Method for cleaning exhaust passage for semiconductor crystal manufacturing device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10458044-B2
Application number	US-201715654266-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 19, 2017
Priority date	Mar 29, 2011
Publication date	Oct 29, 2019
Grant date	Oct 29, 2019

Abstract

Dust that is accumulated in an exhaust passage provided in a chamber, the exhaust passage for discharging gas in the chamber of a semiconductor crystal manufacturing device, is removed by being sucked from the outside of the chamber. Moreover, an opening and closing valve for cleaning that is detachably attached to an opening of the exhaust passage, the opening facing the chamber, is opened and closed intermittently in a suction state. Furthermore, the opening and closing valve for cleaning is driven by a valve driving unit. The dust accumulated in the exhaust passage is removed efficiently, whereby the time required to clean the exhaust passage is shortened and fluctuations of the pressure inside the chamber when a semiconductor crystal is manufactured are suppressed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for cleaning an exhaust passage for a semiconductor crystal manufacturing device, the cleaning method by which dust that is accumulated in the exhaust passage is removed by sucking the dust from outside of a chamber, the exhaust passage provided in the chamber to discharge atmosphere gas in the chamber of the semiconductor crystal manufacturing device,
wherein
an atmosphere introduction process in which an opening of the exhaust passage, the opening facing the chamber, is opened by an opening and closing valve for cleaning that is detachably attached to the opening, and the atmosphere gas is introduced into the exhaust passage and
an atmosphere discharge process in which the atmosphere gas in the exhaust passage is discharged by suction of the atmosphere gas in a state in which the opening is closed

are performed in such a way that each process is performed once or are repeated more than once.

2. The method for cleaning an exhaust passage for a semiconductor crystal manufacturing device according to claim 1 , wherein a repetition cycle of the atmosphere discharge process and the atmosphere introduction process is 1 to 30 seconds.

Assignees

• Sumco Corp

Inventors

• Okita Kenji

Classifications

• C30B29/06

  Silicon · CPC title

• C30B35/00

  Apparatus not otherwise provided for, specially adapted for the growth, production or after-treatment of single crystals or of a homogeneous polycrystalline material with defined structure · CPC title

• Y10T117/00

  Single-crystal, oriented-crystal, and epitaxy growth processes; non-coating apparatus therefor · CPC title

• C30B35/007 Primary

  Apparatus for preparing, pre-treating the source material to be used for crystal growth · CPC title

• C30B29/40

  AIIIBV compounds {wherein A is B, Al, Ga, In or Tl and B is N, P, As, Sb or Bi} · CPC title