IP Library › Granted Patent US 12666896
Granted Patent B2
US 12666896 · App. 17/446,396 · Granted Jun 23, 2026

Vent port diffuser

Inventors: Yung-Tsun Liu (Taipei City, TW); Chao-Hung Wan (Taichung City, TW); Kuang-Wei Cheng (Hsinchu City, TW); Chih-Tsung Lee (Hsinchu City, TW); Chyi-Tsong Ni (Hsinchu City, TW)
Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
H10P72/0402B08B5/00
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12666896
App. No.
17/446,396
Granted
Jun 23, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A chamber of a semiconductor fabrication facility may include a vent port diffuser. The vent port diffuser may include a first tube member configured to couple the vent port diffuser to a vent port of the chamber. The vent port diffuser may include a second tube member coupled to the first tube member. The second tube member may comprise a plurality of openings spaced along a length of the second tube member, with the plurality of openings configured to receive a fluid from the chamber. Based on the semiconductor fabrication facility including the vent port diffuser, the chamber may be configured to provide an improved flow field of a fluid within the chamber. In this way, the vent port diffuser may reduce defects of semiconductor devices transported through the chamber that might otherwise be caused by contaminants.

Claims (61)

1 . A method, comprising:

receiving a fluid from a chamber via a plurality of openings spaced along a length of a first tube member of a vent port diffuser,

wherein the first tube member is coupled to a second tube member of the vent port diffuser, and

wherein the plurality of openings are positioned within the first tube member along a plane that substantially bisects a height of the first tube member;

providing the fluid from the first tube member to the second tube member,

wherein the second tube member is directly coupled to a vent port of the chamber at a first end of the second tube member, and

wherein the second tube member is directly coupled to the first tube member at a second end of the second tube member; and

providing the fluid to the vent port via the second tube member.

2 . The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the first tube member is coupled to the second tube member at a plane that bisects a length of the first tube member.

3 . The method of claim 1 ,

wherein a first opening, of the plurality of openings, is positioned at a first lateral distance from a longitudinal axis of the second tube member,

wherein a second opening, of the plurality of openings, is positioned at a second lateral distance from the first opening, and

wherein the second lateral distance is greater than the first lateral distance.

4 . The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the first tube member has an elliptical-shaped cross-section that is substantially orthogonal to a length of the first tube member.

5 . The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the plurality of openings are arranged with symmetry about a longitudinal axis of the second tube member.

6 . The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the first tube member comprises a first opening at a first end and a second opening at a second end,

wherein the first opening has a first cross-section area and the second opening has a second cross-section area, and

wherein the first cross-section area and the second cross-section area are larger than cross-section areas of the plurality of openings.

7 . The method of claim 1 ,

wherein cross-section areas of the plurality of openings are substantially equal.

8 . The method of claim 1 ,

wherein cross-section areas of the plurality of openings are smaller than a cross-section area of the first end of the second tube member.

9 . A method, comprising:

receiving, via a first tube member of a vent port diffuser, a fluid from a chamber,

wherein the first tube member is configured to receive the fluid via a plurality of openings spaced along a plane that substantially bisects a height of the first tube member,

wherein the plurality of openings are substantially symmetric about a longitudinal axis of the first tube member, and

wherein spacing between an opening and an adjacent opening, of the plurality of openings, is based on a lateral distance of the opening from the longitudinal axis of a second tube member of the vent port diffuser;

receiving the fluid from the first tube member at the second tube member,

wherein the second tube member is coupled, at a first end of the second tube member, to a vent port of the chamber, and

wherein the second tube member is coupled, at a second end of the second tube member, to the first tube member; and

providing the fluid to the vent port via the second tube member.

10 . The method of claim 9 ,

wherein the first tube member is substantially parallel to a lower surface of the chamber.

11 . The method of claim 9 ,

wherein the first tube member is substantially perpendicular to the second tube member.

12 . The method of claim 9 ,

wherein the plurality of openings comprise polygonal-shaped openings.

13 . The method of claim 12 ,

wherein the polygonal-shaped openings comprise hexagonal-shaped openings.

14 . A method, comprising:

receiving, via a plurality of openings spaced along a length of a first tube member of a vent port diffuser, a fluid from a chamber;

providing the fluid from the first tube member to a second tube member of the vent port diffuser, wherein a first opening, of the plurality of openings, is positioned at a first lateral distance from a longitudinal axis of the second tube member,

wherein a second opening, of the plurality of openings, is positioned at a second lateral distance from the first opening, and

wherein the second lateral distance is greater than the first lateral distance; and

providing the fluid from the second tube member to a vent port on a surface of an interior of the chamber, wherein the second tube member is directly coupled to the vent port.

15 . The method of claim 14 ,

wherein the fluid comprises a gas configured to displace contaminants from a region above a transport tool in the interior of the chamber.

16 . The method of claim 14 ,

wherein sizes of the plurality of openings are based on distances of the plurality of openings from a longitudinal axis of the first tube member.

17 . The method of claim 14 ,

wherein the vent port is positioned on a lower surface of the interior of the chamber,

wherein the vent port is positioned on a side surface of the interior of the chamber, or

wherein the vent port is positioned on an upper surface of the interior of the chamber.

18 . The method of claim 14 ,

wherein the plurality of openings are positioned within the first tube member along a plane that substantially bisects a height of the first tube member.

19 . The method of claim 14 ,

wherein the first tube member has an elliptical-shaped cross-section that is substantially orthogonal to a length of the first tube member.