Patent Publication Number: US-2020284367-A1

Title: Joint block and fluid control system using same

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a joint block and a fluid control system that uses the joint block. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART 
     As a fluid control system used to supply various gases to a processing chamber of a semiconductor manufacturing system or the like, there have been known, for example, the system disclosed in Patent Document 1. 
     In the fluid control system disclosed in Patent Document 1, a plurality of process gas assemblies  50 ,  52 ,  54 ,  56 ,  58  extending from an upstream side toward a downstream side are arranged in parallel on a common plate, and a purge gas assembly  60  is disposed adjacent to the process gas assembly  58 . The purge gas assembly  60  plays a role of supplying a purge gas to a gas flow path of the process gas assemblies as necessary. 
     PATENT DOCUMENTS 
     
         
         Patent Document 1: JP2001-521120A 
       
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Problems to be Solved by the Invention 
     In a fluid control system such as described above, an interlock, that is, a safety system, is always provided. In Patent Document 1, manual valves  130 ,  176  are provided on the upstream side of the plurality of process gas assemblies and on the upstream side of the purge gas assembly, respectively, and automatic valves  134 ,  280  are provided adjacent to the downstream sides of the manual valves  130 ,  176 , respectively. 
     However, in the field of a fluid control system such as described above, higher responsiveness is required to control the supply of the various gases. To this end, the fluid control system needs to be made more compact and integrated to the extent possible to install the system closer to the processing chamber serving as the gas supply destination. 
     Further, along with increase in the size of the materials to be processed, such as the increase in size of the diameter of the semiconductor wafer, it becomes necessary to also increase a supply flow rate of the fluid supplied from the fluid control system into the processing chamber accordingly. 
     When the fluid control system is simply made more compact, the cross-sectional area of the fluid flow path also decreases, and the supply flow rate is also reduced. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a joint block suitable for making the fluid control system more compact. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluid control system that uses the joint block described above and, without reducing the supply flow rate of a fluid, is considerably more compact and integrated. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing method and a semiconductor manufacturing system that use the fluid control system described above. 
     Means for Solving the Problems 
     A joint block according to the present invention is a joint block defining an upper surface and a bottom surface opposing each other, and side surfaces extending from the upper surface toward the bottom surface side, and comprises: 
     a main flow path that includes a flow path extending inside the joint block from one end side toward the other end side in a longitudinal direction, and one end side opening and the other end side opening that open on one end side and the other end side at the upper surface, 
     a sub flow path that includes a flow path extending inside the joint block from one end side toward the other end side in the longitudinal direction, and a first opening that opens on one end side and a second opening that opens on a downstream side at the upper surface, the first opening and the second opening being formed between the one end side opening and the other end side opening in the longitudinal direction, and 
     a connecting flow path that is connected to the main flow path at one end part, and includes a third opening that opens at the upper surface and opens between the second opening of the sub flow path and the other end side opening of the main flow path in the longitudinal direction at the other end part. 
     The main flow path is formed so as to partially overlap with the sub flow path and the connecting flow path in a top view, and is formed independently from the sub flow path. 
     A fluid control system according to the present invention comprises: 
     a plurality of fluid devices arranged in one direction, 
     the joint block described in claim  1 , and 
     a pipeline member connected with the first opening of the sub flow path. 
     At least one of the plurality of fluid devices is disposed on the second opening and the third opening of the upper surface of the joint block, and includes a body that defines a flow path interconnecting the second opening and the third opening. 
     A semiconductor manufacturing method according to the present invention is a semiconductor manufacturing method that uses the fluid control system described above, and comprises the steps of: 
     connecting a most-downstream side end part interconnected to the main flow path to a processing chamber, 
     interconnecting all of the sub flow paths with the main flow path via the connecting flow path, and supplying a purge gas to such a reactor through the first openings of the sub flow paths, and 
     blocking the interconnection of the sub flow paths with the main flow path via the connecting flow path, and supplying a gas other than the purge gas to the reactor through the main flow path. 
     A semiconductor manufacturing system of the present invention is a semiconductor manufacturing system including the fluid control system described above. 
