WO2012030139A2

WO2012030139A2 - Vacuum heat treatment apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2012030139A2
Application number: PCT/KR2011/006406
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jung Eun Han; Byung Sook Kim; Kyoung Hoon Chai
Original assignee: LG Innotek Co Ltd
Current assignee: LG Innotek Co Ltd
Priority date: 2010-09-01
Filing date: 2011-08-30
Publication date: 2012-03-08
Anticipated expiration: 2013-03-01
Also published as: KR20120022173A; KR101210064B1; WO2012030139A3

Abstract

Provided is a vacuum heat treatment apparatus. The vacuum heat treatment apparatus includes a chamber, an insulation member disposed within the chamber, a muffle disposed within the insulation member, a heating member disposed between the insulation member and the muffle, and a reaction container disposed within the muffle. The muffle includes a first muffle and a second muffle disposed inside the first muffle and spaced from the first muffle.

Description

VACUUM HEAT TREATMENT APPARATUS

The present disclosure relates to a vacuum heat treatment apparatus.

Vacuum heat treatment apparatuses are apparatuses in which a source material is put into a crucible to form a desired material. Since this process may be performed under a vacuum state, contamination form surrounding may be relatively less. In such a vacuum heat treatment apparatus, an insulation member is disposed within a chamber maintained under a vacuum state and then a heater is disposed within the insulation member to heat a source material.

However, impurities between the chamber and the insulation member may pass through the insulation member during the heat treatment and be mixed into the insulation member to deteriorate purity of the manufactured material or be attached to the insulation member to reduce a life cycle of the insulation member. Also, a reaction gas generated during the reaction or a remaining non-reaction gas may be attached to the insulation member to reduce the life cycle of the insulation member.

Embodiments provide a vacuum heat treatment apparatus which can manufacture a high-purity material and improve a life cycle.

In one embodiment, a vacuum heat treatment apparatus includes: a chamber; an insulation member disposed within the chamber; a muffle disposed within the insulation member; a heating member disposed between the insulation member and the muffle; and a reaction container disposed within the muffle, wherein the muffle comprises a first muffle and a second muffle disposed inside the first muffle and spaced from the first muffle.

The vacuum heat treatment apparatus may further include a gas injection part for injecting an atmosphere gas into a space between the first muffle and the second muffle. The gas injection part may include a gas injection tube providing a path through which the atmosphere gas is injected from the outside. The gas injection tube may be formed of graphite. The atmosphere gas may include an inert gas.

The inert gas may include an argon gas or hydrogen gas. The vacuum heat treatment apparatus may further include a gas discharge part for discharging a gas from the inside of the second muffle. The gas discharge part may include a gas discharge tube providing a path through which the gas is discharged from the inside of the second muffle to the outside. The gas discharge tube may be formed of graphite.

Each of the first and second muffle may be formed of graphite.

When a pressure of a space between the first muffle and the second muffle is a first pressure, and a pressure of the inside of the second muffle is a second pressure, the first pressure may be higher than the second pressure.

When a pressure of a space between the first muffle and the second muffle is a first pressure, and a pressure of a space between the first muffle and the chamber is a third pressure, the first pressure may be higher than the third pressure.

The vacuum heat treatment apparatus may be used for manufacturing silicon carbide. The vacuum heat treatment apparatus may further include a gas discharge part for discharging a non-reaction gas or reaction gas from the inside of the second muffle, wherein the non-reaction gas or reaction gas comprises at least one of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or silicon monoxide.

In the vacuum heat treatment apparatus according to the current embodiment, the muffle may include the first and second muffles spaced from each other, and the space between the first and second muffles may be used as a space for controlling the gas flow.

That is, a gas may be injected into the space between the first and second muffles to prevent the metal or contamination material within the chamber from being introduced into the reaction container. Thus, the material (e.g., silicon carbide) manufactured by the vacuum heat treatment apparatus may be improved in purity and quality.

Also, since the reaction gas or the non-reaction gas within the second muffle is discharged through the gas discharge part, it may prevent the gases from being attached to the first and second muffles. Therefore, the contamination and breakdown of the vacuum heat treatment apparatus may be prevented to increase a life cycle of the vacuum heat treatment apparatus.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a vacuum heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a view illustrating a gas flow of the vacuum heat treatment apparatus of Fig. 1.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to Fig. 1, a vacuum heat treatment apparatus 100 according to an embodiment includes a chamber 10, an insulation member 70 disposed within the chamber 10, a heating member 40 disposed within the insulation member 70, a muffle 20, a reaction container 30. Also, the vacuum heat treatment apparatus 100 may further include a gas injection part 50 and a gas discharge part 60 for discharging a reaction gas or a non-reaction gas from the inside of the muffle 20. The above-described structure will now be described in detail.

