KR-20260066123-A - Gas inlet valve having a bellows actuator

KR20260066123AKR 20260066123 AKR20260066123 AKR 20260066123AKR-20260066123-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a gas inlet valve (1) for controlled fluid inflow into a vacuum process chamber, wherein the gas inlet valve (1) comprises a gas supply unit (2) having a gas inlet (21), a gas outlet (22) and an internal volume (23), a control element (31) protruding into the gas supply unit (2) having a valve disc (32) arranged within the internal volume (23), a driving unit (3) coupled to the control element (31) outside the gas supply unit (2) and providing control of the control element (31) along a control axis (V) - the valve disc (32) can be moved to an open position in an open direction (O) by the driving unit (3), wherein the valve disc (32) is spaced apart from a sealing surface (24) and fluid flow is provided - and a flexible sealing element (25). The gas application unit (2) has a temperature control array having a temperature control body (11) that at least partially surrounds a control element (31) and at least one heating element (12) that is at least partially enclosed by the temperature control body (11). The temperature control body (11) is arranged without contact with the control element (31).

Inventors

에흐네 플로리안
티슈하우저 토비아스
즈보켈즈 피터

Assignees

배트 홀딩 아게

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240904
Priority Date: 20230905

Claims (17)

As a gas inlet valve (1) for controlled fluid inflow into a vacuum process chamber, The above gas inlet valve (1) is: A gas application unit (2) having a gas inlet (21), a gas outlet (22), and an internal volume (23) connecting the gas inlet (21) and the gas outlet (22) - the gas application unit has a sealing surface (24) on the internal volume (23) -, A adjusting element (31) protruding into the gas application unit (2) by having a valve disc (32) arranged within the internal volume (23) - the adjusting element (31) is mounted to be movable along an adjusting axis (V) in a closed direction (S) and an open direction (O) -, A driving unit (3) coupled to the adjusting element (31) on the outside of the gas application unit (2) and providing adjustment of the adjusting element (31) along the adjusting axis (V) - the valve disc (32) can be moved to an open position in the opening direction (O) by the driving unit (3), wherein the valve disc (32) is spaced apart from the sealing surface (24) and fluid flow is provided -, It includes a flexible sealing element (25) connected to the gas application unit (2) and the adjustment element (31) to atmospherically separate the driving unit (3) from the internal volume (23), and The above gas application unit (2) is, A temperature control body (11) that at least partially surrounds the above adjustment element (31), and A temperature control array having at least one heating element (12) that is at least partially enclosed by the temperature control body (11), and A gas inlet valve (1) characterized in that the temperature control body (11) is arranged without contact with the adjustment element (31).
In paragraph 1, The above temperature control body (11) is greater than 20 W/(m*K), In particular, a gas inlet valve (1) having a material having a thermal conductivity of more than 200 W/(m*K) or made of such material.
In paragraph 1 or 2, The above temperature control body (11) is a gas inlet valve (1) that includes copper or is made of copper and/or is ring-shaped.
In any one of paragraphs 1 through 3, The temperature control body (11) has at least one first recess for accommodating at least one heating element (12), and the first recess corresponds to the shape or spatial range of the at least one heating element (12) with respect to the shape and/or spatial range. The above at least one heating element (12) is a gas inlet valve (1) inserted into the first recess.
In any one of paragraphs 1 through 4, The above gas inlet valve is a gas inlet valve (1) that includes a sensor (14), particularly a thermocouple, to generate temperature information.
In paragraph 5, The temperature control body (11) has at least one second recess for accommodating the sensor (14), and the second recess corresponds to the shape or spatial range of the sensor (14) with respect to the shape and/or spatial range. The sensor (14) is a gas inlet valve (1) that is inserted into the second recess.
In paragraph 5 or 6, The above gas inlet valve includes a control unit having a temperature control function, and when the temperature control function is executed, Current temperature information for the temperature control body (11), the adjustment element (31), or the flexible sealing element (25) is detected by the sensor (14), and The heating element (12) is a gas inlet valve (1) that is controlled based on the current temperature information and the set point temperature.
In any one of paragraphs 1 through 7, The temperature control body (11) has one or more additional recesses for accommodating additional heating elements and/or additional sensors, The above additional heating element or the above additional sensor is a gas inlet valve (1) that is inserted into the above one or more additional recesses.
In any one of paragraphs 4 through 8, The gas inlet valve (1), wherein the first recess and/or the second recess and/or the additional recess includes a passage opening (13) in the direction of the flexible sealing element (25).
In any one of paragraphs 1 through 9, The above flexible sealing element (25) is designed as a flexible membrane, and The flexible membrane (25) is connected to the adjustment element (31) by clamps, and The above flexible membrane (25) is a gas inlet valve (1) formed from a metal-containing core material.
In any one of paragraphs 1 through 10, The flexible sealing element (25) and/or the adjusting element (31) have a surface coating that provides a thermal conductivity greater than the thermal conductivity of the core material, particularly greater than 20 W/(m*K), particularly greater than 100 W/(m*K) or 200 W/(m*K), gas inlet valve (1).
In Paragraph 11, The above surface coating has a layer thickness in the range of 10 μm to 60 μm, gas inlet valve (1).
In Article 11 or Article 12, The above surface coating comprises silver, copper, gold or aluminum or a combination thereof, or is formed from the gas inlet valve (1).
As a gas inlet valve (1) for controlled fluid inflow into a vacuum process chamber, The above gas inlet valve (1) is: A gas application unit (2) having a gas inlet (21), a gas outlet (22), and an internal volume (23) connecting the gas inlet (21) and the gas outlet (22) - the gas application unit has a sealing surface (24) on the internal volume (23) -, A adjusting element (31) protruding into the gas application unit (2) by having a valve disc (32) arranged within the internal volume (23) - the adjusting element (31) is mounted to be movable along an adjusting axis (V) in a closed direction (S) and an open direction (O) -, A driving unit (3) coupled to the adjusting element (31) on the outside of the gas application unit (2) and providing adjustment of the adjusting element (31) along the adjusting axis (V) - the valve disc (32) can be moved to an open position in the opening direction (O) by the driving unit (3), wherein the valve disc (32) is spaced apart from the sealing surface (24) and fluid flow is provided -, It includes a flexible sealing element (25) connected to the gas application unit (2) and the adjustment element (31) to atmospherically separate the drive unit (3) from the internal volume (23), and The above flexible sealing element (25) is designed as a flexible membrane, and The flexible membrane (25) is connected to the adjustment element (31) by clamps, and The flexible membrane (25) is formed from a metal-containing core material, and The above flexible membrane (25) is characterized by having a surface coating that provides a thermal conductivity greater than the thermal conductivity of the core material, in a gas inlet valve (1).
In Paragraph 14, A gas inlet valve (1) having a thermal conductivity of the above surface coating of greater than 20 W/(m*K), particularly greater than 100 W/(m*K) or 200 W/(m*K).
In paragraph 14 or 15, The above surface coating has a layer thickness of at least 10 μm, particularly up to 60 μm, of a gas inlet valve (1).
In any one of paragraphs 14 through 16, The above surface coating comprises silver, copper, gold or aluminum or a combination thereof, or is formed from the gas inlet valve (1).

