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US 10,043,681 B2Granted
Fluid supply system, wafer processing system, and method of supplying fluid to wafer processing equipment
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsChing-Jung Hsu, Yung-Ti Hung, Chun-Feng Hsu, Nan-Peng Cheng
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fluid supply system includes a pressure tank configured to contain a pressurized gas and a fluid, a delivery point configured to be connected to a point of use, a recirculation piping connecting the pressure tank to the delivery point, and a return pump connected to the recirculation piping. The recirculation piping defines a circulation path for the fluid from the pressure tank through the delivery point and back to the pressure tank. The return pump is downstream of the delivery point and upstream of the pressure tank in the circulation path.
Claims20
A fluid supply system, comprising:
- a pressure tank configured to contain a pressurized gas and a fluid;
- a delivery point configured to be connected to a point of use;
- a refill piping configured to supply the fluid to the pressure tank from a fluid supply;
- a refill pump connected to the refill piping, wherein the refill pump is configured to move the fluid from the fluid supply to the pressure tank;
- a recirculation piping connecting the pressure tank to the delivery point, the recirculation piping defining a circulation path for the fluid from the pressure tank through the delivery point and back to the pressure tank, wherein the recirculation piping is completely separate from the refill piping;
- a return pump connected to the recirculation piping, wherein the return pump is downstream of the delivery point and upstream of the pressure tank in the circulation path, and the return pump is separate from the refill pump;
- a sensor connected to the recirculation piping, the sensor configured to detect a parameter of a flow of the fluid in the recirculation piping, wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a pressure sensor or a flow meter;
- and
- a controller connected to the sensor, the controller configured to control the flow of the fluid in the recirculation piping based on the parameter detected by the sensor.
6 more elements
A wafer processing system, comprising:
- a pressure tank containing a pressurized gas and a fluid, wherein the pressure tank comprises a first port and a second port, and the first port is spaced from the second port;
- a delivery point;
- a supply piping connected between the pressure tank and the delivery point, wherein a pressure of the pressurized gas in the pressure tank is sufficient to move the fluid from the pressure tank via the supply piping to the delivery point;
- wafer processing equipment connected to the delivery point, the wafer processing equipment configured to process semiconductor wafers with the fluid supplied to the delivery point from the pressure tank;
- a refill pump configured to move the fluid from a fluid supply to the pressure tank, wherein the refill pump is connected to the first port;
- a return piping connected between the pressure tank and the delivery point;
- a return pump connected to the return piping, the return pump configured to move the fluid from the delivery point back to the pressure tank, wherein the return pump is connected to the second port;
- a first sensor connected to the supply piping between the pressure tank and the delivery point, wherein the first sensor is configured to detect a first flow parameter of the fluid in the supply piping;
- and
- a second sensor connected to the return piping between the return pump and the pressure tank, wherein the second sensor is configured to detect a second flow parameter of the fluid in the return piping.
7 more elements
A method of supplying a fluid to wafer processing equipment, the method comprising:
- delivering the fluid from a pressure tank via a supply piping to a delivery point, the delivery point connected to the wafer processing equipment, the pressure tank containing the fluid and a pressurized gas of a pressure sufficient to move the fluid from the pressure tank via the supply piping to the delivery point, and the pressurized gas directly contacts the fluid;
- returning the fluid from the delivery point via a first flow path back to the pressure tank by a return pump connected between the delivery point and the pressure tank;
- refilling the fluid in the pressure tank via a second flow path, wherein the first flow path fails to overlap with the second flow path;
- detecting a parameter of a flow of the fluid in the first flow path using a sensor connected to the first flow path, wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a pressure sensor or a flow meter;
- and
- controlling the flow of the fluid in the first flow path based on the parameter detected by the sensor.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.