System and method for monitoring vacuum valve closing condition in vacuum processing system
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorPei Cheng Chiu
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Abstract
A system and method for cleaning and inspecting ring frames is disclosed here. In one embodiment, a vacuum valve comprising at least one sealing O-ring; and a pressure monitoring tape on a mating surface on a vacuum processing chamber, wherein the pressure monitoring tape is configured to perform a pressure profile mapping between the mating surface on the vacuum processing chamber and a surface of the at least one sealing O-ring on the vacuum valve to determine a closing condition of the vacuum valve.
Claims20
A vacuum valve monitoring system, comprising:
- a vacuum valve comprising at least one sealing O-ring;
- and
- a pressure monitoring tape attached to a mating surface of a vacuum processing chamber, wherein the pressure monitoring tape is disposed between the at least one sealing O-ring and the mating surface and is configured to perform a pressure profile mapping between the mating surface on the vacuum processing chamber and a surface of the at least one sealing O-ring on the vacuum valve to determine a closing condition of the vacuum valve, wherein at least a portion of a surface of the at least one sealing O-ring is coated with a film of low vapor pressure grease, wherein the pressure monitoring tape comprises a plurality of pressure sensing elements.
A vacuum valve monitoring method, comprising:
- closing a vacuum valve on a vacuum processing chamber, wherein the vacuum valve comprises at least one sealing O-ring;
- determining a closing condition of the vacuum valve using a pressure monitoring tape, wherein the pressure monitoring tape is configured on a mating surface that is disposed on a wall of the vacuum processing chamber to perform a pressure profile mapping between the mating surface that is disposed on the wall of the vacuum processing chamber and a surface of the at least one sealing O-ring on the vacuum valve, wherein the pressure monitoring tape is disposed between the at least one sealing O-ring and the mating surface, wherein at least a portion of a surface of the at least one sealing O-ring is coated with a film of low vapor pressure grease;
- determining based on the pressure profile mapping a plurality of pressure values for the at least one sealing O-ring;
- and
- determining whether one or more of the plurality of pressure values are within predefined threshold values.
A vacuum valve monitoring system comprising:
- a vacuum valve comprising at least one sealing O-ring;
- a pressure monitoring tape disposed between a mating surface of a vacuum processing chamber and a surface of the at least one sealing O-ring on the vacuum valve, wherein at least a portion of a surface of the at least one sealing O-ring is coated with a film of low vapor pressure grease;
- a data acquisition unit configured to collect a respective plurality of signals from each of a respective plurality of pressure sensing elements on the pressure monitoring tape;
- a data processing unit configured to process the respective plurality of signals from the respective plurality of pressure sensing elements;
- and
- a local computer configured to determine a closing condition of the vacuum valve based on a plurality of pressure values obtained from the plurality of signals,
- wherein the local computer determines whether the one or more of the plurality of pressure values are within predefined threshold values.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.