KR100884319B1 - Chiller apparatus for decreasing power consumption - Google Patents

Abstract

A chiller apparatus is provided to reduce power consumption by controlling the temperature of brine differently based on an operation region. A brine path is composed of an evaporator(50), a tank(60) including heaters(62,64) and a brine pump(70). The heater includes a heater for the temperature compensation of the low output and the heater with high output. A valve(92) and a cooling water heat exchanger(80) are installed in a brine return terminal of the brine path. The bypass path(102) is connected to the brine return terminal in parallel. A cooling water path(200,210) is comprised to pass through the cooling water heat exchanger in parallel.

Description

Chiller Apparatus for decreasing power consumption

The present invention relates to a chiller device, and more particularly, to a technology for minimizing power consumption by reducing heater power and reducing power consumption of a refrigerator.

The chiller device is a temperature control device for stable process control in a semiconductor device manufacturing process. In particular, the chiller device is mainly used in the etching and exposure processes of various processes, and keeps the temperature of the electrode plate and chamber where excessive heat is generated during the process to prevent wafer breakage and productivity decrease due to high temperature. .

In the refrigerating cycle of the chiller device performing this function, the refrigerant path and the brine path overlap each other in the evaporator, thereby performing heat exchange. Here, brine is a solution or liquid with a low freezing point, usually a galden or ethylene glycol mixture is used.

1 is a system diagram showing an example of a chiller apparatus for a conventional semiconductor processing equipment.

First, the circulation path of the refrigerant (for example, freon gas) formed by the refrigeration cycle is as follows.

(1) After the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 10 is condensed in the condenser 20 in which the coolant of about 20 ° C. is in thermal contact, the phase change is performed into a high pressure refrigerant liquid,

(2) the condensed refrigerant liquid is stored in the receiver 30 which is a high pressure tank,

(3) The refrigerant liquid exiting the receiver 30 is expanded by the electronic expansion valve 40 (EEV) to change into a low temperature low pressure saturated refrigerant state,

(4) The saturated refrigerant of low temperature and low pressure is evaporated by heat exchange with brine in the evaporator 50 to repeat the flow into the compressor 10 again.

In addition, the brine circulation path is as follows.

(1) After brine exiting the semiconductor processing equipment performs heat exchange with the refrigerant in the evaporator 50,

(2) heated by the brine heater 70 in the tank 60,

(3) A path flowing into the semiconductor processing facility is formed by the brine pump 70.

According to this conventional structure, in the semiconductor processing equipment, the cooling mode by the freon refrigerant freezer operation and the heating mode by the heater output are always operated simultaneously in order to control the temperature range of -20 ° C to 90 ° C.

Specifically, when the external load absorbs heat, the heater output is unspecifically consumed by cooling the amount of heat of the brine to an arbitrary cooling capacity by the refrigerant evaporation latent cooling method by the refrigerator operation.

In addition, in the case of the condition that the external load dissipates the heat amount, only the heating load by the heater is required and the cooling load is not necessary. Nevertheless, when the freezer operation is needed again due to the external load change in the high temperature operating condition, the freezer operation was performed unnecessarily to eliminate the temperature hunting caused by the initial operation of the freezer. Accordingly, power consumption is generated due to the electric motor driving of the compressor.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a chiller device that can reduce the overall power consumption by changing the way of controlling the temperature of the brine based on the operating area according to the temperature.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a chiller device for minimizing freezer operation.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a chiller device that minimizes heater output by varying the control method according to the selection of external load.

The above object includes a refrigerant path which repeatedly circulates a compressor, a condenser, an electronic expansion valve, and an evaporator, wherein the heat exchange is performed in thermal contact with a brine path provided to the semiconductor processing facility in the evaporator. A chiller apparatus, wherein the brine path includes a bypass path having a coolant heat exchanger and an on / off valve at a brine return stage, and a bypass path installed with a bypass valve selected to bypass the coolant heat exchanger, the coolant path configured to be in thermal contact with the condenser. Is achieved by a chiller device via the cooling water heat exchanger in parallel.

