JP2011253960A - Substrate storage container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate storage container capable of reducing a contact part with a support part of a substrate and also reducing deformation of the substrate.SOLUTION: The substrate storage container comprises a container body that stores a substrate through an opening, a lid that closes the opening of the container body, a front retainer arranged on the lid, and a pair of support parts arranged oppositely on the right and left internal wall surfaces in a view from the opening side of the container body. The pair of the support parts has contact parts that are in contact with the periphery of the stored substrate at the opening side and a back side of the container body respectively. When an angle of a line connecting centers of the contact part at the opening side of the pair of the support parts and the stored substrate in the storage direction of the substrate in a plan view is θ1, a relation of the following formula (1) is satisfied. 70°≥θ1>θ0+10° ...... (1) where θ0 is an angle that the periphery of the opening side of the substrate starts to be deformed in the opposite direction to that of the gravity when θ1 is decreased.

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate storage container, and more particularly to a substrate storage container that stores a precision substrate made of a semiconductor wafer, a mask glass, etc., and is positioned and fixed to a processing apparatus that processes and processes the precision substrate. .

  This type of substrate storage container is referred to as a so-called front open box type, and a container body that can store a precision substrate (hereinafter referred to as a substrate) through an opening formed on the front surface, and the opening of the container body is closed. What is comprised with the cover body is known.

  When viewed from the opening side of the container main body, a pair of support portions are arranged opposite to each other on the left and right inner wall surfaces, and each of the support portions is provided with a plurality of support grooves arranged in parallel in the vertical direction. Each substrate is positioned in the support groove of the pair of support portions at the periphery thereof, so that it is coaxially aligned and stored in the container body.

  The inner wall surface of the lid body is provided with a front retainer having a holding groove in contact with the substrate, and when the lid body is closed to the container body, each substrate supported by a pair of support portions is While being centered by the holding groove of the front retainer, it is pushed into the back side and the position is regulated. Each substrate is positioned at a regular position by contacting an inner wall surface formed on the back side of the pair of support portions, for example.

  The substrate storage container having such a configuration is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2 below.

JP 2004-111830 A JP 2009-272472 A

  However, each of the pair of support portions described above is formed with a relatively large width from the opening side to the back side of the container body. For this reason, each board | substrate supported by these support parts is in the state which contacts a support part (support groove | channel) in the area | region which occupies a comparatively large ratio among the peripheral parts.

  However, in recent years, in order to reduce the contamination of the substrate as much as possible, it has been studied to make the region of the support portion in contact with the substrate as small as possible.

  On the other hand, the substrate tends to have a larger diameter (for example, a diameter of 450 mm), and its own weight also increases. Therefore, when the area of the contact portion with the support portion is narrowed, the substrate is greatly bent. There is concern.

  For this reason, when a large deflection occurs on the opening side of the container body of each substrate, when the lid is closed to the container body, for example, each of the holding grooves of the front retainer cannot contact each substrate facing and is held. There arises a disadvantage that the substrate cannot be stored in the groove.

Further, when the substrate is greatly bent, the substrate resonates with a large amplitude due to vibration or shock, and the substrate is unavoidable for an accident such as rubbing against the support portion or the like and damage.
In particular, serious damage is likely to occur because large vibrations and shocks are applied during transportation.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and can reduce the contact portion with the support portion of the substrate, reduce the flexure of the substrate, and can safely support the substrate. It is an object to provide a substrate storage container that can be well held and transported.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention can be grasped as the following configuration.
(1) A substrate storage container of the present invention includes a container body that stores a substrate through an opening, a lid that closes the opening of the container body, and a front retainer that is provided on the lid.
A substrate storage container in which a pair of support parts are disposed opposite to the left and right inner wall surfaces when viewed from the opening side of the container body,
The pair of support portions respectively have contact portions that come into contact with the periphery of the stored substrate on the opening side and the back side of the container body,
In a plan view, when the angle of a line connecting the contact portion on the opening side of the pair of support portions and the center of the stored substrate with respect to the storage direction of the substrate is θ1,
There is a relationship of the following formula (1),
70 ° ≧ θ1> θ0 + 10 ° (1)
The angle θ0 is an angle at which the peripheral edge on the opening side of the substrate starts to bend in the direction opposite to the direction of gravity when the angle θ1 is decreased.

