JP4088062B2 - Purge method in material tank connection part of liquid material supply device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to purging method in wood charge tank connected portion of the liquid material supply equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The liquid material supply device introduces an inert gas into the tank containing the liquid material (hereinafter referred to as a material tank) through an inert gas introduction pipe, and derives the liquid material pushed out by the introduction through the liquid material outlet pipe. However, the material tank is usually configured to be connectable and separable from the inert gas introduction pipe and the liquid material outlet pipe, and a certain amount of liquid material in the material tank is used depending on use. When it becomes below, it is replaced with a new material tank. Then, when separating the material tank used so far from the inert gas introduction pipe and the liquid material outlet pipe, conventionally, purging in the gas flow path and the liquid flow path is performed as shown in FIG. In this manner, the inert gas IG and the liquid material are not left in the flow path.
[0003]
That is, in FIG. 2, 1 is a material tank that stores the liquid material LM. Reference numerals 2 and 3 denote an inert gas IG introduction portion and a liquid material LM lead-out portion provided in the material tank 1, and the inert gas introduction portion 2 is attached to the upper lid 1a so as to communicate with the inside of the material tank 1. The liquid material lead-out portion 3 passes through the upper lid 1a and is inserted to the vicinity of the bottom plate 1b in the material tank 1. The inert gas introduction part 2 and the liquid material lead-out part 3 are provided with on-off valves 4 and 5 and can be separated from an inert gas introduction pipe 6 and a liquid material lead-out pipe 7 described later at the tip. Connection portions 2a and 3a are provided for connection.
[0004]
Reference numerals 6 and 7 denote an inert gas introduction pipe and a liquid material lead pipe that are detachably connected to the inert gas introduction section 2 and the liquid material lead-out section 3, respectively. The upstream side of the inert gas introduction pipe 6 is connected to an inert gas supply source (not shown), and a connection portion 6a corresponding to the connection portion 2a of the inert gas introduction portion 2 is formed at the downstream end. In addition, an on-off valve 8 is provided. In addition, a connecting portion 7 a corresponding to the connecting portion 3 a of the liquid material outlet portion 3 is formed at the upstream end of the liquid material outlet tube 7, and on-off valves 9 and 10 are provided in series. Are connected to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus (not shown). The connecting portions 2a and 6a and 3a and 7a are both configured to be easily connected and disconnected.
[0005]
For convenience of explanation, the inert gas introduction part 2 and the inert gas introduction pipe 6, and the liquid material outlet part 3 and the liquid material outlet pipe 7 are connected by the connecting parts 2a and 6a and 3a and 7a, respectively. The channel portion from the on-off valve 4 to the on-off valve 8 and the channel portion between the on-off valve 5 and the on-off valve 9 are referred to as a gas side connection channel 11 and a liquid side connection channel 12, respectively. 11.12 is collectively referred to as a material tank connecting portion 13.
[0006]
14 is a evacuation line for evacuating the material tank connection portion 13, which is connected, for example, at a point 15 upstream of the on-off valve 9 of the liquid material outlet pipe 7, and the on-off valve 16 and the vacuum pump 17 are provided in series. The downstream side of the vacuum pump 17 is open to the atmosphere. Reference numeral 18 denotes a connection flow path for connecting the gas side connection flow path 11 and the liquid side connection flow path 12 to each other, and both ends are connected to the gas side connection flow path 11 and the liquid side connection flow path 12 at points 19 and 20, respectively. The on-off valve 21 is provided.
[0007]
In the liquid material supply apparatus having the above configuration, when the material tank 1 is replaced, the material tank connection portion 13 needs to be purged . Conventionally, the on-off valves 4, 5, 8, 9 are closed and the on-off valve 16 is closed. , 21 is opened, the vacuum pump 17 is operated to purge the material tank connection portion 13, and the on-off valves 4, 5, 9, 16 are closed and the on-off valves 8, 21 are opened to be inactive The operation of introducing the inert gas IG into the material tank connecting portion 13 via the gas introduction pipe 6 and pressurizing the gas is repeated a predetermined number of times, and the vacuuming operation and the gas pressurizing operation are performed a predetermined number of times. Thus, it was determined that the material tank connection portion 13 was purged.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, depending on the use environment such as the type of liquid material LM, its purity, and the ambient temperature at that time, it is necessary to change the number of vacuuming operations and gas pressurizing operations for the material tank connection portion 13. In the conventional method of performing a specific number of times, the material tank connection portion 13 may not always be purged reliably.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned matters, and the object thereof is to supply a liquid material that can purge the material tank connection portion in a short time and can reliably confirm the purge effect. purging method in wood charge tank connected portion of the equipment (hereinafter, simply referred to as purging method) is to provide.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, an inert gas introduction pipe and a liquid material lead-out each having an on-off valve in an inert gas introduction part and a liquid material lead-out part respectively having an on-off valve of a material tank containing a liquid material The pipe is connected in a separable manner, and the inert gas introduction pipe and the liquid material outlet pipe are connected via an on-off valve, and the on-off valve and the vacuum pump are connected to the inert gas introduction pipe or the liquid material outlet pipe. A purging method in a liquid material supply apparatus connected to a vacuum drawing line comprising:
A gas flow path portion extending from the open / close valve of the inert gas introduction section to the open / close valve of the inert gas introduction pipe, and a liquid flow path section extending from the open / close valve of the liquid material discharge section to the open / close valve of the liquid material discharge pipe, Purge by vacuuming with a vacuum pump,
In order to confirm the pressure of the flow path portion by the vacuum pump in a state in which the open / close valves of the inert gas introduction part and the liquid material outlet part and the open / close valves of the inert gas introduction pipe and the liquid material outlet pipe are closed, respectively. After the vacuum passage is evacuated until the indicated value of the pressure sensor of the pressure confirmation line becomes a predetermined pressure value or less, the open / close valve of the evacuation line is closed, and the indicated value of the pressure sensor at this time is Check whether there is a pressure increase exceeding the predetermined pressure value, or whether there is no pressure increase below the predetermined pressure value,
Further, if the indicated value of the pressure sensor exceeds the predetermined pressure value and a pressure rise has occurred, it is determined that the predetermined purge is not performed, and the flow passage portion is again evacuated and purged. When the indicated value of the pressure sensor remains below the predetermined pressure value and there is no pressure increase, it is determined that a predetermined purge is being performed in the flow path portion.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the details of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration for carrying out the purging method of the present invention. In this figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG.
[0012]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 22 denotes a pressure confirmation line for confirming the pressure state in the material tank connection portion 13. In this embodiment, the pressure confirmation line 22 is connected to a connection point 20 between the liquid side connection flow path 12 and the connection flow path 18. The on-off valve 23 and the pressure sensor 24 are provided in series.
[0013]
Next, a purge method using the above configuration will be described.
(1) The on-off valves 4, 5, 8, 9 are closed, the on-off valves 16, 21, 23 are opened, the vacuum pump 17 is operated, the material tank connection portion 13 is evacuated and purged, and the pressure sensor The indication value of 24 is set to 0 Pa.
[0014]
(2) Close the on-off valve 16. In this state, the on-off valves 4, 5, 8, 9, 16 are closed, and the on-off valves 21, 23 are open. In this state, the indicated value of the pressure sensor 24 is confirmed, and if the pressure rise exceeds 0 Pa, the inert gas IG and the liquid material LM remain in the material tank connection portion 13. After the determination, purging is performed as in (1) above, and the indicated value of the pressure sensor 24 is confirmed. Here, if the indicated value remains at 0 Pa and there is no pressure increase, it can be determined that a predetermined purge is being performed, so the material tank 1 is connected to the gas side connection flow path 11 at the connection portions 2a and 6a and 3a and 7a. And separated from the liquid-side connection channel 12.
[0015]
As described above, in the purge method, since the purge effect can be confirmed as a numerical value, it is not necessary to repeatedly perform an operation such as evacuation more than necessary, and regardless of the use environment of the material tank 1, The purge effect can be grasped quantitatively and reliably. Therefore, the purge in the material tank connection part 13 can be performed in a short time and reliably.
[0016]
In the above-described embodiment, the evacuation line 14 and the pressure confirmation line 22 are connected to the liquid side connection flow path 12, but these may be connected to the gas side connection flow path 11. What is necessary is just to be connected to the material tank connection part 13. FIG. The evacuation line 14 and the pressure confirmation line 22 may be separably connected to the material tank connection portion 13. Moreover, the connection flow path 18 that connects the gas side connection flow path 11 and the liquid side connection flow path 12 may be configured to be separable from these.
[0017]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the material tank connection portion can be purged in a short time, and the purge effect can be confirmed reliably, and the purge effect can be quantitatively determined regardless of the use environment. It can be confirmed and various liquid materials can be handled easily.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a configuration for carrying out a purging method in a material tank connection portion of a liquid material supply apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration for carrying out a purging method in a material tank connection portion of a conventional liquid material supply apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Material tank, 2 ... Inert gas introduction part, 3 ... Liquid material derivation part, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 16, 21, 23 ... Open / close valve, 6 ... Inert gas introduction pipe, 7 ... Liquid Material outlet pipe, 11 ... gas flow path part, 12 ... liquid flow path part, 14 ... vacuum drawing line, 17 ... vacuum pump, 22 ... pressure confirmation line, 24 ... pressure sensor, LM ... liquid material, IG ... inert gas .

