Shutoff-opening device

Abstract

A first on-off valve (2) and a second on-off valve (3) each are a two-port valve. A first passage block (5) is provided with a first on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage (11) and a first on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage (12). A second passage block (6) is provided with a second on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage (14) and a second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage (15). The second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage (15) is in communication with an upstream side portion of the first on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage (12) via a communicating passage (13) formed in the first passage block (5). An orifice (20) is provided between the second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage (15) and the communicating passage (13).

Claims

1. A shutoff-opening device in a gas supply section of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, comprising: a first on-off valve, which supplies a process gas, disposed on a front end of the shutoff-opening device; a second on-off valve, which supplies a purge gas, adjacent to a rear side of the first on-off valve; and a passage block supporting the first on-off valve and the second on-off valve on a top surface of the passage block, wherein each of the first on-off valve and the second on-off valve is a two-port valve, and the passage block is provided with: a first on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage which is directly open to an exterior of the passage block via a first on-off valve-corresponding communicating passage, through which the process gas flows, a first on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage which is directly open to the exterior of the passage block, a second on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage which is directly open to the exterior of the passage block, and a second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage directly connected to a communicating passage, the second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage is in communication with the first on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage directly via a the communicating passage formed in the passage block without passing through an inside of the first on-off valve, and an orifice gasket having a through hole diameter which is smaller than a diameter of the second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage and a diameter of the communicating passage, the orifice gasket forming a throttling portion connected between the second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage and the communicating passage, to prevent backflow from the communicating passage to the second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage.

2. The shutoff-opening device according to claim 1, further comprising: a third on-off valve disposed on a rear end of the shutoff-opening device and adjacent to a rear side of the second on-off valve and supported by the passage block, the third on-off valve controlling a vent line connected to the first on-off valve corresponding communication passage, wherein the third on-off valve is a two-port valve, and the passage block is provided with: a third on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage, and a third on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage, and the first on-off valve-corresponding communicating passage has one end that is directly open to an outer surface of the passage block, and the first on-off valve-corresponding communicating passage is in communication with the third on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a side view of a shutoff-opening device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the shutoff-opening device shown in FIG. 1.

(3) FIG. 3 is a plan view of a major part (in the state of on-off valves being removed) of FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the major part shown in FIG. 3.

(5) FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view showing a first on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage of a first passage block.

(6) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the major part of FIG. 1.

(7) FIG. 7 is a side view showing one example of a conventional shutoff-opening device, with a part of which being partially cut out.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

(8) 1: shutoff-opening device, 2: first on-off valve, 3: second on-off valve, 4: third on-off valve, 5: first passage block, 6: second passage block, 11: first on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage, 12: first on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage, 13: communicating passage, 14: second on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage, 15: second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage, 16: third on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage, 17: third on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage, 18: first on-off valve-corresponding communicating passage, 20: orifice (throttling portion)

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(9) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the upper and lower sides of FIG. 1 are referred to as upper and lower, respectively. Likewise, the right and left sides of FIG. 1 are referred to as front and rear, respectively. In addition, the right and left sides when seen from the rear side toward the front side as described above are referred to as right and left, respectively.

(10) A shutoff-opening device 1 is, for example, disposed in the close vicinity of a processing furnace (not shown) of a semiconductor processing apparatus, and includes: a first on-off valve 2 disposed on a front side (downstream side); a second on-off valve 3 adjacent to a rear side (upstream side) of the first on-off valve 2; a third on-off valve 4 adjacent to a rear side (upstream side) of the second on-off valve 3; a first passage block 5 having the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and supporting the first on-off valve 2; a second passage block 6 having the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and supporting the second on-off valve 3 and the third on-off valve 4; and a joint 7 provided on a front surface (end surface of the downstream side) of the first passage block 5 and to be connected to a processing furnace (external device).

(11) The first on-off valve 2, the second on-off valve 3, and the third on-off valve 4 are two-port diaphragm valves, and are attached on upper surfaces of the corresponding passage blocks 5 and 6. The diaphragm valve, although not shown, includes: a body (in this shutoff-opening device 1, the passage blocks 5 and 6 are bodies for the on-off valves 2, 3, and 4) provided with a fluid passage; a diaphragm that is pressed against or is separated from an annular valve seat provided on a peripheral edge of the fluid passage to close or open the fluid passage; a vertically movable valve rod provided at a lower end thereof with a diaphragm presser; and the like.