(2) The substrate storage container of the present invention is characterized in that, in (1), the substrate comprises a plurality of substrates, these substrates are coaxially aligned and held by a holding groove of a front retainer. To do.
(3) The substrate storage container of the present invention is characterized in that, in (1), the value of θ1 is set to any value within a range of 40 ° to 70 °.

(4) The substrate storage container of the present invention is characterized in that, in (1), the value of θ0 is 35 ° ± 5 °.
(5) The substrate storage container according to the present invention is the peripheral edge of the substrate on the opening side of the container main body according to (1), wherein the deflection amount at the center of each contact portion of the pair of support portions is 1.0 mm. It is characterized by the following.

  According to the substrate storage container configured as described above, the contact portion with the support portion of the substrate can be reduced, and the flexure of the substrate can be reduced. In addition, the substrates can be safely supported, and each substrate can be held accurately and transported.

It is sectional drawing which looked at the cut surface parallel to a horizontal surface from the upper direction of the board | substrate storage container of this invention. It is the perspective view which looked at the substrate storage container of this invention from the front side. It is a substrate storage container of the present invention, and is a front view showing a container main body in the state where a lid was removed. It is sectional drawing in the IV-IV line of FIG. It is sectional drawing in the VV line of FIG. It is sectional drawing in the VI-VI line of FIG. It is explanatory drawing for testing the grade of the deflection | deviation in the predetermined location of a board | substrate when supporting a board | substrate in several places and moving a support body along the periphery of a board | substrate. It is data which shows the result of the test shown in FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the same number is assigned to the same element throughout the description of the embodiment.
(Embodiment 1)

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the substrate storage container of the present invention as viewed from the front side. A substrate storage container 100 shown in FIG. 2 is a so-called front open box type substrate storage container.

  In FIG. 2, the substrate storage container 100 includes a container body 10 having an opening (not shown) on the front side, and a lid 20 that is disposed with the opening of the container body 10 closed. A robotic flange 30 is attached to the top surface of the container body 10. The robot flange 30 is gripped by a transport mechanism installed in the factory, so that the substrate storage container 100 can be transported to the ceiling. In addition, although not shown, a positioning mechanism is disposed at the bottom of the container body 10 so that positioning with respect to a processing apparatus for processing the substrate can be performed.

  FIG. 3 is a front view showing the container main body with the lid 20 removed in the substrate storage container 100. A plurality of substrates W made of, for example, semiconductor wafers can be horizontally accommodated in the container body 10 through the openings. Each substrate W is supported and arranged at a periphery thereof by a pair of support portions 12A and 12B provided to face the inner peripheral side of the left and right side surfaces of the container body 10. Each support part 12A, 12B has a plurality of grooves 14 arranged in parallel in the vertical direction, and each substrate W is supported by the periphery being disposed in the corresponding groove 14 of each support part 12A, 12B. The parts 12A and 12B are supported. As a result, the substrates W are aligned in the vertical direction with their center axes substantially matched. The substrate has a large diameter, for example, a diameter of 450 mm and a thickness of 925 μm.

