JPH1026300A - Gas supply unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a miniature gas supply unit which removes connecting parts such as a joint or a pipe between structures, and a gas supply unit which simplifies the maintenance of a hand operating valve, and the like. SOLUTION: A first switch valve 4, a second switch valve 6, a mass flow controller 5, a purge valve 7, and a filter 8 are screwed from a prescribed direction for each block in which a flow course is formed, and constitute a unified mass flow unit. Also, a hand operating valve 1 to supply or shut supply gas manually, a regulator 2 to regulate the gas pressure of supply gas, and a pressure gauge 3 to monitor the pressure of supply gas are fixed to constitute a unified pressure system unit through fixed blocks 11, 12, and 13 in which a flow course is formed, and screw fixed blocks 11, 12, and 13 from a prescribed direction to a base 9 in which a flow course communicated to the mass flow unit side is formed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas supply unit used in an industrial manufacturing apparatus such as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to a compact gas supply unit in which components can be easily removed. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a corrosive gas has been used for etching of a photoresist process or the like. Photoresist processing (photoresist coating, exposure,
Development and etching) are repeated a plurality of times while changing the type of corrosive gas in the semiconductor manufacturing process. In an actual semiconductor manufacturing process, a gas supply unit that supplies a plurality of types of corrosive gases as needed is used. I have. here,
The gas supply unit that supplies gas includes a mass flow controller for accurately measuring the flow rate, an inlet opening / closing valve provided before and after the mass flow controller to prevent supply gas such as corrosive gas from remaining in the mass flow controller, and a purge valve. A manual valve for manually supplying or shutting off the supply gas, a regulator for adjusting the gas pressure of the supply gas, and an outlet opening / closing valve, and a filter for removing impurities mixed in the supply gas. A pressure gauge for monitoring the pressure of the gas. And the conventional gas supply unit was configured by connecting these components in series.

FIG. 8 shows a conventional gas supply unit. 8, the output port of the manual valve block 101 is connected to the input port of the regulator block 103 via the joint 102, the pipe, and the joint 102. On the upper part of the manual valve block 101, a manual valve 104 is attached. The regulator block 10
The regulator 105 is mounted on the upper part of the third. The output port of the regulator block 103 is connected to the input port of the filter 107 via the joint 102, the three-way pipe 106, and the joint 102. A pressure gauge 108 is attached to the upper part of the three-pronged pipe 106. The filter 107 is of a type that enters from one side in the longitudinal direction and exits from the other, and the output port of the filter 107 is connected to the input port of the input block 109 via the joint 102, the pipe, and the joint 102.

[0004] On the input block 109 side, the inlet on-off valve 1
10, purge valve 111, mass flow controller 11
2 and an outlet opening / closing valve 116 are integrally fixed by an input block 109, a flow direction changing block 113, a mass flow controller block 115, a flow direction changing block 113, and an output block 114 to constitute a mass flow unit. Specifically, the input block 10
An inlet opening / closing valve 110 and a purge valve 111 are attached to the upper part of the block 9, and the output port of the input block 109 is connected to the input port of the flow direction changing block 113. An output port of the flow direction changing block 113 is connected to an input port of the mass flow controller block 115. The mass flow controller 11 is located above the mass flow controller block 115.
2 are installed.

[0005] The output port of the mass flow controller block 115 is connected to the input port of the output block 114 via the flow direction changing block 113. An outlet opening / closing valve 116 is attached to the output block 114. The outlet opening / closing valve 116 is connected to a supply gas pipe communicating with a vacuum chamber where etching is performed. Since the present applicant has proposed and described this mass flow unit in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-241400, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In a single vacuum chamber, a complicated process is etched by switching and using a plurality of types of corrosive gases. Therefore, 1
One vacuum chamber may need to be supplied with, for example, seven types of corrosive gases. Therefore, in such a case, a series of gas supply units described above are required for each gas, and seven gas supply units are provided for each vacuum chamber.

[0007]

However, the conventional apparatus has the following problems. The conventional gas supply unit described above has a large size because it has a configuration in which the manual valve 104, the regulator, and the like are connected via the joint 102, the pipe, and the joint 102. In particular, since different gas supply units are used depending on the type of corrosive gas to be used, a larger installation space is required because these gas supply units are provided in parallel. Further, the components constituting the pressurizing system including the manual valve 104, the regulator 105, and the pressure gauge 108 and the filter 107 are connected by the joint 102, the pipe, and the joint 102. It had to be attached and detached, which was troublesome.

