CN114144871A

CN114144871A - Substrate storage container

Info

Publication number: CN114144871A
Application number: CN201980098710.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 松鸟千明
Original assignee: Miraial Co Ltd
Current assignee: Miraial Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-07-25
Filing date: 2019-07-25
Publication date: 2022-03-04
Also published as: WO2021014653A1; TW202105575A

Abstract

The present invention provides a substrate storage container, comprising: a container body; a cover body; a gas passage (210) which can connect the substrate storage space and the space outside the container body; a gas discharge nozzle section (8) having a plurality of openings (802) for supplying the gas flowing into the gas passage (210) to the substrate accommodation space; and a gas flow rate uniformizing section capable of causing the gas to flow out from the plurality of openings (802) at a uniformized flow rate, the gas flow rate uniformizing section having a branch passage (801) formed between the air passage (210) and the openings (802), the branch passage (801) branching the flow of the gas from the air passage (210), the branch passage (801) having: a branching start unit (8011) that branches the flow of gas into a plurality of branches, and circulates the branched gas in parallel; and a plurality of distal-side branching sections (8015) that further branch the gas flowing through the branching start section (8011) and flow the gas to the opening section (802).

Description

Substrate storage container

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a substrate storage container used for storing, transporting, and transporting substrates made of semiconductor wafers and the like.

Background

As a substrate storage container for storing a substrate made of a semiconductor wafer and transporting the substrate in a process in a factory, a substrate storage container having a container body and a lid body has been known (for example, see patent documents 1 to 3).

One end of the container body has an opening peripheral edge portion formed with an opening of the container body. The other end of the container main body has a closed cylindrical wall portion. A substrate accommodating space is formed in the container body. The substrate storage space is surrounded by the wall portion and can store the substrate. The lid body is detachable from the opening peripheral edge portion and can close the opening of the container body. The side substrate supporting portions are provided in the wall portion in a pair in the substrate accommodating space. When the container main body opening is not closed by the lid, the side substrate support portion can support the edge portion of the substrate in a state where adjacent substrates are arranged while being spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval.

A front holding member is provided at a portion of the lid body, the portion facing the substrate accommodating space when the opening of the container body is closed. The front holding member can support the edge portion of the substrate when the container main body opening portion is closed by the lid body. Further, a rear substrate support portion is provided on the wall portion so as to form a pair with the front holding member. The rear substrate support portion can support an edge portion of the substrate. When the opening of the container main body is closed by the lid, the rear substrate support portion supports the substrates by cooperating with the front holding member, and holds the substrates in an aligned state in which adjacent substrates are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval.

Patent document 1: japanese patent No. 6431440

Patent document 2: japanese patent No. 6367153

Patent document 3: japanese Kohyo publication No. 2018-527752

In a substrate container having a purge hole as a vent hole for communicating a substrate storage space with the outside of the substrate container, Clean Dry Air (CDA) and nitrogen gas (N) are introduced into the substrate container with a lid removed₂) As a result of the use as a purge gas,the purge gas supplied from the load port outside the substrate storage container is supplied from the lower surface (outer surface) of the container body to the gas discharge nozzle portion provided on the inner surface of the substrate storage container through the through hole. Thereby performing gas purging. In this case, in order to reliably replace the purge gas by gas purging, it is necessary to uniformly supply the purge gas from the plurality of openings of the gas discharge nozzle.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a substrate accommodating container which can uniformly supply gas from a plurality of openings of a gas ejection nozzle part in a substrate accommodating space.