According to the above structure, the temperature range is checked, and in the case of low temperature operation, a refrigerant cooling and a low output temperature compensation heater are applied.In the case of a high temperature operation, a cooling water cooling and a temperature compensation heater heating or heating heater are used depending on the conditions of an external load. By selectively applying only heating, power consumption can be minimized.

In addition, since the operation of the freezer cycle can be restricted by applying the cooling water cooling instead of the cooling of the refrigerant, the power consumption of the refrigerator can be reduced by about half, and the number of maintenance of the refrigeration parts is reduced according to the operation restriction. Can be reduced.

In addition, since the temperature compensation heating is performed using a low output heater by external load selection, the heater output can be minimized.

In addition, the temperature hunting by the initial drive of the compressor according to the refrigerant cooling method does not occur when switching between cooling water cooling / temperature compensation heater heating and heating heater only.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a system diagram showing a chiller device of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the refrigerant path includes a path circulating through the compressor 10, the condenser 20, the receiver 30, the electronic expansion valve 40, and the evaporator 50 as in the related art. In addition, the brine path is composed of an evaporator 50, a tank 60 having heaters 62 and 64, and a brine pump 70, and the heater is a low output temperature compensating heater 64 and a high output for heating. Heater 62.

According to the present invention, the brine return stage 100 of the brine path is provided with an open-close valve 92 and a coolant heat exchanger 80 connected in series, the bypass valve 90 to bypass the coolant heat exchanger 80 Bypass paths 102 with) are connected in parallel. In addition, the cooling water paths 200 and 210 configured to be in thermal contact with the condenser 20 of the refrigerant path are configured to pass through the cooling water heat exchanger 80 in parallel.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a temperature control method applied to a chiller device of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the temperature control method will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

In general, in the semiconductor process, two channels are applied to the upper and lower portions of the chamber, respectively, one channel uses a temperature above room temperature, such as 30 ° C. to 90 ° C., and the other channel uses a temperature below room temperature. Use -20 ° C to 29 ° C. However, since there are conditions that use the entire region of -20 ° C to 90 ° C according to the characteristics of the process, the entire region should be operated for each channel.

According to the present invention, first, the operation region according to the set temperature of the semiconductor chamber is checked (step S31).

Subsequently, it is determined whether the operating region is a first operating region using a temperature below room temperature, for example, -20 ° C to 29 ° C, or a second operating region using a temperature above room temperature, such as 30 ° C to 90 ° C (step S32). ).

If the confirmed operation region is the first operation region, that is, the low temperature operation of -20 ° C to 29 ° C, the temperature is controlled by applying the first control mode (step S33).

First control mode

Referring to FIG. 2, the controller of the chiller device closes the on / off valve 92 installed in the brine return stage 100 and opens the bypass valve 90 of the bypass path 102, while the temperature compensation heater 64 is closed. To operate.

Accordingly, the brine returned from the semiconductor processing facility performs heat exchange with the refrigerant in the evaporator 50 via the bypass path 102, and then the temperature of the brine returned by the low output heater 64 of 1 kW in the tank 60. Compensation heating and supply to the semiconductor processing equipment by the brine pump 70.

In this way, the power consumption can be minimized by checking the temperature range and applying a low power temperature compensation heater for high-precision control of the cooling of the brine to the set temperature and the cooling of the brine with the freon refrigerant gas accordingly.

On the other hand, when the identified operation region is a second operation region, that is, a high temperature operation of 30 ° C to 90 ° C, the temperature is controlled by applying the second or third control mode.

To this end, it is selected whether the external load due to the heat generated inside the semiconductor chamber is a heat dissipation condition or an endothermic condition (step S34). Here, the heat dissipation condition refers to a state in which the external load, that is, the brine temperature is returned to the semiconductor processing equipment by thermal contact, is lower than the brine temperature supplied. On the other hand, the endothermic condition refers to a state in which the brine absorbs heat from the semiconductor processing equipment and the temperature of the brine returned is higher than the temperature of the brine supplied.