  In FIG. 1, a lid 20 is configured with a double wall structure having a space inside, and a latch mechanism 22 is disposed inside the lid 20 as indicated by a dotted line in the figure. The latch mechanism 22 is configured as a locking mechanism for closing the lid 20 to the container body 10, and is provided, for example, two on the left and right sides in the figure. Each latch mechanism 22 includes a rotation plate 23 rotated by a key (not shown), a pair of power transmission plates 24A and 24B coupled to the rotation plate 23 and slidable in the vertical direction in the figure, and the power transmission plates 24A. , 24B, and a locking clamp (not shown) connected to the tip of 24B. A guide groove 26A for fitting a guide pin 25A formed on one power transmission plate 24A and a guide groove for fitting a guide pin 25B formed on the other power transmission plate 24B are provided on the peripheral edge of the rotating plate 23. 26B is formed. The guide grooves 26A and 26B have an arc shape whose radius increases so as to guide the guide pins 25A and 25B of the power transmission plates 24A and 24B outward with the rotation of the rotation plate 23 when the lid 20 is closed with respect to the container body. I am doing. As a result, each of the pair of power transmission plates 24A and 24B moves in the direction opposite to the rotation plate 23, and a locking clamp provided at the tip of the power transmission plates 24A and 24B locks the opening of the container body. By closing the hole 20 (indicated by reference numeral 13 in FIG. 2), the lid 20 can be closed with respect to the container body 10.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate storage container 100 shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from above a cut surface parallel to a horizontal plane. In FIG. 1, the lid 20 is shown on the upper side in the drawing. As described above, the substrate W is disposed in the container body 10 while being supported by the pair of support portions 12A and 12B. An endless gasket 28 is fixed around the lid 20. When the lid 20 is closed to the container main body 10, the gasket 28 comes into contact with the opening of the container main body 10 so that airtightness in the container main body 10 can be achieved. In FIG. 1, the latch mechanism 22 incorporated in the lid 20 is not shown. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a pair of front retainers 29 are attached to the inner wall surface of the lid 20. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 which is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 1, these front retainers 29 are provided on a base portion 29B (see FIG. 1) for attaching to the lid 20 and the side of each substrate W. A plurality of, for example, V-shaped holding grooves 29A formed in the elastic piece 29E are formed in the alignment direction of the substrates W. . When the lid 20 is closed to the container body 10, the holding groove 29 </ b> A of the front retainer 29 comes into contact with the peripheral edge of each substrate W on the inner peripheral surface thereof. As a result, the substrates W supported by the support portions 12A and 12B come into contact with the holding grooves 29A facing the front retainer 29 when the lid body 20 is closed to the container body 10, and the holding grooves 29A are brought into contact with the holding grooves 29A. The inner end of the substrate W is pushed into the back side of the container body 10 while being centripeted at the deepest part of the substrate. At this time, the end on the back side of the substrate W rises an inclined surface provided on the wall surface on the back side of the support part 12B, The substrate W is lifted to a predetermined height which is an inflection point of the inclined surface so that the substrate W does not come into contact with the support members 12A and 12B during transportation, and the position of the substrate is regulated. During transport, the substrate W is supported away from the support members 12A and 12B by the holding groove 29A of the front retainer 29 and the wall surface of the back support member.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, inclined inner wall surfaces that come into contact with the peripheral edge of the substrate W when the substrate W is pushed by the front retainer 29 are provided at the inner ends of the support portions 12 </ b> A and 12 </ b> B. An inflection point is formed in the middle, and the substrate W is positioned at a regular position by the inflection point.

  5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pair of support portions 12 </ b> A and 12 </ b> B are portions that do not come into contact with a portion (contact portion) P that can come into contact with the substrate W from the opening side to the back side of the container body 10. Non-contact portion) Q. That is, the contact portion P is formed with a large height, and the non-contact portion Q is formed with a small height at a portion facing the support portions 12A and 12B of the substrate W supported by the support portions 12A and 12B. . By providing the non-contact portion Q with the substrate W in each of the support portions 12A and 12B, it is possible to minimize the area where contamination occurs due to contact with the support portions 12A and 12B around the substrate W. Also in the contact portion P, as shown in FIG. 5, the front surface (indicated by F in the drawing) and the back surface (indicated by B in the drawing) are thicker from the side wall of the container body 10 toward the tip. Inclined surfaces that are thinner are formed. Here, the front surface F is formed with an inclined surface having a small angle of about 0.5 ° to 3 ° in order to horizontally support the substrate W, and the inclined surface of the back surface B has a larger angle than the front surface F side. The substrate W is formed so as not to come into surface contact even when the substrate W is largely displaced. From this, the contact portion P of each of the support portions 12A and 12B with the substrate W can increase the effect of preventing the contamination of the substrate W by making the area as small as possible.