The present invention relates to a substrate storage container, which comprises: a container body having a cylindrical wall portion having an opening peripheral edge portion formed with an opening of the container body at one end portion and a cylindrical wall portion closed at the other end portion, the container body having a substrate accommodating space formed by an inner surface of the wall portion, the substrate accommodating space being capable of accommodating a substrate and communicating with the opening of the container body; a lid body that is detachable from the container body opening portion and can close the container body opening portion; a gas passage capable of communicating the substrate accommodating space with a space outside the container body; a gas discharge nozzle portion having a plurality of openings for supplying the gas flowing into the gas passage to the substrate accommodating space; and a gas flow rate uniformizing unit capable of causing the gas to flow out from the plurality of openings at a uniformized flow rate, the gas flow rate uniformizing unit having a branch passage formed between the gas passage and the openings and branching a flow of the gas from the gas passage, the branch passage having: a branching start unit that branches the flow of gas into a plurality of branches and circulates the branched gases in parallel; and a plurality of distal-end-side branching portions that further branch the gas flowing through the branching start portion and flow the gas to the opening portion.

Preferably, an upstream end portion of the branch start portion in the flow direction of the gas extends upward from an inlet opening of the upstream end portion.

Preferably, the inlet opening of the upstream end portion is located at a position shifted from a position of a central portion of the gas discharge nozzle portion in the vertical direction.

Preferably, the flow path length of the gas flow path of the branch start portion branched at the branch start portion and connected to the one tip side branch portion is 2 times or more the flow path length of the gas flow path of the branch start portion branched at the branch start portion and connected to the other tip side branch portion.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a substrate storage container in which gas can be uniformly supplied from a plurality of openings of a gas discharge nozzle in a substrate storage space.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a case where a plurality of substrates W are stored in a substrate storage container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an upper perspective view of the container body 2 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a lower perspective view of the container body 2 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a side sectional view of the container body 2 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the protrusion main body 81 of the protrusion 8 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a front view showing the protrusion main body 81 of the protrusion 8 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Description of reference numerals:

1: a substrate storage container; 2: a container body; 3: a cover body; 8: a projection (gas ejection nozzle portion); 20: a wall portion; 21: a container main body opening part; 27: a substrate receiving space; 28: an opening peripheral edge portion; 210: a gas passage; 802: an opening part; 8011: a branch start section (gas flow rate uniformizing section, branch path); 8012: an inlet opening; 8015: a leading end side branch portion (gas flow rate uniformizing portion, branch path); w: a substrate.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, the substrate storage container 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a case where a plurality of substrates W are stored in a substrate storage container 1. Fig. 2 is an upper perspective view showing the container body 2 of the substrate storage container 1. Fig. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the container body 2 of the substrate storage container 1. Fig. 4 is a side sectional view showing the container body 2 of the substrate storage container 1.

For the sake of convenience of explanation, a direction from the container body 2 to the lid 3 (a direction from the right to the left in fig. 1) described later is defined as a front direction D11, a direction opposite thereto is defined as a rear direction D12, and the combination of these directions is defined as a front-rear direction D1. A direction from the lower wall 24 to the upper wall 23 (upward direction in fig. 1) is defined as an upward direction D21, a direction opposite thereto is defined as a downward direction D22, and a combination thereof is defined as an upward and downward direction D2. A direction from the second side wall 26 to be described later toward the first side wall 25 (a direction from the lower right to the upper left in fig. 1) is defined as a left direction D31, a direction opposite thereto is defined as a right direction D32, and the left and right directions D3 are defined as a combination thereof. Arrows indicating these directions are illustrated in the main drawing.

The substrate W (see fig. 1) stored in the substrate storage container 1 is a thin substrate used industrially, such as a silicon wafer, a glass wafer, or a sapphire wafer, which is disc-shaped. The substrate W of the present embodiment is a silicon wafer having a diameter of 300 mm.

As shown in fig. 1, a substrate storage container 1 stores a substrate W made of the above-described silicon wafer, and is used as an in-process container for transportation in a process in a factory or as a delivery container for transporting a substrate by a transportation system such as a land transportation system, an air transportation system, or a sea transportation system, and the substrate storage container 1 includes a container body 2 and a lid body 3. The container body 2 includes a substrate support plate-like portion 5 and a rear substrate support portion 6 (see fig. 2 and the like) as side substrate support portions, and the lid body 3 includes a front holding member (not shown) as a lid body side substrate support portion.