     A most-downstream side end part interconnected to the main flow path is connected to a processing chamber, all of the sub flow paths are interconnected with the main flow path via the connecting flow path, and a purge gas is supplied to the processing chamber through the first openings of the sub flow paths, the interconnection of the sub flow paths with the main flow path via the connecting flow path is blocked, and a gas other than the purge gas is supplied to the processing chamber through the main flow path. 
     Effect of the Invention 
     According to the present invention, in a fluid control assembly including a plurality of fluid devices arranged in one direction and connected to each other by a main flow path that allows a process gas or the like to flow therethrough, it is possible to integrate a sub flow path that allows a purge gas or the like to flow therethrough and fluid devices, such as a valve device that opens and closes the sub flow path, and to make the fluid control system more compact. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of a fluid control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1B  is a top view of the fluid control system in  FIG. 1A . 
         FIG. 1C  is a front view partially including a cross section along line  1 C- 1 C in  FIG. 1B . 
         FIG. 2A  is a joint block according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2B  is a top view of the joint block in  FIG. 2A . 
         FIG. 2C  is a sectional view along line  2 C- 2 C of the joint block in  FIG. 2B . 
         FIG. 3A  is a front view including a partial cross section of a fluid control system according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3B  is a sectional view of the joint block used in the fluid control system in  FIG. 3A . 
         FIG. 4  is a front view including a partial cross section of a fluid control system according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing illustrating a configuration example of a semiconductor manufacturing system to which a fluid control system  1  is applied. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that, in this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same function are denoted using the same reference numeral, and duplicate descriptions thereof are omitted. 
       FIGS. 1A to 1C  are drawings illustrating a structure of a fluid control system  1  according to an embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that arrows A 1 , A 2  in  FIGS. 1A to 1C  indicate directions in which fluid devices are arranged, and here are longitudinal directions, A 1  being an upstream side and A 2  being a downstream side. Arrows B 1 , B 2  indicate width directions orthogonal to the longitudinal directions. 
     The fluid control system  1  is used to supply various gases to a processing chamber of a semiconductor manufacturing system or the like. 
     Here, before a description is made of the fluid control system  1 , a configuration example of the semiconductor manufacturing system to which the fluid control system  1  is applied is illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
     A semiconductor manufacturing system  1000  includes the fluid control system  1 , a processing chamber  600 , and a vacuum pump  800 . 
     Various gases G are supplied from a gas supply source  502  and a purge gas PG is supplied from a purge gas supply source  501  to the fluid control system  1 . 
     A gas that passes through the fluid control system  1  is supplied to a shower plate  601  in the processing chamber  600 . A wafer W is disposed on a stage  602  provided below the shower plate  601 . The wafer W is processed by the gas from the shower plate  601 . A voltage is applied between the shower plate  601  and the stage  602  by a power source. During the processing of the wafer W, the pressure inside the processing chamber  600  is reduced by the vacuum pump  800 . 
     As understood from  FIGS. 1A to 1C , a plurality of (three) fluid control assemblies AS 1 , AS 2 , AS 3  extending in the longitudinal directions A 1 , A 2  are arranged in the width directions B 1 , B 2  on a base sheet metal  100 . 
     The fluid control assemblies AS 1 , AS 2 , AS 3  have a common structure and include joint blocks  60 ,  50 ,  61 ,  62 ,  63 ,  64  arranged in a row in the longitudinal directions A 1 , A 2  on the base metal plate  100 , and a manual valve  110 , an automatic valve  120 , a manual valve  130 , an automatic valve  140 , an automatic valve  150 , a mass flow controller (MFC)  160 , and an automatic valve  170  as fluid devices fixed on the plurality of joint blocks. 
     In the joint block  60 , a pipe part  60   a  for introducing a gas GS other than the purge gas PG is formed protruding from a side surface, and a flow path  60   b  formed in a block interior and interconnected with the pipe part  60   a  opens at an upper surface and is connected with a bottom surface side opening of a flow path formed in a body of the manual valve  110 . 
