Tube-in-tube temperature control for lower costs in semiconductor manufacturing

Microchips have become an integral part of our lives today – they are in use almost everywhere: automotive and vehicle technology, industrial automation, robotics, energy and environmental technology, home electronics, healthcare and agricultural electronics.

However, before wafers and finally ready-to-use microchips are made from quartz sand, numerous work steps are necessary. Many of the media used in semiconductor production require precise, constant temperatures. This is the only way to ensure an optimal process result.

Lower manufacturing costs thanks to constant temperatures

One of the working steps in semiconductor technology is lithography. For this purpose, special photoresist and developer media are delivered in small containers and placed either in the gray room or directly in the machine. Both photoresist and developer need a certain temperature, which also remains stable.

Fluctuating temperatures have a negative impact on the process. A temperature difference of 1 ° C results in longer process and rework times, among other things. This in turn causes the manufacturing costs of the wafer to skyrocket. On the other hand, if you manage to keep the temperatures surrounding the medium constant, the costs of production decrease.

The tube-in-tube principle ensures stable temperature control of media up to +/- 0.1 ° C

Liquids or media such as photoresists do not have a chemical supply with independent temperature control. A tube-in-tube solution that ensures constant temperature control makes sense here.

The tube-in-tube principle for medium temperature control works as follows:

• An SMC temperature control unit pumps a pre-tempered circulating medium or circulation medium into an (outer) tube.
• In this outer tube there is a high-purity PFA inner tube hose with a smaller diameter, which contains the process medium.
• The pressurized medium container conveys the process medium directly to the point-of-use in the process chamber and onto the wafer by means of a stop-and-go process.
• During the stop phase, the medium in the inner tube is brought to the required temperature.

Based on the tube length and size, you determine the amount of process medium to be pre-tempered and you can set the set point to up to +/- 0.1 ° C.

This tube-in-tube principle is suitable for both cooling and heating.

Advantages of the SMC tube-in-tube solution at a glance

• Thanks to the pre-tempered medium, continuous process operation is possible.
• Using the tube length and tube hose diameter, you determine how much process medium is to be pre-tempered.
• Temperature accuracy +/- 0.1 ° C.
• Cost reduction, as no expensive and time-consuming rework is necessary.

Complete solution for medium temperature control

With us you get a complete solution for your application: From temperature control units to a high-purity, chemical-resistant PFA tube-in-tube solution to fittings or screw connections (also chemical-resistant), we can offer you everything from a single source.

Would you like to find out more about our tube-in-tube temperature control and its possible applications?
Contact us – our team will be happy to answer your questions.