Gas-liquid separator and polishing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9616360-B2
Application number	US-201314135364-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 19, 2013
Priority date	Dec 21, 2012
Publication date	Apr 11, 2017
Grant date	Apr 11, 2017

Abstract

A gas-liquid separator includes: a gas-liquid separation tank; a gas-liquid introduction pipe configured to introduce a gas-liquid two-phase flow into the gas-liquid separation tank, the gas-liquid introduction pipe extending in the gas-liquid separation tank; a spray nozzle configured to spray pure water toward a liquid that has been collected on a bottom of the gas-liquid separation tank; a drain pipe communicating with a liquid discharge outlet provided in the bottom of the gas-liquid separation tank; and an exhaust pipe communicating with a gas discharge outlet provided in a side wall of the gas-liquid separation tank. The gas discharge outlet is located above a lower end of the gas-liquid introduction pipe.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A polishing apparatus comprising:
a polishing table having a polishing surface;
a top ring configured to hold a substrate and press the substrate against the polishing surface;
a processing liquid supply nozzle configured to supply a processing liquid to the polishing surface;
a drain receiver disposed around the polishing table and configured to recover a gas-liquid two-phase flow that has been removed from the polishing table, the gas-liquid two-phase flow containing the processing liquid; and
a gas-liquid separator configured to separate the gas-liquid two-phase flow, which has been recovered by the drain receiver, into a gas and a liquid and discharging the gas and the liquid,
the gas-liquid separator including:
a gas-liquid separation tank;
a gas-liquid introduction pipe configured to introduce a the gas-liquid two-phase flow into the gas-liquid separation tank, the gas-liquid introduction pipe extending in the gas-liquid separation tank;
a spray nozzle configured to spray pure water onto the liquid that has been separated from the gas-liquid two-phase flow and has been collected on a bottom of the gas-liquid separation tank, the collected liquid containing the processing liquid, the spray nozzle comprises an orifice directed vertically and downwardly toward the bottom of the liquid separation tank, wherein the spray nozzle comprises a first nozzle having the orifice directed vertically and downwardly and a second nozzle, the second nozzle having an orifice directed at an angle relative to the first nozzle;
a drain pipe communicating with a liquid discharge outlet provided in the bottom of the gas-liquid separation tank; and
an exhaust pipe communicating with a gas discharge outlet provided in a side wall of the gas-liquid separation tank, the gas discharge outlet being located above a lower end of the gas-liquid introduction pipe.

2. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first nozzle is oriented in a vertical direction, and the second nozzle is inclined from the vertical direction at a predetermined angle.

3. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the spray nozzle comprises a plurality of conical nozzles.

4. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an exhaust box having, in its interior, a mist trap configured to capture a mist contained in a gas, the exhaust pipe communicating with the exhaust box.

5. The polishing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the mist trap includes a trap plate disposed such that a gas flow hits the trap plate, and a weir plate configured to dam up a liquid that has been captured by the trap plate and dropped from the trap plate onto a bottom of the exhaust box.

6. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the spray nozzle comprises a conical nozzle.

Assignees

• Ebara Corp

Inventors

• Ushimaru Seiya

Classifications

• B24B37/34

  Accessories · CPC title

• B01D19/02 Primary

  Foam dispersion or prevention (during boiling B01B1/02; during fermentation C12) · CPC title

• B01D19/0047

  Atomizing, spraying, trickling · CPC title

• B01D45/08

  by impingement against baffle separators · CPC title

• B01D19/00

  Degasification of liquids · CPC title