JP2016105443A - Substrate housing container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform gas purge of a substrate housing container efficiently in a short time.SOLUTION: In the substrate housing container formed from a container body and a lid body, a purge gas supplied from a supply hole (45) on a lower wall of the container body is controlled by a gas emission control mechanism (101) having a predetermined height from the lower wall to an upper wall, and emitted from an opening to a center of a wafer W and to a first sidewall (25) and a second sidewall (26) of the container body, and the purge gas emitted in the direction of the sidewalls is controlled by a gas control part (51) that is disposed on the sidewall, such that the mechanism efficiently performs the gas purge.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

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.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a substrate storage container for storing a substrate made of a semiconductor wafer and transporting it in a process in a factory, a structure including a container main body and a lid is known.

  The container body has a cylindrical wall portion in which a container body opening is formed at one end and the other end is closed. A substrate storage space is formed in the container body. The substrate storage space is formed by being surrounded by a wall portion, and can store a plurality of substrates. The lid can be attached to and detached from the container body opening, and the container body opening can be closed.

  A front retainer is provided in a portion of the lid that faces the substrate storage space when the container main body opening is closed. The front retainer can support the edges of the plurality of substrates when the container main body opening is closed by the lid. Further, the back substrate support portion is provided on the wall portion so as to be paired with the front retainer. The back side substrate support part can support the edges of a plurality of substrates. When the container body opening is closed by the lid, the back side substrate support unit supports a plurality of substrates in cooperation with the front retainer, thereby separating adjacent substrates at a predetermined interval. A plurality of substrates are held in a parallel state (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  The container body is provided with a check valve. Through the check valve, gas purge is performed from the outside of the container body to the substrate storage space with dry gas (hereinafter referred to as purge gas) from which inert gas such as nitrogen or moisture has been removed (1% or less). The check valve prevents the gas filled in the substrate storage space by the gas purge from leaking (see Patent Documents 3 to 4).

  Furthermore, in order to efficiently replace the interior of the container with purge gas in a short time, the left and right air supply valves on the back side of the container body are provided with nozzles extending in the vertical direction of the container body, and the peripheral walls are respectively accommodated. Some of these substrates are provided with ejection holes for ejecting purge gas on the upper and lower surfaces (see Patent Document 5).

Japanese Patent No. 4204302 Japanese Patent No. 4201583 Japanese Patent No. 5241607 JP 2007-533166 A Japanese Patent No. 5524093

  As described above, by providing the nozzle provided with the ejection holes, it is possible to shorten the time for replacing the gas inside the container with the purge gas as compared with the case where there is no nozzle. However, there is always a further demand to shorten the gas replacement time as much as possible and increase efficiency. In the above-described substrate storage container using the nozzle, the medium is disposed in the nozzle, and the purge gas that has reached the nozzle passes through the medium, from which the purge gas is ejected into the container and replaced. Therefore, there is a problem that the smooth purge gas flow from the nozzle to the inside of the container is hindered and the gas replacement efficiency is lowered.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate storage container that can efficiently replace a gas in a substrate storage space of a container body with a purge gas and perform a uniform gas purge in a short time.

  The present invention is a cylindrical wall portion having a container body opening formed at one end and the other end closed, and has a back wall, an upper wall, a lower wall, and a pair of side walls. One end portion, one end portion of the lower wall, and a wall portion in which the container body opening is formed by one end portion of the side wall, the inner surface of the upper wall, the inner surface of the lower wall, the inner surface of the side wall, and the A container main body in which a plurality of substrates can be stored by the inner surface of the inner wall and a substrate storage space communicating with the container main body opening is formed, and can be attached to and detached from the container main body opening. In the substrate storage container, which comprises a lid capable of closing the portion, and can replace the gas inside the container using a plurality of air passages that allow the substrate storage space and the space outside the container body to communicate with each other. The channel is used to supply gas from the external space into the container. An exhaust hole used for releasing gas from the air supply hole or the space inside the container to the outside space, a gas control unit for controlling the gas flow inside the container provided on the side wall, and the inner surface of the back wall It is located on the lower wall spaced apart from the lower wall, has a predetermined height between the lower wall and the upper wall, and is a direction of a substrate in which the gas supplied from the air supply holes is stored in the container body It has a gas ejection control mechanism for circulating the gas in the direction of the substrate and the direction of the gas control unit which is the direction of the gas control unit.

  Further, the gas ejection control mechanism includes a tubular gas circulation part having a plurality of openings for ejecting gas in the direction of the substrate and the gas control part in the form of a hollow cylinder having an opening on a side surface, the air supply hole, Formed at one end of the tubular gas circulation part, having a connection part connected to the intake hole so that gas can circulate, the gas supplied to the air supply hole is supplied to the tubular gas circulation part through the connection part, After that, it is preferable that the gas flows through the opening of the tubular gas circulation part and further flows into the inner wall direction of the container body and the upper wall after hitting the gas control part of the container body.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the gas control unit is provided in a curved portion of a connection portion between the side wall and the back wall of the container main body.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said gas control part controls gas by the back side fixing | fixed part of the board | substrate support plate-shaped part for supporting the said board | substrate arrange | positioned at the side wall of the said container main body.