An atmosphere gas is injected into the chamber 10 through an atmosphere gas supply pipe (not shown). An inert gas such as an argon gas or hydrogen gas may be used as the atmosphere gas.

The insulation member 70 disposed within the chamber 10 may thermally insulate the reaction container 30 so that it 30 is maintained at a temperature adequate for reaction.

The muffle 20 disposed within the insulation member 70 may prevent a gas generated at a high temperature from leaking to the outside. The muffle 20 may include a first muffle 22 and a second muffle 24 disposed inside the first muffle 22 and spaced from the first muffle 22.

A pressure of the inside of the first muffle 22 may be increased by the injected inert gas to prevent other materials within the chamber from being injected into the first muffle 22. Also, the first muffle 22 may prevent a reaction gas generated within the second muffle 24 from leaking to the outside.

The second muffle 24 may discharge gases generated at a position in which the reaction gas is disposed to prevent the gases from leaking to the outside of the second muffle 24.

In the current embodiment, the muffle 20 includes the first muffle 22 and the second muffle 24 disposed inside the first muffle 22 and spaced from the first muffle 22. Accordingly, a predetermined space may be defined between the first muffle 22 and the second muffle 24. In the current embodiment, a material manufactured using the predetermined space as a space for controlling a gas flow may be improved in purity and increased in life cycle. This will be described in detail below.

The muffle 20, i.e., the first muffle 22 and the second muffle 24 may include graphite to endure a high temperature.

The reaction container 30 in which source materials are filled and react with each other to generate a desired material is disposed within the muffle 20. The reaction container 30 may include graphite to endure a high temperature. The reaction gas generated during the reaction and the non-reaction gas may be discharged through an exhaust hole 12 connected to the reaction container 30.

The heating member 40 for heating the reaction container 30 is disposed between the heating member 20 and the muffle 20. The heating member 40 may provide heat into the reaction container 30 through various methods. For example, the heating member 40 may generate heat by applying a voltage to the graphite.

The gas injection part 50 may inject the atmosphere gas into an inner space of the muffle 20, i.e., a space between the first muffle 22 and the second muffle 24.

The gas injection part 50 may include a gas supply source 52 in which the atmosphere gas is filled to supply the atmosphere gas and a gas injection tube 54 connecting the gas supply source 20 to the inner space of the muffle 20 to provide a path through which the atmosphere gas is injected.

The gas supply source 52 may supply the gas through various well-known structures and methods. An argon gas or hydrogen gas may be used as the gas. The gas injection tube 52 may be formed of one of various materials capable of enduring a high temperature, e.g., graphite.

Also, the gas discharge part 60 may discharge the non-reaction gas or the reaction gas into the inside of the second muffle 24, i.e., a space between the second muffle 24 and the reaction container 30. That is, since the reaction container 30 is formed of the graphite through which the gases pass, a portion of the non-reaction gas or reaction gas within the reaction container 30 may pass through the reaction container 30 and thus be moved into the space between the second muffle 24 and the reaction container 30. The gas discharge part 60 may discharge the non-reaction gas or the reaction gas.

The gas discharge part 60 may include a gas discharge tube extending from the second muffle 24 to the outside to provide a path through which the non-reaction gas or the reaction gas is moved. In addition, the gas discharge part 60 may further include a separate component (e.g., fan (not shown)) for forcedly discharging the gases using an external force. As described above, various structures or methods may be applied to the gas discharge part 60 in the current embodiment.

The gas discharge tube may include graphite to endure a high temperature.

The vacuum heat treatment apparatus 100, for example, may be used as an apparatus for manufacturing silicon carbide by heating a source containing a carbon source and silicon source. However, the current embodiment is not limited thereto.

A gas flow during the heat treatment within the vacuum heat treatment apparatus 100 will be described below with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a view illustrating a gas flow of the vacuum heat treatment apparatus of Fig. 100.

In the vacuum heat treatment apparatus 100 according to the current embodiment, the atmosphere gas, e.g., an inert gas such as an argon gas or hydrogen gas may be injected into a space between the first muffle 22 and the second muffle 24 by the gas injection part 50. Then, a portion of the argon gas or hydrogen gas may be injected into the space between the first muffle 22 and the second muffle 24 (see reference symbol A of Fig. 2).