(12) The first passage block 5 includes: a substantially L-shaped first on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage 11 having one end that is in communication with one location (inlet port) 11a of an annular groove 2a provided on a bottom surface of a valve chamber of the first on-off valve 2, and having the other end that is open to a rear surface of the first passage block 5; and a substantially L-shaped first on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 12 having one end that is in communication with an outlet port 12a at a middle of a valve chamber of the first on-off valve 2, and having the other end that is open to a front surface of the first passage block 5.

(13) The second passage block 6 includes: a second on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage 14; a substantially L-shaped second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 15; a substantially L-shaped third on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage 16; a third on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 17; and a first on-off valve-corresponding communicating passage 18. The second on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage 14 consists of: at one end thereof, a relatively short vertical portion 14b that is in communication with one location (inlet port) 14a of an annular groove 3a provided on a bottom surface of a valve chamber of the second on-off valve 3; and, at the other end thereof, a relatively long inclination portion 14c that is open to an upper surface of the second passage block 6 between the second on-off valve 3 and the third on-off valve 4. The second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 15 has: one end that is in communication with an outlet port 15a at a middle of a valve chamber of the second on-off valve 3; and the other end that is open to a front surface of the second passage block 6. The third on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage 16 has: one end that is in communication with one location (inlet port) 16a of an annular groove 4a provided on a bottom surface of a valve chamber of the third on-off valve 4; and the other end that is open to a rear surface of the second passage block 6. The third on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 17 has: one end that is in communication with an outlet port 17a at a middle of a valve chamber of the third on-off valve 4; and the other end that is in the vicinity of a lower surface of the second passage block 6. The first on-off valve-corresponding communicating passage 18 has: one end that is open to a rear surface of the second passage block 6; the other end that is open to a front surface of the second passage block 6; and an intermediate portion that is in communication with a lower end of the third on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 17.

(14) Excluding the inlet port 11a of the first on-off valve 2, the inlet ports 14a and 16a and the outlet ports 12a, 15a, and 17a are provided so as to be arranged in one row (in the front-rear direction) in the direction parallel to a center line of the shutoff-opening device 1. The inlet port 11a of the first on-off valve 2 is disposed so as to be shifted to the right side from the other ports 14a, 16a, 12a, 15a, and 17a.

(15) A nitrogen gas purge line is connected to an opening of an upper surface of the second on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage 14. A process gas supply line is connected to an opening of a rear surface of the first on-off valve-corresponding communicating passage 18. A vacuum vent line is connected to an opening of a rear surface of the third on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage 16.

(16) The first passage block 5 is further provided with a communicating passage 13 extending in the front-rear direction and causing an opening of the front side of the second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 15 to be in communication with an upstream-side portion of the first on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 12.

(17) The first on-off valve-corresponding communicating passage 18 consists of: a first portion 18a that extends rearward from a portion being in communication with the lower end of the third on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 17 and is open to the rear surface (outer surface) of the second passage block 6; and a second portion 18b that extends forward from the portion being in communication with the lower end of the third on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 17, is open to the front surface of the second passage block 6, and is in communication with the first on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage 11.

(18) The second portion 18b is in communication with the first on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage 11 via a seal portion 19 at a butt surface of the first passage block 5 and the second passage block 6. To form the seal portion 19, as shown in FIG. 4, a gasket is used as the major component, in which the diameter of a through hole 19a is equal to the diameter of the second portion 18b of the first on-off valve-corresponding communicating passage 18 and the diameter of the first on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage 11.

(19) Between the second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 15 and the communicating passage 13, an orifice 20 that is provided at the butt surface of the first passage block 5 and the second passage block 6 is disposed. To form the orifice 20, an orifice gasket is used as the major component, in which the diameter of a through hole 20a is extremely smaller than the diameter of the second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 15 and the diameter of the communicating passage 13. The orifice 20 forms a throttling portion, whereby the pressure is high on the upstream side of the orifice 20 and the velocity of flow of the fluid is at the maximum immediately after the passage of the orifice 20.

