JP2011060877A - Support body for substrate and substrate storage container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a support body for a substrate and a substrate storage container such that a thin film has its peeling or cracking due to contacting with a support piece suppressed, process as designed or the like can be performed on a substrate, and contamination of the substrate and a decrease in yield of a product can be prevented. <P>SOLUTION: The support body for the substrate includes: a pair of support frames 41 which face each other across a semiconductor wafer 1 having a metal thin film laminated from a top surface to a peripheral edge of a reverse surface; and a plurality of support pieces 46 formed on the respective support frames 41 and put along a side part peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 1. The semiconductor wafer 1 is supported horizontally by the plurality of support pieces 46. Each of the support pieces 46 is divided into a front part support piece 47 formed at a front part of the support frame 41 and a rear part support piece 51 formed at a rear part of the support frame 41 to be positioned behind the front part support piece 47, and support projection parts 60 are formed on the front part support piece 47 and rear part support piece 51. Each of the support projection parts 60 has its top surface partially curved to come into contact with the reverse surface of the semiconductor wafer 1, and also has the remaining part of the top surface formed into a slope surface which is not in contact with the reverse surface of the semiconductor wafer 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate support for supporting a substrate made of a semiconductor wafer, a glass wafer, a mask glass or the like, and a substrate storage container.

  A conventional substrate storage container includes a front open box type container main body that can store a semiconductor wafer 1, a lid that opens and closes the front surface of the container main body, and both sides inside the container main body. The semiconductor wafer 1 that has been processed is temporarily stored, stored, or transported (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  The semiconductor wafer 1 is made of, for example, a round silicon wafer having a diameter of 300 mm. After the metal thin film 3 for forming a circuit pattern wiring is laminated from the entire surface to the periphery of the back surface 2 (see FIG. 7), predetermined processing and processing are performed. Applied. Further, the substrate support is formed integrally with the inside of the container body, in other words, on the inner surface of the side wall of the container body, or formed separately from the container body and attached later, and is formed in a plate shape inward of the container body. The support piece is protruded and brought into contact with the side peripheral edge (edge) of the semiconductor wafer 1 or the metal thin film 3 to function to support the semiconductor wafer 1 horizontally.

By the way, in recent years, semiconductor components have been miniaturized and circuit pattern wiring pitches have been reduced. In view of such technical trends, semiconductor wafers 1 are prevented from being contaminated by the adhesion of organic substances and dust generation. Various methods for reducing the contact area between the substrate 1 and the substrate support have been studied and proposed.
For example, a method of reducing the contact area between the semiconductor wafer 1 and the support piece by forming the support piece in a tapered manner and inclining the side edge of the semiconductor wafer 1 or the surface in contact with the metal thin film 3 is proposed. .

JP 2005-64378 A JP 2006-324327 A

  The conventional substrate storage container is configured as described above, and when the metal thin film 3 for forming the wiring of the circuit pattern is laminated from the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer 1 to the periphery of the back surface 2, the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 1 is laminated. Since the support piece of the substrate support is simply in contact with the metal thin film 3, the metal thin film 3 is peeled off due to the contact with the support piece, or a microcrack is generated due to an external impact. 3 may be easily peeled off.

  When the metal thin film 3 is peeled off or a microcrack is generated, processing and processing as designed cannot be performed later on the peeled portion of the metal thin film 3 or the microcrack generating portion, resulting in a serious problem. In addition, the metal thin film 3 and the like that have been peeled off cause contamination of the semiconductor wafer 1 and the product yield decreases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to prevent the thin film from coming into contact with the support piece and to generate cracks, and to perform processing as designed on the substrate, and to contaminate the substrate. Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate support and a substrate storage container that can prevent a decrease in product yield.

