KR20250011356A - Heat transfer module and canister having the heat transfer module - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a heat transfer module installed inside a canister storing a precursor, and according to one embodiment, comprises: a plate detachably attached to a bottom surface inside the canister; and a plurality of cylindrical tubes attached to an upper surface of the plate in close contact with each other; The present invention discloses a heat transfer module that allows heat applied from the outside of the canister to be transferred to a precursor inside the canister through the plate and the tubes.

Description

Heat transfer module and canister having the heat transfer module

The present invention relates to a canister for accommodating a precursor, and more specifically, to a heat transfer module installed in a canister and a canister having the same.

A canister is a container that stores various raw materials (precursors) used in processing equipment such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment in semiconductor manufacturing plants in the form of gas, liquid, or solid.

When the precursor is a liquid or solid, the canister is heated to vaporize the precursor and supply it to the processing facility in order to supply the precursor inside the canister to the semiconductor processing facility. At this time, a carrier gas is injected into the canister and supplied to the processing facility together with the vaporized precursor.

In the past, containers with a capacity of 3 to 5 liters were mainly used, but recently, as the mass production of semiconductors has increased, canister capacities have increased to 10 liters or more, and canisters with a capacity of 20 or 40 liters are also being used.

In semiconductor manufacturing, it is important to always supply a certain amount of precursor to the processing equipment to improve the yield. In the case of solid (powder) precursors, vaporization does not occur only on the upper surface of the solid precursor filled inside the canister, but vaporization occurs throughout the entire inside of the precursor. Therefore, as the amount of precursor remaining decreases, the vaporization amount decreases. Therefore, the canister is replaced even if there is some precursor remaining in the canister. However, since the price of precursors is very expensive, it is economically desirable to use all of the precursor in the canister if possible. Therefore, a method is required to maximize the use of the precursor in the canister by maintaining a certain vaporization amount even if the amount of precursor decreases.

Patent Document 1: Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0137016 (published on December 29, 2010) Patent Document 2: Patent Publication No. 10-2023-0058843 (published on May 3, 2023)

The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and aims to maintain the precursor vaporization amount at the same level as or similar to the initial state even when the precursor residual amount is reduced, thereby maintaining a constant amount of precursor supplied to a semiconductor processing facility and enabling maximum use of the precursor within the canister.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a heat transfer module installed inside a canister storing a precursor, comprising: a plate detachably attached to a bottom surface inside the canister; and a plurality of cylindrical tubes attached to an upper surface of the plate in close contact with each other; and a heat transfer module is disclosed, wherein heat applied from the outside of the canister is transferred to a precursor inside the canister through the plate and tubes.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, even if the amount of precursor inside the canister is reduced, it has a technical effect of being able to maintain a constant vaporization amount. That is, when the canister is filled with a large amount of solid precursor, vaporization occurs over the entire solid precursor, so a predetermined vaporization amount occurs, and even when the solid precursor is reduced and filled only to, for example, a height of the heat transfer module (200), heat can be transferred to the precursor more quickly and in greater amounts through the heat transfer module, thereby preventing a decrease in the vaporization amount. Accordingly, even if the amount of precursor gradually decreases, a constant vaporization amount is maintained or the vaporization amount reduction rate is lowered, so that the precursor inside the canister can be used to the maximum extent.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a canister according to one embodiment;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the interior of a canister according to one embodiment;
Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of a canister according to one embodiment;
Figure 4 is a plan view of a heat transfer module according to one embodiment;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of a part of a heat transfer module according to one embodiment;
Figures 6 and 7 are drawings illustrating a method for manufacturing a heat transfer module according to one embodiment;
FIGS. 8 and 9 are drawings illustrating a heat transfer module according to an alternative embodiment;
FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method of heating a precursor according to one embodiment.

The above objects, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily understood through the following preferred embodiments related to the attached drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be embodied in other forms. The embodiments described below are exemplary embodiments provided to enable those skilled in the art to sufficiently convey the idea of the present invention.

