CN110797286A

CN110797286A - Wafer rack

Info

Publication number: CN110797286A
Application number: CN201810869004.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 卢芳万
Original assignee: Himax Technologies Ltd
Current assignee: Himax Technologies Ltd
Priority date: 2018-08-02
Filing date: 2018-08-02
Publication date: 2020-02-14

Abstract

A wafer rack comprises a pair of support plates, a plurality of brackets and a plurality of supporting pieces. The support plates are disposed opposite to each other. The support is arranged between the supporting plates and connected with the supporting plates to form an accommodating space between the supporting plates. The support member is correspondingly disposed on the bracket, wherein the material of the support member is different from the material of the bracket, and the material of the support member is a corrosion-resistant polymer material. The wafer frame provided by the invention has both practicability and protection by the combination of the composite material.

Description

Wafer rack

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a wafer rack, and more particularly, to a wafer rack applicable to a Standard Mechanical Interface (SMIF) pod.

Background

In the process of wafer, the wafer can be arranged in a wafer rack for carrying, storing and cleaning or applied to a semiconductor process or a machine automation process, and can be further arranged in a wafer transmission box for isolation. The wafer transmission box comprises a base, a transparent outer cover and the wafer frame, wherein the wafer is arranged on the wafer frame and then is further placed on the base together with the wafer frame and is covered by the transparent outer cover, so that the wafer can be horizontally stored and isolated. Thus, the wafer rack and the wafer are in the same environment (i.e., are transported, stored, cleaned, or the like) and therefore, it is also a focus of attention to improve the rigidity and strength of the wafer rack and to achieve corrosion resistance.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a wafer rack, which has both practicability and protection by the combination of composite materials.

The wafer frame comprises a pair of supporting plates, a plurality of brackets and a plurality of supporting pieces. The support plates are disposed opposite to each other. The support is arranged between the supporting plates and connected with the supporting plates to form an accommodating space between the supporting plates. The support member is correspondingly disposed on the bracket, wherein the material of the support member is different from the material of the bracket, and the material of the support member is a corrosion-resistant polymer material.

In an embodiment of the invention, a material of the supporting member includes Polyetheretherketone (PEEK).

In an embodiment of the invention, the material of the supporting plate is the same as the material of the bracket.

In an embodiment of the invention, a material of the supporting plate and a material of the bracket include stainless steel (stainless steel).

In an embodiment of the invention, the brackets are respectively fixed on the supporting plate in an embedded manner.

In an embodiment of the invention, each of the supporting members is locked to a corresponding one of the brackets.

In an embodiment of the invention, each of the supporting members includes a plurality of grooves. The grooves are distributed at equal intervals and face the accommodating space, and the wafers penetrate through and are erected in the corresponding grooves and are arranged in the accommodating space.

In an embodiment of the invention, the supporting plate includes two opposite sides and a back side located at the two opposite sides, and the supporting members are disposed between the supporting plates and distributed on the two opposite sides and the back side. The grooves arranged on the two opposite sides in the supporting member are opposite to each other, the grooves arranged on the back side in the supporting member face to one opening side of the other ends of the two opposite sides, and the wafer is used for penetrating into the corresponding one of the grooves from the opening side and is erected in the accommodating space, so that the grooves arranged on the two opposite sides in the supporting member support the two opposite ends of the wafer, and the grooves arranged on the back side in the supporting member support the rear end of the wafer.

In an embodiment of the invention, the grooves have inclined surfaces, and the inclined surfaces are inclined with respect to a virtual plane parallel to the virtual plane where the supporting plate is located.

In an embodiment of the invention, the wafer rack further includes a position-limiting plate disposed outside one of the supporting plates, and the wafer rack is disposed on the wafer transport box through the position-limiting plate.

In view of the above, the wafer rack of the present invention is configured such that the support is disposed between the pair of support plates facing each other to form the accommodating space therebetween, and the support is further disposed on the support correspondingly, wherein the support is made of a material different from the material of the support, and the material of the support is a corrosion-resistant polymer material. Thus, the wafer frame is constructed by the support plate and the support frame to ensure rigidity and strength, and further to increase corrosion resistance by selecting the support member made of a polymer material with corrosion resistance. Therefore, the wafer frame has both practicability and protection by the combination of the composite material.

In order to make the aforementioned and other features and advantages of the invention more comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wafer carrier according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the wafer rack of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the wafer rack of fig. 1.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wafer carrier according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 is a front view of the wafer rack of fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top view of the wafer rack of fig. 1. Referring to fig. 1 to 3, in the present embodiment, a wafer rack 100 includes a pair of

support plates

110 and 120, a plurality of supports 130, and a plurality of supports 140. The

support plates

110 and 120 are disposed opposite to each other. The bracket 130 is disposed between the supporting

plates

110 and 120 and is connected to the supporting

plates

110 and 120 to form an accommodating space S between the supporting

plates

110 and 120. The supporting members 140 are correspondingly disposed on the bracket 130, and each has a plurality of grooves 142 facing the accommodating space S. Thus, the wafer W is configured to penetrate and be erected in the corresponding one of the grooves 142 and is disposed in the accommodating space S (as described later).