In the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problem, a pair of supports opposed to each other with a substrate on which a thin film for circuit is laminated from the front surface to the periphery of the back surface, and a pair of supports formed on the pair of supports, respectively Comprising a plurality of support pieces along the periphery of the part, and supporting the substrate substantially horizontally on the plurality of support pieces,
The support piece is divided into a front support piece formed at the front part of the support body, and a rear support piece formed at the rear part of the support body and positioned behind the front support piece. A support protrusion is formed on each of the rear support pieces, and a part of the surface of the support protrusion is curved so that the back surface of the substrate can be contacted, and the rest of the surface of the support protrusion is not contacted with the back surface of the substrate. It is formed on an inclined surface.

The support includes a pair of upper and lower horizontal bars facing each other with a space therebetween, and a pair of vertical bars installed between both ends of the pair of horizontal bars, and a bent connecting piece between the pair of horizontal bars. And can be interposed between the front support piece and the rear support piece of the support piece.
Further, support protrusions are formed on the surfaces of the front support piece and the rear support piece of the support piece at a height of 0.5 to 3 mm, respectively, and the support protrusions are in contact with the back surface 1 mm or more inside from the peripheral edge of the substrate. Thus, the angle between the surface of the front support piece or the rear support piece and the inclined surface of the support protrusion can be set to 10 to 30 °.

Further, in the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problem, the open front of the container body for storing the substrate is opened and closed by a lid,
The substrate support according to claim 1 or 2 is provided on both inner sides of the container main body.

  Here, the substrate in the claims includes at least φ300, 450, and 600 mm semiconductor wafers, glass wafers, and mask glass as long as a circuit thin film is laminated from the front surface to the periphery of the back surface. The support may have a hollow frame shape or a plate shape. Further, when the substrate support is provided on both sides of the container body, the substrate support may be detachably attached to both sides of the container body. If possible, the substrate support is formed. Thereafter, it may be inserted into a container body mold and integrally formed with the container body. The container body may be transparent, opaque, or translucent.

  According to the present invention, the support protrusions of the support piece of the substrate support, that is, the support protrusions of the front support piece and the rear support piece are not in contact with the peripheral edge of the substrate but are in contact with the inner back surface from the peripheral edge of the substrate. Therefore, the support protrusion of the substrate support is not in contact with the thin film on the periphery of the substrate. This non-contact of the support protrusions suppresses the possibility that the thin film covering the substrate is peeled off in contact with the support piece, or cracks are generated due to impact from the outside and the thin film is easily peeled off. it can.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent the thin film from coming into contact with the support piece and peeling or cracking. In addition, the substrate can be processed and processed as designed, and it is possible to effectively prevent the substrate from being contaminated and the product yield from being lowered.

  Further, if the support protrusion is brought into contact with the back surface 1 mm or more inside from the peripheral edge of the substrate, the support protrusion can be prevented from contacting the thin film on the peripheral edge of the substrate. Further, support protrusions are formed at a height of 0.5 to 3 mm on the surfaces of the front support piece and the rear support piece of the support piece, respectively, and the front support piece or the surface of the rear support piece and the inclination of the support protrusion are formed. If the angle with the surface is 10 to 30 °, the contact between the support protrusion and the thin film on the periphery of the substrate can be prevented, and when the substrate support including the support protrusion is formed, from the mold The substrate support can be easily removed.

