JP2012114133A - Substrate storing container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate storing container which can effectively replace gas in short time by uniformizing an amount of gas ejected from a nozzle even when a plurality of substrates are arranged and accommodated in a container body.SOLUTION: The substrate storing container comprises: a container body 1 capable of accommodating a plurality of semiconductor wafers W; and a lid 10 opening and closing a front face of the container body 1. First and second air feeding valves 30A, 30B are attached to both rear sides of a bottom plate 3 of the container body 1, and first and second exhaust valves 40A, 40B are attached to both front sides of the bottom plate 3. A nozzle 34 extending in a vertical direction of the container body 1 is provided on each of the air feeding valves 30A, 30B, and a plurality of jetting holes for jetting purge gas to upper and lower faces of the semiconductor wafers W are provided on nozzle's peripheral wall, and the flow rate percentage of the purge gas jetting from each of the jetting holes is set to the range of ±2% or below of the average so that the purge gas jetting from the nozzle 34 of the first and second air feeding valves 30A, 30B are prevented from interfering with each other on the center line l in a longitudinal direction of the semiconductor wafers W.

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate storage container used when a substrate made of a semiconductor wafer or the like is stored, stored, transported, transported, or the like.

  Although not shown, the conventional substrate storage container includes a container body capable of aligning and storing a plurality of semiconductor wafers, and a lid that opens and closes the front surface of the container body, and a plurality of air supplies are provided on the bottom plate of the container body. A plurality of air supply valves and exhaust valves are provided to replace the air in the sealed container body with a purge gas made of inert gas, dry air, or the like. It prevents surface oxidation and reaction acceleration.

  The container body is formed into, for example, a front open box with a front opening, and a pair of left and right support pieces for horizontally supporting a semiconductor wafer are opposed to each other on the inner surfaces of both side walls, in other words, both sides of the inside. The pair of support pieces are arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. Further, the plurality of air supply valves and exhaust valves are provided with a plurality of air supply valves at the rear part of the bottom plate of the container body, and a plurality of exhaust valves are provided at the front part of the bottom plate of the container body (see Patent Document 1). .

  The plurality of air supply valves supply purge gas to the sealed interior from the outside of the container body, and the plurality of exhaust valves function to exhaust the air filled in the sealed container body to the outside. Each supply valve has a purge gas control opening / closing valve built into the case so as to be able to reciprocate, and a nozzle is selectively attached to the opening end face of the case as needed, and the purge gas is directed from the nozzle toward the semiconductor wafer. Is ejected.

JP 2004-146676 A

  A conventional substrate storage container is configured as described above, and a plurality of semiconductor wafers are stored side by side in the container body, and a plurality of air supply valves are simply installed at the rear of the bottom plate of the container body. The plurality of semiconductor wafers thus formed have barrier ribs that hinder the flow of purge gas and air in the front-rear direction and the like, and it takes a long time to completely replace the purge gas, resulting in a very poor replacement efficiency.

  In order to solve such a problem, a method of promoting the flow of the purge gas by attaching a nozzle to the air supply valve can be considered. However, even if the nozzle is installed, the flow rate of the purge gas ejected from the nozzle does not become uniform, so the balance between the slots is deteriorated, or the air flow of the purge gas that is ejected interferes to generate a staying portion. Therefore, there is a problem in completely replacing the air filled in the container body with the purge gas in a short time.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above. By uniformizing the flow rate of the gas ejected from the nozzle, even if a plurality of substrates are stored side by side in the container body, the gas can be efficiently discharged in a short time. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate container that can be replaced.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention includes a container body that can store a plurality of substrates arranged in the vertical direction, and a lid that opens and closes the front surface of the container body, and supplies air to the bottom plate of the container body. A valve and an exhaust valve are attached to each other, gas is supplied from the outside of the container body by the air supply valve, and gas is exhausted from the inside of the container body to the outside by the exhaust valve.
Attach an air supply valve to each of at least the rear sides of the front and back of the bottom plate of the container body, and attach an exhaust valve to the front of the bottom plate of the container body.
Each air supply valve is provided with a hollow nozzle extending in the vertical direction of the container body, and the peripheral wall is provided with a plurality of ejection holes for ejecting gas toward the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate, and the gas flow rate ejected from each ejection hole Is set within the range of average value ± 2%,
The nozzles of each air supply valve nozzle are directed to a region shifted from the center of the substrate so that the gas ejected from the nozzles of the plurality of air supply valves does not interfere on the longitudinal center line passing through the center of the substrate. It is characterized by.