     A seal member SL having a ring shape and formed by a metal or a resin is provided to a periphery of an opening of the joint block  60  and an opening of the manual valve  110 , and pressed by a tightening force of a bolt that tightens the joint block  60  and the body of the manual valve  110 , sealing the area between the openings. This seal structure is the same between the other joint blocks and the bodies of fluid devices. 
     The joint block  61  fluidly connects the manual valve  110  and the automatic valve  120  via a flow path  61   a.    
     The joint block  62  fluidly connects the automatic valve  150  and the MFC  160  via a flow path  62   a.    
     The joint block  63  fluidly connects the MFC  160  and the automatic valve  170  via a flow path  63   a.    
     The joint block  64  has a structure common to the joint block  60 , and outputs the gas GS or the purge gas PG from a pipe part  64   a  through a flow path  64   b  fluidly connected with the automatic valve  170 . The pipe part  64   a  is connected to the processing chamber  600  of the semiconductor manufacturing system  1000  via piping. 
       FIGS. 2A to 2C  are drawings illustrating the structure of the joint block  50 . In  FIGS. 2A to 2C , the arrows C 1 , C 2  indicate longitudinal directions, C 1  being a longitudinal direction upstream side and C 2  being a longitudinal direction downstream side. Arrows D 1 , D 2  indicate width directions orthogonal to the longitudinal directions C 1 , C 2 . 
     The joint block  50  is a block made of a metal and formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and defines an upper surface  50   a  and a bottom surface  50   b  opposing each other, end surfaces  50   c ,  50   d  on the upstream side and the downstream side extending from the upper surface  50   a  toward the bottom surface  50   b  side, and two side surfaces  50   e   1 ,  50   e   2  extending from the upper surface  50   a  toward the bottom surface  50   b  side along the longitudinal directions C 1 , C 2 . Reference numeral  55  denotes a screw hole for screwing a bolt for tightening the body of a fluid device or a piping joint to the upper surface, and reference numeral  56  denotes a through hole for inserting a bolt for attaching the joint block  50  to the base sheet metal  100 . 
     A main flow path  51  includes a flow path (long path part)  51   a  extending inside the joint block  50  from the upstream side toward the downstream side in the longitudinal directions C 1 , C 2 , a flow path  51   b  extending vertically relative to the upper surface  50   a  and connected with the flow path  51   a  on the upstream side, and a flow path  51   c  extending so as to obliquely incline relative to the upper surface  50   a  and connected with the flow path  51   a  on the downstream side. A downstream side end part of the flow path  51   a  is interconnected with an opening  58 , a closing member  200  is provided to the downstream side end part of the flow path  51   a  through the opening  58  and fixed by a fixing means such as welding, to thereby close the downstream side end part of the flow path  51   a.    
     The main flow path  51  includes an upstream side opening  51   d  as one end side opening where the flow path  51   b  opens at the upper surface  50   a , and a downstream side opening  51   e  as the other end side opening where the flow path  51   c  opens at the upper surface  50   a . A protrusion having an annular shape for pressing the seal member SL described above, and a holding part that holds the seal member SL are provided on outer peripheral parts of the upstream side opening  51   d  and the downstream side opening  51   e , but descriptions thereof are omitted. Further, the openings at the upper surface of all joint blocks of the present embodiment have the same configuration. 
     In the present embodiment, the flow path extending from the downstream side opening  51   e  as the other end side opening to the flow path (long path part)  51   a  extends obliquely from the upper surface  50   a  in the longitudinal direction. Nevertheless, the flow path  51   b  extending vertically from the upstream side opening  51   d  serving as one end side opening to the long path part  51   a  may also extend obliquely from the upper surface  50   a  in the longitudinal direction, or only the flow path  51   b  extending from the upstream side opening  51   d  may extend obliquely in the longitudinal direction. 
     A sub flow path  52 A includes flow paths  52   a ,  52   b  extending inside the joint block  50  from the upstream side toward the downstream side in the longitudinal directions C 1 , C 2 , inclined reversely to each other, and internally connected, and a first opening  52   c  and a second opening  52   d  that open on the upstream side and the downstream side at the upper surface  50   a . The first and second openings are formed between the upstream side opening  51   d  and the downstream side opening  51   e  in the longitudinal directions C 1 , C 2 . 
