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BFS – Chamber Cross Talking

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Have you ever enjoyed a nice warm shower, when someone in the next room opens the warm water tap and suddenly your shower turns icy cold? This is due to chamber cross talking. Chamber cross talking occurs when different branches in a supply line influence each other without being directly connected. When opening the warm water tap, warm water flows out at a given pressure provided by the central supply, and the temperature in the shower turns warm. By opening another warm water tap, the total warm water flow in the main line increases while the pressure decreases. Less pressure at the shower inlet results in less warm water flow and thus the shower turns cold. What role does chamber cross talking play in semiconductor manufacturing? In semiconductor manufacturing tools, electronic specialty gases produce critical features on wafers. To maintain consistent pressure and thus process conditions inside the chamber, these gases need to be delivered and purged in precise quantities and with excellent repeatability. This is where chamber cross talking comes in. With additional process chambers connected to the central exhaust line, the total flow and pressure in the exhaust line change and can therefore lead to inconsistent pressure conditions inside the process chamber. One way to avoid chamber cross talking is to individually control the pressure inside of each chamber with a Levitronix® bearingless fan. The pressure sensor detects fluctuations due to chamber cross talking, which are dynamically compensated for by the bearingless fan. This way, the pressure and thus the process conditions inside the chamber remain constant leading to an improved repeatability!

Company Levitronix