(20) The first passage block 5 is connected to the second passage block 6 by screwing the bolt having been inserted through a bolt insertion hole 5a provided at the first passage block 5, to a female screw portion provided at the second passage block 6.

(21) In the above-described shutoff-opening device 1, in the state where the first on-off valve 2 is open and the second on-off valve 3 is closed, when a process gas is introduced from the opening of the rear surface of the first on-off valve-corresponding communicating passage 18, the process gas flows through the first on-off valve-corresponding communicating passage 18, the first on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage 11, and the first on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 12, and is sent to the processing furnace connected to the joint 7.

(22) Thereafter, when a purge gas is introduced to the second on-off valve 3 in the state where the first on-off valve 2 is closed and the second on-off valve 3 is open, the purge gas, as shown by arrows shown in FIG. 6, flows through the second on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage 14, the second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 15, the communicating passage 13, and the first on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 12, and is sent to the processing furnace connected to the joint 7. At this time, because the orifice (throttling portion) 20 is provided between the second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 15 and the communicating passage 13, the pressure of the fluid in the second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 15 located on the upstream side of the orifice 20 is higher than the pressure of the fluid in the communicating passage 13 located on the downstream side of the orifice 20.

(23) When the pressure is high on the processing furnace side in the state where the first on-off valve 2 is closed and the second on-off valve 3 is open, there is a risk that the gas in the processing furnace flows backward from the first on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 12 into the shutoff-opening device 1, the direction of which flow is opposite to the flow of the purge gas.

(24) To address the issue of the backward flowing, in the above-described shutoff-opening device 1, the first on-off valve 2 is closed, whereby the gas in the processing furnace does not enter the valve chamber of the first on-off valve 2 from the first on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 12. In addition, at a portion where the orifice 20 is provided, the pressure on the primary side (second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 15) is higher than the pressure on the secondary side (communicating passage 13). Because of this configuration, even if the pressure of the gas in the processing furnace is high to some degree, the backward flowing from the communicating passage 13 to the second on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 15 is prevented, and the gas in the processing furnace does not enter the valve chamber of the second on-off valve 3. Therefore, back diffusion due to the backward flowing from the processing furnace side is prevented, corrosion of the diaphragm due to the gas flowing backward is prevented, and the frequency of replacement of the on-off valve is reduced, in both of the first on-off valve 2 and the second on-off valve 3.

(25) In the above-described embodiment, although the orifice gasket constituting the orifice (throttling portion) 20 is a gasket constituting the seal portion 19, in which only the diameter of the through hole is changed, the orifice 20 may be formed separately from the gasket constituting the seal portion 19 and may be used together with the gasket. In addition, the orifice 20 is not limited to one of the gasket type. The throttling portion may be a nozzle, instead of the orifice 20.

(26) In the above-described shutoff-opening device 1, because the first on-off valve 2 and the second on-off valve 3 are provided, the fluid may be switched appropriately between a first fluid (for example, a process gas) and a second fluid (for example, a purge gas) to be supplied to the external device; and because the third on-off valve 4 is provided, a vacuum vent line may be formed. Depending on the application purpose of the shutoff-opening device 1, there are some cases where the vacuum vent line is not required. In such a case, the third on-off valve 4, the third on-off valve-corresponding inflow passage 16, and the third on-off valve-corresponding outflow passage 17 may be omitted.

(27) Although the inlet ports 14a and 16a and the outlet ports 12a, 15a, and 17a are provided so as to be arranged in one row (in the front-rear direction) in the direction parallel to a center line of the shutoff-opening device 1, these ports 14a, 16a, 12a, 15a, and 17a, of course, may be arranged so as to be shifted from the center line. In addition, the inlet port 11a may be disposed on the center line.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

(28) In accordance with the present invention, the shutoff-opening device that is installed in the close vicinity of the processing furnace of the semiconductor processing apparatus and that shuts off or opens the fluid passage, for example, is capable of preventing the internal contamination due to the fluid flowing backward, and is capable of reducing the frequency of replacement of the valve, thereby being capable of improving the performance of the semiconductor processing apparatus, and the like.