Patent Application
20110299067
The present invention generally relates to an optical measurement cell for measuring a concentration of a chemical solution such as hydrofluoric acid (HF) in a manufacturing process of, e.g., a semiconductor and the like, and, in particular, to an optical measurement flow cell having a pair of optical windows sandwiching a flow channel therebetween for flowing a sample solution.
This type of flow cell is connected to a chemical solution pipe provided in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. A measurement light is irradiated to a sample solution through one of the optical windows of the flow cell and a transmitted light emitted from the other of the optical windows is received. Then, a concentration of a prescribed component contained in the sample solution is calculated based on a transmitted light intensity of the sample solution so that the concentration of the chemical solution is controlled.
Regarding the conventional flow cell, as shown in
However, since a processing cost for the process of bonding by welding or molecular bonding is high, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost thereof becomes high. In particular, in the case where a material (such as, e.g., sapphire) having a corrosion resistance against a chemical solution such as hydrofluoric acid (HF) is used, since a processing cost of the sapphire is expensive in addition that the material per se is expensive, the manufacturing cost further becomes higher. Also, since the light transmitting members are bonded to each other, a cell length of each flow cell is fixed. Therefore, if it is desired to measure a concentration of a solution using a different cell length, it is needed to prepare a different flow cell and there arises a problem that the cost is raised in addition.
In contrast to this, as disclosed in Patent Literature 1, it is considered to assemble a flow cell by sandwiching the light transmitting members instead of bonding the same. Specifically, a pair of light transmitting parts are arranged to be opposed at a predetermined interval and a spacer is interposed between the pair of the light transmitting members in order to define the interval to be a predetermined distance (i.e., cell length), and a frame body including these parts thereon is sandwiched by a pair of cover plates and screwed to be connected. Thus, the length of the spacer can be set so as to determine the cell length.
However, the spacer sandwiched by the pair of light transmitting members may be displaced by a vibration or shock at a time of carrying or installing the flow cell, or due to a pressure, etc., of a sample solution at a time of measurement, and this may result in the flow channel changing in shape, or the spacer may enter an improper position such as a location on an optical path of the measurement light, and there may occur a problem of measurement error.
In addition, in the assembling process of the flow cell, when the spacer is interposed between the light transmitting members, it is difficult to determine where the spacer is positioned with respect to the light transmitting members, and further when the spacer is disposed and sandwiched between the pair of light transmitting members to be fixed, the spacer may be suffer from the problem of being undesirably misaligned. Therefore, it is difficult to assemble the spacer and it is difficult to form the flow channel in a desired shape.
Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an essential object thereof is to provide an optical measurement cell capable of altering a cell length and ensuring a positioning of a spacer to a desired position while reducing a manufacturing cost.
Accordingly, an optical measurement cell pertaining to the present invention has a pair of optical windows sandwiching a flow channel accommodating a sample solution. The cell includes a cell body provided with an accommodating recess having a through hole formed in a part of a bottom surface thereof, a solution introduction part and a solution deriving part which are communicating with an inner circumferential surface of the accommodating recess; a pair of light transmitting members accommodated in the accommodating recess and forming the pair of optical windows; a spacer contacting respective opposing surfaces of the pair of light transmitting members and defining a distance between the opposing surfaces; and a pressing mechanism for pressing the pair of light transmitting members and the spacer toward the bottom surface of the accommodating recess to be brought into close contact with each other so as to form the flow channel connecting to the solution introduction part and the solution deriving part between the pair of light transmitting members, wherein a pair of positioning recesses, each having a shape corresponding to the spacer, are provided on at least one opposing surface of the pair of light transmitting members, the spacer positioned to fit in the positioning recesses so as to be positioned substantially. It is noted here that the terms “to be positioned substantially” means not only that the spacer is fitted to the positioning recess without backlash but also includes a meaning that the spacer is positioned in the positioning recess even with a slight backlash within a range such that no trouble is caused in measurement.