The container body 2 has a cylindrical wall portion 20 having a container body opening 21 formed at one end and the other end closed. A substrate accommodating space 27 is formed in the container body 2. The substrate accommodating space 27 is formed by being surrounded by the wall portion 20. The substrate support plate-like portion 5 is disposed in a portion of the wall portion 20 where the substrate housing space 27 is formed. As shown in fig. 1, a plurality of substrates W can be stored in the substrate storage space 27.

The substrate support plate-like portions 5 are provided in pairs on the wall portion 20 in the substrate accommodating space 27. When the container main body opening 21 is not closed by the lid body 3, the substrate support plate-like portion 5 abuts the edge portions of the plurality of substrates W, and thereby the edge portions of the plurality of substrates W can be supported in a state where adjacent substrates W are arranged apart from each other at a predetermined interval. A rear substrate support portion 6 is provided on the rear side of the substrate support plate-like portion 5 so as to be integrally formed with the substrate support plate-like portion 5.

The rear substrate support portion 6 (see fig. 2 and the like) is provided in the wall portion 20 in a pair with a front holding member (not shown) described later in the substrate accommodating space 27. When the container main body opening 21 is closed by the lid body 3, the rear substrate support portion 6 abuts the edge portions of the plurality of substrates W, and thereby the rear portions of the edge portions of the plurality of substrates W can be supported.

The lid body 3 is detachable from an opening peripheral edge portion 28 (fig. 1 and the like) forming the container body opening 21, and can close the container body opening 21. The front holding member, not shown, is provided at a part of the lid 3 and is a part facing the substrate accommodating space 27 when the container main body opening 21 is closed by the lid 3. The front holding member is disposed in a pair with the rear substrate supporting portion 6 inside the substrate accommodating space 27.

When the container body opening 21 is closed by the lid 3, the front holding member abuts the edge portions of the plurality of substrates W, and thereby the front portions of the edge portions of the plurality of substrates W can be supported. When the container main body opening 21 is closed by the lid body 3, the front holding member and the rear substrate support portion 6 cooperate to support the plurality of substrates W, thereby holding the adjacent substrates W in a state where the substrates W are arranged apart from each other at a predetermined interval.

The substrate storage container 1 is made of a resin such as a plastic material, and examples of the resin of the material include a thermoplastic resin such as polycarbonate, a cycloolefin polymer, polyetherimide, polyether ketone, polybutylene terephthalate, polyether ether ketone, a liquid crystal polymer, and an alloy thereof. When the resin of these materials is provided with conductivity, a conductive substance such as carbon fiber, carbon powder, carbon nanotube, conductive polymer, or the like is selectively added. In addition, glass fiber, carbon fiber, or the like may be added to improve rigidity.

Hereinafter, each part will be described in detail.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the protrusion main body 81 of the protrusion 8 of the substrate storage container 1. Fig. 6 is a front view showing the protrusion main body 81 of the protrusion 8 of the substrate storage container 1.

As shown in fig. 1, the wall portion 20 of the container body 2 has a rear wall 22, an upper wall 23, a lower wall 24, a first side wall 25, and a second side wall 26. The rear wall 22, the upper wall 23, the lower wall 24, the first side wall 25, and the second side wall 26 are formed of the above-described material and are formed integrally.

The first side wall 25 is opposed to the second side wall 26, and the upper wall 23 is opposed to the lower wall 24. The rear end of the upper wall 23, the rear end of the lower wall 24, the rear end of the first side wall 25, and the rear end of the second side wall 26 are all connected to the rear wall 22. The front end of the upper wall 23, the front end of the lower wall 24, the front end of the first side wall 25, and the front end of the second side wall 26 constitute an opening peripheral portion 28, and the opening peripheral portion 28 forms a substantially rectangular container body opening portion 21.