It is a perspective explanatory view showing typically an embodiment of a substrate storage container concerning the present invention. It is a perspective explanatory view showing typically the state where a lid was removed from a container main part in an embodiment of a substrate storage container concerning the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of FIG. 2. It is a perspective explanatory view showing typically an embodiment of a substrate support concerning the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the support piece and support protrusion in embodiment of the support body for substrates which concerns on this invention. It is a principal part expansion explanatory drawing which shows typically the support state of the support protrusion in embodiment of the support body for substrates which concerns on this invention. It is a section explanatory view showing typically the state where the metal thin film for circuit pattern wiring formation was laminated from the surface of the semiconductor wafer to the peripheral edge of the back surface.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, a substrate storage container in the present embodiment includes a container body 10 capable of storing a thin and flexible semiconductor wafer 1, and The container body 10 is provided with a lid 30 that removably opens and closes the opened front face 19 and a substrate support 40 disposed on both sides of the container body 10, and the substrate support 40 is curvedly supported. The piece 46 is divided into a front support piece 47 and a rear support piece 51, and support protrusions 60 for the semiconductor wafer 1 are formed on the surfaces of the 47 and 51, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the semiconductor wafer 1 is made of, for example, a silicon wafer having a large diameter of φ450 mm having a thickness of 925 μm, and a notch (not shown) for alignment and identification is cut out in a planar semicircular shape on the periphery. A plurality of sheets (specifically, 25 sheets, etc.) are stored in the container main body 10 in a horizontal alignment with a predetermined pitch. A metal thin film 3 for wiring formation of a circuit pattern is laminated from the entire front surface of the semiconductor wafer 1 to the periphery of the back surface 2, and then predetermined processing and processing are sequentially performed in a subsequent process.

  The container body 10 and the lid body 30 are each formed by combining a plurality of parts by injection molding a plurality of parts from a molding material containing a predetermined resin. Examples of the predetermined resin of the molding material include polycarbonate, polyether ether ketone, polyether imide, liquid crystal polymer, and cyclic olefin resin that are excellent in mechanical properties and heat resistance. Carbon, carbon fiber, metal fiber, carbon nanotube, conductive polymer, antistatic agent, flame retardant, or the like is selectively added to these resins as necessary.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the container body 10 is formed into an opaque front open box type using a molding material, and a semiconductor processing device or a gas replacement device in a state where the horizontally long front face 19 is directed horizontally. It is positioned and mounted on top, or cleaned with a cleaning solution in a cleaning tank.

  The container main body 10 is provided with cylindrical filter bosses that are perforated in the vicinity of the four corners of the bottom plate 11, and an air supply filter 12 and an exhaust filter 13 are respectively attached to and detached from the plurality of filter bosses via O-rings. Fits freely. The air supply filter 12 and the exhaust filter 13 are connected to a gas replacement device and function to replace air in the container body 10 with nitrogen gas and prevent surface oxidation of the semiconductor wafer 1 and the like.

  A substrate storage container, specifically, a positioning tool for positioning the container body 10 is screwed to both the front side and the rear center of the bottom plate 11 of the container body 10. The bottom plate 11 of the container body 10 is horizontally covered with a plurality of air supply filters 12, exhaust filters 13, and a bottom plate 14 for exposing the positioning tool. A plurality of identification holes are perforated, and a detachable information identification pad is selectively inserted into the plurality of identification holes, whereby the type of the substrate storage container, the number of semiconductor wafers 1 and the like are identified to the semiconductor processing apparatus. Is done.

  A top flange 16 for transporting gripped by the factory ceiling transport mechanism is horizontally threaded at the center of the top plate 15 of the container body 10, and is necessary at the center of the back wall of the container body 10. Accordingly, a transparent viewing window is formed in a vertically long shape by a two-color molding method or the like. When this viewing window is formed as necessary, the inside of the container body 10 can be visually observed and grasped from the outside.

  The inner surface of both side walls 17 of the container body 10 is provided with fitting portions and mounting claws for mounting the substrate support 40, and on the surface (outer surface) of both side walls 17, a transport rail 18 is provided. Each is formed to extend in the front-rear direction. Further, a rim flange 20 projecting outward is formed on the peripheral edge of the front surface 19 of the container body 10, and the locking mechanism 34 of the lid 30 is formed on both upper and lower sides of the inner peripheral surface of the rim flange 20. Are respectively perforated, and a detachable lid 30 is fitted into the rim flange 20 by a lid opening / closing device.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lid 30 includes a horizontally long casing 31 that fits in the opened front face 19 of the container body 10, and a surface plate 32 that covers the opened surface (front face) of the casing 31. A locking mechanism 34 for locking interposed between the casing 31 and the surface plate 32 is provided. The casing 31 is basically formed in a shallow, substantially cross-sectional shape with a frame-shaped peripheral wall, and through holes for the locking mechanism 34 are drilled in the upper and lower sides of the peripheral wall. The through hole faces the locking hole 21 of the rim flange 20.

