JP2000077511A - Wafer packaging vessel and method for packaging wafer using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To package wafers of a plurality of sizes to one kind, while damages caused by collisions between wafers is prevented. SOLUTION: A wafer packaging vessel 10 comprises a box-like main body 11, which with an upper end surface opened while the lower end surface closed, has an inside diameter equal to or larger than the maximum outside diameter of a wafer 1 which is to be packaged, a lid body 14 which is put over the main body 11 for closing the opening, a plurality of pillars 12 elected on the bottom surface of the main body 11, an adhesive sheet 16, comprising a through- hole 17 in which the pillar 12 is inserted, the wafer 1 is pasted on, a plurality of cushions 20, and a holding sheet 22. When the wafer 1 is packaged in the wafer packaging vessel 10 with the pillar 12 of the main body 11 inserted in the through-hole 17 of the wafer adhesive sheet 16, the pillar 12 and the adhesive sheet 16 regulate the position of the wafer 1, so that the collisions between wafers are prevented. The wafers of different sizes are packaged in the wafer packaging vessel of identical specifications, so that the cost of wafer packaging method is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a wafer packing technique,
In particular, the present invention relates to a packaging technology for packaging a plurality of semiconductor wafers (hereinafter, referred to as semiconductor wafers) or blank wafers in which integrated circuits including semiconductor elements are manufactured, for example,
The present invention relates to a technique effective for packing semiconductor wafers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the production of semiconductor devices, not only technical innovations, but also decentralization or globalization of production bases is progressing. In such a situation, from a so-called front-end process of manufacturing semiconductor wafers to a so-called post-process of manufacturing and packaging semiconductor chips by semiconductor wafers at a single production site, it is necessary to make capital investment and R & D. Not only is the cost enormous, but measures for new products and specification changes are delayed, so this is not an advantage.

With the development of the information society, MPU
An MCM (multi-chip module) that builds a system by mounting multiple types of semiconductor chips (chips with integrated circuits including semiconductor elements) such as (microprocessor units) and memories on a single substrate ) Has been adopted.

In such a situation, a semiconductor device manufacturing factory is not limited to shipping a packaged semiconductor device as a product but also has to ship a semiconductor wafer as a product. Semiconductor wafers are extremely expensive because of the large number of semiconductor chips built in,
In addition, since the product is easily damaged, it is necessary to give due consideration to the distribution of semiconductor wafers during transportation and handling.

Generally, in a semiconductor device manufacturing plant,
The semiconductor wafer is transported between the respective steps using a carrier jig called a wafer cassette. However, since this wafer cassette is designed with an emphasis on easiness of taking semiconductor wafers in and out of the wafer cassette for use between processes, the wafer cassette is used for a wafer distribution container in a general distribution where vibrations and shocks are easily applied. Not suitable for

Therefore, when semiconductor wafers are supplied to general distribution such as shipment or long-distance transportation of products, a method of packing semiconductor wafers one by one in a tray,
A method of packing a plurality of semiconductor wafers by laying a protective sheet between them on a petri dish and the like is generally adopted.

[0007] An example in which a wafer cassette is described is Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 4-8945.

[0008]

By the way, in a semiconductor device manufacturing plant today, the outer diameter is from 5 inches to 12 inches.
Wafers up to inches are used. Therefore, according to the conventional wafer packing method described above, it is necessary to prepare a plurality of types of packing containers corresponding to each size of the semiconductor wafer, so that the running cost increases.

An object of the present invention is to provide a wafer packing container capable of packing a plurality of types of wafers by one type while preventing damage due to collision between the wafers.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0011]

The outline of a typical invention among the inventions disclosed in the present application is as follows.

That is, a wafer packing container for packing a plurality of wafers is provided with a box-shaped main body having an upper end open and a lower end closed and having an inner diameter equal to or larger than the maximum outer diameter of the wafer to be packed. A lid that is removably mounted on the upper end of the body and closes the opening, a plurality of pillars standing on the bottom surface of the main body, and an insertion hole through which the pillar is inserted; And a seat.

When packing a wafer in the above-described wafer packing container, the wafer is previously adhered to an adhesive sheet.
The adhesive sheet to which the wafer is adhered is accommodated in the main body by inserting a support into the insertion hole. When a plurality of wafers are packed, adhesive sheets to which the wafers are adhered are sequentially stacked. When a predetermined number of wafers are stacked, the lid is put on the main body. In this housed state, the adhesive sheets are positioned by the columns, so that the wafers do not collide with each other, and loss due to collision is avoided.

