semiconductor manufacturing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the fluid heating device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an example in which the fluid heating device according to the present invention is used in a reduced pressure drying device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an example in which the fluid heating device according to the present invention is used in a chemical liquid circulation type processing device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an example in which the fluid heating device according to the present invention is used in a hot pure water cleaning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Piping 12 Heating Container 14 Coil 16 Heating Element 18 Heating Container Fluid Inlet 20 Heating Container Fluid Outlet 22 Metal Sheet 24 Fluid Passage 26 Decompression Drying Chamber 28 IPA Vapor Supply Piping 30 Diluting Nitrogen Gas Supply Piping 32 Evaporator 34 IPA 36, 70 Pump 42 Nitrogen gas supply pipe for carrier 44 IPA circulation pipe 46, 50, 54, 58, 74, 80 Fluid heating device 48, 52, 56, 60, 76, 82 Temperature controller 62 Chemical solution 64 Treatment tank 66 overflow liquid receiving tank 68 chemical liquid circulation pipe 78 hot pure water supply pipe

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-339883 (JP, A) JP-A-8-45893 (JP, A) Actual development Sho-59-187090 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H05B 6/10 F24H 1/10 H01L 21/304

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A fluid heating apparatus for a semiconductor manufacturing device, which is provided in the middle of a pipe to heat a fluid flowing in the pipe, wherein a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet connected to the pipe are formed. A heating container having a closed structure in which at least the heating part is formed of a non-magnetic material, a coil wound on the outer surface of the heating container at the position of the heating part, and a high-frequency current is passed through the coil. The heating device includes a power supply unit and a heating element disposed inside the heating container at the position of the heating unit and formed of a conductive material. A fluid heating device for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising a plurality of thin metal plates arranged in parallel and having a mirror-finished surface. 2. A fluid heating device for a semiconductor manufacturing device, which is provided in the middle of a pipe to heat a fluid flowing in the pipe, wherein a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet connected to the pipe are formed. A heating container having a closed structure in which at least the heating part is formed of a non-magnetic material, a coil wound on the outer surface of the heating container at the position of the heating part, and a high-frequency current is passed through the coil. The semiconductor substrate includes a power supply unit and a heating element inside the heating container, which is disposed at the position of the heating unit and is made of a conductive material, and supplies alcohol vapor to the semiconductor substrate in a reduced pressure atmosphere. way from the evaporator of the vacuum drying apparatus for drying the alcohol vapor supply pipe for supplying the alcohol vapor into vacuum drying chamber, and carrier to the evaporator In the middle of the nitrogen gas supply pipe carrier for supplying the hydrogen gas, respectively a semiconductor manufacturing device for a fluid heating apparatus, characterized in that provided interposed individually. 3. The fluid heating apparatus for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating container is made of a plastic material.