In addition, the standard deviation of the gas flow rate ejected from the plurality of ejection holes of each air supply valve can be set to 0.6 or less.
Moreover, the standard deviation of the gas flow rate ejected from each ejection hole can be set to 0.6 or less, or the ratio of the gas flow rate ejected from each ejection hole can be set within a range of an average value ± 2%.

In addition, first and second air supply valves are attached to both sides of the rear part of the bottom plate of the container body, and first and second exhaust valves are attached to both sides of the front part of the bottom plate of the container body. The exhaust valve is arranged substantially diagonally symmetrically, the second exhaust valve is positioned in front of the first intake valve, and the second intake valve and exhaust valve are arranged substantially obliquely symmetrically. Position the first exhaust valve in front of the second air supply valve,
The gas discharged from the nozzle of the first air supply valve is guided to the second exhaust valve direction through a region shifted in one direction from the center line in the front-rear direction of the substrate, and the nozzle of the second air supply valve Can be guided to the first exhaust valve direction through a region shifted in the other direction from the front-rear direction center line of the substrate.

  In addition, the angle formed by the direction in which the gas is ejected from the nozzle ejection hole of the first air supply valve and the center line in the front-rear direction of the substrate is set to the first exhaust from the nozzle ejection hole of the first air supply valve. The direction in which the gas is ejected from the nozzle ejection hole of the second air supply valve and the longitudinal center line of the substrate are formed so as to exceed the angle formed by the diagonal line to the valve and the longitudinal center line of the substrate. It is preferable that the angle exceeds the angle formed by the diagonal line from the nozzle orifice of the second air supply valve to the second exhaust valve and the center line in the front-rear direction of the substrate.

In addition, first and second air supply valves are attached to both sides of the rear part of the bottom plate of the container body, and first and second exhaust valves are attached to both sides of the front part of the bottom plate of the container body. The exhaust valve is arranged substantially diagonally symmetrically, the second exhaust valve is positioned in front of the first intake valve, and the second intake valve and exhaust valve are arranged substantially obliquely symmetrically. Position the first exhaust valve in front of the second air supply valve,
Gas is ejected from the nozzle of the first air supply valve to a region shifted in the other direction from the center line in the longitudinal direction of the substrate, and the gas ejected from the nozzle of the second air supply valve is ejected from the center line in the longitudinal direction of the substrate Gas that is guided to the first exhaust valve direction through a region that is shifted to the other side of the first direction, and gas that is ejected from the nozzle of the first air supply valve is gas that is ejected from the nozzle of the second air supply valve Can be guided in the direction of the second exhaust valve.

  In addition, the angle formed by the direction in which the gas is ejected from the nozzle ejection hole of the first air supply valve and the center line in the front-rear direction of the substrate is set to the front-rear direction of the substrate from the nozzle ejection hole of the second air supply valve. The angle formed by the center line can be set asymmetrically.

In addition, the first and second air supply valves are attached to both sides of the rear part of the bottom plate of the container body, and the third air supply valve is attached to one front part of the bottom plate of the container body, and the front part of the bottom plate of the container body Install the exhaust valve on the other side, position the exhaust valve in front of the first air supply valve,
The gas is ejected from the nozzle of the first air supply valve to a region shifted in the other direction from the center line in the front-rear direction of the substrate, and the gas is ejected from the nozzle of the second air supply valve in the front direction of the container body. The gas was ejected from the nozzle of the third air supply valve toward the exhaust valve, and the gas ejected from the nozzles of the first and second air supply valves was ejected from the nozzle of the third air supply valve. It is also possible to guide the exhaust valve toward the exhaust valve by using a gas flow.