Claims (1)

An inert gas introduction pipe and a liquid material lead-out pipe each having an on-off valve are detachably connected to an inert gas introduction section and a liquid material lead-out section each having an on-off valve of a material tank containing a liquid material. A liquid material in which an active gas introduction pipe and a liquid material lead-out pipe are connected via an on-off valve, and an inert gas introduction pipe or a liquid material lead-out pipe is connected to a vacuum drawing line having an on-off valve and a vacuum pump. A purge method in a supply device, comprising:
A gas flow path portion extending from the open / close valve of the inert gas introduction section to the open / close valve of the inert gas introduction pipe, and a liquid flow path section extending from the open / close valve of the liquid material discharge section to the open / close valve of the liquid material discharge pipe, Purge by vacuuming with a vacuum pump,
In order to confirm the pressure of the flow path portion by the vacuum pump in a state in which the open / close valves of the inert gas introduction part and the liquid material outlet part and the open / close valves of the inert gas introduction pipe and the liquid material outlet pipe are closed, respectively. After the vacuum passage is evacuated until the indicated value of the pressure sensor of the pressure confirmation line becomes a predetermined pressure value or less, the open / close valve of the evacuation line is closed, and the indicated value of the pressure sensor at this time is Check whether there is a pressure increase exceeding the predetermined pressure value, or whether there is no pressure increase below the predetermined pressure value,
Further, if the indicated value of the pressure sensor exceeds the predetermined pressure value and a pressure rise has occurred, it is determined that the predetermined purge is not performed, and the flow passage portion is again evacuated and purged. The liquid material is characterized in that if the indicated value of the pressure sensor remains below the predetermined pressure value and there is no pressure increase, it is determined that a predetermined purge is being performed in the flow path portion. A purge method in a material tank connection portion of a supply device.

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