The opening peripheral edge portion 28 is provided at one end portion of the container main body 2, and the rear wall 22 is located at the other end portion of the container main body 2. The outer shape of container body 2 formed by the outer surface of wall portion 20 is box-shaped. The inner surface of the wall portion 20, that is, the inner surface of the rear wall 22, the inner surface of the upper wall 23, the inner surface of the lower wall 24, the inner surface of the first side wall 25, and the inner surface of the second side wall 26 form a substrate accommodating space 27 surrounded by them. Container body opening 21 formed in opening peripheral edge 28 communicates with substrate accommodating space 27 surrounded by wall portion 20 and formed inside container body 2. A maximum of 25 substrates W can be accommodated in the substrate accommodating space 27.

As shown in fig. 1, latch engagement recesses 231A, 231B, 241A, 241B recessed toward the outside of the substrate storage space 27 are formed in the upper wall 2 and the lower wall 24 and in the vicinity of the opening peripheral edge 28. The

latch engaging recesses

231A, 231B, 241A, 241B are formed one near each of the left and right ends of the upper wall 23 and the lower wall 24, and four latch engaging recesses are formed in total.

As shown in fig. 1, a rib 235 is provided on the outer surface of the upper wall 23 so as to be integrally formed with the upper wall 23. The ribs 235 increase the rigidity of the container body 2. Further, a top flange 236 is fixed to a central portion of the upper wall 23. The top flange 236 is a member that becomes a portion hooked and suspended by the substrate storage container 1 when the substrate storage container 1 is suspended by an AMHS (automated wafer transfer system), a PGV (wafer carrier), or the like.

As shown in fig. 3, a bottom plate 244 is fixed to the lower wall 24. The bottom plate 244 has a substantially rectangular plate shape disposed to face substantially the entire lower surface constituting the outer surface of the lower wall 24, and is fixed to the lower wall 24.

As shown in fig. 3, two kinds of through holes, i.e., an air supply hole 242 and an air discharge hole 243, are formed at four corners of the lower wall 24. In the present embodiment, the two through holes in the front portion of the lower wall 24 are exhaust holes 243 for exhausting gas inside the container main body 2, and the two through holes in the rear portion are gas supply holes 242 for supplying gas into the container main body 2.

An air supply filter unit 80 as an additional component is disposed in a through hole as the air supply hole 242, and an exhaust filter unit 90 is disposed in a through hole as the exhaust hole 243. That is, the flow paths of the gas inside the gas supply filter unit 80 and the gas discharge filter unit 90 constitute a part of a ventilation path 210 (see fig. 6) that can communicate the substrate housing space 27 with the space outside the container main body 2. The air supply filter unit 80 and the air discharge filter unit 90 are disposed on the wall portion 20, and the air supply filter unit 80 and the air discharge filter unit 90 allow gas to pass between the space outside the container main body 2 and the substrate accommodating space 27. The gas supply filter unit 80 is configured to communicate with the internal space of the gas discharge nozzle unit 8, and the purge gas, which is the gas supplied to the gas supply filter unit 80 through the internal space of the gas discharge nozzle unit 8, is supplied to the substrate accommodating space 27.

As shown in fig. 2 and the like, the substrate support plate-like portions 5 are provided on the first side wall 25 and the second side wall 26, respectively, and are provided in the container body 2 in the substrate storage space 27 in pairs in the left-right direction D3. Specifically, as shown in fig. 4 and the like, the substrate support plate-like portion 5 has a plate portion 51.

The plate portion 51 has a plate-like substantially arc shape. The plate portion 51 is provided with 25 pieces of the first side wall 25 and the second side wall 26 in the vertical direction D2, respectively, and 50 pieces in total. The adjacent plate portions 51 are arranged in a positional relationship in which they are separated from each other by an interval of 10mm to 12mm and are parallel in the vertical direction D2.

The 25-piece plate portion 51 provided on the first side wall 25 and the 25-piece plate portion 51 provided on the second side wall 26 have a positional relationship facing each other in the left-right direction D3. The plate 51 has

projections

511 and 512 on its upper surface. The substrate W supported by the plate 51 is in surface contact with only the protruding ends of the protruding

portions

511 and 512, but not with the plate 51.