  Here, the substrate in the claims includes at least φ200, 300, 450 mm semiconductor wafer, liquid crystal glass, and the like. Gas flows in the container body sealed by the lid, and the retention of this gas can be controlled by the size of the nozzle ejection holes and the direction in which the gas flows.

  The direction of the nozzle ejection holes in the first and second air supply valves may be line symmetric or asymmetric with respect to the longitudinal center line of the substrate. One or more exhaust valves may be used. The ejection holes may be round holes or polygonal holes. Further, the gas includes at least an inert gas typified by nitrogen gas, a purge gas composed of dry air having a remarkably small amount of water, air filled in a sealed container body, and the like.

  According to the present invention, when a lid is fitted to the front surface of a container main body that stores a plurality of substrates, and gas is supplied to each of the plurality of air supply valves, the gas is supplied from each air supply valve into the nozzle. It flows into the inside of the container main body from the nozzle ejection hole, and is guided in the exhaust valve direction via a region shifted laterally from the center line in the front-rear direction of the substrate.

  Due to this gas flow action, the gas already filled in the container main body is pushed by the gas that has flowed in and exhausted from the exhaust valve to the outside of the container main body. During this replacement operation, the flow of the gas flow from each nozzle of each air supply valve is restricted by the size and direction of the nozzle's ejection holes, so that it collides on the center line in the longitudinal direction of the substrate. Less interference. Therefore, it can suppress that the gas already filled in the container main body stagnates, and can efficiently exhaust the gas filled in the container main body outside.

  According to the present invention, by uniformizing the flow rate of the gas ejected from the nozzle, even if a plurality of substrates are stored side by side in the container body, the gas is efficiently replaced in a shorter time than before. There is an effect that can be.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the gas ejection amount between the plurality of substrates can be made substantially uniform, and the gas from the outside is exhausted from the exhaust valve together with the gas in the container body. Less is.
Further, according to the third, fourth, and fifth aspects of the invention, the gas filled in the container main body can be quickly exhausted to the outside of the container main body without being retained by changing the gas flow direction. it can.

It is an exploded perspective explanatory view showing typically an embodiment of a substrate storage container concerning the present invention. It is a perspective explanatory view showing typically an air supply valve and its nozzle in an embodiment of a substrate storage container concerning the present invention. It is a section top view showing typically an embodiment of a substrate storage container concerning the present invention. It is a section top view showing typically a 2nd embodiment of a substrate storage container concerning the present invention. It is a cross-sectional top view which shows typically 3rd Embodiment of the substrate storage container which concerns on this invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a substrate storage container in the present embodiment includes a container main body 1 capable of aligning and storing a plurality of semiconductor wafers W, and The container body 1 is provided with a detachable lid body 10 for opening and closing the opened front face, and a locking mechanism 20 for locking the lid body 10 fitted to the front face of the container body 1. The first and second air supply valves 30A and 30B and the first and second exhaust valves 40A and 40B are arranged, and a hollow nozzle 34 is attached to the first and second air supply valves 30A and 30B. The peripheral wall is provided with a plurality of ejection holes 35 for ejecting purge gas to the semiconductor wafer W, and the ratio of the flow rate of the purge gas ejected from each ejection hole 35 is set within an average value ± 2%. Second air supply valves 30A and 30B Collide on longitudinal center line l airflow of the purge gas ejected from each nozzle 34 passes through the center of the semiconductor wafer W is prevented from interfering with each other.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the semiconductor wafer W is made of, for example, a thin silicon wafer having a diameter of 300 mm, and 25 wafers are stored in the container body 1 side by side. A plurality of semiconductor wafers W stored side by side have a narrow gap defined between adjacent semiconductor wafers W, and purge gas and air flow through this gap.

  The container body 1, the lid body 10, and the locking mechanism 20 are each configured by injection molding using a predetermined molding material containing a resin or a combination of a plurality of injection molded parts. Examples of the resin of the molding material include thermoplastic resins such as polycarbonate, cycloolefin polymer, polyether imide, polyether ketone, polybutylene terephthalate, polyether ether ketone, and liquid crystal polymer, and alloys thereof.