With this arrangement, since each of the light transmitting members and the spacer are pressed and brought into close contact with each other by the pressing mechanism, it is not necessary to execute a costly bonding process so that a manufacturing cost can be reduced. Further, since the light transmitting members are pressed to be brought into close contact with each other by the pressing mechanism without bonding each of the light transmitting members and the spacer, the spacer can be changed to another spacer having different thickness and shape, etc., and thus the cell length can be altered. Further, since the positioning recesses are formed in the light transmitting member, the spacer can be fitted to the positioning recesses so that the spacer can be prevented from being displaced by an external vibration, impact, pressure of the sample solution, etc., with respect to the light transmitting member provided with the positioning recesses. Moreover, the spacer can be securely positioned in a desired position so that the flow channel can be formed to have a desired shape. In addition, since the positioning recesses can be formed by cutting or polishing, etc., there is no need to separately attach an additional positioning member by bonding, and hence the manufacturing cost can be also reduced.
Each positioning recess is preferably provided in an outer edge portion of the opposing surface, and the bottom surface of the positioning recess is formed in a stepwise shape leading to a side surface of the light transmitting member, and the spacer is sandwiched between the inner circumferential surface of the accommodating recess and the side surface of the positioning recess facing the inner circumferential surface so as to be positioned. With this arrangement, the flow channel can be formed in a central portion of the cell. Further, since the positioning recess is provided in the outer edge portion, it is more easily formed by polishing than the case of providing the positioning recess at a central portion of the opposing surfaces.
In the assembling process, in order to securely position the spacer by confirming the position of the positioning recess of the light transmitting member previously arranged, it is desirable that the positioning recesses are provided on the opposing surfaces of the light transmitting members arranged in a bottom surface side of the accommodating recess.
It is preferable that the accommodating recess has substantially a circular shape in plan view, and each of the pair of light transmitting members has substantially a circular shape in plan view fitted to the accommodating recess, and the spacer is a pair of partial arc plates each having a side surface of a partial arc shape of substantially the same circle of the pair of light transmitting members in plan view, and the positioning recesses are provided to have a shape substantially the same as the spacer in plan view and are formed in the outer edge portions of the opposing surfaces and sandwich the solution introduction part and the solution deriving part. With this arrangement, since each member is mainly formed in a circular shape, a processing is easy and a manufacturing cost can be reduced. Also, there is an advantage that sealing can be easily carried out by a seal member such as an O ring. Moreover, in the case where a pair of members is used as the spacer, a contact pressure applied to the members can be more reduced than the case where any one of the pair of members is used as the spacer, and therefore breakage of the spacer can be prevented.
According to the present invention constructed as mentioned above, it becomes possible to alter the cell length while reducing the manufacturing cost and the spacer can be securely positioned at a desired position.
The following describes an optical measurement flow cell 100 pertaining to an embodiment of the present invention referring to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in
Specifically, as shown in
The flow cell body 10 has a generally rectangular parallel piped shape as shown in
The accommodating recess 11 is intended to accommodate the pair of light transmitting members 20 and 21 and the spacer 30 inside thereof. As shown in
The solution deriving part 13 is intended to derive the sample solution from the accommodating recess 11. As shown in
The solution introduction part 14 is intended to introduce a sample solution to the accommodating recess 11. As shown in
As shown in
Referring to a thickness of the first light transmitting member 20 in relation to the opening 13b of the solution deriving part 13 and the opening 14b of the solution introduction part 14, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Further, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Further, the flow cell 100 in the present embodiment includes a reference cell in addition to the flow channel (sample cell) in which the sample solution flows. The reference cell is provided for obtaining a reference transmitted light intensity by passing through the light, and as shown in
The reference accommodating recess 12 is intended to accommodate the reference column member 41. As shown in
The reference column member 41 is provided for obtaining a reference transmitted light intensity by passing through the light, and it is formed in a generally column shape in plan view to be fitted to the reference accommodating recess 12. The length of the reference column member 41 is appropriately determined in accordance with a refractive index of a given component to be measured. The reference column member 41 is formed by using silica glass.
