Patent ID: 7172731

Claim:
An apparatus for releasing pressure in a vacuum exhaust system of semiconductor equipment, said apparatus comprising: a process tool including a gas reaction chamber, said process tool connecting a first gas piping to exhaust a waste gas in said gas reaction chamber; and a gas-exploding unit including a gas-exploding chamber, a pressure sensor, a gas valve, and a gas-exploding device for sealing an opening in a wall of said gas-exploding chamber, wherein said gas-exploding chamber is connected with said first gas piping to receive said waste gas from said gas reaction chamber, said waste gas in said gas-exploding chamber is transported to a local scrubber through a second gas piping and then exhausted to a central scrubber, said pressure sensor is used to detect a pressure in said gas-exploding chamber, such that while said pressure in said gas-exploding chamber detected by said pressure sensor is larger than a reference value, said process tool is shutdown, and said gas valve is then opened to release said waste gas to said central scrubber through a third gas piping.