[0014]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a wafer packaging container according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 et seq. Show a wafer packing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, the wafer packing container according to the present invention is configured to pack wafers of a plurality of sizes in one kind of wafer packing container. The wafer packaging container 10 includes a main body 11, a lid 14 placed on the upper end of the main body 11, an adhesive sheet 16 to which the wafer 1 is adhered, a cushion 20, and a protection sheet 22.

The main body 11 is integrally molded using a resin mixed with a material having an antistatic effect such as carbon (hereinafter referred to as an antistatic resin), and has a shallow bottom with an open upper surface and a closed lower surface. It is formed in a square box shape. The inner diameter of the main body 11 is the maximum outer diameter of the wafer 1 to be packed,
That is, it is set sufficiently larger than 12 inches.

At four corners of the bottom surface of the main body 11, four pillars 12 each having a columnar shape are fixed to each other by being vertically erected, and the four pillars 12 are outside the maximum outer diameter of the wafer to be packed. Are arranged as follows. In the present embodiment, the columns 12 are formed integrally with the main body 11 using an antistatic resin. The outer diameter of the support 12 is set to the smallest diameter in a range in which the adhesive sheet 16 can be positioned, and the upper end of the support 12 has a hemispherical portion 13 serving as a pick-up portion for facilitating insertion of each insertion hole described later. Are formed.

The lid 14 is also integrally formed by using an antistatic resin, and is formed in the shape of a square flat plate having an outer diameter equal to that of the main body 11. The lid 14 is fitted to the upper end surface of the main body 11 to close the upper end opening of the main body 11. Four insertion holes 15 are respectively formed in the four corners of the lid 14, and the inner diameter of each insertion hole 15 is set to be larger than the outer diameter of the column 12 so that the column 12 of the main body 11 is inserted. ing.

The pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 16 is made of a flexible hard antistatic resin and is formed in a square sheet shape. One main surface (hereinafter referred to as an upper surface) of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer (see FIG. 1). (Not shown), the wafer 1 can be adhered. The outer diameter of the adhesive sheet 16 is set slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the main body 11 and sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the wafer 1. At four corners of the adhesive sheet 16, insertion holes 17 for inserting the columns 12 are formed, and the inner diameter of the insertion holes 17 is set slightly larger than the outer diameter of the columns 12.

At the positions of the four insertion holes 17 on the upper and lower surfaces of the adhesive sheet 16, pads 18 for maintaining the rigidity of the insertion holes 17 are fixed. The pad 18 is made of a rigid thin plate such as paper or a resin plate.
It is formed in the shape of a square flat plate larger than the inner diameter of the insertion hole 17, and an insertion hole 19 for exposing the insertion hole 17 is formed in the center. In addition, a plurality of adhesive sheets 16 are prepared in advance for one wafer packing container.

The cushion 20 is formed of a sponge-like square board having elasticity using an antistatic resin. The outer diameter of the cushion 20 is set slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the main body 11. At four corners of the cushion 20, four insertion holes 21 for inserting the columns 12 are respectively formed. The inner diameter of the insertion hole 21 is set slightly larger than the outer diameter of the support 12. Note that a plurality of cushions 20 are prepared in advance for one wafer packaging container.

The protective sheet 22 is formed of a square sheet by using a flexible antistatic resin. The outer diameter of the protection sheet 22 is set smaller than the outer diameter of the adhesive sheet 16 and larger than the outer diameter of the wafer 1. The protection sheet 22 is formed transparent so that the surface of the wafer 1 can be seen through.

Next, a wafer packing method for packing semiconductor wafers in a wafer packing container according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as wafer) 1
Is packed by the wafer packing container 10,
The wafer 1 is adhered to the adhesive surface of the adhesive sheet 16 so as to be substantially concentric. At this time, the lower surface, which is the back surface of the wafer 1 with the active area side main surface facing upward, is adhered to the adhesive sheet 16. In the adhesive operation, the lower surface of the wafer 1 may be lightly pressed against the adhesive surface of the adhesive sheet 16 while the adhesive sheet 16 is kept flat.