Further, connecting holes 17 (two in the example shown in
Next, the following describes an example of a procedure of assembling the flow cell 100 of the present embodiment referring to
First, the assembling of the reference cell is described. The reference column member 41 and the O ring 43 are sequentially accommodated in the reference accommodating recess 12 of the flow cell body 10 with its back surface directed up. Then, the second holding plate 60 is mounted on the opening of the reference accommodating recess 12 (back surface of the flow cell body 10), and the connecting members 70 of bolts are inserted through the connecting holes 17 in a side of the reference accommodating recess 12 of the flow cell body 10 from a front surface side of the flow cell body 10 and further thread-fastened to the female screw holes 63 formed in the second holding plate 60 corresponding to the connecting holes 17. As a result, the second holding plate 60 and the reference column member 41 are attached to the flow cell body 10 so that the reference cell is formed.
Next, the assembling of the flow channel (sample cell) in which the sample solution flows is described. After the assembling of the reference cell mentioned above, the flow cell body 10 is turned upside down with the front surface thereof directed up. Next, as shown in
Then, the first holding plate 50 is mounted to the opening of the accommodating recess 11 in which the respective members are accommodated. Subsequently, the connecting members 70 of bolts are inserted through the insertion holes 52 defined in the first holding plate 50 and inserted through the through holes 16 defined in a side of the accommodating recess 11 of the flow cell body 10 from the front side thereof and further thread-fastened to the female screw holes 62 provided in the second holding plate 60. Thus, the first holding plate 50 is attached to the flow cell body 10. When the bolts are further tightened, the pair of light transmitting members 20 and 21 and the spacer 30 are pushed by pressing toward the bottom surface 11d of the accommodating recess 11 to be brought into close contact with each other so that the flow channel connected to the solution deriving part 13 and the solution introduction part 14 is formed between the pair of light transmitting members 20 and 21 and the accommodating recess 11. In this state, the spacer 30 defines a distance (cell length) between the opposing surfaces 20a and 21a and the distance is calculated by subtracting the depth of the positioning recess 22 from the thickness of the spacer 30.
Further, the following describes an example of a procedure in the case of altering the distance (cell length) between the opposing surfaces 20a and 21a of the pair of light transmitting members 20 and 21. First, after the first holding plate 50 is detached, the inclined ring 44, the O ring 43, the second light transmitting member 21, and the spacer 30 are detached. Then, a spacer 30 of a different thickness, second light transmitting member 21, the O ring 43 and the inclined ring 44 are sequentially accommodated, and the first holding plate 50 is reattached. Thus, there is formed a flow channel having a different distance (cell length) between the opposing surfaces 20a and 21a of the pair of light transmitting members 20 and 21.
According to the present embodiment, since each of the light transmitting members 20 and 21 and the spacer 30 are pressed and brought into close contact with each other by the pressing mechanism 80, it is not necessary to execute a costly bonding process so that a manufacturing cost can be reduced. Further, since the light transmitting members are pressed to be brought into close contact with each other by the pressing mechanism 80 without bonding each of the light transmitting members 20 and 21 and the spacer 30, the spacer 30 can be changed to another spacer 30 having different thickness and shape, etc., and thus the cell length can be altered. Further, since the positioning recess 22 is formed in the light transmitting member, the spacer 30 can be fitted to the positioning recess 22 so that the spacer 30 can be prevented from being displaced by an external vibration, impact, pressure of the sample solution, etc., with respect to the light transmitting member provided with the positioning recess 22. Moreover, the spacer 30 can be securely positioned in a desired position so that the flow channel can be formed to have a desired shape. In addition, since the positioning recess 22 can be formed by cutting or polishing, etc., there is no need to separately attach an additional positioning member by bonding, and hence the manufacturing cost can be also reduced.
