IP Library Granted Patent US 12,057,334
Granted Patent B2
US 12,057,334 · App. 17/089,447 · Granted Aug 6, 2024

Control and monitoring system for gas delivery system

Inventors: Miranda Pizzella (St. Louis, MO); Andrew D. Selvy (O'Fallon, MO); Chelsea Diestelkamp (St. Louis, MO); Cory Brandes (St. Louis, MO)
Assignee: Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company
H01L21/67253H01L21/67017
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,057,334
App. No.
17/089,447
Granted
Aug 6, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method for monitoring a semiconductor processing system including a gas delivery system, a thermal system, and a fluid flow line includes obtaining a plurality of operational data from the gas delivery system, the thermal system, or a combination thereof and determining a performance characteristic of the fluid flow line based on one or more operational data of the plurality of operational data. The method includes identifying one or more locations associated with the one or more operational data in a reference virtual model and generating a dynamic state model of the fluid flow line based on the reference virtual model, the one or more identified locations, and the determined performance characteristic, where the dynamic state model is a digital representation of the fluid flow line.

Claims (38)

1. A method for monitoring a semiconductor processing system including a gas delivery system, a thermal system, and a fluid flow line, the method comprising:

obtaining a plurality of operational data from the gas delivery system, the thermal system, or a combination thereof;

determining a performance characteristic of the fluid flow line based on one or more operational data of the plurality of operational data;

identifying one or more locations associated with the one or more operational data in a reference virtual model; and

generating a dynamic state model of the fluid flow line based on the reference virtual model, the one or more identified locations, and the determined performance characteristic, wherein the dynamic state model is a digital representation of the fluid flow line, the digital representation is one of a two-dimensional image of the fluid flow line and a three-dimensional image of the fluid flow line, and the digital representation includes at least one status region that graphically indicates the performance characteristic of the fluid flow line.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying the reference virtual model of the fluid flow line from among a plurality of reference virtual models stored in a database.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of operational data includes temperature data of a heater, temperature data of the fluid flow line, electrical characteristic data of the heater, pump data of a pump, or a combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the electrical characteristic data includes a voltage of the heater, an electric current of the heater, or a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the performance characteristic includes a fluid flow temperature value based on the temperature data of the heater, the temperature data, or a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the performance characteristic is determined based on a statistical analysis of the operational data.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the statistical analysis is a deviation from a predefined setpoint, a statistical representation as a function of time of the operational data, or a combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the statistical analysis is a statistical representation of a heater zone of the thermal system, wherein the heater zone includes one or more heaters of a plurality of heaters of the thermal system.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference virtual model is a digital representation of the gas delivery system, the thermal system, the fluid flow line, or a combination thereof.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference virtual model provides a location of one or more heaters of the thermal system disposed at the fluid flow line, one or more sensors disposed at the fluid flow line, or a combination thereof.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the location of the one or more heaters and the one or more sensors is provided based on identification information of the one or more heaters.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dynamic state model is a thermal profile representation of the fluid flow line.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying, using a display device, the dynamic state model and one or more filter user interface elements that cause the display device to selectively display a set of the performance characteristics in response to a user input.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating an operation recommendation for one or more heaters of the thermal system based on one or more precursors of the semiconductor processing system.

15. A system for monitoring a semiconductor processing system including a gas delivery system, a thermal system, and a fluid flow line, the system comprising:

a processor; and

a nontransitory computer-readable medium including instructions that are executable by the processor, wherein the instructions include:

obtaining a plurality of operational data from the gas delivery system, the thermal system, or a combination thereof;

determining a performance characteristic of the fluid flow line based on one or more operational data of the plurality of operational data;

identifying one or more locations associated with the one or more operational data in a reference virtual model; and

generating a dynamic state model of the fluid flow line based on the reference virtual model, the one or more identified locations, and the determined performance characteristic, wherein the dynamic state model is a digital representation of the fluid flow line, the digital representation is one of a two-dimensional image of the fluid flow line and a three-dimensional image of the fluid flow line, and the digital representation includes at least one status region that graphically indicates the performance characteristic of the fluid flow line.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the instructions further include identifying the reference virtual model of the fluid flow line from among a plurality of reference virtual models stored in a database.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of operational data includes temperature data of a heater, temperature data of the fluid flow line, electrical characteristic data of the heater, pump data of a pump, or a combination thereof.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the electrical characteristic data includes a voltage of the heater, an electric current of the heater, or a combination thereof.

19. The system of claim 17 , wherein the performance characteristic includes a fluid flow temperature value based on the temperature data of the heater, the temperature data, or a combination thereof.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the performance characteristic is determined based on a statistical analysis of the operational data.

21. The system of claim 20 , wherein the statistical analysis is a deviation from a predefined setpoint, a statistical representation as a function of time of the operational data, or a combination thereof.

22. The system of claim 20 , wherein the statistical analysis is a statistical representation of a heater zone of the thermal system, wherein the heater zone includes one or more heaters of a plurality of heaters of the thermal system.

23. The system of claim 15 , wherein the reference virtual model is a digital representation of the gas delivery system, the thermal system, the fluid flow line, or a combination thereof.

24. The system of claim 15 , wherein the reference virtual model provides a location of one or more heaters of the thermal system disposed at the fluid flow line, one or more sensors disposed at the fluid flow line, or a combination thereof.

25. The system of claim 24 , wherein the location of the one or more heaters and the one or more sensors is provided based on identification information of the one or more heaters.

26. The system of claim 15 , wherein the dynamic state model is a thermal profile representation of the fluid flow line.

27. The system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further include displaying, using a display device, the dynamic state model and one or more filter user interface elements that cause the display device to selectively display a set of the performance characteristics in response to a user input.

28. The system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further include generating an operation recommendation for one or more heaters of the thermal system based on one or more precursors of the semiconductor processing system.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 11, 2021
From: PIZZELLA, MIRANDA; SELVY, ANDREW D.; DIESTELKAMP, CHELSEA; BRANDES, CORY
To: WATLOW ELECTRIC MANUFACTURING COMPANY
Reel/Frame 055566/0228 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (SHORT FORM) Recorded Mar 3, 2021
From: WATLOW ELECTRIC MANUFACTURING COMPANY
To: BANK OF MONTREAL, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 055479/0708 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62930272 · Nov 4, 2019
Related Publication 20210134630A1 · May 6, 2021