  And in each support part 12A, 12B, the contact part P with the board | substrate W is formed in the edge part of the opening side of the container main body 10, and the edge part of the back | inner side, for example. In this case, since each of the pair of support portions 12A and 12B has the same shape and the same size, the contact portion P with the substrate W of one support portion 12A and the substrate of the other support portion 12B The contact portions P are formed at positions symmetrical to each other with respect to the storage direction of the substrate W in the container body 10 (the direction of the line segment BP in the drawing).

  Here, the angle of a line connecting the contact portion P (more specifically, the center of the contact portion P) on the opening side of each of the support portions 12A and 12B and the center O of the stored substrate with respect to the storage direction BP of the substrate W is θ1. To do. In addition, the angle of a line connecting the contact portion P (more specifically, the center of the contact portion P) of each support portion 12A, 12B with the substrate storage direction BP and the center O of the stored substrate is defined as θ. In this case, θ1 is set to any value within a range of 40 ° to 70 °, for example. Θ is not particularly limited as indicated by θ1, but is set to, for example, a value of 30 ° or 45 °, particularly preferably 45 °. Thus, when the value of θ is 45 °, the contact portion P on the opening side can also be 45 °, and the four support portions (contact portions P) that support the substrate W are respectively positioned at symmetrical positions. This is because the substrate W can be evenly arranged in the circumferential direction of W, and the substrate W can be supported more stably.

According to the support portions 12A and 12B configured as described above, the contact portion P with the substrate W can be reduced as much as described above, and the deflection (amount of deflection) of the thin substrate W with a large diameter can be reduced particularly in the container. At the periphery on the opening side of the main body 10, an effect that can be suppressed to, for example, 1.0 mm or less within a predetermined range can be achieved. If the amount of deflection exceeds 1.0 mm, the holding groove 29A of the front retainer 29 is not brought into contact with the substrate W, which causes a disadvantage that pickup cannot be performed.

  By suppressing the bending (the amount of bending) of the substrate W as described above, when the lid 20 is closed to the container body 10, each holding groove 29 </ b> A of the front retainer 29 can surely come into contact with each substrate W, The substrate W can be held between the inclined surface on the back side of the back side support portion by accurately regulating the position and pushing it into the back side. Further, the substrate W does not resonate with a large amplitude due to vibration or impact, and it is possible to avoid accidents such as rubbing and breakage with the support portions 12A, 12B and the like.

  Next, the reason why the deflection of the substrate can be suppressed by setting the angle θ1 of the line connecting the center O of the substrate W and the contact portion P on the opening side of each support portion 12A, 12B to the above-described value will be described. .

  FIG. 7 shows a state where a substrate W having the same size and thickness as the substrate shown in FIG. 1 is supported by support members A, B, C, and D. Each of the supporting members A, B, C, and D is formed in a relatively small area, has an inclined surface inclined toward the tip, and supports the periphery of the substrate W by contacting the inclined surface with the inclined surface. It has become. The support members A and B correspond to the end portions (contact portions P) of the support portions 12A and 12B in FIG. 1, and the support members C and D correspond to the support portions 12A and 12B in FIG. It corresponds to each back end (contact portion P). Further, when the line segment extending through the center O of the substrate W and extending in the left-right direction in the figure is FP and the line segment extending in the vertical direction in the figure is BP, the support members C and D are the lower side of the line segment FP in the figure. The support members A and B are arranged symmetrically with respect to the line segment BP on the upper side of the line segment FP in the drawing.

