BULK GAS DELIVERY:
Handle Higher Flow Rates with the
Highest Standards of Safety & Reliability
The acceleration of digital transformation across industries has driven growth within the semiconductor market, creating greater demand for these materials which play a vital role enabling varied technologies.
The 300mm silicon wafer market is expected
to increase 5% in 2021.
Gases are the lifeblood of fabrication processes, and increasing output to keep up with growth means that fabs need gas supply systems with greater capacity.
Bulk gas delivery systems that support higher flow rates can solve this dilemma—but they come with engineering challenges. There are unique thermodynamic issues that arise when handling larger flows, and safety and reliability can be compromised by under-equipped delivery solutions.
Ideal Bulk Gas Delivery:
What to Look for In a Winning System
Here are 5 key factors to consider when evaluating a bulk gas delivery system that will equally balance performance and safety demands—helping you increase yield without compromise.
SEMI S2 Certification
The semiconductor industry developed the SEMI S2 guidelines to ensure a standard of safety throughout fabs worldwide, and they set stringent standards for the testing, evaluation, and certification of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Why?
A SEMI S2 certified bulk gas delivery system will, at minimum, be shown to comply with requirements for:
- Hazard Alert Labels
- Safety Interlock Systems
- Emergency Shutdown
- Electrical Design
- Fire Protection
- Process Liquid Heating
- Hazardous Energy Isolation
- Seismic Protection
- Exhaust Specifications
Standardized Heating Platform
The system’s heating design is one of the most critical considerations in handling bulk gas. Flow rates can vary from 100 LPM to more than 700 LPM, depending on the process, and the heating model must factor in variations in flow, weight, pressure, and more to maintain consistent temperatures.
Why?
Many vendors that claim higher flow rates can only do so because they use unsafe heating designs. To ensure your manufacturing partner has invested in modeling a safe, reliable heating system, ask:
- Is the platform’s heating model proven, understood, and able to be consistently applied at varying flow rates?
- Can system alarms be adjusted within the same design to meet process-dependent thresholds, without compromising safety?
Installation Flexibility
Due to their sheer size, bulk gas delivery systems can be difficult to place near the source, limited by space or safety and building code restrictions.
Why?
Layout is crucial to the proper and efficient operation of bulk gas delivery systems, and ingenuity may be required to ensure the right facility connections. Some options could include:
- Interface panels which can be placed next to the tonner cylinder. Use of such panels has been shown to greatly improve performance and purity levels of bulk gas systems.
- Outdoor installation or an enclosure to house the bulk system. It will be important to choose a system engineering partner versed in the requirements of more complex layouts—including what is needed to pipe all the way to the tool.
System Redundancy
Uptime is a key performance indicator in fabs today as they seek to increase output to keep up with growing demand. A bulk cabinet going down unexpectedly, even briefly, has costly implications.
Why?
Complete redundancy guarantees no downtime. However, this redundancy does not need to be limited to just the cabinets themselves. Look for:
- Multiple Controllers: does each cabinet have its own controller, so the system is not dependent on a single control technology?
- Controllers That Interface: while each cabinet operates separately, can the controllers talk to each other to efficiently orchestrate processes as needed?
Cross-Filling Mitigation
Cross-filling occurs in multi-cylinder bulk gas delivery systems when cylinders empty at varied rates. If one cylinder empties before another, gas from a fuller cylinder can flow into that drained vessel or the system will have reduced capacity until a changeover occurs as it will be operating on fewer cylinders.
Why?
Cylinders in a multi-cylinder bulk gas system must be drained equally to prevent cross-contamination that alters readings and causes gas impurities. Your multi-cylinder solution should:
- Account for Heat Flux Variations: Subtle differences in the dynamic airflow around the cylinder, in the valve Cv’s, and/or in cylinder surface paint can all affect the required heat flux into a cylinder to maintain consistent draw from multiple cylinders in a bank.
- Facilitate Even Dispensing: through the modification of blanket set points based on system flow information.
Bulk Up Bulk Gas Purity with SEMI-GAS® Megaturion™ Systems
SEMI-GAS® ultra high purity gas delivery systems have been the choice of Tier 1 semiconductor leaders for 40 years, and its line of Megaturion™ Bulk Specialty Gas Systems set the standard for safe, high-performance distribution and delivery of bulk process gases. Here’s how:
- SEMI S2 Compliant
- Proven Heat Model
- Expert Engineers
- Redundant Design
- Innovative Software
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SEMI S2 Compliant
All SEMI-GAS® systems are built to serve the rigorous safety requirements of the semiconductor industry.
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Proven Yet Flexible Heating Platform
Through extensive heat modeling, AES has standardized a robust design that can be tailored to the thermodynamic and safety nuances of processes requiring various high flow rates.
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Backed by System Layout Experts
The engineers behind Megaturion™ have also helped to install hundreds of bulk delivery systems in varied indoor and outdoor environments, and are well versed in facility connection and piping requirements.
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Built for Redundancy
Megaturion™ systems offer flexible configuration through redundant cabinets, each equipped with GigaGuard™ controllers that operate the cabinets independently while interfacing together.
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Innovation to Enable Even Dispensing
SEMI-GAS’® proprietary Multi-Cylinder Assist for Liquid Level Equilibrium (M.A.L.L.E.) software uses an algorithm based on scale inputs, heat set points, and system flow information to modify blanket set points to maintain consistent draw across cylinders, mitigating cross-filling.
Explore the full line of SEMI-GAS® Megaturion™ Bulk Specialty Gas Systems and learn how Applied Energy Systems will help you configure your order today.