  On both sides of the rear surface of the housing 31, ribs that give rigidity to the housing 31 and prevent warping are integrally formed, and each rib is a front that elastically holds the front periphery of the semiconductor wafer 1. Each retainer is detachably mounted. In addition, a frame-shaped fitting groove is formed on the peripheral edge of the back surface of the housing 31, and a lip type gasket that sandwiches a plurality of through holes between the rim flange 20 of the container body 10 is formed in the fitting groove. The gasket is tightly fitted, and the gasket is pressed into the rim flange 20.

  The gasket is molded into a frame shape that can be elastically deformed using, as a molding material, fluorine rubber, silicone rubber, various thermoplastic elastomers (for example, olefin, polyester, polystyrene, etc.) that have excellent heat resistance and weather resistance, for example. On the outer peripheral surface, a tapered bent projecting piece that is inclined while being inclined from the front surface 19 of the container main body 10 toward the rear wall is integrally formed, and this bent projecting piece is bent to the inner peripheral surface of the rim flange 20. While pressing, ensure airtightness.

  The surface plate 32 is formed in a horizontally long flat plate so as to correspond to the opened surface of the housing 31, and an operation port 33 for the locking mechanism 34 is formed in each of the left and right sides. The locking mechanism 34 includes a pair of left and right rotating plates that are rotated by operating pins of the lid opening / closing device that penetrates the operation port 33 of the surface plate 32, and a plurality of sliding plates that slide in the vertical direction as each rotating plate rotates. A slide plate and a plurality of locking claws that protrude from the through-holes of the housing 31 as the slide plates slide and lock into the locking holes 21 of the rim flange 20 are fitted to the front surface 19 of the container body 10. The lid 30 is locked to effectively prevent dropping.

  The substrate support 40 is injection-molded with a molding material containing a predetermined resin, for example, polybutylene terephthalate, polyether ether ketone, polycarbonate, COP or the like having excellent slipperiness. Carbon fiber, metal fiber, carbon nanotube, conductive polymer, resin imparted with conductivity and the like are selectively added to the resin of the molding material as necessary.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the substrate support 40 includes a pair of left and right support frames 41 that sandwich the semiconductor wafer 1 so as to face the inner surfaces of the side walls 17 of the container body 10, and the pair of support frames 41. A plurality of support pieces 46 that protrude in a vertically aligned state and are horizontally supported along the side edge of the semiconductor wafer 1, and each support piece 46 protrudes horizontally from the front portion of the support frame 41. A front support piece 47 that horizontally supports at least a peripheral edge in front of the side of the semiconductor wafer 1, and a rear part that horizontally protrudes from the rear part of the support frame 41 to horizontally support at least the rear edge of the semiconductor wafer 1. The support piece 51 is detachably attached to the inner surfaces of the side walls 17 of the container body 10.

  The pair of support frames 41 function to horizontally support the semiconductor wafer 1 from both sides by a pair of left and right support pieces 46 facing each other. Each support frame 41 is formed in a horizontally long shape including a pair of upper and lower horizontal bars 42 facing each other with a space therebetween, and a pair of vertical bars 43 installed vertically between the front and rear ends of the pair of horizontal bars 42. Is done.

  The pair of horizontal crosspieces 42 is provided with a bent connecting piece 44 that vertically divides the inside of the support frame 41 between the center portions thereof, and the bent connecting piece 44 supports the front support piece 47 and the rear support piece of the support piece 46. It is interposed between the pieces 51. Between the rear portions of the pair of horizontal rails 42, a plate-shaped reinforcing connection piece 45 located behind the bent connection piece 44 is selectively installed vertically, and the rear portions of the pair of horizontal rails 42 are on the side of the semiconductor wafer 1. The container body 10 is gradually bent inward along the peripheral edge of the rear part.

