• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.459-465
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• 2011

Excessive heat may be generated during the semiconductor manufacturing process. Therefore, precise control of temperature is required to maintain a constant ambient temperature and wafer temperature in the chamber. Compared to an industrial chiller, a semiconductor chiller's power consumption is high because it is in continuous operation for a year. Because of this high power consumption, it is necessary to develop an energy-efficient chiller by optimizing the operation. The competitiveness of domestic products is low because of the high energy consumption. We experimentally investigated a domestic semiconductor by conducting load change, temperature rise and fall, and control precision experiments. The experimental study showed that the chiller had 2.1-3.9 kW of cooling capacity and 0.56-0.93 of EER. The control precisions were ${\pm}1^{\circ}C$ and ${\pm}0.6^{\circ}C$ when the setting temperatures were $0^{\circ}C$ and $30^{\circ}C$ respectively.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.1285-1292
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• 2011

The characteristics of a semiconductor chiller system with EEV have been experimentally studied. Three experiments on temperature changes (increase and decrease), load variation, and control precision were conducted to investigate the operating characteristics of the semiconductor chiller. The power consumption was 8.9 kW during increase in temperature. The required time was 37.5 min for CH1 and 39.5 min for CH2. Moreover, the time required for falling temperature was 26.5 min. The control precision for partial load operation was relatively low compared to that of a full load operation. In addition, the CH2 equipped with a step motor showed better control precision. The power consumed by the chiller for process cooling water was 1.8 kW, which was one-half of that consumed during the refrigeration cycle. The objective of this study is to provide an optimal control guideline for the semiconductor chiller design.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.760-766
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• 2010

Excessive heat occurs during semiconductor manufacturing process. Thus, precise control of temperature is required to maintain constant chamber-temperature and also wafer-temperature in the chamber. Compared to an industrial chiller, semiconductor chiller's power consumption is very high due to its continuous operation for a year. Considering the high power consumption, it is necessary to develop an energy efficient chiller by optimizing operation control. Therefore, in this study, a semiconductor chiller is experimentally investigated to suggest energy-saving direction by conducting load change, temperature rise and fall and control precision experiments. The experimental study shows the cooling capacity of dual-channel chiller rises over 30% comparing to the conventional chiller. The time and power consumption in the temperature rising experiment are 43 minutes and 8.4 kWh, respectively. The control precision is the same as ${\pm}1^{\circ}C$ at $0^{\circ}C$ in any cases. However, it appears that the dual channel's control precision improves to ${\pm}0.5^{\circ}C$ when the setting temperature is over $30^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.27-34
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• 2023

With the technological development of the semiconductor industry, the roles of electrical and thermal energy supply and control of semiconductor equipment in ultrafine processes have become very important. However, instances of electrical fires in the chiller heater, which is used for cooling in the semiconductor manufacturing process, are increasing. A fire occurs in combustibles due to high heat at the connection part of the chiller heater, that is, when the number of electrical wires in the connection part is reduced or when the wires are completely disconnected. In this study, the temperature characteristics were compared and analyzed through experiments and 3D simulations. The number of electrical wires, which is the connection part of the chiller heater, was reduced by 90%, 50%, 30%, 10%, and 5%, and the wires were completely disconnected. When the number of electrical wires was reduced by 5%, heat of up to 80℃ was generated, which is a relatively high temperature but insufficient to cause a fire in combustibles. Complete disconnection occurred due to the vibration of the motor and other components, and sparks and arcs were generated, resulting in a rapid increase in temperature to up to 680℃. When completely disconnected, the temperature increase was sufficient to cause a fire in the combustibles covering the terminal block. Therefore, in this study, the causes of electrical fires in chiller heaters were investigated and preventive measures were proposed by analyzing abnormal signals and thermal characteristics caused by the electrical wiring being reduced and completely disconnected.