When packing the wafer 1, first, FIG.
As shown in (a), the cushion 20 is vacuum-adsorbed and held by the handling device 30, and the column 12 is inserted into the insertion hole 21 of the cushion 20 and laid on the bottom surface of the main body 11. At this time, since the hemispherical portion 13 as a pick-up portion is formed at the upper end of the support 12, the support 12 can be smoothly inserted into the insertion hole 21 even if a slight displacement occurs.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 2B, the adhesive sheet 16 to which the wafer 1 is adhered is vacuum-adsorbed and held on the pads 18 at the four corners by the handling device 30, and is placed on the cushion 20. Can be At this time, the four columns 12 are respectively inserted into the insertion holes 17 at the four corners of the adhesive sheet 16. At this time, the adhesive sheet 16 itself has flexibility, but since the four insertion holes 17 at the four corners are reinforced by the pads 18, the four columns 12 are inserted into the four insertion holes 17 at the four corners.
Can be easily inserted in combination with the guiding action of the hemispherical portion 13 of the column 12.

Next, the protection sheet 22 is vacuum-held by the handling device 30 and placed on the wafer 1 so as to cover the active area side main surface.

When the protection sheet 22 is placed on the wafer 1, the adhesive sheet 16 to which the next wafer 1 is adhered is stacked on the protection sheet 22 by inserting the support 12 into the insertion hole 17. Subsequently, the next protective sheet 22 is stacked on the wafer 1. Thereafter, the specified plurality of wafer adhesive sheets 16 and the protection sheet 22 are alternately stacked.

When the designated number of wafers 1 are accommodated in the main body 11, the cushion 20 is vacuum-adsorbed and held by the handling device 30, and is placed on the last protective sheet 22. Incidentally, since the cushion 20 also plays a role of filling a gap in the packing, the number of sheets to be laid is increased according to the state of the packing.

Subsequently, the lid 14 is put on the main body 11. At this time, the four columns 12 of the main body 11 are inserted into the insertion holes 15 at the four corners of the lid 14, and the horizontal position of the lid 14 with respect to the main body 11 is regulated. When the cover 14 is placed on the main body 11 and the cover 14 and the main body 11 are tightened by a clamper (not shown) such as a rubber band, the upper and lower cushions 20 and 20 are compressed and deformed. Therefore, the wafer 1 is held by the elastic force of the cushions 20, 20. In this state, since the column 12 is inserted into the insertion hole 17 of the adhesive sheet 16,
The adhesive sheet 16, that is, the wafer 1 is in a state where the movement in the lateral direction (radial direction) is prevented.

Here, since the pads 18 are fixed to the four corners of the adhesive sheet 16, it is possible to prevent the adhesive sheet 16 from having a step even when the wafers 1 are piled up, so that a plurality of wafers 1 Can be stacked in a flat state.

The wafer packaging container 10 in which a plurality of wafers 1 are simultaneously packaged as described above is provided for general distribution. When transporting or handling a plurality of wafer packaging containers 10, the plurality of wafer packaging containers 10 are packed in a cardboard box or other containers.

When the wafer 1 is taken out of the wafer packaging container 10, that is, when the wafer packaging container 10 is unpacked, the above-described packing operation may be performed in reverse.

When using the wafer 1 taken out, the adhesive sheet 16 is peeled off from the back surface of the wafer 1.
The peeling operation of the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 16 can be easily and appropriately performed by holding the wafer 1 under vacuum suction and holding the edge of the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 16 and peeling the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 16 from end to end.

In some cases, the wafer 1 may be divided into semiconductor chips by dicing the wafer 1 while the wafer 1 is still adhered to the adhesive sheet 16.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

Since the wafer is packed in a wafer packing container in a state in which the pillar standing on the main body is inserted into the insertion hole of the adhesive sheet to which the wafer is adhered, the position of the wafer can be regulated by the pillar and the adhesive sheet. It is possible to reliably prevent the wafers from being damaged due to the collision of a plurality of wafers with each other.

By packing the wafers in a state of being adhered to the adhesive sheet, all wafers having different sizes can be packed in a wafer packing container of the same standard, so that the compatibility or versatility of the wafer packing container can be improved. As a result, the running cost of the wafer packing method can be reduced.

Since a plurality of wafers can be packed by one wafer packing container, the running cost of the wafer packing method can be further reduced.

According to the above, finally, the manufacturing cost of the entire semiconductor device production can be reduced.

Although the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment, the invention is not limited to the embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Needless to say.

