System And Method For Removing Contaminants

• US 20080078289A1
• Filed: 06/07/2005
• Published: 04/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Entegris Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Entegris Incorporated
• Inventors: Kinkead, Devon A., Sergi, John E., Gaudreau, John, Kishkovich, Oleg P., Goodwin, William
• Granted Patent: US 8,398,753 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 95/25
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2258/0216 from CVD treatment or semi-conductor manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2259/402 using two beds
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2273/30 Means for generating a circulation of a fluid in a filtration system, e.g. using a pump or a fan
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/0013 Modules
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/10 Particle separators, e.g. dust precipitators, using filter plates, sheets or pads having plane surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/429 Means for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/521 using folded, pleated material
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/0446 Means for feeding or distributing gases
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/0454 Controlling adsorption controlling temperature swing adsorption B01D53/0462, controlling pressure swing adsorption B01D53/047
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing

Abstract

The invention provides a system and method comprising an apparatus for removing contaminants from a gas in a semiconductor processing device, which can include a filter unit having at least two parallel filter stages located therein. The filter stages are designed to remove a least a portion of the contaminants present in the gas flowing through them. The apparatus can also include a flow controller for distributing the gas flow among the filter stages. In one embodiment, the controller may consist of a diffuser plate. The invention also provides a sampling tube orifice for gas flow control in a system or method of the invention. In another embodiment, an apparatus for removing contaminants from a gas in a clean room comprises a filter unit having at least two parallel filter stages, which are used to remove a portion of the contaminants in the gas as it passes through the apparatus.

Claims

1. An apparatus for removing contaminants from a gas in a semiconductor processing device, the apparatus comprising:

a filter unit having a plurality of parallel filter stages located within said filter unit for removing at least a portion of said contaminants from said gas flowing therethrough; and

a flow controller for distributing said gas flow through said parallel filter stages.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said flow controller comprises a diffuser plate.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said flow controller is an active flow controller.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said apparatus is an air filtration system.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein each member of said plurality of filter stages is comprised of a plurality of filter modules.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said plurality of filter stages are arranged in a matrix having at least two rows and two columns.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said contaminants include amines.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein each member of said plurality of filter stages contains a filter module having physisorptive filter media.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein each member of said plurality of filter stages contains a filter module having chemisorptive filter media.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said chemisorptive filter media comprises an acidic material selected from the group consisting of sulfonated material and carboxylic functional group.

11. An apparatus for removing contaminants from a gas in a clean room, the apparatus comprising:

a filter unit having a plurality of parallel filter stages located therein for removing at least a portion of said contaminants from said gas passing therethrough;

a diffuser plate having an input face for receiving said gas and an output face for delivering said gas to said plurality of filter stages, said diffuser plate further mounted within said filter unit and configured to deliver substantially equal volumes of said gas to each member of said plurality of filter stages; and

a plurality of sampling ports for taking a sample representative of said volume of gas passing through each member of said plurality of filter stages.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said diffuser plate has a plurality of holes disposed in a pattern thereon with each of said plurality of holes passing from said input face to said output face and allowing said gas to pass therethrough, said hole pattern facilitating a substantially uniform gas flow between said output face and said plurality of filter stages.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein at least a subset of said holes may be operable to be opened for allowing said gas to pass therethrough or may alternatively be closed to prevent said gas from passing therethrough.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said opening and said closing of said at least a subset of said holes is controlled by a controller.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein each member of said plurality of filter stages includes a plurality of filter modules.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, the apparatus further comprising an input sampling port for sampling said gas prior to passing through said plurality of filter stages, and an output sampling port for sampling said gas after passing at least substantially through said plurality of filter stages.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, the apparatus further comprising a detector communicatively associated with said plurality of sampling ports, said input sampling port and said output sampling port, each sampling port optionally using an aperture with a diameter to provide an outflow of gas.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, the apparatus further comprising it controller for controlling operation of said detector.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said contaminants include amines.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein at least one member of said plurality of filter modules includes a physisorptive filter media.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein said physisorptive filter media comprises activated carbon.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein at least one member of said plurality of filter modules includes a chemisorptive filter media.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said chemisorptive filter media comprises an acidic material.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein said acidic material comprises a sulfonated material.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein said acidic material comprises a carboxylic functional group.

26. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein at least one member of said plurality of sampling ports is coupled to a concentrator that accumulates a contaminant.

27. An aperture for controlling gas flow within a filter housing comprising:

a filter housing having a port with an aperture operable for providing a gas flow wherein the aperture comprises

a substantially frustoconical portion having a first and second end, wherein the frustoconical portion defines at least a first diameter of the aperture, and

a substantially cylindrical portion, wherein the cylindrical portion communicates with the second end of the frustoconical portion, the cylindrical portion defining at least a second diameter of the aperture.

28. The aperture of claim 27, wherein the second end of the frustoconical portion comprises a substantially cylindrical segment.

29. The aperture of claim 27, wherein the first diameter of the aperture is less than about 0.1 inches.

30. The aperture of claim 27, wherein the second diameter of the aperture is less than about 0.5 inches.

31. The aperture of claim 27, wherein the aperture further comprises a transition portion communicating with the cylindrical portion, the transition portion defining at least a third diameter of the aperture.

32. The aperture of claim 29, wherein the aperture further comprises a transition portion communicating with the cylindrical portion and the cylindrical segment of the frustoconical portion, the transition portion defining at least a third diameter of the aperture.

33. The aperture of claim 31 or 32, wherein the third diameter of the aperture is less than about 0.3 inches.

34. The aperture of claim 27, wherein the cylindrical portion has a first and second end.

35. The aperture of claim 34, wherein the second end of the cylindrical portion is operable for receiving the sample.

36. The aperture of claim 34, wherein the second end of the cylindrical portion communicates with an apparatus for removing contaminants for a gas in a semiconductor processing device.

37. The aperture of claim 36, wherein the apparatus comprises a filter unit having a plurality of parallel filter stages located within said filter unit for removing at least a portion of said contaminants from said gas flowing therethrough, and a flow controller for distributing said gas flow through said parallel filter stages.

38. The aperture of claim 36, wherein the apparatus comprises a filter unit having a plurality of parallel filter stages located therein for removing at least a portion of said contaminants from said gas passing therethrough, and a diffuser plate having an input face for receiving said gas and an output face for delivering said gas to said plurality of filter stages, said diffuser plate further mounted within said filter unit and configured to deliver substantially equal volumes of said gas to each member of said plurality of filter stages.

39. The aperture of claim 36, wherein the first end of the cylindrical portion communicates with a substantially cylindrical segment of the frustoconical portion.

40. The aperture of claim 27, wherein the aperture further comprises a sampling portion communicating with the first end of the frustoconical portion, the sampling portion defining at least a fourth diameter of the aperture.

41. The aperture of claim 40, wherein the second diameter of the aperture is less than about 0.01 inches.

42. The aperture of claim 27, wherein the sampling portion is operable for withdrawing the sample.

43. The aperture of claim 27, wherein the body portion is disposed in a sampling port for an apparatus for removing contaminants for a gas in a semiconductor processing device.

44. The aperture of claim 43, wherein the body portion has an exterior surface.

45. The aperture of claim 44, wherein the exterior surface of the tube orifice is substantially cylindrical.

46. The aperture of claim 44 or 45, wherein the exterior surface of the tube orifice comprises at least one channel disposed thereabout.

47. The aperture of claim 46, wherein the channel receives a retaining member, the retaining member associated with the sampling port.

48. The aperture of claim 27, wherein the body portion is substantially comprised of sapphire.

49. A method for removing contaminants from a gas in a semiconductor processing device, using a filter unit, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving an input gas volume;

passing said gas volume through a flow controller before making said gas volume available to a plurality of filter stages located within said filter unit; and

passing a portion of said gas volume through each member of said plurality of parallel filter stages to remove at least a portion of said contaminants.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein said flow controller comprises a diffuser plate.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein said filter unit is located in a clean room.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein each member of said plurality of filter stages is comprised of a plurality of filter modules.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein said plurality of filter stages are arranged in a matrix having at least two rows and two columns.