The substrate support plate-like portion 5 configured as described above can support the edge portions of the plurality of substrates W in a state in which the adjacent substrates W are separated from each other by a predetermined interval and are in a parallel positional relationship.

As shown in fig. 4, the rear substrate support portion 6 has a rear edge support portion 60. The rear end edge support portion 60 is formed integrally with the container body 2 at the rear end of the plate portion 51 of the substrate support plate-like portion 5.

The rear-side edge support portion 60 is provided with the number of substrates W, specifically, 25 substrates W, corresponding to each substrate W that can be stored in the substrate storage space 27. The rear-side edge support portion 60 disposed on the first side wall 25 and the second side wall 26 has a positional relationship in the front-rear direction D1 in pairs with a front holding member described later. By housing the substrate W in the substrate housing space 27 and closing the lid body 3, the rear end edge support portion 60 holds and supports the end edge of the edge portion of the substrate W.

As shown in fig. 2 and the like, the rear wall 22 has a projection 8 as a gas ejection nozzle portion. The protruding portion 8 has: the protruding portion main body 81 shown in fig. 5 and 6; and a protrusion cover portion that covers the entire surface of the protrusion main body portion shown in fig. 6 and is fixed to the protrusion main body portion. As shown in fig. 2, two of the projections 8 are formed in pairs, and project in a rib-like manner toward the container body opening 21 and extend in parallel from the upper end to the lower end of the rear wall 22. That is, the protruding portion 8 has a hollow columnar shape. The protruding portion 8 has: a plurality of openings 802 for supplying gas, which flows into the gas passage 210 that can connect the substrate storage space 27 and a space outside the container main body 2, to the substrate storage space 27; and a gas flow rate uniformizing section capable of discharging the gas at a uniformized flow rate from the plurality of openings 802.

Specifically, the gas flow rate uniformizing section includes: a gas passage 210 capable of communicating the substrate accommodating space 27 with a space outside the container main body 2; and a branch path 801 formed between the air passage 210 and the opening 802, and configured to branch the flow of the gas from the air passage 210.

The branch line 801 includes: a branching start section 8011 that branches the flow of gas into a plurality of flows and circulates the branched gas in parallel; and a plurality of distal-side branch portions 8015 that further branch the gas flowing through the branching start portion and flow the gas into the opening portion.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 6, the branching start section 8011 includes two flow paths that branch off from the upper end of the vertical direction extending portion 213 extending in the upward direction D21 from the ventilation path 210 that can communicate the board housing space 27 with the space outside the container main body 2, and extend in parallel in the upward direction D21. An upstream end portion of the branching start portion 8011 in the direction in which the gas flowing into the vertical direction extending portion 213 flows (a lower end portion of the branching start portion 8011) extends in an upward direction from the inlet opening 8012 of the upstream end portion.

The lower end of the branch start portion 8011 is located slightly below, in the up-down direction D2, a position that is approximately one third of the length of the protruding portion 8 in the up-down direction D2 from the lower end of the protruding portion 8 toward the up-down direction D21. Two flow paths extend in parallel from the lower end of the branching start section 8011 to a position slightly below the position in the vertical direction D2, which is approximately one-half the length of the protruding section 8 in the vertical direction D2 from the lower end of the protruding section 8 in the vertical direction D21. Therefore, the inlet opening 8012 of the upstream end portion of the branching start part 8011 in the direction in which the gas flowing into the vertical direction extending portion 213 flows (the lower end portion of the branching start part 8011) is located at a position deviated from the position of the center portion of the protruding part 8 in the up-down direction D2.

Of the two flow paths of the branch start portion 8011, one flow path on the side of the opening 802 (left side in fig. 6) is bent downward D22, and the downward direction D22 extends to a position slightly below the lower end of the branch start portion 8011, and is bent in the direction of the opening 802 and extends to the vicinity of the opening. For convenience of explanation, this flow path is referred to as "lower flow path 8011-2".

