A new device for highly accurate gas flow control with extremely fast response times

This paper presents a new type of control scheme and device for controlling gas flow into semiconductor process chambers. The key component of the Gas Flow Controller (GFC) is a high-precision valve with an integrated position sensor, which is used to maintain a constant flow rate. A map lookup scheme is employed to adjust the valve position to accommodate the upstream pressure, including any changes or disturbances. The layout of the flow controller also allows for the incorporation of a pressure-volume-time-temperature-based flow measurement, which is a primary standard flow measurement, to confirm and maintain flow accuracy throughout the device´s lifetime. The fast response time of the sensors and the high sampling rate in the control loop enables the control of the gas flow within the order of tens of milliseconds.