54. The method of claim 52, wherein said filter unit further comprises a plurality of sampling ports for sampling a like plurality of filter stages.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein said filter unit further comprises a detector communicatively coupled to said sampling ports.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein said filter unit further comprises an input sampling port for sampling at least a portion of said gas volume prior to reaching said plurality of filter stages and an output sampling port for sampling at least a portion of said gas volume after passing through said plurality of filter stages, said input and output sampling ports further being communicatively coupled to said detector.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein said filter unit further comprises a controller for monitoring operation of said filter unit.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein at least one member of said plurality of filter modules includes a physisorptive filter media.

59. The method of claim 57, wherein at least one member of said plurality of filter modules includes a chemisorptive filter media.

60. A computer-readable medium having machine-executable instructions disposed thereon for causing a processor to perform a method of monitoring a gas passing through a filter unit having a plurality of filter stages operating therein, said computer-readable medium comprising instructions for performing the steps of:

monitoring a gas volume passing through one of said plurality of filter stages to produce a monitored gas volume;

processing a sample from said monitored gas volume to form a processed sample;

evaluating said processed sample to determine if said one of said plurality of filter stages is operating according to a defined criteria; and

sending a notification if said one of said plurality of filter stages is not operating according to said defined criteria.

61. A method for filtering a gas flow, the method comprising:

providing a filter housing having a filter that removes contaminants from a gas flow having a flow path through the filter; and

providing a sampling port for the filter housing, the port having an aperture having a first diameter and a second diameter smaller than the first diameter such that the sampling port has a gas flow outlet.

62. The method of claim 61, wherein the aperture further comprises a transition portion communicating with a second end of a frustoconical portion, the transition portion defining at least a third diameter of the aperture.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the second end of the frustoconical portion comprises a substantially cylindrical segment.

64. The method of claim 62, wherein the aperture has a cylindrical portion with a first and second end, the first end communicating with the transition portion.

65. The method of claim 64, the method further comprising receiving the gas flow through the second end of the cylindrical portion.

66. The method of claim 65, wherein the second end of the cylindrical portion communicates with a filter for removing contaminants for a gas in a semiconductor processing device.

69. The method of claim 65 or 66, wherein the aperture further comprises a sampling portion communicating with the first end of the frustoconical portion, the sampling portion defining at least a fourth diameter of the aperture.

70. The method of claim 61, further comprising flowing a gas through the filter housing at a positive pressure, the aperture having a flow rate of at least 10 cc/min.

71. The method of claim 61, wherein the body portion is substantially comprised of sapphire.

72. The method of claim 61, wherein the sample is withdrawn by a gas collection device.

73. The method of claim 61, wherein the sample is withdrawn into a device for gas analysis.

74. The method of claim 73, wherein the device for gas analysis is a gas chromatograph.

75. The method of claim 61, wherein the sample is continuously withdrawn from the aperture of the tube orifice.

67. A sampling port aperture for a filter system, the system comprising a filter unit having a plurality of parallel filter stages located within said filter unit for removing at least a portion of said contaminants from said gas flowing therethrough, and a flow controller for distributing said gas flow through said parallel filter stages, the system having a sampling port aperture providing a gas outflow from the system.

68. The system of claim 67, wherein the system comprises a diffuser plate having an input face for receiving said gas and an output face for delivering said gas to said plurality of filter stages, said diffuser plate further mounted within said filter unit and configured to deliver substantially equal volumes of said gas to each member of said plurality of filter stages.

76. A method of making a flow controller comprising:

providing a software program having selectable gas flow characteristics;

using the program to select a hole distribution for a diffuser panel, the holes of the diffuser panel providing a gas flow distribution through the diffuser panel; and

forming a diffuser panel having the selected hole distribution.

77. The method of claim 76 further comprising forming a diffuser panel for a parallel stage filter system for a cleanroom processing tool.

78. The method of claim 76 further comprising selecting a hole size distribution and a hole spacing distribution for the diffuser panel.

79. The method of claim 76 further comprising forming the panel for a semiconductor photolithography tool.

80. The method of claim 76 further comprising drilling the holes in a metal plate.