  At the foremost part of each crosspiece 42, a mounting pin that detachably fits into the fitting portion on the inner surface of the side wall 17 of the container body 10 is formed to project in the vertical direction. A plate-shaped positioning mounting piece positioned lower rearward is formed so as to protrude in the vertical direction, and this positioning mounting piece is detachably positioned and fitted to the fitting portion on the inner surface of the side wall 17 of the container body 10. Further, in the longitudinal direction of the rear portion of the horizontal rail 42, a plurality of height adjustment pins that contact the inside of the container body 10 are arranged at intervals, and the plurality of height adjustment pins are used as the support frame 41 and the plurality of support pieces. Adjust the vertical height of 46 appropriately.

  A mounting groove for mounting claws on the inner surface of the side wall 17 of the container body 10 is cut out at the center of the front vertical beam 43, and a substantially circular cross-section extending in the vertical direction is attached to the end of the rear vertical beam 43. The expansion piece is integrally formed, and the mounting expansion piece is detachably fixed in the container body 10. The mounting groove is cut into a rectangular shape to prevent the support frame 41 from protruding from the container body 10.

  The front support piece 47 of each support piece 46 has a flat plate shape extending linearly and horizontally long from the front portion of the support frame 41, in other words, from the front vertical rail 43 to the front edge of the side of the semiconductor wafer 1. A planar substantially triangular shape provided with a projecting portion 48 and a flat bent portion 49 that extends backward from the tip of the projecting portion 48 while being curved along the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 1. The cavity 50 is partitioned and the rear end of the bent portion 49 is connected to the bent connecting piece 44 of the support frame 41.

  The rear support piece 51 of each support piece 46 is formed into a flat semicircular arc-shaped flat plate along the peripheral edge of the rear side of the semiconductor wafer 1, and horizontally between the rear vertical beam 43 and the bent connecting piece 44. And is horizontally connected to and supported by the reinforcing connecting piece 45 and is adjacent to the rear end of the bent portion 49 with a gap.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, each of the support protrusions 60 is basically formed in a substantially hemispherical shape or a substantially semielliptical shape, and is arranged in front of the bent portion 49 of the front support piece 47 and the rear portion of the rear support piece 51. Are formed so as to protrude from the flat surface of the semiconductor wafer 1 and function so as to contact the back surface 2 of the semiconductor wafer 1 and support it horizontally. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a part 61 of the surface of the support projection 60 is rounded and the back surface 2 is free of the thin metal film 3 on the inner side of the semiconductor wafer 1 by 1 mm or more, preferably 3 mm or more. Point contact.

  On the other hand, as shown in the figure, the remaining portion 62 on the surface of the support protrusion 60 is prevented from becoming an undercut portion that is difficult to be removed during molding, from the inner direction of the container body 10 toward the inner surface of the side wall 17. It gradually descends as it goes, and is formed on an inclined surface 63 that continues to the surface of the front support piece 47 or the rear support piece 51, and has a non-contact relationship with the back surface 2 of the semiconductor wafer 1.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the support protrusion 60 is formed on the surface of the front support piece 47 and the rear support piece 51 with a height h of 0.5 to 3 mm, respectively, and the front support piece 47 or the rear support piece 51. The angle θ between the surface and the inclined surface 63 is set in the range of 10 to 30 °. If the support protrusion 60 has a height h of 0.5 to 3 mm and the angle θ of the inclined surface 63 is in the range of 10 to 30 °, the support protrusion 60 and the metal thin film 3 of the semiconductor wafer 1 This is because the contact can be prevented, and when the substrate support 40 including the support protrusion 60 is formed by a mold, it can be easily removed from the mold at an angle.