     A sub flow path  52 B is formed on the downstream side of the sub flow path  52 A and, similar to the sub flow path  52 A, includes the flow paths  52   a ,  52   b  as well as the first opening  52   c  and the second opening  52   d  that open on the upstream side and the downstream side at the upper surface  50   a.    
     A connecting flow path  53  is formed so as to incline relative to the upper surface  50   a , and one end part inside the joint block  50  is connected to the middle of the flow path  51   c  of the main flow path  51 . The other end part of the connecting flow path  53  includes an opening  53   a  serving as a third opening that opens at the upper surface  50   a . The opening  53   a  is positioned between the second opening  52   d  of the sub flow path  52 B and the downstream side opening  51   e  of the main flow path  51  in the longitudinal directions C 1 , C 2 . In the present embodiment, the connecting flow path  53  extends obliquely from the upper surface  50   a  to the other end side in the longitudinal direction. The connecting flow path  53 , however, may open orthogonal to the upper surface  50   a  and be connected with the main flow path  51 . 
     Here, the positional relationship between the main flow path  51 , the sub flow paths  52 A,  52 B, and the connecting flow path  53  described above will be described. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2B , the main flow path  51 , the sub flow paths  52 A,  52 B, and the connecting flow path  53  are disposed overlapping in a top view. Additionally, the main flow path  51 , as illustrated in  FIG. 2C , is formed so as to detour in the bottom surface  50   b  side to circumvent the sub flow paths  52 A,  52 B. As a result, the main flow path  51  is disposed in a path different from the sub flow path  52 A or  52 B inside the joint block  50 , forming an independent flow path not mutually connected. While a plurality of the sub flow paths  52 A or  52 B are disposed in the longitudinal direction, the number of sub flow paths may be one or may be three or more. 
     It should be noted that, while the main flow path  51 , the sub flow paths  52 A,  52 B, and the connecting flow path  53  are disposed overlapping in a top view in the present embodiment, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto and these flow paths may be disposed partially overlapping. Further, while the openings of the main flow path  51 , the sub flow paths  52 A,  52 B, and the connecting flow path  53  are disposed on a straight line in the present embodiment, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto and a configuration in which the positions of the openings deviate in the width directions D 1 , D 2  can also be adopted. 
     The main flow path  51 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1C , is fluidly connected with the flow path formed in the body of the automatic valve  120 , allowing the pressure-regulated gas GS other than the purge gas PG to flow therethrough. 
     The first opening  52   c  of the sub flow path  52 A, as illustrated in  FIG. 1C , is fluidly connected with a gas supply pipe  181  for purge gas supply. The gas supply pipe  181  is fluidly connected to the first opening  52   c  of the sub flow path  52 A of the joint block  50  of the plurality of fluid control assemblies AS 1  to AS 3 , these gas supply pipes  181  are fluidly connected to each other by a gas supply pipe  182  as illustrated in  FIG. 1B  and the like, and the gas supply pipe  182  is fluidly connected to a gas supply pipe  180  introduced from outside the device, as illustrated in  FIG. 1A . The purge gas PG is supplied from the outside through the gas supply pipe  180 . 
     The second opening  52   d  of the sub flow path  52 A and the first opening  52   c  of the sub flow path  52 B are fluidly connected with two openings that open toward the bottom surface of the body of the manual valve  130 , and the sub flow path  52 A and the sub flow path  52 B are fluidly connected via the flow path of the manual valve  130 . 
     The second opening  52   d  of the sub flow path  52 B and the opening  53   a  of the connecting flow path  53  are fluidly connected with two openings that open toward the bottom surface of the body of the automatic valve  140 , and the sub flow path  52 B and the main flow path  51  are fluidly connected via the flow path of the automatic valve  140  and the connecting flow path  53 . 
