US 8,037,894 B1Granted

Maintaining flow rate of a fluid

AssigneeIntermolecular, Inc.

InventorsRajesh Kelekar, Gaurav Verma, Kurt Weiner

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Abstract

A pressure gauge may be coupled to a supply line which carries liquid from a bottle to either one or more mixing vessels and/or one or more reactors in a combinatorial processing tool. A control device may monitor the pressure measured by the pressure gauge, and the control device may be configured to change the pressure supplied to the bottle based on a comparison of the measured pressure to a pre-determined pressure value. The control device may adjust the pressure provided to the bottle using a pressure regulator coupled to the pressure source. By changing the pressure provided to the bottle, the control device may maintain a relatively constant flow rate of fluids from the liquid source into one or more mixing vessels and/or the one or more reactors.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A method for maintaining a predetermined fluid flow-rate, comprising:

providing a pressure to a first vessel from a pressure source, wherein the first vessel contains a fluid for use in a semiconductor manufacturing process;
flowing the fluid from the first vessel through a first supply line, into a manifold coupling a plurality of secondary supply lines to the first supply line, and into at least one second vessel coupled to at least one of the secondary supply lines;
flowing the fluid from the at least one second vessel into a combinatorial processing tool having a plurality of site isolated reactors, wherein the fluid is a liquid;
monitoring a pressure within the first supply line;
and
maintaining a predetermined fluid flow-rate through the secondary supply lines by adjusting a pressure provided to the first vessel based on the monitored pressure.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.