In order to solve such a problem, the present invention provides a small gas supply unit that eliminates connecting parts such as joints and pipes between constituent articles, and a gas that facilitates maintenance of a manual valve and the like. It is intended to provide a supply unit.

[0009]

A gas supply unit according to the present invention comprises a first opening / closing valve and a second opening / closing valve which are on a supply line of a supply gas and block the flow of the supply gas, and the first and second valves. A flow path was formed between the on-off valve and a mass flow controller that controls the flow rate of the supply gas, a purge valve that supplies a replacement gas to the mass flow controller, and a filter that removes impurities mixed in the supply gas. It has a mass flow unit integrally configured by being screwed to each block from a predetermined direction,
A manual valve for manually supplying or shutting off the supply gas, a regulator for adjusting the gas pressure of the supply gas, and a pressure gauge for monitoring the pressure of the supply gas were formed with a flow path. A pressure system unit integrally fixed via a fixing block, wherein the fixing block is screwed from the predetermined direction to a base on which a flow path communicating with the mass flow unit side is formed. There is a feature.

In the gas supply unit of the present invention, the fixed block constituting the pressurizing system unit is composed of a manual valve block, a regulator block and a pressure gauge block, and supplies gas to the fixed block. A first flow path communicating between the pipe and the manual valve, a second flow path communicating between the manual valve and the regulator, and a third flow path communicating between the regulator and a flow path formed in the base And a fourth flow passage communicating between the pressure gauge and the third communication passage is formed, and the manual valve block has a screwing portion between the fixed block and the base in the manual valve block. It is desirable that a joint with the flow path formed in the base be formed in the manual valve block. Further, the gas supply unit of the present invention is preferably such that a manual valve block, a regulator block, and a pressure gauge block constituting the pressurizing system unit are integrally processed.

[0011] The gas supply unit of the present invention having such a configuration is configured such that the supply gas flowing through the manual valve, the regulator and the pressure gauge is sent through a flow passage formed in a fixed block integrally fixed. Therefore, the gas supply unit itself is reduced in size by omitting connecting members such as joints and pipes between the constituent articles, and each component that constitutes the mass flow unit with a fixed block with respect to the base that communicates the flow path to the mass flow unit side. Since screws are screwed from the same direction as the parts, attachment and removal of the manual valve and the like are easy, and maintenance is simple.

Further, in the gas supply unit of the present invention, if the screwing portion between the manual valve block and the base constituting the fixed block is fixed, the third flow path formed in the manual valve block and the flow path of the base are formed. Is strongly tightened, so that the airtightness of the flow path is improved. Further, in the gas supply unit of the present invention, by integrally processing the fixed block constituting the pressurizing system unit, the joint portion of the flow passage formed in the block is further eliminated, and the airtightness of the flow passage is improved.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of a gas supply unit according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing the configuration of the gas supply unit of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a plan view in which the gas supply unit is provided. FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view showing the gas supply unit. First, the gas supply unit according to the present embodiment has a manual valve 1 for supplying or shutting off a corrosive gas, a regulator 2 for adjusting the gas pressure of the corrosive gas, and a monitor for monitoring the pressure of the corrosive gas. Pressure unit 3 is integrated.

In this pressurizing system unit, the manual valve 1, the regulator 2 and the pressure gauge 3 are integrated into a fixed block composed of a manual valve block 11, a regulator block 12 and a pressure gauge block 13 each having a flow path. Fixed. In this fixed block, a regulator block 12 to which a pressure sensor block 13 is fixed is fixed to the manual valve block 11 by bolts 14 and 14 from a lateral direction to be integrated. The pressurizing system unit thus integrated with the fixed block is fixed to the base 9 by bolts 15, 15 penetrating the manual valve block 11, as shown in FIG.

The piping for the corrosive gas, which is the supply gas, is connected to the piping connection portion 11m of the manual valve block 11. The manual valve block 11 includes an input passage 11a communicating from the pipe connection portion 11m to an input port of the manual valve 1, a manual valve 1
Output path 11 that communicates from the output port to the regulator side
b is formed. Further, the manual valve block 11 includes:
A communication path 11c for sending the gas returned from the regulator 2 to a flow path 9a formed in the base 9 is formed. On the other hand, the regulator block 12 has an input path 12a communicating the output path 11b of the manual valve block 11 with the input port of the regulator 2, and an output path communicating the output port of the regulator 2 with the communication path 11c of the manual valve block 11. A path 12b is formed. Further, a measurement path 12c communicating with a flow path 13a formed in the pressure gauge block 13 is formed in the output path 12b.