  In order to impart conductivity to these molding material resins, conductive substances such as carbon fibers, carbon powder, carbon nanotubes, and conductive polymers are selectively added. It is also possible to add benzotriazole-based, salicylate-based, cyanoacrylate-based, oxalic acid anilide-based, hindered amine-based UV absorbers, or glass fibers or carbon fibers that improve rigidity.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the container body 1 is formed into a front open box type using a predetermined molding material, and the peripheral edges of the semiconductor wafer W are horizontally disposed on the inner surfaces of both side walls, in other words, on the inner sides. A pair of left and right support pieces 2 that are supported by each other are opposed to each other, and the pair of support pieces 2 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. Each support piece 2 is formed on a curved plate elongated in the front-rear direction of the container main body 1 so as to horizontally support the peripheral edge of the side of the semiconductor wafer W, and to regulate the forward jumping of the stored semiconductor wafer W. Function.

  The bottom plate 3 of the container body 1 is provided with a flat bottom plate for fixing the container body 1 to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and the container body 1 is positioned on the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus on both the front side and the rear center of the bottom plate 3. Positioning tools are disposed, and screw holes 4 are provided on both sides of the front and rear portions of the bottom plate 3 to removably screw the first and second air supply valves 30A and 30B and the exhaust valves 40A and 40B. Each is drilled in a circle.

  A robotic flange 5 for transportation is attached to the center of the ceiling of the container body 1, and a plurality of locking holes 6 for the locking mechanism 20 are perforated above and below the front inner periphery of the container body 1. Handles 7 for gripping operation are detachably attached to the outer surfaces of both side walls of the container body 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lid body 10 includes a lid body 11 having a substantially dish-shaped cross section that is press-fitted into the open front surface of the container body 1 and a cover plate that covers the open front surface of the lid main body 11. 12 and is automatically opened and closed by a lid opening / closing device. A front retainer 13 that holds the front peripheral edge of the stored semiconductor wafer W in pressure contact with an elastic piece is attached to the center of the rear surface of the lid main body 11. A frame-shaped seal gasket that is pressed against the circumference so as to be elastically deformable is tightly fitted. Through holes 14 for the locking mechanism 20 facing the locking holes 6 of the container body 1 are respectively provided above and below the peripheral wall of the lid body 11. Perforated.

  The cover plate 12 is formed as a transparent, opaque, translucent flat plate. On the left and right sides of the cover plate 12, operation ports 15 for the locking mechanism 20 are respectively drilled. On the surface of the cover plate 12, a positioning part for the lid opening / closing device, a suction part and the like are formed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the locking mechanism 20 includes a pair of left and right rotation operation plates 21 that are pivotally supported on both sides of the lid body 11 and are rotated by operation pins of the lid opening / closing device, and each rotation operation plate. A plurality of slide plates 22 that slide in the vertical direction with the rotation of 21, and a plurality of locks that come in and out of the through holes 14 of the lid main body 11 and slide into and out of the lock holes 6 of the container main body 1 as the slide plates 22 slide. The claw 23 is provided, and is interposed between the lid main body 11 and the cover plate 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the first and second air supply valves 30 </ b> A and 30 </ b> B are provided with a purge gas (such as an arrow in FIG. 3) from the outside to the inside of the container body 1 sealed by the lid 10. Function) to supply. The first and second air supply valves 30A and 30B include a cylindrical case 31 that is screwed into the screw holes 4 on both sides of the rear portion of the bottom plate 3 of the container body 1 through an O-ring. An on-off valve 32, which is a check valve for controlling the flow of purge gas, is built in such a manner that it can be moved up and down via a coil spring, and a filter 33 for filtration is fitted into the upper opening of the case 31 exposed in the container body 1. At the same time, a hollow nozzle 34 extending in the vertical direction in the container body 1 is detachably screwed.

  Each nozzle 34 is basically formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with an opening at the bottom, and a plurality of ejection holes 35 for ejecting purge gas in the vertical direction of the semiconductor wafer W in the vertical direction of the peripheral wall are arranged in a line at a predetermined interval. The plurality of ejection holes 35 are directed to the center of the semiconductor wafer W or a region shifted laterally outward from the center line 1 in the front-rear direction.