When the external load is an endothermic condition, that is, when the brine needs to be cooled by the amount of heat of the external load absorbed in the semiconductor chamber, that is, the cooling load is required, the temperature is controlled by applying the second control mode.

2nd control mode

2, the control unit of the chiller device stops the refrigerant cooling cycle even when the cooling load is required, and closes the bypass valve 90 installed in the brine return stage 100 and opens the shut-off valve 92 so that the brine cools. The heat compensation heater 64 is operated while passing through the heat exchanger 80.

Accordingly, the brine returned from the semiconductor process facility performs heat exchange with the cooling water circulated along the cooling water paths 200 and 210 in the cooling water heat exchanger 80, and then the low output heater 64 of 1 kW in the tank 60. Temperature compensation heating is carried out by means of), and the brine pump 70 is supplied to the semiconductor processing equipment.

As such, in the case of high temperature operation, even when the external load is an endothermic condition, the operation of the freezer cycle may be limited by applying the cooling water cooling to cool the brine using the cooling water supplied from the outside instead of the cooling of the refrigerant. Accordingly, the power consumption of the refrigerator can be reduced by about half, the number of maintenance of the refrigeration parts can be reduced according to the operation restriction, and the usage of the freon refrigerant can be reduced. In addition, since the temperature compensation heating is performed using a low output heater by external load selection, the heater output can be minimized. Moreover, the temperature hunting by the initial drive of the compressor according to the refrigerant cooling method does not occur when switching between the second mode and the third mode described later.

On the other hand, when the external load is a heat dissipation condition, that is, when the brine needs to be heated by the heat dissipation amount of the external load taken away from the chamber and that is, the heating load is required, the temperature is controlled by applying the third control mode. .

3rd control mode

Referring to FIG. 2, the controller of the chiller device stops the refrigerant cooling cycle because heating load is required, closes the on / off valve 92 installed in the brine return stage 100, and bypasses the bypass valve 102 of the bypass path 102. While opening 90, the heating heater 62 which is twice as large as the temperature compensating heater 64 is operated.

Accordingly, the brine returned from the semiconductor processing equipment flows into the tank 60 via the bypass path 102 and is heated by the high-power heater 62 of 3 kW, and is used for the semiconductor process by the brine pump 70. Supplied to the facility.

As such, in the case of high temperature operation, when the external load is a heat dissipation condition and the heating load is required, the operation of the freezer cycle can be restricted by applying the independent control by the heating heater, thereby reducing the power consumption of the refrigerator to about half and limiting the operation. As a result, the number of maintenance of the refrigeration parts is reduced, and the amount of the freon refrigerant can be reduced. In addition, since only the heater for heating is used alone without using the temperature compensation heater, the heater output can be minimized.

In the above description, the embodiment of the present invention has been described, but various changes can be made at the level of those skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above embodiment, but should be interpreted by the claims described below.

1 is a system diagram showing an example of a chiller apparatus for a conventional semiconductor processing equipment.

2 is a system diagram showing a chiller device of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a temperature control method applied to a chiller device of the present invention.

Claims (2)

A chiller device for a semiconductor process equipment, comprising a compressor, a condenser, an electronic expansion valve, and a refrigerant path repeatedly circulating through an evaporator, wherein the evaporator is in thermal contact with a brine path provided to a semiconductor process facility. The brine path includes a bypass path having a coolant heat exchanger and an opening / closing valve at a brine return stage and a bypass valve installed to bypass the coolant heat exchanger. And a cooling water path configured to be in thermal contact with the condenser passes through the cooling water heat exchanger in parallel. The method according to claim 1, A tank is installed at the rear end of the evaporator in the brine path, and a temperature compensation heater and a heating heater are installed in the tank. Check the operating area according to the temperature of the semiconductor processing equipment, and control the temperature of the brine by cooling the refrigerant and heating the temperature compensation heater in accordance with the identified operating area, or cooling the cooling water and heating the temperature compensation heater Chiller apparatus for controlling the temperature of the brine or by controlling the temperature of the brine only by heating a heater for heating.

Images