In this specification, when a component is referred to as being “above” (or “below,” “to the right,” or “to the left”) of another component, it means that it can be positioned directly above (or below, to the right, or to the left) of the other component, or that a third component may be interposed between them.

In addition, expressions such as 'upper', 'lower', 'left', 'right', 'front', and 'rear' used to describe the positional relationship between components in this specification may mean a direction or position as an absolute reference, but in some cases, when describing the present invention with reference to each drawing, they may be relative expressions used for the convenience of explanation based on the drawing.

When it is mentioned in this specification that a component is connected (or coupled, fastened, attached, etc.) to another component, it means that it can be directly connected to the other component or indirectly connected by interposing a third component therebetween. In addition, the length, thickness, or width of the components in the drawings of this specification are exaggerated for the effective explanation of the technical contents, and the relative size of one component to another component may also vary depending on the specific embodiment.

In this specification, the singular form of a component also includes the plural form unless specifically stated otherwise in the phrase. The expressions “including,” “consisting of,” and “consisting of” used in the specification do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components in addition to the mentioned components.

When terms such as first, second, etc. are used in this specification to describe components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. The embodiments described and illustrated herein also include complementary embodiments thereof.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In describing specific embodiments below, various specific contents have been written to more specifically describe the invention and help understanding. However, readers who have knowledge of this field enough to understand the present invention can recognize that the invention can be used without these various specific contents. In some cases, it is mentioned in advance that parts that are commonly known but not greatly related to the invention are not described in order to avoid confusion in describing the present invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a canister (100) according to one embodiment, and Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the interior of the canister (100).

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the canister (100) is a device that stores a precursor and supplies the precursor to a semiconductor processing facility. In general, the semiconductor processing facility may be a facility for manufacturing semiconductor wafers or integrated circuit products. For example, the processing facility may be a device such as a process chamber of a semiconductor production facility, such as a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) device or an ion implanter, and may include any device or facility that requires a precursor, without being limited thereto.

The canister (100) accommodates a precursor in the form of a gas, liquid, or solid. If the precursor is a liquid or solid, the precursor is heated to vaporize or sublimate and then supplied to the semiconductor processing equipment. At this time, the precursor is 'vaporized' or 'sublimated' depending on the phase of the precursor (liquid or solid), but in this specification, 'vaporization' of the precursor is used in a broad sense to include vaporization and sublimation of the precursor.

In one embodiment, when the precursor accommodated by the canister (100) is a solid, the term ‘solid’ also includes a substance in the form of fine particles, such as a powder. As types of precursors, for example, molybdenum (Mo), boron (B), phosphorus (P), copper (Cu), gallium (Ga), arsenic (As), ruthenium (Ru), indium (In), antimony (Sb), lanthanum (La), tantalum (Ta), iridium (Ir), decaborane (B10H14), hafnium tetrachloride (HfCl4), zirconium tetrachloride (ZrCl4), indium trichloride (InCl3), aluminum trichloride (AlCl3), ruthenium trichloride (RuCl3), metal organic β-diketonate complexes, cyclopentadienyl cycloheptatrienyl titanium (CpTiChT: cyclopentadienyl cycloheptatrienyl titanium), titanium iodide (TixIy: titanium iodide), cyclooctatetraene cyclopentadienyl titanium ((Cot)(Cp)Ti: The substance may include at least one of cyclooctatetraene cyclopentadienyltitanium, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium diazide, tungsten carbonyl (Wx(CO)y) (wherein x and y are natural numbers), bis(cyclopentadienyl)ruthenium(II) [Ru(Cp)2: bis(cyclopentadienyl)ruthenium (II)], tungsten chloride (WxCly) (wherein x and y are natural numbers), and molybdenum dichloride dioxide (MoO2Cl2).

In one embodiment, the precursor may be a solid precursor containing chlorine (Cl) and a compound represented by MxCly or MxOzCly, wherein x, y, and z are each natural numbers and M is any metal. For example, the metal (M) may be at least one of aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), molybdenum (Mo), tungsten (W), and titanium (Ti), but is not limited thereto.