Further, one of the two flow paths of the branching start section 8011 which is located away from the opening 802 side (the right side in fig. 6) extends directly in the upward direction D21, is bent in the direction of the opening 802 at a position lower than a position approximately one fifth of the length of the protrusion 8 in the upward and downward direction D2 from the upper end of the protrusion 8 in the downward direction D22 in the upward and downward direction D2, and extends to the vicinity of the opening. For convenience of explanation, this flow path is referred to as "upper flow path 8011-1".

The flow path length of the upper flow path 8011-1 branched from the branching start section 8011 is preferably 2 times or more, and in the present embodiment, 2 times or more, the flow path length of the lower flow path 8011-2 branched from the branching start section. This is because, by setting the flow rate to 2 times or more, a large amount of gas can be suppressed from flowing into the upper flow passage 8011-1 and flowing out from the upper opening 802 of the protruding portion 8, but if the flow rate is less than 2 times, it is difficult to obtain the effect.

The lower flow passage 8011-2 branches and extends in the upward direction D21 and the downward direction D22, extends away from the opening 802 in the middle, extends in the upward direction D21 and the downward direction D22, and extends in the direction of the opening 802. The flow path further branches and extends in the upward direction D21 and the downward direction D22, respectively, extends away from the opening 802 from the middle, extends in the upward direction D21 and the downward direction D22 again, extends in the direction of the opening 802, respectively, and is connected to the opening front chamber 803, and the opening 802 formed by 25 slits formed at equal intervals in the upward and downward directions is formed in the opening front chamber 803.

The upper flow passage 8011-1 branches and extends in the upward direction D21 and the downward direction D22, extends from the middle so as to be separated from the opening 802, extends in the upward direction D21 and the downward direction D22, and extends in the direction of the opening 802. The flow path further branches and extends in the upward direction D21 and the downward direction D22, respectively, and extends from midway away from the opening 802, extends in the upward direction D21 and the downward direction D22 again, and further extends in the direction of the opening 802, and is connected to the opening front chamber 803, and the opening 802 formed by 25 slits formed at equal intervals in the upward and downward directions is formed in the opening front chamber 803.

In addition, the protruding portion 8 has a cleaning liquid inflow prevention portion. The cleaning liquid inflow prevention portion is formed of an inclined brim 815, and the inclined brim 815 is inclined in the vicinity of the opening portion 802, more specifically, in the upper side and the lower side of the opening portion 802, in the downward direction D22 toward the front direction D11. The oblique eaves 815 extend parallel to each other by a length of about 2 to 3 times the width of the opening 802 in the vertical direction D2. The reason for this is that about 2 to 3 times, if shorter than 2 times, the effect of preventing the cleaning liquid from flowing into the opening 802 is hardly obtained. The reason why the length is about 2 to 3 times is because the effect of blocking the inflow of the cleaning liquid into the opening 802 is almost the same as that in the case of 3 times even if the length is longer than 3 times. When the container main body 2 is cleaned, the inclined brim 815 prevents the cleaning liquid from flowing from the opening 802 into the air passage 210 in the vicinity of the opening 802. The inclined edge 815 forms a lower outflow portion that causes the gas to flow out from the opening 802 in the downward direction D22.

As shown in fig. 1, the lid body 3 has a substantially rectangular shape substantially conforming to the shape of the opening peripheral edge portion 28 of the container body 2. The lid body 3 is detachable from the opening peripheral edge portion 28 of the container body 2, and by attaching the lid body 3 to the opening peripheral edge portion 28, the lid body 3 can close the container body opening portion 21 in a positional relationship surrounded by the opening peripheral edge portion 28.

An annular seal member 4 is attached to the inner surface of the lid body 3 (the surface on the back side of the lid body 3 shown in fig. 1) and the surface facing the surface (the seal surface 281) of the step portion formed at the position immediately following the rear direction D12 of the opening peripheral edge portion 28 when the lid body 3 closes the container main body opening 21, so as to surround the outer peripheral edge portion of the lid body 3 by one turn. The sealing member 4 is disposed so as to surround the lid 3 in one circle. The sealing member 4 is made of various elastically deformable thermoplastic elastomers such as polyester and polyolefin, fluororubber, silicone rubber, or the like.