  In addition, at least in the vicinity of the peripheral portion of the support protrusion 60 in the front support piece 47 and the rear support piece 51, the average surface roughness (Ra) is 15 to 45 μm from the viewpoint of reducing contact wear with the semiconductor wafer 1. A texture is selectively formed.

  According to the above configuration, a part 61 of the surface of the support protrusion 60 of the substrate support 40 is not the side periphery of the semiconductor wafer 1 but the back surface 2 that is separated from the side periphery of the semiconductor wafer 1 by 1 mm or more inward. Because of the point contact, the support protrusion 60 of the substrate support 40 does not come into contact with the metal thin film 3 that wraps around from the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 1 toward the back surface 2 side. Thereby, it is possible to effectively wipe off the possibility that the metal thin film 3 is peeled off when the metal thin film 3 comes into contact with the support piece 46 or a microcrack is generated due to an external impact, and the metal thin film 3 is easily peeled off. it can.

  Therefore, it is possible to appropriately apply the processing and processing as designed to the peeling portion of the metal thin film 3 and the generation portion of the microcrack later, and the contamination of the semiconductor wafer 1 is caused by the metal thin film 3 that has been peeled off, Product yields are not reduced. Furthermore, since the plurality of support protrusions 60 are not in contact with the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 1 but on the back surface 2 separated from the side peripheral edge by 1 mm or more inward, the amount of bending of the semiconductor wafer 1 is greatly increased compared to the conventional case. Can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the substrate support 40 is simply mounted on the inner surface of the side wall 17 of the container body 10. However, a locking portion is formed on the inner surface of the side wall 17 of the container body 10, and the substrate support 40 is formed on this locking portion. May be detachably locked. In this case, the locking portion may be integrally formed on the inner surface of the side wall 17 of the container main body 10, but after being molded as a separate body, it is inserted into a mold for the container main body 10 and is formed on the inner surface of the side wall 17 of the container main body 10. It may be integrally formed. Further, the bent connecting piece 44 of the support frame 41 can be bent or bent to the opposite side of the bending direction of the front support piece 47 and the rear support piece 51.

1 Semiconductor wafer (substrate)
2 Back 3 Metal thin film (thin film)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Container main body 17 Side wall 19 Front 30 Cover body 40 Substrate support body 41 Support body (support frame)
42 Horizontal beam 43 Vertical beam 44 Bending connecting piece 46 Support piece 47 Front support piece 51 Rear support piece 60 Support projection 61 Part of surface 62 Remaining surface 63 Inclined surface h Height of support projection θ Angle of inclined surface

Claims (3)

A pair of supports opposed to each other with a substrate on which a thin film for circuit is laminated from the front surface to the periphery of the back surface, and a plurality of support pieces formed on the pair of support members and along the periphery of the side portion of the substrate , A substrate support for supporting the substrate substantially horizontally on the plurality of support pieces,
The support piece is divided into a front support piece formed at the front part of the support body, and a rear support piece formed at the rear part of the support body and positioned behind the front support piece. A support protrusion is formed on each of the rear support pieces, and a part of the surface of the support protrusion is curved so that the back surface of the substrate can be contacted, and the rest of the surface of the support protrusion is not contacted with the back surface of the substrate. A substrate support characterized by being formed on an inclined surface.   A support protrusion is formed at a height of 0.5 to 3 mm on the surface of the front support piece and the rear support piece of the support piece, respectively, and the support protrusion is brought into contact with the back surface 1 mm or more inside from the peripheral edge of the substrate, The substrate support according to claim 1, wherein an angle between a surface of the front support piece or the rear support piece and an inclined surface of the support protrusion is set to 10 to 30 °. A substrate storage container that opens and closes an open front surface of a container body that stores a substrate by a lid,
A substrate storage container comprising the substrate support according to claim 1 or 2 provided on both inner sides of the container body.

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