Specific examples of compounds represented by the chemical formula MxCly or MxOzCly include aluminum chloride (AlCl3), zirconium chloride (ZrCl4), hafnium chloride (HfCl4), tungsten chloride (WCl5, WCl6), molybdenum dichloride dioxide (MoO2Cl2), etc., but these types of precursors are exemplary and the present invention is not limited to the above-described precursors.

In one embodiment, the canister (100) may be composed of a canister body (110) and an upper cover (top plate) (120). The body (110) is a cylindrical member having a receiving space for receiving a precursor, and has, for example, a cylindrical shape formed by a lower cover (bottom plate) and a body. In an alternative embodiment, it may have a polygonal cross-sectional shape such as a square or hexagon rather than a cylinder, and the lower cover may be manufactured separately and then assembled.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the main body (110) may have a connecting portion (115) formed to extend inwardly at the upper portion of the main body (110) for connection with the cover (120). Accordingly, the cover (120) may be connected to the upper portion of the main body (110) through a connecting means such as a bolt or a fastening screw, thereby defining an internal space.

The cover (120) includes one or more ports for communicating with the interior of the canister (100). In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the cover (120) includes an inlet port (121) and a discharge port (122). The inlet port (121) is a port used when filling the precursor into the canister (100), and the discharge port (122) is a port for discharging the vaporized precursor to supply it to a semiconductor processing facility.

The cover (120) may further include one or more connection ports (123) for connecting various sensors installed in the internal space of the canister (100), such as a level sensor and a temperature sensor. In addition, although not shown in the drawing, the cover (120) may additionally include a port for injecting a carrier gas for supplying a carrier gas into the interior of the canister (100).

In one embodiment, the inner surface of the canister (100) may be coated with a specific material that does not react with the precursor to prevent corrosion due to contact with the precursor. For example, FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment in which the inner surface of the canister (100) is coated with a specific material such as nickel or carbon.

Referring to FIG. 3, in one embodiment, a nickel or carbon coating layer is formed on the inner surface of the main body (110) surrounding the precursor receiving space of the canister (100). For example, a nickel or carbon coating layer (140a) may be formed over at least a portion of the bottom surface and side surface of the main body (110). Additionally, a nickel or carbon coating layer (140b) may be formed on the lower surface of the cover (120), that is, the surface of the cover (120) surrounding the precursor receiving space. These coating layers (140a, 140b) may have a thickness of 1 micrometer to several tens of micrometers and may be coated by a known deposition method such as CVD, PVD, or ALD.

Meanwhile, a joining part (115) is formed at the upper end of the main body (110) to extend inside the inlet for joining with the cover (120), and a nickel or carbon coating layer (140c) may be formed on at least a portion of the joining part (115). For example, the canister (100) may have a sealing member (150) interposed between the main body (110) and the cover (120). As an example of the sealing member (150), a metal C-sealing member having a cross-section in the shape of a "C" may be used, and in this case, a spring (155) may be fitted and arranged inside the "C" shape. In order to secure the sealing member (150) between the main body (110) and the cover (120), a recessed portion that at least partially accommodates the sealing member (150) is required. For example, a V-shaped or curved recessed portion (105) may be formed in the joining portion (115) of the main body (110), and a recessed portion (125) may also be formed in a corresponding position of the cover (120).

In particular, in the process of filling the precursor into the receiving space of the main body (110) or discharging the precursor filled in the main body (110), there is a high possibility that the precursor will come into contact with the joining portion (115), and in this case, if the precursor comes into contact with the grooved portion (105), corrosion may occur on the surface of the grooved portion (105), so that the canister may not be completely sealed. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, a nickel or carbon coating layer (140c) is formed on the surface of the grooved portion (105).

In one embodiment, a heat transfer module (200) is installed on the inner bottom surface of the canister (100). The heat transfer module (200) is a structure for more quickly and efficiently transferring heat transferred from heaters (310, 320) installed around the canister (100) to a precursor within the canister. The height of the heat transfer module (200) may be between approximately 2/10 and 5/10 of the height of the inner space of the canister. An exemplary configuration of the heat transfer module (200) will be described later with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8.