Specifically, in the present embodiment, the supporting

plates

110 and 120 are each a plate-shaped structure, such as a plate-shaped frame, and are disposed in parallel with each other (for example, but not limited to, the XY plane in the XYZ coordinate system in the drawings). The support 130 is, for example, a bar-shaped support, and the extending direction thereof is substantially perpendicular to the support plates 110 and 120 (for example, but not limited to, the Z axis in the XYZ coordinate system shown in the drawings). The supporting

plates

110 and 120 respectively include four sides, the brackets 130 are fixed between the supporting

plates

110 and 120 and arranged at three sides of the supporting

plates

110 and 120, and the brackets 130 are not disposed at one side.

In detail, taking the supporting plate 110 as an example, the supporting plate 110 has two

opposite sides

112, 114, and a back side 116 and an opening side 118 opposite to each other and located between the two

opposite sides

112, 114, and the supporting plate 120 has a similar configuration. The bracket 130 is fixed between the supporting

plates

110 and 120 and arranged at three sides of the two

opposite sides

112, 114 and the back side 116 of the supporting

plates

110 and 120, and the bracket 130 is not disposed at the opening side 118. Thus, the

support plates

110 and 120 and the support 130 disposed on three sides (i.e., the two

opposite sides

112 and 114 and the back side 116) of the

support plates

110 and 120 form a main structure of the wafer rack 100 to provide a receiving space S, and the wafer rack 100 uses the opening side 118 as an entrance/exit of the wafer W. However, in other embodiments not shown, the arrangement position of the bracket 130 can be adjusted according to requirements only at the two

opposite sides

112, 114 of the supporting

plates

110 and 120, and the bracket 130 is not disposed at both the back side 116 and the opening side 118.

In the present embodiment, the material of the supporting

plates

110 and 120 is the same as that of the bracket 130, such as stainless steel. The brackets 130 are fixed to the

support plates

110 and 120 in an embedded manner, respectively (as shown in the enlarged views of the parts a and B of fig. 1, the bottom ends of the brackets 130 are embedded in the plate-shaped frame serving as the support plate 120). Thus, the wafer frame 100, which is a main frame consisting of the

support plates

110 and 120 and the support 130 disposed on three sides (i.e., the two

opposite sides

112, 114 and the back side 116) of the

support plates

110 and 120, has good rigidity and strength. However, in other embodiments (not shown), the material, shape and fixing manner of the supporting

plates

110 and 120 and the bracket 130 may be adjusted according to the requirement (for example, the supporting

plates

110 and 120 and the bracket 130 may be made of different materials), and the invention is not limited thereto.

On the other hand, the supporting member 140 is correspondingly disposed on the bracket 130, such as a strip-shaped supporting member, and the extending direction thereof is substantially perpendicular to the supporting plates 110 and 120 (for example, but not limited to, the Z axis in the XYZ coordinate system in the drawings). Furthermore, the supporting members 140 and the brackets 130 are arranged in the same number and positions, and are disposed correspondingly to each other, for example, the supporting members 140 are respectively locked to one side of the corresponding one of the brackets 130 through the locking fittings 132. However, in other embodiments not shown, the supporting member 140 may be disposed on only a portion of the bracket 130 according to requirements, and the invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

In the present embodiment, the supporting member 140 is disposed in such a manner that the plurality of grooves 142 face the accommodating space S. The grooves 142 of the supporting members 140 arranged on the two

opposite sides

112, 114 are opposite to each other (i.e., the grooves 142 of the supporting members 140 arranged on the opposite sides 112 face the opposite sides 114, and the grooves 142 of the supporting members 140 arranged on the opposite sides 114 face the opposite sides 112), and the grooves 142 of the supporting members 140 arranged on the back side 116 face the opening side 118 (i.e., the grooves 142 of the supporting members 140 arranged on the back side 116 face the opening side 118). Thus, when the wafer W enters the wafer rack 100 from the opening side 118, the wafer W is inserted into the grooves 142 corresponding to the same horizontal height from the opening side 118 and is mounted on the corresponding ones of the grooves 142, and then is disposed in the accommodating space S of the wafer rack 100.

