Error volume system and method for a pump

• US 20070125796A1
• Filed: 11/20/2006
• Published: 06/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Entegris Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Entegris Incorporated
• Inventors: Cedrone, James, Gonnella, George
• Granted Patent: US 7,897,196 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 222/14
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 13/00 Pumps specially modified to deliver fixed or variable measured quantities
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 51/00 Testing machines, pumps, or pumping installations
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/115831 Condition or time responsive
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/2575 Volumetric liquid transfer

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention are related to a pumping system that accurately dispenses fluid using a pump. Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for reducing the error in the amount of a fluid a pump dispenses by correcting for the compliance of a dispense system.

Claims

1. A method for compensating for errors in dispense volumes of a dispense pump comprising:

determining a dispense volume amount based on a dispense recipe;

determining a value for a fluid property based on the dispense recipe;

determining an error volume amount based on the value of the fluid property based on a correlation between the error volume and the fluid property that accounts for compliance in a dispense system; and

controlling a dispense motor to move a piston in the dispense pump to a position to account for the dispense volume amount determined from the recipe and the error volume amount to dispense the dispense volume amount of fluid from a nozzle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the dispense motor further comprises controlling the dispense motor to move the piston to the position in a time specified by the recipe to dispense the dispense volume amount.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a user specified error volume.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the position further accounts for the user specified error volume.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein controlling the dispense motor further comprises controlling the dispense motor to move the piston to the position in a time specified by the recipe to dispense the dispense volume amount.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

developing the correlation between the error volume and the fluid property in a test dispense system.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein developing the correlation further comprises:

performing a set of test dispenses with corresponding desired dispense volume amounts with fluids having various values for the fluid property;

analyzing a set of actual dispense volume amounts of the test dispenses relative to the desired dispense volume amounts to determine a relationship between the fluid property and the error volume.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein developing the correlation further comprises:

a) performing a set of test dispenses with a corresponding desired dispense volume amount with a test fluid;

b) determining an average actual dispense volume amount;

c) repeating steps a-b for each of a set of additional desired dispense volume amounts;

d) repeating steps a-c for each of a set of additional test fluids, wherein each test fluid has a different value for the fluid property;

e) determining a relationship between error volume and the fluid property based on the average actual dispense volume amounts and the corresponding desired dispense volume amounts.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the test dispense system is configured to approximate a semiconductor manufacturing wafer coating system.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the test dispense system comprises:

a first length of tubing connected between an outlet port of the multi-stage pump and an outlet valve; and

a second length of tubing connected between the outlet valve and a nozzle.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first length of tubing is 3-6 meters long having an outer diameter of 5-6.5 mm and an inner diameter of 4-4.5 millimeters and the second length of tubing is 1-1.5 meters long having an outer diameter of 3.5-4.5 mm and an inner diameter of 1.5-2.5 mm.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein the correlation is developed using a test pump and the correlation is propagated to set of pumps for subsequent use.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the fluid property is viscosity.

14. A multi-stage pump comprising:

a pump body defining a dispense chamber;

a diaphragm disposed in the dispense chamber;

a piston reciprocating in the dispense chamber to move the diaphragm, wherein the diaphragm is a rolling diaphragm;

a motor coupled to the piston to reciprocate the piston;

a controller coupled to the motor, the controller including a memory storing a correlation between a fluid property and an error volume, the controller operable to;

determine a dispense volume amount based on a dispense recipe;

determine a value for a fluid property based on the dispense recipe;

access the memory to determine an error volume amount based on the value of the fluid property based on the correlation; and

control the dispense motor to move the piston to a position associated by the controller with displacing at least the error volume amount and the dispense volume amount.

15. The multi-stage pump of claim 14, wherein the controller is further operable to control the dispense motor to move the piston to the position in a time period indicated by the recipe to dispense the dispense volume amount.

16. The multi-stage pump of claim 14, wherein the controller is further operable to control the dispense motor to move the piston to a further position associated by the controller with displacing at least the dispense volume amount, the error volume amount and an additional user specified error volume amount.

17. The multi-stage pump of claim of claim 16, wherein the controller is further operable to control the dispense motor to move the piston to the position in a time period indicated by the recipe to dispense the dispense volume amount.

18. The multi-stage pump of claim 14, wherein the fluid property is viscosity.

19. A method for compensating for system compliance in a dispense operation performed by a pump comprising:

with a test pump installed in a test dispense system;

performing a set of test dispenses with corresponding desired dispense volume amounts with a set of test fluids having various values for a fluid property;

analyzing a set of actual dispense volume amounts of the test dispenses relative to the desired dispense volume amounts to determine a correlation between the fluid property and the error volume that accounts for compliance in a dispense system;

with a pump installed in a semiconductor manufacturing facility;

determining a desired manufacturing process dispense volume amount based on a dispense recipe for dispensing a process fluid;

determining a fluid property value for a process fluid based on the dispense recipe;

determining an error volume amount based on the fluid property value for the process fluid from the correlation between the fluid property and the error volume; and

controlling a dispense motor to move a piston to a position to account for the desired manufacturing process dispense volume amount determined from the recipe and the error volume amount to dispense the dispense volume amount of fluid from a nozzle to a wafer.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein controlling the dispense motor further comprises controlling the dispense motor to move the piston to the position in a time specified by the recipe to dispense the dispense volume amount.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising receiving a user specified error volume.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the position to further accounts for the user specified error volume.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein controlling the dispense motor further comprises controlling the dispense motor to move the piston to the position in a time specified by the recipe to dispense the dispense volume amount.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein performing a set of test dispenses and analyzing as set of actual dispense volume amounts further comprise:

a) performing test dispenses with a corresponding desired dispense volume amount with a selected test fluid from the set of test fluids;

b) determining an average actual dispense volume amount;

c) repeating steps a-b for each of a set of additional desired dispense volume amounts;

d) repeating steps a-c selecting a new test fluid as the selected test fluid from the set of test fluids, wherein each test fluid has a different value for the fluid property;

e) determining a relationship between error volume and the fluid property based on the average actual dispense volume amounts and the corresponding desired dispense volume amounts.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the test dispense system is configured to approximate a semiconductor manufacturing wafer coating system.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the test dispense system comprises:

a first length of tubing connected between an outlet port of the test pump and an outlet valve; and

a second length of tubing connected between the outlet valve and a test nozzle.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the first length of tubing is 3-6 meters long having an outer diameter of 5-6.5 mm and an inner diameter of 4-4.5 millimeters and the second length of tubing is 1-1.5 meters long having an outer diameter of 3.5-4.5 mm and an inner diameter of 1.5-2.5 mm.

28. The method of claim 19, further comprising propagating the correlation developed using the test pump to a set of pumps for subsequent use.

29. The method of claim 19, wherein the fluid property is viscosity.

30. The method of claim 19, further comprising installing the test pump as the pump installed in the semiconductor manufacturing facility.