The reason why the output path 12b of the regulator block 12 does not directly communicate with the flow path 9a of the base 9 but passes through the communication path 11c of the manual valve block 11 is that the manual valve block 11 is connected to the base 9 with respect to the base 9. Bolt 15 from above
This is because the contact pressure between the manual valve block 11 and the base 9 is high, and the airtightness of the joint between the communication path 11c and the flow path 9a is increased. Further, the reason why the bolted portions of the bolts 15 and 15 are formed in the manual valve block 11 is that the manual valve 1 has a smaller width than the regulator 2 and can be provided in a compact manner between the gas supply units provided side by side. is there. On the other hand, the output path 11b and the input path 12a, and the output path 12b and the communication path 11c, which are the flow paths between the manual valve block 11 and the regulator block 12, are formed along bolts 14 fixing both blocks, and The airtightness in is improved.

Further, an input block 16 is fixedly provided on the output side of the flow path 9a of the base 9 to constitute a mass flow unit. In the mass flow unit, an inlet opening / closing valve 4, a purge valve 7, and a filter 8 are directly attached to an input block 16, and a mass flow controller 5 is connected to the input block 16 via a flow direction change block 17, It is connected via a direction changing block 18 to an output block 19 to which the outlet on-off valve 6 is attached. The inlet opening / closing valve 4, the mass flow controller 5, the outlet opening / closing valve 6, and the purge valve 7 constituting these mass flow units are all fixed to the respective blocks from above by bolts.

Next, the flow path of the mass flow unit will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 respectively show AA of the gas supply unit shown in FIG.
It is the figure which showed the cross section and BB cross section CC cross section. The flow path 9 a of the base 9 is connected to the input block 1 communicating with the filter 8.
6 is connected to a filter input path 16a (see FIGS. 4 and 5). Further, the input block 16 is formed with an input communication path 16 b communicating with the filter 8 and the input port of the inlet valve 4, and an output path 16 c communicating with the output port of the inlet valve 4. Further, the input block 16
Supply path 16 connected to a supply gas line of a supply tank for storing nitrogen gas for purging to an input port of the purge valve 7.
d, a communication path 16e communicating with the output port of the purge valve 7 and the output path 16c is formed (see FIG. 6).

The output path 16c has a flow direction changing block 1
7 is connected to a conversion flow path 17 a and communicates with an input port of the mass flow controller 5. On the other hand, a conversion channel 18a of the channel direction conversion block 18 is connected to an output port of the mass flow controller 5. The conversion passage 18a is connected to an input path 19a formed in an output block 19 communicating with an input port of the outlet on-off valve 6, and an output port 19b is connected to an output port of the outlet on-off valve 6. The output path 19b is connected to a supply gas pipe communicating with a vacuum chamber where etching is performed.

According to the gas supply unit of this embodiment having such a configuration, the corrosive gas supplied from the pipe connection portion 11m is supplied to the input passage 11a by opening the manual valve 1.
Then, the corrosive gas flowing into the regulator 2 from the input path 12a flows through the input path 12a, is regulated, flows into the output path 12b, returns to the manual valve block 11 again, and flows from the communication path 11c to the flow path 9a of the base 9. The corrosive gas regulated by the regulator 2 is supplied to the measurement path 12c and the flow path 1c.
It flows into the pressure gauge 3 through 3a and is monitored there. Thus, the corrosive gas that has passed through the pressurized system unit flows to the mass flow unit side. Incidentally, regarding this mass flow unit, the present applicant has disclosed in
No. 241,400, the detailed description is omitted here.

As described above, according to the gas supply unit of the present embodiment, the inlet opening / closing valve 4 and the outlet opening / closing valve 6 which are on the corrosive gas conveying pipe and block the flow of the corrosive gas, and the inlet opening / closing valve 4 A mass flow controller 5 for controlling the flow rate of the corrosive gas and a purge valve 7 for controlling the supply of the replacement gas in the middle of the outlet opening / closing valve 6 and a manual valve 1, a regulator 2, and a pressure gauge By configuring the pressure system unit in which the gas supply unit 3 is integrated, the gas supply unit can be reduced in size. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, according to the configuration of the conventional gas supply unit shown in FIG. 7A, the entire length is as long as 545 mm because the gas supply unit is connected by a joint and a pipe. However, according to the configuration of the gas supply unit of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 7B, since the pressure system unit forms a flow path and is integrated by a fixed block, the total length is 3 mm.
It became compact up to 29 mm. This also has the effect of suppressing the generation of particles due to corrosive gas by reducing the number of connection points between constituent articles.