In detail, in the present embodiment, the grooves 142 disposed in each of the supporting members 140 are distributed at equal intervals, for example, each supporting member 140 has 13 grooves 142, and the grooves 142 of the supporting members 140 located in the same order correspond to the same horizontal height and are used for correspondingly supporting the same wafer W. For example, the wafers W shown in fig. 1 and 2 are inserted into and supported by the 5 th grooves 142 of the support 140 from top to bottom, and the 5 th grooves 142 of each of the supports 140 are at the same level from top to bottom. As shown in fig. 1 and 3, the grooves 142 arranged on the two

opposite sides

112 and 114 in the supporting member 140 support the two opposite ends of the wafer W, and the grooves 142 arranged on the back side 116 in the supporting member 140 support the back end of the wafer W.

More specifically, since the wafer W is circular, after the wafer W penetrates into the accommodating space S, the two supporting members 140 arranged on the back side 116 support the back end of the wafer W by the corresponding grooves 142, and the two (four in total) supporting members 140 arranged on the left and right of the two

opposite sides

112, 114 close to the back side 116 support the two opposite ends of the wafer W by the corresponding grooves 142, wherein the two supporting members 140 arranged on the two

opposite sides

112, 114 closest to the back side 116 are disposed in an oblique manner (i.e., the back side 116 on the supporting

plates

110 and 120 is not perpendicular to the two opposite sides 112, 114), so that the two supporting members 140 arranged on the back side 116 and the four supporting members 140 arranged on the two

opposite sides

112, 114 close to the circular wafer W. Thus, the wafer W disposed in the accommodating space S is supported by six points, including two points at the rear side and two points at the left and right, at a level corresponding to the 5 th groove 142 of the support 140 from top to bottom, and the range covered by the six points preferably covers the center of the wafer W, i.e., more than half of the wafer W is supported by the six points of the support 140, so that the wafer W can be stably placed in the accommodating space S.

In addition, although the other supporting members 140 arranged on the two

opposite sides

112, 114 do not support the circular wafer W by the grooves 142 thereof, the guiding effect can be achieved when the wafer W enters the accommodating space S of the wafer rack 100, that is, the wafer W first penetrates the 5 th groove 142 in the two supporting members 140 arranged on the two

opposite sides

112, 114 closest to the opening side 118 from top to bottom when entering the accommodating space S, and then moves inward corresponding to the horizontal height to pass through the 5 th groove 142 in the subsequent supporting members 140 from top to bottom, and is then placed on the supporting members 140 arranged on the back side 116 and the 5 th groove 142 in the supporting members 140 arranged on the two

opposite sides

112, 114 and close to the back side 116 from top to bottom, so as to achieve the purpose of being placed in the accommodating space S of the wafer rack 100. Although the above description takes the 5 th groove 142 in the support 140 in the order from top to bottom as an example, all 13 grooves 142 in the support 140 can support the wafers W, that is, the wafer rack 100 can accommodate 13 wafers W at most under the condition that the wafers W do not overlap. However, the present invention does not limit the number of the grooves 142, which can be adjusted according to the needs.

In addition, referring to fig. 1, in the present embodiment, the wafer rack 100 further includes a position-limiting plate 150 disposed outside one of the supporting plates 110 and 120 (e.g., the supporting plate 120), and the wafer rack 100 is disposed on a wafer pod (not shown) through the position-limiting plate 150, so that the wafer W can be horizontally stored and isolated. Thus, the wafer W placed in the wafer rack 100 can be transported, stored, cleaned, or applied to a semiconductor process. Since the wafer rack 100 and the wafer W are in the same environment and are in contact with corrosive liquid (e.g., cleaning liquid for the wafer W), it is important to improve the corrosion resistance of the wafer rack 100. Thus, the support 140, in addition to providing the wafer W supporting function with the groove 142, can also increase the corrosion resistance of the overall structure by virtue of its material properties.

In detail, in the present embodiment, the material of the supporting member 140 is different from that of the bracket 130, and more specifically, the material of the supporting member 140 is a corrosion-resistant polymer material, such as polyetheretherketone, but is not limited thereto. Thus, the supporting structure for supporting the wafer frame 100 between the

support plates

110 and 120 is composed of the support 130 and the support 140, and the support 130 and the support 140 are made of different materials, i.e., a composite material (a combination of stainless steel and peek), so that the wafer frame 100 can ensure the rigidity and strength of the wafer frame 100 by selecting stainless steel for the main structure (i.e., the

support plates

110 and 120 and the support 130), and the support 140 can increase the corrosion resistance of the wafer frame 100 by selecting peek having corrosion resistance. Besides the above technical features, the remaining arrangement of the wafer rack 100 (such as the overall size or the number of the grooves) can be adapted to the specification of the existing wafer rack, so that the wafer rack 100 of the present embodiment can be applied to the existing wafer transfer box. Thus, the wafer rack 100 has both practicability and protection by the combination of the composite material.

Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2, in particular, the enlarged views of the portion B of fig. 1 and the portion C of fig. 2, in the present embodiment, the grooves 142 respectively have an inclined surface 142a and a flat surface 142B, wherein the flat surface 142B is parallel to the virtual plane (such as the XY plane in the XYZ coordinate system) where the supporting

plates

110 and 120 are located, the inclined surface 142a is inclined with respect to the virtual plane (such as the XY plane in the XYZ coordinate system) with reference to the virtual plane (such as the XY plane in the XYZ coordinate system) where the supporting

plates

110 and 120 are located, and the inclined surface 142a is located outside the flat surface 142B (i.e., the flat surface 142B is located inside the groove 142 and the inclined surface 142a faces the accommodating space S). Thus, the grooves 142 serve as a support for the wafer W by the flat surfaces 142b, and when the wafer rack 100 and the wafer W are used in an environment with liquid (e.g., cleaning), the slopes 142a on the wafer rack 100, especially in the grooves 142 of the wafer rack 100, can help the liquid to leave the grooves 142 without being easily remained. However, the present invention is not limited to the installation of the inclined surface 142a, and it can be adjusted according to the requirement as long as the groove 142 can support the wafer W.

In summary, in the wafer rack of the present invention, the support is disposed between the pair of support plates facing each other to form the accommodating space therebetween, and the support is disposed on the support correspondingly, wherein the material of the support is different from the material of the support, and the material of the support is a corrosion-resistant polymer material, so that the support structure (i.e., the support and the support) supported between the support plates is a composite material (e.g., a combination of stainless steel and polyetheretherketone). Thus, the wafer frame is constructed by the support plate and the support frame to ensure rigidity and strength, and the corrosion resistance is increased by the support member made of the polymer material with corrosion resistance. And the wafer frame provides multi-point support for the wafer by the grooves on the supporting piece, so that the stability of the wafer in the wafer frame is improved. Therefore, the wafer frame has both practicability and protection by the combination of the composite material.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, it should be understood that various changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Description of reference numerals:

100: wafer rack

110. 120: supporting plate

112. 114: opposite sides

116: back side

118: open side

130: support frame

132: lock accessory

140: support piece

142: groove

142 a: inclined plane

142 b: plane surface

150: limiting plate

A. B, C: local part

S: containing space

W: and (5) a wafer.

Claims

1. A wafer rack comprising a pair of support plates, a plurality of supports, and a plurality of support members, wherein:

the pair of support plates are arranged opposite to each other;

the plurality of brackets are arranged between the pair of supporting plates and connected with the pair of supporting plates so as to form an accommodating space between the pair of supporting plates; and

the plurality of supporting pieces are correspondingly arranged on the plurality of brackets and respectively provided with a plurality of grooves facing the accommodating space, wherein the material of the plurality of supporting pieces is different from that of the plurality of brackets, the material of the plurality of supporting pieces is a corrosion-resistant polymer material, and the wafer is used for penetrating into and erecting the wafer in the corresponding one of the plurality of grooves to be arranged in the accommodating space.

2. The wafer rack of claim 1, wherein the plurality of supports comprise polyetheretherketone.

3. A wafer rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material of the pair of support plates is the same as the material of the plurality of supports.

4. The wafer rack of claim 3, wherein the material of the pair of support plates and the plurality of supports comprises stainless steel.

5. The wafer rack of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of brackets is secured to the pair of support plates in an embedded manner.

6. The wafer rack of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of supports is locked to a corresponding one of the plurality of supports.

7. The wafer rack of claim 1, wherein the plurality of grooves in each of the plurality of supports are distributed at equal intervals, and the same order of the plurality of grooves of the plurality of supports corresponds to a same level and is used for correspondingly supporting a same wafer.

8. The wafer rack of claim 7, wherein the pair of support plates each include two opposing sides and a back side and an open side opposite each other between the two opposing sides, the supporting members are disposed between the pair of supporting plates and arranged at the two opposite sides and the back side in a dispersed manner, the plurality of grooves arranged at the two opposite sides among the plurality of supporting members are opposite to each other, the plurality of grooves arranged at the back side among the plurality of supporting members face the opening side, the wafer is used for penetrating from the opening side and erecting on a corresponding one of the grooves and is arranged in the accommodating space, such that the plurality of grooves of the plurality of support members arranged on the two opposite sides support two opposite ends of the wafer and the plurality of grooves of the plurality of support members arranged on the backside support the rear end of the wafer.

9. The wafer carrier as recited in claim 7, wherein the plurality of grooves each have a slope, and the slope is inclined with respect to a virtual plane parallel to the pair of support plates with reference to the virtual plane.

10. The wafer rack of claim 1, further comprising a retaining plate disposed outside one of the pair of support plates, wherein the wafer rack is configured to be disposed on a pod through the retaining plate.