Further, in a state that the first light transmitting member 20 is accommodated in the accommodating recess 11, since the positioning recess 22 is located outside than the through hole 11a of the accommodating recess 11, the spacer 30 can be kept from entering onto an optical path of the measurement light so that an occurrence of a measurement error can be reduced. Moreover, in a state that the O ring 43 is urged by a pressing force from the first holding plate 50 via the slope surface of the inclined ring 44, the O ring 43 and the top surface 21b of the second light transmitting member 21 are air-tightly brought into close contact with each other and also the O ring 43 and the inner circumferential surface 11c of the accommodating recess 11 are air-tightly brought into close contact with each other, even in the case where the sample solution flowing through the flow channel leaks out from a space between each of the light transmitting members 20 and 21 and the spacer 30 to the inner circumferential surface 11c of the accommodating recess 11, the solution can be prevented from leaking outside.
In addition, in the present embodiment, since the reference cell is configured by using the reference column member 41 including silica glass, the manufacturing cost can be lower than that including sapphire. Also, since the joint is integrally formed with the flow cell body 10, a leakage of solution from a joined portion between the joint and the flow cell body 10 can be prevented.
It is noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, in the present embodiment, although the cell length is altered by replacing the spacer with another spacer having a different thickness, the cell length may also be altered by replacing the first light transmitting member with another first light transmitting member having a positioning recess of a different depth.
Further, although the joint for fluid coupling is integrally formed with the flow cell body, the joint may be separately attached to the flow cell body.
Furthermore, in the case where the total height of the O ring, the first light transmitting member, the spacer, the second light transmitting member, and the inclined ring stacked in sequence becomes smaller than the depth of the accommodating recess by altering the thickness of the spacer or the depth of the positioning recess (i.e., the inclined ring and so forth are completely accommodated in the accommodating recess) so that these members cannot be pressed by the first holding plate, it may be sufficient to replace the inclined ring by another inclined ring having a larger thickness. Although the first holding plate and the inclined ring are separately provided, the first holding plate and the inclined ring may be attached by bonding or may be integrally molded.
In addition, although the positioning recess is formed in a stage shape lowered by one step, it may be formed in a stair shape of multi steps and the like. Further, the spacer may be generally crescent shaped or spindle shaped having a side surface of a partially arc shape of a circular substantially identical to a pair of light transmitting members in plan view.
Further, as shown in
The length of the length defining member 91 is generally equal to a length in the axial direction of a portion where the positioning protrusions 93 are provided in the holder 90. Referring to the materials, the holder 90 is preferably formed of, e.g., PFA (tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoro-alkyl-vinyl-ether copolymer) or PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), and the length defining member 91 is preferably formed of sapphire or the like. With these materials, the manufacturing cost can be lower than that of the spacer 30 entirely including sapphire. This specific feature becomes remarkable in the case where the length or thickness of the spacer 30 is increased. Moreover, since the length defining member 91 includes sapphire, which is a material having a low thermal expansion coefficient and high pressure resistance, even though the holder 90 is expanded by heat or configured of a material which cannot withstand the pressing, the distance between the opposing surfaces 20a and 21a of the pair of light transmitting members 20 and 21 can be securely determined.
In addition, although the positioning recess is provided in one of the opposing surfaces of a pair of light transmitting members, it may be provided in both of the opposing surfaces. Further, although the cell is described as a flow cell, a batch cell for use in measurement in a batch processing may be used. Moreover, although the reference cell is provided integrally with a flow channel (sample cell) in which a sample solution flows, it may be separately provided. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and various changes and modifications thereof can be made within a range unless it departs from the spirit of the present invention. As one example, while the present invention is described above to generally relate to an optical measurement cell for measuring a concentration of a chemical solution such as hydrofluoric acid (HF) in a manufacturing process of, e.g., a semiconductor and the like, it will be appreciated that the optical measurement cell may alternatively be configured to measure not just a concentration per se, but also a measurement that may be used to calculate a concentration, such as a quantity, amount, volume, etc.
It should be understood that the embodiments herein are illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and all changes that fall within metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds thereof are therefore intended to be embraced by the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-129147 | Jun 2010 | JP | national |