  The nozzle 34 is provided with a flange 36 supported on the periphery of the screw hole 4 of the bottom plate 3 on the peripheral surface of the bottom plate, and a lower end 37 of a cylinder having an open bottom is formed to have a reduced diameter and is fitted into the upper opening of the case 31. In addition, a filter 33 is sandwiched between the upper portion of the opening of the case 31. A screw is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end 37 of the nozzle 34, and this screw is screwed into a screw groove in the upper opening of the case 31.

  For example, when 25 semiconductor wafers W are aligned and stored in the container body 1, the plurality of ejection holes 35 are 26 perforated and arranged so as to sandwich one semiconductor wafer W from above and below. Each ejection hole 35 is formed into a uniform round hole. The plurality of ejection holes 35 vary in the ejection amount of the purge gas depending on the support height of the semiconductor wafer W, so that each ejection hole 35 is formed in an optimum size according to the supply amount of the purge gas, and the variation in the ejection amount. To minimize. In order to further suppress variation in the amount of purge gas ejected, the diameter of the ejection hole 35 may be appropriately changed.

  The standard deviation of the variation in the flow rate of the purge gas ejected from each ejection hole 35 of the nozzle 34 is 0.6 or less, preferably 0.55 or less, more preferably 0.16 to 0.55. If the standard deviation of the variation is 0.6 or less, the purge gas ejection amount between the plurality of semiconductor wafers W can be made substantially uniform, and the purge gas can be first and second together with the air in the container body 1. This is because the exhaust valves 40A and 40B are not exhausted.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the first and second exhaust valves 40A and 40B are container bodies sealed by a lid 10 based on the purge gas supply of the first and second supply valves 30A and 30B. It functions to exhaust the air in 1 (see the arrow in FIG. 3) to the outside. The first and second exhaust valves 40A and 40B include cylindrical cases that are screwed into the screw holes 4 on both sides of the front portion of the bottom plate 3 of the container body 1 through O-rings. An on-off valve, which is a check valve for controlling the flow of the gas, is built in such a manner that it can be moved up and down via a coil spring, and a filter for filtration is fitted to the upper and lower portions of the case.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first and second air supply valves 30A and 30B and the exhaust valves 40A and 40B are arranged in such a manner that the first air supply valve 30A and the exhaust valve 40A are arranged obliquely symmetrically. Then, the second exhaust valve 40B is positioned in front of the first air supply valve 30A, and the second air supply valve 30B and the exhaust valve 40B are arranged obliquely symmetrically to form the second air supply valve 30B. The first exhaust valve 40A is positioned in front of the first exhaust valve.

  These 30A, 30B, 40A, and 40B are arranged in the front-rear direction center line (semiconductor wafer W) in which the purge gas ejected from the nozzles 34 of the first and second air supply valves 30A and 30B is in the direction of taking in and out the semiconductor wafer W The direction and the angle are adjusted so that they do not collide with each other and interfere with each other. That is, the angle θ1 formed by the direction in which the purge gas is ejected from the ejection hole 35 of the nozzle 34 of the first air supply valve 30A and the front-rear direction center line 1 of the semiconductor wafer W is the nozzle of the first air supply valve 30A. The angle is adjusted to be smaller than this so as not to exceed the angle θ2 formed by the diagonal line from the 34 ejection holes 35 to the first exhaust valve 40A and the longitudinal center line 1 of the semiconductor wafer W.

  Similarly, the angle θ3 formed by the direction in which the purge gas is ejected from the ejection hole 35 of the nozzle 34 of the second air supply valve 30B and the front-rear direction center line 1 of the semiconductor wafer W is defined by the second air supply valve 30B. The angle is adjusted to be smaller than this so as not to exceed the angle θ4 formed by the diagonal line from the ejection hole 35 of the nozzle 34 to the second exhaust valve 40B and the center line 1 in the front-rear direction of the semiconductor wafer W.

