Process for treating fluid

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9789448-B2
Application number	US-201414163261-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 24, 2014
Priority date	Jan 24, 2014
Publication date	Oct 17, 2017
Grant date	Oct 17, 2017

Abstract

Embodiments of a process for treating a fluid are provided. The process for treating a fluid includes supplying a first fluid to a circulating chamber and introducing a first gas to the first fluid. A portion of the first gas is dissolved in the first fluid and a portion of the first gas is held in a head space portion of the circulating chamber. The process further includes mixing a portion of the first fluid drawn out from the circulating chamber and a portion of the first gas drawn out from the head space portion to form a mixture. The process further includes spraying the mixture back into the circulating chamber by a two-fluid nozzle. In addition, the first gas is further dissolved into the first fluid to form a high conductivity fluid. The process further includes draining the high conductivity fluid from the circulating chamber.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A process for treating a fluid, comprising:
supplying a first fluid to a liquid-containing portion of a circulating chamber;
introducing a first gas into the liquid-containing portion, such that a portion of the first gas is dissolved in the first fluid and a portion of the first gas passes through the first fluid and enters a head space portion of the circulating chamber;
mixing a portion of the first fluid drawn out from the liquid-containing portion and a portion of the first gas drawn out from the head space portion to form a mixture;
spraying the mixture back into the circulating chamber by a two-fluid nozzle, to form a high conductivity fluid, wherein a portion of the first gas in the head space portion is sucked into the two-fluid nozzle and mixed with the mixture in the two-fluid nozzle;
draining the high conductivity fluid from the circulating chamber;
supplying a second fluid to a fluid mixing chamber at a first flow rate, wherein the second fluid is the high conductivity fluid drained out from the circulating chamber;
sensing the first flow rate of the second fluid by a proportional-integral-derivative controller;
supplying a third fluid to the fluid mixing chamber at a second flow rate controlled by the proportional-integral-derivative controller;
mixing the second fluid and the third fluid in the fluid mixing chamber to form a mixed fluid; and
draining the mixed fluid from the fluid mixing chamber,
wherein a conductivity of the mixed fluid is less than a conductivity of the second fluid.

2. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
controlling a pressure of the circulating chamber by a back pressure regulator.

3. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the pressure of the circulating chamber is in a range from about 1 atm to about 10 atm.

4. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first gas comprises carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, xenon, helium, krypton, or combinations thereof.

5. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first fluid and the third fluid are both deionized water.

6. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
analyzing a volume ratio of the second fluid to the third fluid in the mixed fluid by an
analyzer, wherein the analyzer is coupled to the fluid mixing chamber and the proportional-integral-derivative controller; and
providing a signal from the analyzer to the proportional-integral-derivative controller for adjusting the second flow rate of the third fluid.

7. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
introducing the mixed fluid to a gas mixing chamber;
introducing a second gas and a third gas to the mixed fluid to form a conductivity-modified fluid; and
draining the conductivity-modified fluid from the gas mixing chamber.

8. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the second gas is carbon dioxide and the third gas is nitrogen.

9. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the conductivity of the mixed fluid is less than a conductivity of the conductivity-modified fluid.

10. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 7 , further comprising:
cleaning a semiconductor structure by the conductivity-modified fluid.

11. A process for treating a fluid, comprising:
introducing a first fluid to a circulating chamber;
introducing a first gas into the first fluid, such that a portion of the first gas is dissolved in the first fluid and a portion of the first gas passes through the first fluid and enters a head space portion of the circulating chamber;
mixing a portion of the first fluid drawn out from the circulating chamber and a portion of the first gas drawn out from the head space portion to form a mixture;
spraying the mixture back into the circulating chamber by a two-fluid nozzle to form a high conductivity fluid, wherein a portion of the first gas in the head space portion is sucked into the two-fluid nozzle and mixed with the mixture in the two-fluid nozzle;
introducing the high conductivity fluid to a fluid mixing chamber at a first flow rate;
sensing the first flow rate of the high conductivity fluid by a proportional-integral-derivative controller;
introducing a third fluid to the fluid mixing chamber at a second flow rate controlled by the proportional-integral-derivative controller;
mixing the high conductivity fluid and the third fluid so that the high conductivity fluid is diluted by the third fluid in the fluid mixing chamber to form a mixed fluid; and
draining the mixed fluid from the fluid mixing chamber.

12. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 11 , wherein a conductivity of the mixed fluid is less than a conductivity of the high conductivity fluid.

13. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 11 , further comprising:
introducing the mixed fluid to a gas mixing chamber;
introducing a second gas and a third gas to the mixed fluid to form a conductivity-modified fluid; and
draining the conductivity-modified fluid from the gas mixing chamber.

14. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the first fluid is deionized water, and the first gas is carbon dioxide.

15. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 13 , wherein a conductivity of the mixed fluid is less than a conductivity of the high conductivity fluid, and the conductivity of the mixed fluid is less than a conductivity of the conductivity-modified fluid.

16. A process for treating a fluid, comprising:
introducing a first fluid to a circulating chamber;
introducing a first gas into the first fluid, such that a portion of the first gas is dissolved in the first fluid and a portion of the first gas passes through the first fluid and enters a head space portion of the circulating chamber;
mixing a portion of the first fluid drawn out from the circulating chamber and a portion of the first gas drawn out from the head space portion to form a mixture;
sucking a portion of the first gas from the head space portion to mix with the mixture and spraying the mixture back into the circulating chamber to form a high conductivity fluid;
draining the high conductivity fluid from the circulating chamber to a fluid mixing chamber;
introducing a third fluid to the fluid mixing chamber to form a mixed fluid, wherein a conductivity of the mixed fluid is less than a conductivity of the high conductivity fluid;
introducing the mixed fluid to a gas mixing chamber; and
introducing a second gas and a third gas to the mixed fluid to form a conductivity-modified fluid.

17. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the second gas is carbon dioxide and the third gas is nitrogen.

18. The process for treating a fluid as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the conductivity of the mixed fluid is less than a conductivity of the conductivity-modified fluid.

Assignees

• Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg Co Ltd
• Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg Co Ltd

Inventors

• Wu Shing-Fong
• Hung Yung-Ti
• Chien Shih-Pao
• Chen Yen-Chen

Classifications

• H10P72/0402 Primary

  Apparatus for fluid treatment (H10P72/0441, H10P72/0448 take precedence) · CPC title

• C11D11/0094

  Process for making liquid detergent compositions, e.g. slurries, pastes or gels · CPC title

• C11D7/04

  Water-soluble compounds · CPC title

• B01F3/04737

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• C11D11/0047

  Chemistry & Metallurgy · mapped topic