Heaters (310, 320) installed around the canister (100) heat the canister (100) to vaporize the precursor. In the illustrated embodiment, the first heater (310) is a heater that heats the side of the canister surrounding at least a portion of the heat transfer module (200) and the lower surface of the canister. The second heater (320) is a heater that is installed above the first heater (310) and heats the middle or higher region of the canister (100). The first heater (310) and the second heater (320) may heat the canister (100) to the same temperature or to different temperatures. In the illustrated embodiment, two heaters (310, 320) are configured to cover the sides of the canister (100), but this is exemplary, and for example, three or four heaters may be installed sequentially from the bottom to the top of the side of the canister (100) to heat the sides at the same or different temperatures.

In addition, in an alternative embodiment, the heater for heating the lower surface of the canister (100) may be implemented as a different heater separate from the first heater (310). It goes without saying that a control unit (not shown) for controlling the on/off and temperature setting of one or more of these heaters may be provided.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a heat transfer module (200) according to one embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a part of the heat transfer module (200).

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the heat transfer module (200) may be composed of a plate (210) and a plurality of cylindrical tubes (220) attached to the upper surface of the plate (210). The plate (210) is a plate-shaped member detachably attached to the inner bottom surface of the canister (100). Generally, when the canister (100) is cylindrical, the bottom surface is circular, so the plate (210) may have a circular shape as illustrated in FIG. 4. However, in an alternative embodiment, the plate (210) may be a polygonal plate-shaped member, such as a square. The plate (210) is detachably connected to the bottom surface of the canister (100), and for this purpose, at least one through-hole (211) is formed through which, for example, a bolt or a fastening screw passes.

In one embodiment, the plate (210) may be composed of at least two piece plates that are separated from each other. In the illustrated embodiment, the disc-shaped plate (210) is composed of two semicircular piece plates (210a, 210b), and a plurality of tubes (220) are installed on each piece plate (210a, 210b), so that the heat transfer module (200) is composed of two or more partial modules in units of piece plates (210a, 210b). FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a first partial module composed of a first piece plate (210a) of the two piece plates and a plurality of tubes (220) formed thereon.

A plurality of tubes (220) attached to the upper surface of the plate (210) are formed in close contact with each other for heat transfer. Each tube (220) is a cylindrical tube having a diameter of, for example, 1 cm to 5 cm. The plate (210) and each tube (220) may be made of a material that is non-reactive with the precursor and capable of high heat transfer. For example, the plate (210) and the tubes (220) may be made of stainless steel or Hastelloy, but are not limited to such materials.

In an alternative embodiment, each tube (220) may be a cylindrical member having a polygonal cross-section, such as a square or hexagon. For example, in the case of a hexagonal cross-section, it will be understood that when a plurality of tubes (220) are closely formed, the tubes (220) form a honeycomb structure when viewed from above.

In one embodiment, each tube (220) may be attached by welding to the upper surface of the plate (210) to manufacture the heat transfer module (200). In this case, the tube (220) is preferably attached to the plate (210) by spot welding. If the point where the tube (220) and the plate (210) meet along the lower circumference of the tube (220) is welded, the plate (210) tends to bend due to the welding heat, and thus the entire lower surface of the plate (210) does not come into close contact with the lower bottom surface of the canister (100), resulting in poor heat transfer. In contrast, in one embodiment of the present invention, the tube (220) is attached to the plate (210) by spot welding, thereby preventing the bending of the plate (210), and thus increasing the heat transfer efficiency between the plate (210) and the canister. The method of joining the plate (210) and the tube (220) will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

In addition, in one embodiment, a temperature sensor (130) is attached to the lower surface of the canister (100). For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the temperature sensor (130) may be installed at a position close to the central axis of the canister (100) on the outer lower surface of the canister (100). The temperature sensor (130) is for measuring the temperature of the precursor inside the canister (100), and has been commonly installed on the side or the side of the canister (100) in the past. However, in the case of a solid precursor, heat transfer is not good, so there is a time delay until the temperature of the precursor at the center of the canister is transferred to the side of the canister (100), so it is not easy to control the heater (310, 320) based on accurate precursor temperature measurement. However, according to the present invention, since the temperature of the precursor at the center of the canister is quickly transferred to the bottom of the canister (100) through the tube (210) extending to the top of the heat transfer module (200), the temperature sensor (130) can quickly measure the current temperature of the precursor and effectively control the heater (310, 320).