Further, according to the gas supply unit of the present embodiment, the inlet opening / closing valve 4, the mass flow controller 5, the outlet opening / closing valve 6, and the purge valve 7 constituting the mass flow unit are all mounted by bolts from above. In addition, the pressurizing system unit is also attached by bolts from above, so that each component part can be attached and detached from the same direction, so that operations such as maintenance can be performed easily. became. In addition, since a passage joint is provided in the manual valve block 11 for communication from the pressurizing system unit to the base, a screwing portion can be provided along the manual valve having a small width, thereby reducing the space. In addition to being able to achieve, the airtightness of the joint was able to be improved.

The gas supply unit of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the manual valve block 11 and the regulator block 12 that constitute the flow path between the manual valve 1 and the regulator 2 that constitute the pressure system unit are fixed by bolts and integrated, but they are separated from the beginning. It is also possible to use a single integrated block that forms a similar flow path without performing the same.

[0024]

The gas supply unit according to the present invention comprises a first on-off valve, a second on-off valve, a mass flow controller, a purge valve,
In addition to the mass flow unit which is integrally formed by screwing from a predetermined direction to each block in which a flow path is formed and having a filter, and for manually supplying or shutting off supply gas A pressurized system unit in which a manual valve, a regulator for adjusting the gas pressure of the supply gas, and a pressure gauge for monitoring the pressure of the supply gas are integrally fixed via a fixed block having a flow path. Since the fixing block is screwed from the predetermined direction to the base in which the flow path communicating with the mass flow unit side is formed, connecting parts such as joints and pipes between constituent articles are eliminated, and the size is reduced. In addition, maintenance of the manual valve and the like can be easily performed.

Further, the gas supply unit of the present invention includes a fixed block comprising a manual valve block, a regulator block, and a pressure gauge block which constitute a pressurizing system unit.
A first flow path communicating between the pipe for supplying gas and the manual valve, a second flow path communicating between the manual valve and the regulator,
Forming a third flow path communicating between a regulator and a flow path formed in the base, and a fourth flow path communicating between a pressure gauge and the third communication path; Is provided in the manual valve block, and the joint between the third flow passage and the flow passage formed in the base is formed in the manual valve block. Can be increased. Further, in the gas supply unit of the present invention, if the manual valve block, the regulator block, and the pressure gauge block constituting the pressurizing system unit are integrally processed, airtightness can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing one embodiment of a gas supply unit of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing one embodiment of the gas supply unit of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the gas supply unit of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a cross section taken along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a BB cross section of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a view showing a cross section taken along line CC of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a diagram comparing a conventional gas supply unit with that according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a conventional gas supply unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manual valve 2 Regulator 3 Pressure gauge 4 Inlet on-off valve 5 Mass flow controller 6 Outlet on-off valve 7 Purge valve 8 Filter 9 Base 11 Manual valve block 12 Regulator block 13 Pressure gauge block

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first opening / closing valve and a second opening / closing valve which are on a supply line of a supply gas and block a flow of the supply gas, and a flow rate of the supply gas which is intermediate between the first and second opening / closing valves. A mass flow controller, a purge valve for supplying a replacement gas to the mass flow controller, and a filter for removing impurities mixed in the supply gas are screwed to each block having a flow path from a predetermined direction. A gas supply unit having a mass flow unit integrally formed with the gas supply unit, a manual valve for manually supplying or shutting off the supply gas, a regulator for adjusting a gas pressure of the supply gas, and a pressure of the supply gas. A pressure gauge for monitoring the pressure, and a pressurizing unit integrally fixed through a fixing block having a flow path, wherein the mass flow unit is Gas supply unit, characterized in that the base of the flow path communicating with the side is formed, in which the fixing blocks screwed from the predetermined direction. 2. The gas supply unit according to claim 1, wherein the fixed block that forms the pressurizing system unit includes a manual valve block, a regulator block, and a pressure gauge block. A first flow path communicating between the pipe supplying the air and the manual valve, a second flow path communicating between the manual valve and the regulator, and a second flow path communicating between the regulator and a flow path formed in the base. A third flow path and a fourth flow path communicating between the pressure gauge and the third communication path are formed, and the manual valve block has a screwing portion between the fixed block and the base. A gas supply unit, wherein a joint between a flow passage and a flow passage formed in the base is formed in a manual valve block. 3. The gas supply unit according to claim 2, wherein the manual valve block, the regulator block, and the pressure gauge block constituting the pressurizing system unit are integrally processed. unit.