     In the fluid control system  1  of the above-described configuration, when the gas GS other than the purge gas PG is supplied to the processing chamber  600  and predetermined conditions are all satisfied, the manual valve  110  is released, the automatic valve  120  is also released, and the manual valve  130  and the automatic valve  140  are closed. As a result, the main flow path  51  of the joint block  50  is fluidly connected to the processing chamber  600  through the pipe part  64   a  of the joint block  64 , which is the most-downstream side end part interconnected thereto. Then, the gas GS supplied through the pipe part  60   a  of the joint block  60  flows through the main flow path  51  and is ultimately supplied to the processing chamber  600 . 
     In the fluid control system  1  of the above-described configuration, when the purge gas PG is supplied to the processing chamber  600  and predetermined conditions are all satisfied, the manual valve  110  is closed, the automatic valve  120  is also closed, and the manual valve  130  and the automatic valve  140  are released. As a result, all of the sub flow paths  52 A,  52 B of the joint block  50  are fluidly connected to the main flow path  51  via the connecting flow path  53 , and the purge gas PG supplied from the gas supply pipe  180  flows through the sub flow paths  52 A,  52 B, the connecting flow path  53 , and the main flow path  51 , and is ultimately supplied to the processing chamber  600 . 
     According to the present embodiment, the joint block  50  is used to integrate the purge gas supply path with a supply path of a gas other than the purge gas PG, such as a process gas or a cleaning gas, eliminating the need for an independent purge gas assembly for the purge gas PG and making it possible to decrease the dimensions of the device, particularly the dimensions in the width directions B 1 , B 2 . 
     It should be noted that, while the joint block  50  described in the present embodiment exemplifies a case where the supply system of the purge gas PG and the supply system of the gas GS other than the purge gas are integrated, the joint block is applicable to combinations other than such a combination of gases as well. 
     While the upper surface  50   a  of the joint block  50  is a flat surface in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto and may be a curved surface or a surface with bumps or unevenness. 
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  are drawings illustrating another embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that the fluid control system  1  according to the above-described embodiment and a fluid control system  1 B illustrated in  FIG. 3A  differ in that hybrid valves  210 ,  220  are used in place of the manual valves  110 ,  130  and the automatic valve  120 , and a joint block  50 B is used in place of the joint block  50 . 
     The hybrid valves  210 ,  220  are valves capable of automatic and manual operation. 
     The joint block  50 B includes only the sub flow path  52 A and not the sub flow path  52 B. All other components are the same as those of the joint block  50  described above. 
     By adopting such a joint block  50 B, it is possible to make the device even more compact. 
       FIG. 4  is a drawing illustrating yet another embodiment of the present invention. 
     In the joint block  50  of a fluid control system  1 C illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the other end side, where the connecting flow path  53  is disposed, is disposed on the upstream side, and the other end side is disposed on the downstream side. 
     According to this configuration, when the manual valve  110  and the automatic valve  120  are closed and the manual valve  130  and the automatic valve  140  are opened to supply the purge gas PG, it is possible to allow the purge gas to flow through the main flow path  51  through the sub flow paths  52 A,  53 B and the connecting flow path  53 , and reliably implement purge treatment inside the main flow path  51 . 
     DESCRIPTIONS OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
           1 ,  1 B,  1 C Fluid control system 
           50 ,  50 B Joint block 
           51  Main flow path 
           52 A,  52 B Sub flow path 
           53  Connecting flow path 
           60 ,  61 ,  62 ,  63 ,  64  Joint block 
           110  Automatic valve (Fluid device) 
           120  Automatic valve (Fluid device) 
           130  Manual valve (Fluid device) 
           140  Filter (Fluid device) 
           150  Automatic valve (Fluid device) 
           160  Mass flow controller (Fluid device) 
           170  Automatic valve (Fluid device) 
           180 ,  181 ,  182  Gas supply pipe 
           210 ,  220  Hybrid valve 
         AS 1  to AS 3  Fluid control assembly 
         GS Gas 
         PG Purge gas 
         A 1 , A 2  Longitudinal direction (One direction) 
         B 1 , B 2  Width direction 
         C 1 , C 2  Longitudinal direction