Meanwhile, generally, when the precursor inside the canister is used in excess of the standard amount, the canister is removed from the semiconductor equipment, the inside of the canister is cleaned, and then the precursor is filled again for reuse. At this time, in the case of the canister (100) equipped with the heat transfer module (200) according to the present invention, when the precursor is used in excess of the specified amount and the canister is removed from the semiconductor equipment, the heat transfer module (200) is separated, the canister (100) is cleaned, the cleaned heat transfer module (200) or a new heat transfer module (200) is reinstalled inside the canister, and then the precursor is filled again for reuse.

In addition, when the heat transfer module (200) is configured as two or more partial modules as in the illustrated embodiment, the work of installing or removing the heat transfer module (200) in the canister becomes easier. In general, the canister (100) has a connecting portion (115) formed inwardly to be connected to the cover (120) at the upper end, so that the canister entrance is narrow. Therefore, when the heat transfer module (200) is formed integrally, there is a problem that it is difficult to put it inside the canister. However, when the plate (210) is divided into two or more piece plates and a tube (220) is formed in each of them to configure the heat transfer module (200) as two or more partial modules as in the embodiment of the present invention, the partial modules can be sequentially put into or taken out one by one from the canister (100), so that the heat transfer module (200) can be installed and the convenience of the work is also increased.

Figures 6 and 7 are drawings explaining a method of manufacturing a heat transfer module according to one embodiment. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that a circular plate (210) is composed of a first semicircular piece plate (210a) and a second semicircular piece plate (210b), and a method of attaching a tube (220) to the first piece plate (210a) will be explained.

Referring to FIG. 6, the first semicircular piece plate (210a) has one or more fastening holes (211) formed along the periphery of the plate. A fastening means such as a bolt or screw can be inserted through the fastening hole (211) to detachably fasten the heat transfer module (200) to the inner bottom surface of the canister (100).

In addition, a plurality of through holes (213) for spot welding are formed in the first piece plate (210a). The through holes (213) are formed at each point where a plurality of tubes (220) come into contact with each other when viewed in a plane (for example, at a point indicated by W in FIG. 7).

Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 7, a tube (220) is placed on the first piece plate (210a). In one embodiment, the tube (220) is a cylindrical tube, and as shown in Fig. 7, the tubes (220) can be placed so that they are in close contact with each other in a grid shape when viewed from a plane. However, this arrangement is exemplary, and it goes without saying that the tubes (220) can be placed in various ways depending on the specific embodiment.

As shown in Fig. 7, when the tubes (220) are arranged in a grid shape and closely adhered to each other, each tube (220) makes point contact with the neighboring tubes (220) when viewed on a plane, and the point of contact (i.e., the point indicated by W in Fig. 7) (hereinafter also referred to as “contact point”) is the point where the through hole (213) of the first piece plate (210a) is formed.

After that, spot welding is performed at each contact point (W). That is, by spot welding through the through hole (213), the two tubes (220) that come into contact with each other at each contact point (W) are not only joined to each other but also joined to the first piece plate (210a), and in this way, spot welding is performed sequentially or simultaneously for the entire contact point (W) to attach and install a plurality of tubes (220) on the first piece plate (210a) as illustrated in FIG. 5.

Meanwhile, in an alternative embodiment, if each tube (220) has a rectangular or hexagonal cylindrical shape, when the tubes (220) are in close contact, the side surfaces of the neighboring tubes (220) come into surface contact with each other, and when the tubes (220) are viewed from above, the neighboring tubes (220) make line contact rather than point contact. In this case, for example, the point where a line meets a line becomes a 'contact point', and spot welding can be performed at this point. For example, in the case of a square tube, it will be understood that one point where four neighboring tubes meet when viewed in a plane becomes a 'contact point'.