When the lid body 3 is attached to the opening peripheral edge portion 28, the sealing member 4 is elastically deformed by being sandwiched between the sealing surface 281 (see fig. 1) of the container body 2 and the inner surface of the lid body 3. That is, by interposing the sealing member 4 between the lid body 3 and the container body 2, the lid body 3 can close the container body opening 21 in a state where the lid body 3 and the opening peripheral edge portion 28 are separated without coming into contact with each other. By removing the lid body 3 from the opening peripheral edge portion 28, the substrate W can be taken out of or put into the substrate storage space 27 in the container main body 2.

The lid 3 is provided with a latch mechanism. The latch mechanisms are provided near both right and left end portions of the lid body 3, and as shown in fig. 1, include: two

upper latch portions

32A, 32A that can project upward from the upper side of the lid body 3; and two

lower latch portions

32B, 32B that can project downward from the lower edge of the lid body 3. The two

upper latching portions

32A, 32A are disposed near both left and right ends of the upper side of the lid body 3, and the two

lower latching portions

32B, 32B are disposed near both left and right ends of the lower side of the lid body 3.

An operation portion 33 is provided on the outer surface of the lid body 3. By operating the operating portion 33 from the front side of the lid 3, the

upper latch portions

32A, 32A and the

lower latch portions

32B, 32B can be made to protrude from the upper and lower sides of the lid 3, and can be made to be in a state of not protruding from the upper and lower sides. The lid body 3 is fixed to the opening peripheral edge portion 28 of the container body 2 by the

upper latch portions

32A, 32A projecting upward from the upper edge of the lid body 3 and engaging with the latch engaging

concave portions

231A, 231B of the container body 2, and the

lower latch portions

32B, 32B projecting downward from the lower edge of the lid body 3 and engaging with the latch engaging

concave portions

241A, 241B of the container body 2.

A recess (not shown) that is recessed toward the outside (the front direction D11) of the housing space 27 is formed inside the lid 3 (the rear direction D12 side of the lid 3 in fig. 1). A front holding member (not shown) is fixedly provided in the recess (not shown) and a portion of the cover 3 outside the recess.

The front holding member (not shown) has a front holding member substrate receiving portion (not shown). The front holding member substrate receiving portions (not shown) are disposed in pairs at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction. Two front holding member substrate receiving portions are arranged in pairs in the vertical direction, and 25 pairs of the front holding member substrate receiving portions are arranged in the vertical direction. The front holding member substrate receiving portion holds and supports the edge of the edge portion of the substrate W by housing the substrate W in the housing space 27 and closing the lid body 3.

According to the substrate storage container 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

As described above, the substrate storage container 1 includes the gas flow rate uniformizing portion capable of flowing out the gas from the plurality of openings 802 at a uniformized flow rate, the gas flow rate uniformizing portion includes the branch passage 801, the branch passage 801 is formed between the gas passage 210 and the openings 802, and branches the flow of the gas from the gas passage 210, and the branch passage 801 includes: a branching start section 8011 that branches the flow of gas into a plurality of flows and circulates the branched gas in parallel; and a plurality of distal-side branching portions 8015 that further branch the gas flowing through the branching start portion 8011 and flow the gas into the opening 802.

With the above configuration, the purge gas as the gas can be uniformly supplied from the plurality of openings 802 of the protruding portion 8 as the gas discharge nozzle portion in the substrate housing space 27, and the gas replacement efficiency in the substrate housing container 1 can be improved. Further, the purge gas can be uniformly pushed out of the air in the container main body 2 from the rear side of the container main body 2 toward the front side D11 with respect to the upper and lower storage positions of the stored substrates W, whereby the entire surfaces of the substrates W can be perfectly covered with the purge gas. Further, even if a large amount of purge gas is supplied to the substrate accommodating space 27, the purge gas can be uniformly flowed regardless of the position above and below the substrate accommodating space 27, and thus the gas purge can be performed in a short time. Therefore, the amount of purge gas used can be reduced. In addition, entrainment of the downward flowing air flow on the door side can be reduced.