As a result, a first pressure P1 may become higher than a second pressure P2 and a third pressure P3. Here, the first pressure P1 represents a pressure of the space between the first muffle 22 and the second muffle 2. The second pressure P2 represents a pressure of the inside of the second muffle 24, and the third pressure P3 represents a pressure of a space between the first muffle 22 and the chamber 10.

As described above, since the first pressure P1 is higher than the third pressure P3, the argon gas or hydrogen gas injected by the gas injection part 50 may pass the first muffle 22 and be injected into the space between the firs muffle 22 and the chamber 10.

As described above, since the first pressure P1 is higher than the third pressure P3, the argon gas or hydrogen gas injected by the gas injection part 50 may pass the first muffle 24 and be injected into the space between the firs muffle 24 and the chamber 30. Then, the reaction gas or non-reaction gas within the space between the second muffle 24 and the reaction container 30 is discharged through the gas discharge part 60 (see reference symbol D of Fig. 2). When the vacuum heat treatment apparatus 100 is used for manufacturing the silicon carbide, the reaction gas or the non-reaction gas may include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or silicon monoxide.

In the current embodiment, the second pressure P2 of the space between the first muffle 22 and the second muffle 24 may be increased to prevent a metal or contamination material within the chamber 10 from being introduced into the reaction container 30 during the heat treatment. Thus, the material (e.g., silicon carbide) manufactured by the vacuum heat treatment apparatus 100 may be improved in purity and quality.

Also, since the reaction gas or the non-reaction gas within the second muffle 24 is discharged through the gas discharge part 60, it may prevent the gases from being attached to the first and

second muffles

22 and 24. Therefore, the contamination and breakdown of the vacuum heat treatment apparatus 100 may be prevented to increase a life cycle of the vacuum heat treatment apparatus 100.

Features, structures, and effects described in the above embodiments are incorporated into at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, but are not limited to only one embodiment. Moreover, features, structures, and effects exemplified in one embodiment can easily be combined and modified for another embodiment by those skilled in the art. Therefore, these combinations and modifications should be construed as falling within the scope of the present disclosure.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

A vacuum heat treatment apparatus comprising:

a chamber;

an insulation member disposed within the chamber;

a muffle disposed within the insulation member;

a heating member disposed between the insulation member and the muffle; and

a reaction container disposed within the muffle,

wherein the muffle comprises a first muffle and a second muffle disposed inside the first muffle and spaced from the first muffle.
The vacuum heat treatment apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a gas injection part for injecting an atmosphere gas into a space between the first muffle and the second muffle.
The vacuum heat treatment apparatus of claim 2, wherein the gas injection part comprises a gas injection tube providing a path through which the atmosphere gas is injected from the outside.
The vacuum heat treatment apparatus of claim 3, wherein the gas injection tube is formed of graphite.
The vacuum heat treatment apparatus of claim 2, wherein the atmosphere gas comprises an inert gas.
The vacuum heat treatment apparatus of claim 5, wherein the inert gas comprises an argon gas or hydrogen gas.
The vacuum heat treatment apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a gas discharge part for discharging a gas from the inside of the second muffle.
The vacuum heat treatment apparatus of claim 6, wherein the gas discharge part comprises a gas discharge tube providing a path through which the gas is discharged from the inside of the second muffle to the outside.
The vacuum heat treatment apparatus of claim 7, wherein the gas discharge tube is formed of graphite.
The vacuum heat treatment apparatus of claim 2, wherein, when a pressure of a space between the first muffle and the second muffle is a first pressure, and a pressure of the inside of the second muffle is a second pressure, the first pressure is higher than the second pressure.
The vacuum heat treatment apparatus of claim 2, wherein, when a pressure of a space between the first muffle and the second muffle is a first pressure, and a pressure of a space between the first muffle and the chamber is a third pressure, the first pressure is higher than the third pressure.
The vacuum heat treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vacuum heat treatment apparatus is used for manufacturing silicon carbide.
The vacuum heat treatment apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a gas discharge part for discharging a non-reaction gas or reaction gas from the inside of the second muffle,

wherein the non-reaction gas or reaction gas comprises at least one of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or silicon monoxide.
The vacuum heat treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second muffle is formed of graphite.