In one embodiment, spot welding can be additionally performed at the contact points on the upper sides of adjacent tubes (220). That is, the tube (220) structure can be installed more firmly by joining adjacent tubes (220) to each other by spot welding at the contact points indicated by W in Fig. 5.

Meanwhile, although the drawing describes a method of installing a tube (220) on a first piece plate (210a), it will be understood that installing a tube (220) on a second piece plate (210b) can also be performed in the same or similar manner as above.

In one embodiment, by attaching the tube (220) to the plate (210) by spot welding in this manner, the plate (210) can be prevented from being warped by heat and the plate (210) can be bonded more closely to the inner bottom surface of the canister (100), thereby increasing the efficiency of heat transfer from the canister (100) to the heat transfer module (200).

According to one embodiment of the present invention described above, there is a technical effect of being able to maintain a constant vaporization amount even if the amount of precursor inside the canister decreases. That is, when the canister (100) is filled with a large amount of solid precursor, vaporization occurs over the entire solid precursor, thereby generating a predetermined vaporization amount, and even when the solid precursor is reduced and filled only to, for example, a height of the heat transfer module (200), heat can be transferred to the precursor more quickly and in greater amounts through the heat transfer module (200), thereby preventing a decrease in the vaporization amount, and therefore, even when the amount of precursor gradually decreases, a constant vaporization amount is maintained or the vaporization amount reduction rate is lowered, thereby enabling maximum use of the precursor inside the canister.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are drawings explaining a heat transfer module according to an alternative embodiment, and disclose a heat transfer module having a structure in which tubes (230, 240) installed on a plate (210) have a diameter that decreases as they go upward.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of a heat transfer module of an alternative embodiment, and FIG. 8(a) is a schematic side view and FIG. 8(b) is a schematic view of a shape of one tube viewed from above. Referring to FIG. 8, the heat transfer module has a multilayer tube (230) installed on a plate (210).

The multilayer tube (230) is composed of a first-stage tube (231) at the bottom and a second-stage tube (232) at the top. The first-stage tube (231) is, for example, a cylindrical tube having a predetermined first diameter, and the second-stage tube (232) is a cylindrical tube having a second diameter larger than the first diameter. In the illustrated embodiment, the diameter of the second-stage tube (232) is twice as large as the diameter of the first-stage tube (231), and therefore, it will be understood that the structure is such that one second-stage tube (232) is installed by being placed on four adjacent first-stage tubes (231) as illustrated in FIG. 8(b). At this time, the first stage tubes (231) can be installed on the plate (210) by spot welding at each point of contact with the adjacent tubes as described above, and the second tubes (232) can be installed on the first tube (231) by spot welding at each point indicated by W in Fig. 8(b), i.e., the point where they meet the upper end of the first stage tube (231).

In the illustrated embodiment, the tube (230) is illustrated as having a two-stage structure, but this is exemplary and may be configured in multiple stages, such as three or four stages. In this case, the tube diameter is configured to be larger as it goes up the stage than at the lower stage.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view of a heat transfer module according to another alternative embodiment. In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the heat transfer module is composed of a plate (210) and a plurality of tubes (240) installed thereon. Each tube (240) has a shape in which the diameter decreases as it goes up, i.e., a cone or a conical shape with a truncated top. In this configuration, the tubes (240) can be joined to each other by spot welding at each contact point with neighboring tubes (240) and attached to the plate (210).

In this way, since the tubes (230, 240) have a structure in which the diameter decreases as they go upward, as in Fig. 8 or Fig. 9, the vaporization amount of the precursor can be maintained even more consistently. That is, since the area in contact with the tubes (230, 240) gradually decreases (linearly or nearly linearly) as they go toward the upper space inside the canister and the contact area gradually increases as they go toward the lower space, the gradual decrease in the precursor inside the canister and the increase in the contact area with the tubes (230, 240) are offset, so that a constant vaporization amount can be maintained.