  In the above configuration, after the lid body 10 is press-fitted and fitted to the front surface of the container body 1 in which the plurality of semiconductor wafers W are aligned and stored, the purge gas is supplied to the first air supply valve 30A from the outside. As shown in FIG. 3, the purge gas flows into the nozzle 34 from the first air supply valve 30 </ b> A, flows from the ejection hole 35 of the nozzle 34 to the front inside the container body 1, and extends in the front-rear direction of the semiconductor wafer W. The air is smoothly guided in the direction of the second exhaust valve 40B through a region shifted in one direction from the center line l.

  Due to the flow of the purge gas, the air filled in the container main body 1 is pushed by the purge gas, flows in the same direction as the purge gas, and is exhausted from the second exhaust valve 40B to the outside of the container main body 1.

  At the same time, a purge gas is supplied from the outside to the second air supply valve 30B. This purge gas flows into the nozzle 34 from the second air supply valve 30B as shown in FIG. It flows from the ejection hole 35 to the inside front of the container body 1 and is smoothly guided in the direction of the first exhaust valve 40A through a region shifted in the other direction from the front-rear direction center line l of the semiconductor wafer W. Due to the flow of the purge gas, the air filled in the container main body 1 is pushed by the purge gas, flows in the same direction as the purge gas, and is smoothly exhausted from the first exhaust valve 40A to the outside of the container main body 1. .

  During this replacement operation, the purge gas air flow respectively ejected from the nozzles 34 of the first and second air supply valves 30A and 30B is connected to the first and second air supply valves 30A and 30B. Since the directions and angles of the exhaust valves 40A and 40B are adjusted in advance, they do not collide with each other on the center line 1 in the front-rear direction of the semiconductor wafer W. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the purge gas or the air filled in the container body 1 from forming a staying portion, and to quickly exhaust the air in the container body 1 to the outside.

  When the purge gas is supplied at a flow rate of 50 ml / min per nozzle 34, each ejection hole 35 of the nozzle 34 has a diameter of 4 mm or less, preferably 3 mm or less, from the viewpoint of suppressing variation in the purge gas flow rate. good. At this time, in the plurality of ejection holes 35, the purge gas flow rate from the lower ejection hole 35 decreases, and the purge gas flow rate from the upper ejection hole 35 increases.

  With the above replacement operation, the air filled in the container body 1 can be quickly replaced with the purge gas, and the purge gas can be sealed in the container body 1. It becomes possible to effectively prevent the surface of the semiconductor wafer W from being oxidized and promoting the reaction.

  According to the above configuration, even if a plurality of stored semiconductor wafers W form a partition, the flow of purge gas or air in the front-rear direction is not hindered. Can be efficiently and completely replaced with the purge gas in a short time. Further, since the flow rate of the purge gas ejected from the ejection holes 35 of the nozzles 34 can be made substantially uniform, the balance between the slots can be prevented from being deteriorated, and the flow of purge gas ejected can interfere with each other. There is no generation of stagnant parts. Further, it is possible to prevent and suppress the exhaust from the first and second exhaust valves 40A and 40B together with the air filled with the purge gas.

  Next, FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the purge gas is supplied from the nozzle 34 of the first air supply valve 30A to the other side of the front-rear direction center line l of the semiconductor wafer W. The purge gas ejected to the region shifted in the direction and ejected from the nozzle 34 of the second air supply valve 30B passes through the region shifted in the other direction from the center line l in the front-rear direction of the semiconductor wafer W. The second exhaust valve is guided in the direction of the exhaust valve 40A and the purge gas ejected from the nozzle 34 of the first air supply valve 30A is used by using the flow of the purge gas ejected from the nozzle 34 of the second air supply valve 30B. It is guided in the 40B direction.

  The angle θ5 formed by the direction in which the purge gas is ejected from the ejection hole 35 of the nozzle 34 of the first air supply valve 30A and the longitudinal center line 1 of the semiconductor wafer W is the angle θ5 of the nozzle 34 of the second air supply valve 30B. It is set to be asymmetric with respect to the angle θ6 formed by the ejection hole 35 and the longitudinal center line 1 of the semiconductor wafer W. At this time, if θ5 = 2 × θ6, the retention of air near the center of the semiconductor wafer W can be suppressed, and the air filled in the container body 1 can be quickly replaced with the purge gas. The other parts are substantially the same as those in the above embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  In this embodiment, the same effect as the above embodiment can be expected, and the air filled in the container main body 1 is smoothly exhausted to the outside of the container main body 1 by partially changing the flow direction of the purge gas. Obviously you can.