For example, the main body, the lid and the support are not limited to being formed by using an antistatic resin, but may be formed by using a metal. Further, the lid is not limited to being formed in a flat plate shape, but may be formed in a box shape fitted to the main body.

The columns and the insertion holes through which the columns are inserted are not limited to being formed in a circular shape, but may be formed in a square or polygonal shape. Further, the receiving portion is not limited to being formed in a hemispherical shape, but may be formed in a conical shape, a frustum shape, or the like.

The pad, cushion and protective sheet may be omitted.

In the above description, the case where the invention made by the present inventor is applied to a semiconductor wafer, which is the field of application as the background, has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an integrated circuit including a semiconductor element is not limited thereto. The present invention can be applied to all wafers such as a wafer (blank wafer) before the wafer is formed.

[0046]

According to the present invention, the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet on which the wafers are adhered is packaged in a wafer packaging container while being positioned by the pillars standing on the main body, whereby the occurrence of damage due to collision between wafers can be reliably prevented.

In addition, since all wafers having different sizes can be packed in a wafer packing container of the same standard, the compatibility or versatility of the wafer packing container can be improved, and the running cost of the wafer packing method can be reduced. Can be.

Since a plurality of wafers can be packed in one wafer packing container, the running cost of the wafer packing method can be further reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a wafer packaging container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing a wafer packing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially cut front view showing a state after packing.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... semiconductor wafer (wafer), 10 ... wafer packaging container,
11 ... body, 12 ... prop, 13 ... hemispherical part (reception part), 1
4 ... lid, 15 ... insertion hole, 16 ... adhesive sheet, 17 ... insertion hole, 18 ... pad, 19 ... insertion hole, 20 ... cushion, 21 ... insertion hole, 22 ... protection sheet, 30 ... handling device.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Emata 5-22-1, Josuihoncho, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo Inside Hitachi Super LSI Systems Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tomoaki Shimoishi Tokyo 5-22-1, Josuihoncho, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo Inside Hitachi Ultra-LSI Systems Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuya Tsuboi 5-2-1-1, Josuihoncho, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Masako Sasaki 5-22-1, Josuihonmachi, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor East Shuichiro 5-22-1, Josuihoncho, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo Inside Hitachi Ultra-SII Systems Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yusuke Enomoto 5-cho, Josuihoncho, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo No. 20 No. 1 Co., Ltd. Hitachi Semiconductor Division in the F-term (reference) 5F031 BC01 BC04 MM01 MM02

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A wafer packing container for packing a plurality of wafers, comprising: a box-shaped main body having an open upper end surface and a closed lower end surface and having an inner diameter greater than or equal to a maximum outer diameter of the wafer to be packed; A lid that is removably mounted on the upper end of the main body to close the opening, a plurality of columns standing on the bottom surface of the main body, and an insertion hole through which the columns are inserted; and the wafer is adhered. And a pressure sensitive adhesive sheet. 2. A receiving portion for facilitating the insertion of the insertion hole through the support post.
4. The wafer packaging container according to 1. 3. The wafer packaging container according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of cushions formed of an elastic body and having insertion holes through which the columns are inserted are prepared. 4. The wafer packaging container according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of protective sheets having an insertion hole through which the column is inserted and protecting the wafer are prepared. 5. The wafer packaging container according to claim 1, wherein a pad for reinforcement is fixed around the insertion hole of the adhesive sheet. 6. The wafer packaging container according to claim 1, wherein the main body, the lid, the support, and the adhesive sheet have an antistatic structure. 7. A wafer packing method using the wafer packing container according to claim 1, wherein the wafer is adhered to the adhesive sheet, and the adhesive sheet is inserted into the insertion hole in the main body, and the support is inserted into the insertion hole. A wafer packing method, wherein the lid is placed over the main body. 8. After a cushion formed of an elastic body and having a through hole through which the column is inserted is laid on the bottom surface of the main body, the adhesive sheet on which a wafer is adhered is mounted on the cushion. The support is inserted through the hole and placed, and a protective sheet having an insertion hole through which the support is inserted is provided on the wafer to protect the wafer. The support is inserted through the insertion hole and mounted. 8. The wafer packing method according to claim 7, wherein the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet is placed on the sheet by inserting the support into the insertion hole. 9. The wafer packing method according to claim 7, wherein the wafer is separated from the adhesive sheet after being taken out. 10. The wafer packing method according to claim 7, wherein the wafer is diced after being taken out and adhered to an adhesive sheet.