  Here, the support members C and D are respectively fixedly arranged with an angle θ with respect to the line segment BP being 45 °, for example, and the support members A and B are respectively set with an angle θ1 with respect to the line segment BP being 0 ° from around 70 °, for example. It was configured to be able to move along the periphery of the substrate W (in the direction of the arrow in the figure) so as to change to the vicinity.

  Then, in the process of moving the support portions A and B as described above, the surface of the support portions A and B that is in contact with the substrate W of the support portions A and B at the periphery of the substrate (indicated by α in the figure) at the approximate center. The displacement of deflection (sag) with respect to the line connecting (contact surface) was measured with a laser displacement meter. FIG. 8 is a graph showing a state of the bending (sag) obtained by this measurement. In FIG. 8, the horizontal axis represents an angle θ1 with respect to each line segment BP of the support members A and B, and the vertical axis represents the amount of bending (sag) of the peripheral edge indicated by α in the drawing of the substrate. When the amount of bending (sag) is minus (−), it indicates that the supporting portions A and B are bent so as to protrude downward with respect to the line connecting the contact surfaces with the substrate W, and the amount of bending (sag). Is positive (+), it indicates that the support portions A and B are bent so as to protrude upward with respect to the line connecting the contact surfaces of the support portions A and B with the substrate.

  From FIG. 8, it is clear that the amount of deflection (sag) becomes almost zero because the angle θ1 of each of the support members A and B with respect to the line segment BP is around 35 ° (35 ° ± 5 °). Become. This means that when the support portions A and B are moved so that the angle θ1 is gradually reduced from around 70 °, first, the peripheral edge indicated by α in the drawing of the substrate is moved downward by its own weight (gravity). Although it hangs down, when the angle θ1 becomes smaller than a point of 35 ° ± 5 ° (this angle is referred to as θ0), this time, between the adjacent contact portions P including the portion α in the figure. It is confirmed that the peripheral edge other than the peripheral edge hangs down due to its own weight (gravity), and this reaction causes the peripheral edge indicated by α in the drawing to bend upward. Thus, by changing the θ1 within the above-described range, the bending of the substrate has a conversion point in the vertical direction of the horizontal plane connecting the contact portions of the pair of supporting portions with the substrate. This means that the amount of bending of the substrate when the horizontal plane is used as a reference can be reduced. Therefore, for example, when the lid 20 is closed to the container body 10, by appropriately setting the contact range (contact portion P) of the support members 12A and 12B, the direction of bending of each substrate W can be made constant, and the bending The amount can also be in a predetermined range. As a result, the holding grooves 29A of the front retainer 29 arranged in the vicinity of the inside of the contact position (contact portion P) of the support members 12A and 12B can be reliably brought into contact with each substrate W and held. Furthermore, since the holding groove 29A of the front retainer 29 that holds the substrate W during transportation can be positioned inside the support portion that supports the substrate W, and can be provided in the vicinity of the optimum contact range described above. The substrate W does not resonate with a large amplitude due to vibration or impact, and an accident such as breakage can be avoided both when the lid is opened and during transportation.

In the embodiment described above, the value of θ1 is set to 40 ° or more. As described above, since the value of θ0 is approximately 35 °, by setting θ1 to 40 ° or more, even if there is a slight deviation or error in the contact portions of the support portions 12A and 12B in each slot, There is no fluctuation, the substrate W can be safely stored, the opening of the container body 10 can be secured widely, and interference with the take-out machine for taking out the substrate W can be avoided.
In the present invention, the support portions 12A and 12B or the holding grooves 29A can reliably support or hold the substrate W in a state of bending in one direction. This means that it can be excluded that the substrate W is supported or held in a state where the substrate W is bent in a direction opposite to the one direction. If the state where the substrate W bends in one direction and the opposite direction coexists, the adjacent substrates are in an abnormally close state, and the substrates are likely to come into contact with each other due to vibration or resonance, which may cause a damage accident. In the present invention, such a state can be avoided.