  Next, FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In this case, first and second air supply valves 30A and 30B are screwed to both sides of the rear portion of the bottom plate 3 of the container body 1, respectively. At the same time, a third air supply valve 30C is screwed to one side of the front part of the bottom plate 3 of the container body 1, and an exhaust valve 40 is screwed to the other side of the front part of the bottom plate 3 of the container body 1. The exhaust valve 40 is positioned in front of the air supply valve 30A.

  The nozzle 34 of the first air supply valve 30A injects the purge gas into a region shifted from the front-rear direction center line 1 of the semiconductor wafer W in the other direction, and the nozzle 34 of the second air supply valve 30B discharges the purge gas to the container body. 1 erupts toward the front center. The third air supply valve 30C is basically configured in the same manner as the first and second air supply valves 30A and 30B, and the nozzle 34 is mounted on the opened top.

  The nozzle 34 of the third air supply valve 30C directs the plurality of ejection holes 35 toward the exhaust valve 40 and ejects purge gas toward the exhaust valve 40. The purge gas ejected from the nozzles 34 of the first and second air supply valves 30A and 30B is guided toward the exhaust valve 40 by the flow of the purge gas ejected from the nozzle 34 of the third air supply valve 30C. The other parts are substantially the same as those in the above embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  In this embodiment, the same effect as the above embodiment can be expected, and the air filled in the container body 1 can be smoothly exhausted to the outside of the container body 1 by further changing the flow direction of the purge gas. Can do.

  In the above embodiment, the opening / closing valve 32, the coil spring, and the filter 33 are attached to the case 31 of the first, second, and third supply valves 30A, 30B, and 30C. 33 may be respectively fitted. In addition, a lid that prevents the opening / closing valve 32, the coil spring, and the filter 33 from falling off may be fitted into the opening of the case 31 as appropriate. Similarly, an opening / closing valve, a coil spring, and a lid for preventing the filter from dropping off may be appropriately fitted to the openings of the exhaust valve 40 and the first and second exhaust valves 40A and 40B. Furthermore, each nozzle 34 can be formed in a hollow tapered cone shape or the like.

Hereinafter, examples of the substrate storage container according to the present invention will be described together with comparative examples.
[Example 1]
Nitrogen gas was supplied from the gas supply device to the nozzle shown in FIG. 2 at a flow rate of 50 l / min, and the flow rates of nitrogen gas ejected from the plurality of injection holes of the nozzle were measured with a flow meter, and are summarized in Table 1. . The plurality of injection holes of the nozzle were numbered 1 to 26 in order from the bottom to the top, and the diameter of each injection hole was adjusted to 2 mm.

  When the flow rate of nitrogen gas ejected from each injection hole is measured with a flow meter, the ratio (%) of the flow rate of nitrogen gas ejected from each injection hole is calculated, assuming that the total ejection amount is 100 The results are summarized in Table 1.

[Example 2]
Basically the same as in Example 1, but the diameter of each injection hole was changed to 3 mm.
Example 3
Basically the same as Example 1, but the diameter of each injection hole was changed to 4 mm.

[Comparative Example]
Although it is basically the same as the embodiment, the diameter of each injection hole is enlarged and changed to 5 mm, and the standard deviation of the flow rate of nitrogen gas discharged from each injection hole is set to 0.8 exceeding 0.6.

  Based on the above measurement results, the standard deviation of the nitrogen gas flow rate ejected from each ejection hole should be set to 0.6 or less, or the ratio of the nitrogen gas flow rate ejected from each ejection hole should be set within an average value ± 2%. For example, it was confirmed that there was little stagnation of nitrogen gas in the substrate storage container and the gas could be replaced in a short time.

  On the other hand, as in the comparative example, the standard deviation of the nitrogen gas flow rate ejected from each ejection hole exceeds 0.6, or the ratio of the nitrogen gas flow rate ejected from each ejection hole is an average value ± 2%. In the case of exceeding the above, it has been found that nitrogen gas stays in the substrate storage container and it takes a long time to replace the gas.