Fig. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of vaporizing a precursor in a canister (100) equipped with a heat transfer module (200) and supplying it to a semiconductor processing facility. It is assumed that the solid precursor is initially almost filled in the internal space of the canister (100). In addition, although not shown in the drawing, it is assumed that a control unit (not shown) receives a temperature measurement value of a temperature sensor (130) installed on the lower surface of the canister and controls each step of Fig. 10 based on the temperature measurement value.

First, in step (S10), the control unit operates the first heater (310) and the second heater (320) to heat the canister (100) and vaporize the precursor. At this time, the first heater (310) heats to a first temperature (T11) and the second heater (320) heats to a second temperature (T2), but the temperatures are set so that the second temperature (T2) is higher than the first temperature (T11). When the precursor vaporizes and rises to the top of the canister, if the upper temperature is low, the precursor may condense again. Therefore, to prevent this, it is preferable to set the temperatures of the first heater (310) and the second heater (320) so that the temperature increases from the bottom to the top of the canister (or at least so that the temperatures are the same).

Meanwhile, while the precursor is vaporized and supplied to the semiconductor processing facility, the remaining amount of the precursor is measured using a level sensor installed inside the canister (100) (S20), and if the precursor remains above a preset height, the temperature setting of the first and second heaters (310, 320) is maintained as is (S30_No). Here, the 'predetermined height' can be determined according to the height of the heat transfer module (200), that is, the height of the tube (200), and for example, can be the same height as the upper end of the tube (200) or a height slightly higher or lower than this.

As the precursor is continuously used, if the precursor residual amount decreases and becomes below the predetermined height (S30_Yes), the control unit changes the temperature setting of the first heater (310). That is, the temperature of the first heater is increased from T11 to T12. At this time, the temperature of T12 is higher than the initial setting temperature (T11) and lower than the temperature of the second heater (T2). That is, when the precursor residual amount decreases to a similar height to the heat transfer module (200), the temperature of the heater (i.e., the first heater (310)) around the heat transfer module (200) is slightly increased to increase the vaporization amount of the precursor around the heat transfer module (200), thereby offsetting the decrease in the vaporization amount due to the decrease in the precursor residual amount, so that a constant vaporization amount can be maintained.

As described above, those skilled in the art in which the present invention pertains can make various modifications and variations from the description of the above-described specification. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the claims described below but also by equivalents of the claims.

100: Canister 110: Body
120: Cover 130: Temperature sensor
200: Heat transfer module 210: Plate
220, 230, 240: Tube 310, 320: Heater

Claims (7)

As a heat transfer module installed inside a canister storing a precursor,
A plate (210) detachably attached to the bottom surface inside the canister; and
It comprises a plurality of cylindrical tubes (220) attached to each other in close contact with the upper surface of the above plate;
A heat transfer module characterized in that heat applied from the outside of the canister is transferred to a precursor inside the canister through the plate and tube. In paragraph 1,
A heat transfer module, characterized in that the height of the tube is between 2/10 and 5/10 of the height of the internal space of the canister. In paragraph 1,
The above plates and tubes are made of stainless steel or Hastelloy,
A heat transfer module characterized in that the lower end of each tube is attached to the upper surface of the plate by welding. In paragraph 1,
The above tube is composed of a plurality of first-stage tubes installed on the upper surface of the above plate and a second-stage tube installed on the upper portion of the first-stage tubes,
A heat transfer module, characterized in that the diameter of each tube of the second-stage tube is larger than the diameter of each tube of the first-stage tube. In paragraph 1,
A heat transfer module characterized in that each of the above tubes has a cylindrical shape and a structure in which the diameter gradually decreases toward the top. As a canister for storing precursors,
A canister characterized by comprising a heat transfer module according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is detachably installed on a bottom surface inside the canister. In paragraph 6,
A first heater (310) for heating a side of the canister surrounding at least a portion of the heat transfer module and a lower surface of the canister; and
A canister further comprising a control unit for controlling the temperature of the first heater.

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