Description

Gas inlet valve having a bellows actuator The present invention relates to a gas inlet valve for introducing fluid into a vacuum process chamber. These vacuum process chambers are used for the production of integrated circuits (ICs), semiconductors, flat panels, or substrates, where the vacuum chamber is flooded with process gas after evacuation for at least part of the process step. Production must be carried out in a protected atmosphere, and preferably without contaminant particles. Evacuation is performed using a vacuum valve that connects the vacuum process chamber to a vacuum pump, which differs from a gas inlet valve in terms of its design and technical requirements. Additionally, such vacuum chambers have at least one or two vacuum chamber openings that allow elements to be processed to be guided into and/or from the vacuum chambers. For example, in a production system for semiconductor wafers or liquid crystal substrates, highly sensitive semiconductor or liquid crystal elements pass through several vacuum process chambers sequentially, and in each vacuum process chamber, the elements are processed by a processing device. For example, the element can be placed by a robot onto an extended support pin of a lifting system and, by lowering the support pin, placed onto a carrier, e.g., a dislocation plate (chuck). Typically, the robot arm carrying the element is then moved out of the chamber. The pin can be lowered after the element is seated and then separated from the element, meaning there is no contact between the pin and the element. After removing the robot arm and closing the chamber, the chamber is typically evacuated and filled with process gas, after which the processing of the element can begin. A gas inlet valve is provided to fill the process chamber with one or more specific process gases or precursors. This enables different substrate processing, such as targeted deposition of a material layer on a wafer or etching on the wafer surface. In particular, for this purpose, a specific amount of process fluid is released into the process chamber, and, for example, a reaction between the wafer and the process fluid is initiated or accelerated by plasma. Gas inlet valves are designed specifically for the defined control or regulation of gas flow rates and are located, for example, within a piping system between a vacuum process chamber (or transfer chamber) and a gas source, atmosphere, or another vacuum process chamber. The opening cross-section of such gas inlet valves is generally smaller than that of vacuum valves. Depending on the application, the gas inlet valve may be used not only to fully open and close the opening, but also to control or regulate flow by continuously adjusting the opening cross-section between an open position and a hermetically closed position. When introducing process gas into a vacuum chamber, it is crucial that the hydrodynamic effects within the chamber are minimized and that the chamber is filled quickly and precisely. For example, a defined amount or volume of process gas must be introduced into the chamber within a single opening cycle of the gas inlet valve. To achieve this, rapid valve operation and precise adjustment of the valve opening cross-section provided by the process are desirable. Some processing steps are typically performed at elevated process temperatures, particularly above 100°C or above 150°C. The temperature difference between the process gas and the valve components in contact with this process gas can result in non-uniform fluid flow or fluid distribution or undesirable deposition processes on the valve. In particular, one consequence of such undesirable deposition processes may be a reduction in reliability and precision due to a shortened lifespan of the gas inlet valve or an increase in operating time, particularly in relation to the amount of gas applied by the valve per process cycle. Further advantages of the present invention can be seen from the detailed description and drawings. FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a gas inlet valve according to the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a side view of a gas inlet valve according to the present invention as illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 illustrates a gas application unit of a gas inlet valve according to the present invention in a cross-section perpendicular to the adjustment axis. FIGS. 1 and FIGS. 2 illustrate exemplary embodiments of a gas inlet valve (1) according to the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the valve (1) to illustrate a concept according to the present invention. FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the gas inlet valve (1). The gas inlet valve (1) has a gas supply unit (2), the gas supply unit (2) has, in turn, a gas inlet (21), a gas outlet (22), and an internal volume (23), wherein the internal volume (23) has free access to or connects the gas inlet (21) and the gas outlet (22). The gas supply unit (2) has a sealing surface