However, it goes without saying that the lower limit of θ1 is not necessarily 40 °. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the value of θ0 is changed in a direction in which θ1 is decreased, the peripheral edge on the opening side of the substrate W bends in the direction opposite to the direction from the deflection in the direction of gravity. When the starting angle is set, the lower limit value of θ1 may be set to be (θ0 + 10 °). Here, 10 [deg.] Is added to the value of [theta] 0 so that both the holding groove 29A of the front retainer 29 provided inside the support members 12A and 12B and the contact portion of the support member are the same. This is because it can be provided in an optimal range with a small amount of bending in the bending direction. If the value of θ0 is smaller than 10 °, it becomes difficult to support or hold both the holding groove 29A of the front retainer 29 and the contact portion of the support member in the same bending direction.
Further, by setting the upper limit value of θ1 to 70 °, it is possible to suppress the bending of the substrate within 1.0 mm, and there is an effect that it is not necessary to increase the pickup amount when the substrate is taken out.

For this reason, the object of the present invention can be achieved if the value of θ1 is within a range satisfying the following expression (1).
70 ° ≧ θ1> θ0 + 10 ° (1)
Here, as shown in FIG. 7, θ0 is the angle at which the peripheral edge on the opening side of the substrate starts to bend in the direction opposite to the direction of gravity when the angle θ1 is changed in a decreasing direction. It is.
(Embodiment 2)

  In the embodiment described above, the substrate W stored in the substrate storage container 100 is a semiconductor wafer having a diameter of 450 mm and a thickness of 925 μm. However, such a semiconductor wafer may have a diameter of 450 m or more and a thickness of 925 μm or less. Since the substrate W is configured to be easily bent, by applying the present invention, the substrate W can be supported by the support portions 12A and 12B with less bending in the substrate storage container 100. Become.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, it cannot be overemphasized that the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiments. Further, it is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Substrate storage container, 10 ... Container body, 20 ... Lid, 30 ... Robotic flange, 12A, 12B ... Supporting part, 14 ... Groove, 22 ... Latch mechanism, 23 ... Rotating plate 24A, 24B ... Power transmission plate, 25A, 25B ... Guide pin, 26A, 26B ... Guide groove, 28 ... Gasket, 29 ... Front retainer, 29A ... Holding groove, P ... Contact part, Q ... non-contact part, A, B, C, D ... support member W ... substrate.

Claims (5)

A container main body for storing the substrate through the opening, a lid for closing the opening of the container main body, and a front retainer provided on the lid,
A substrate storage container in which a pair of support parts are disposed opposite to the left and right inner wall surfaces when viewed from the opening side of the container body,
The pair of support portions respectively have contact portions that come into contact with the periphery of the stored substrate on the opening side and the back side of the container body,
In a plan view, when the angle of a line connecting the contact portion on the opening side of the pair of support portions and the center of the stored substrate with respect to the storage direction of the substrate is θ1,
There is a relationship of the following formula (1),
70 ° ≧ θ1> θ0 + 10 ° (1)
The θ0 is an angle at which the peripheral edge on the opening side of the substrate starts to bend in the direction opposite to the direction of gravity when the θ1 is changed in the direction of decreasing. container.   The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein the substrate includes a plurality of substrates, and the substrates are arranged coaxially and are individually held by holding grooves of the front retainer.   2. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein the value of [theta] 1 is set to any value within a range of 40 [deg.] To 70 [deg.].   The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein the value of θ0 is 35 ° ± 5 °.   2. The substrate storage according to claim 1, wherein a deflection amount at a center of each of the contact portions of the pair of support portions is 1.0 mm or less at a peripheral edge of the substrate on the opening side of the container main body. container.

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