In addition, an upstream end portion of the branching start portion 8011 in the flow direction of the purge gas as the gas extends upward from the inlet opening 8012 of the upstream end portion. With this configuration, the purge gas flowing from the lower side upward direction D21 can be flowed straight upward in the direction D21 to the plurality of flow paths opening at the inlet opening 8012 and uniformly flow into the openings of the plurality of flow paths.

Further, the inlet opening 8012 at the upstream end of the branching start section 8011 is located at a position deviated from the position of the center portion of the projecting section 8 as the gas discharge nozzle section in the vertical direction D2. With this configuration, the degree of freedom in designing the branching start section 8011 can be improved.

The flow path length of the upper flow path 8011-1 branched from the branching start section 8011 is 2 times or more the flow path length of the lower flow path 8011-2 branched from the branching start section 8011. With this configuration, a large amount of purge gas can be prevented from flowing into the upper flow passage 8011-1, and the amounts of purge gas flowing into the upper flow passage 8011-1 and the lower flow passage 8011-2 can be made uniform.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified within the technical scope described in the claims.

For example, the shapes of the container body and the lid, the configuration of the gas discharge nozzle portion, and the number and size of substrates that can be stored in the container body are not limited to the shapes of the container body 2 and the lid 3, the configuration of the protruding portion 8, and the number and size of substrates W that can be stored in the container body 2 in the present embodiment. The substrate W in the present embodiment is a silicon wafer having a diameter of 300mm, but is not limited to this value.

In the present embodiment, the back side board support portion has the back side edge support portion 60 formed integrally with the container main body 2 at the rear end portion of the plate portion 51 of the board support plate-like portion 5, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the rear substrate support portion may be formed separately from the container body, instead of being formed integrally with the container body.

In the present embodiment, the two through holes in the front portion of the lower wall 24 are the gas discharge holes 243 for discharging the gas inside the container body 2, and the two through holes in the rear portion are the gas supply holes 242 for supplying the gas inside the container body 2, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, at least one of the two through holes in the front portion of the lower wall may be a gas supply hole for supplying gas into the container body.

Claims

1. A substrate container, characterized in that,

the substrate storage container includes:

a container body having a cylindrical wall portion having an opening peripheral edge portion formed with a container body opening at one end portion and having the other end portion closed, and a substrate accommodating space formed by an inner surface of the wall portion and capable of accommodating a substrate and communicating with the container body opening;

a lid body that is detachable from the container body opening portion and can close the container body opening portion;

a gas passage capable of communicating the substrate accommodating space with a space outside the container body;

a gas discharge nozzle portion having a plurality of openings for supplying the gas flowing into the gas passage to the substrate accommodating space; and

a gas flow rate uniformizing section for allowing the gas to flow out from the plurality of openings at a uniformized flow rate,

the gas flow rate uniformizing section has a branch passage formed between the gas passage and the opening section and configured to branch a flow of the gas from the gas passage,

the branch path has:

a branching start section that branches a flow of gas into a plurality of branches and circulates the branched gas in parallel; and

and a plurality of distal-end-side branching portions for branching the gas flowing through the branching start portion and flowing the gas to the opening portion.

2. The substrate receiving container according to claim 1,

an upstream end portion of the branch start portion in the flow direction of the gas extends upward from an inlet opening of the upstream end portion.

3. The substrate receiving container according to claim 2,

the inlet opening of the upstream end portion is located at a position deviated from a position of a central portion of the gas discharge nozzle portion in the vertical direction.

4. The substrate receiving container according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the flow path length of the gas flow path of the branch start portion that branches at the branch start portion and is connected to one of the tip side branch portions is 2 times or more the flow path length of the gas flow path of the branch start portion that branches at the branch start portion and is connected to the other tip side branch portion.