  The substrate storage container according to the present invention can be used in fields such as semiconductor manufacturing and liquid crystal.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container body 3 Bottom plate 4 Screw hole 10 Lid 20 Locking mechanism 30A 1st air supply valve 30B 2nd air supply valve 30C 3rd air supply valve 31 Case 32 On-off valve 33 Filter 34 Nozzle 35 Ejection hole 36 Flange 37 Lower end 40 Exhaust valve 40A First exhaust valve 40B Second exhaust valve l Front-rear direction center line W Semiconductor wafer (substrate)

Claims (5)

A container body that can store a plurality of substrates arranged in the vertical direction and a lid that opens and closes the front surface of the container body, and an air supply valve and an exhaust valve are attached to the bottom plate of the container body, respectively. A substrate storage container that supplies gas from the outside to the inside of the container body by a valve, and exhausts gas from the inside to the outside of the container body by an exhaust valve,
Attach an air supply valve to each of at least the rear sides of the front and back of the bottom plate of the container body, and attach an exhaust valve to the front of the bottom plate of the container body.
Each air supply valve is provided with a hollow nozzle extending in the vertical direction of the container body, and the peripheral wall is provided with a plurality of ejection holes for ejecting gas toward the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate, and the gas flow rate ejected from each ejection hole Is set within the range of average value ± 2%,
The nozzles of each air supply valve nozzle are directed to a region shifted from the center of the substrate so that the gas ejected from the nozzles of the plurality of air supply valves does not interfere on the longitudinal center line passing through the center of the substrate. A substrate storage container.   The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein a standard deviation of a flow rate of gas ejected from a plurality of ejection holes of each air supply valve is set to 0.6 or less. First and second air supply valves are attached to both sides of the rear part of the bottom plate of the container body, and first and second exhaust valves are attached to both sides of the front part of the bottom plate of the container body. And the second exhaust valve is positioned in front of the first air supply valve, and the second air supply valve and the exhaust valve are disposed substantially obliquely and symmetrically. Position the first exhaust valve in front of the air supply valve,
The gas discharged from the nozzle of the first air supply valve is guided to the second exhaust valve direction through a region shifted in one direction from the center line in the front-rear direction of the substrate, and the nozzle of the second air supply valve The substrate storage container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gas ejected from is guided in the first exhaust valve direction through a region shifted in the other direction from the center line in the front-rear direction of the substrate. First and second air supply valves are attached to both sides of the rear part of the bottom plate of the container body, and first and second exhaust valves are attached to both sides of the front part of the bottom plate of the container body. And the second exhaust valve is positioned in front of the first air supply valve, and the second air supply valve and the exhaust valve are disposed substantially obliquely and symmetrically. Position the first exhaust valve in front of the air supply valve,
Gas is ejected from the nozzle of the first air supply valve to a region shifted in the other direction from the center line in the longitudinal direction of the substrate, and the gas ejected from the nozzle of the second air supply valve is ejected from the center line in the longitudinal direction of the substrate Gas that is guided to the first exhaust valve direction through a region that is shifted to the other side of the first direction, and gas that is ejected from the nozzle of the first air supply valve is gas that is ejected from the nozzle of the second air supply valve The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein the flow is guided to the second exhaust valve direction. First and second air supply valves are attached to both sides of the rear part of the bottom plate of the container body, and a third air supply valve is attached to one side of the front part of the bottom plate of the container body. Attach an exhaust valve to the front, position the exhaust valve in front of the first air supply valve,
The gas is ejected from the nozzle of the first air supply valve to a region shifted in the other direction from the center line in the front-rear direction of the substrate, and the gas is ejected from the nozzle of the second air supply valve in the front direction of the container body. The gas was ejected from the nozzle of the third air supply valve toward the exhaust valve, and the gas ejected from the nozzles of the first and second air supply valves was ejected from the nozzle of the third air supply valve. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein the substrate container is guided toward the exhaust valve by using a gas flow.

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