  Further, the opening of the tubular gas circulation part is arranged between the adjacent substrates of the plurality of substrates accommodated in the container body, and a space between the adjacent substrates is provided. It is preferable to eject gas to

  Further, the gas ejection control mechanism is configured such that, when 25 substrates are accommodated in the container body at equal intervals, the tubular gas flow between the 13th and 14th substrates counted from the lower wall side. It is preferable that the uppermost opening of the opening portion is disposed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a substrate storage container that can efficiently replace the gas in the substrate storage space of the container main body with the purge gas and perform a uniform gas purge in a short time. As a result, the rate at which the semiconductor wafer is exposed to inert gas or dry air can be increased, and uniform gas replacement can be performed, so that the yield of semiconductor chips fabricated on the semiconductor wafer can be improved. Furthermore, since the gas replacement by the purge gas can be performed efficiently in a short time, the process time can be shortened and the cost can be reduced.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a mode that the board | substrate W was accommodated in the substrate storage container 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a downward perspective view which shows the container main body 2 of the substrate storage container 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. In the container main body 2 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is an upper perspective view in which the second side wall 26 and the upper wall 23 are omitted. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the gas ejection control mechanism 101 of the substrate storage container 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. In the container main body 2 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is an upper plan view in which the upper wall 23 is omitted. It is an enlarged view of the gas ejection control mechanism 101 vicinity of the substrate storage container 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 5 in the container body 2 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is the graph which showed the waveform of the humidity sensor on the board | substrate which confirms the substitution efficiency of the pattern 1 used in the test which confirms the effect of this invention. It is the graph which showed the waveform of the humidity sensor on the board | substrate which confirms the substitution efficiency of the pattern 2 used in the test which confirms the effect of this invention. It is the graph which showed the waveform of the humidity sensor on the board | substrate which confirms the substitution efficiency of the pattern 3 used in the test which confirms the effect of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a substrate storage container 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which a substrate W is stored in a substrate storage container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a lower perspective view showing the container body 2 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an upper perspective view in which the second side wall 26 and the upper wall 23 are omitted in the container body 2 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the gas ejection control mechanism 101 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an upper plan view in which the upper wall 23 is omitted in the container body 2 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of FIG. 5 near the gas ejection control mechanism 101 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 5 in the container body 2 of the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Here, for convenience of explanation, a direction from the container body 2 described later to the lid 3 (direction from the upper right to the lower left in FIG. 1) is defined as the front direction, and the opposite direction is defined as the rear direction. Also defined as the front-rear direction. Further, a direction (upward direction in FIG. 1) from the lower wall 24 described later to the upper wall 23 is defined as an upward direction, the opposite direction is defined as a downward direction, and these are collectively defined as an up-down direction. In addition, a direction from the second side wall 26 to the first side wall 25 to be described later (a direction from the lower right to the upper left in FIG. 1) is defined as the left direction, and the opposite direction is defined as the right direction. Left and right direction.

  The substrate W (see FIG. 1) stored in the substrate storage container 1 is a disk-shaped silicon wafer, glass wafer, sapphire wafer, or the like, and is a thin one used in the industry. The substrate W in the present embodiment is a silicon wafer having a diameter of 300 mm to 450 mm.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate storage container 1 is used as an in-process container for storing a substrate W made of a silicon wafer as described above and transporting it in a process in a factory, or by land transportation means / air transportation means / sea transportation. Used as a shipping container for transporting a substrate by transport means such as a container, a container main body 2, a lid 3, a substrate support plate-like portion 5 as a side substrate support portion, and a back side substrate support Part (not shown) and a front retainer (not shown) as a lid side substrate support part.

  The container body 2 has a cylindrical wall portion 20 in which a container body opening 21 is formed at one end and the other end is closed. A substrate storage space 27 is formed in the container body 2. The substrate storage space 27 is formed so as to be surrounded by the wall portion 20. The substrate support plate-shaped portion 5 is disposed in a portion of the wall portion 20 that forms the substrate storage space 27. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of substrates W can be stored in the substrate storage space 27.

  The substrate support plate-like portions 5 are provided on the wall portion 20 so as to form a pair in the substrate storage space 27. When the container body opening 21 is not closed by the lid 3, the substrate support plate-like portion 5 abuts the edges of the plurality of substrates W to separate the adjacent substrates W at a predetermined interval. The edges of the plurality of substrates W can be supported in a state where they are aligned in parallel. A back side substrate support part (not shown) is provided on the back side of the substrate support plate-like part 5.

  The back substrate support (not shown) is provided on the wall 20 so as to form a pair with a front retainer (not shown) described later in the substrate storage space 27. When the container body opening 21 is closed by the lid 3, the back substrate support (not shown) abuts the edges of the plurality of substrates W, thereby The rear part can be supported.

  The lid 3 can be attached to and detached from the opening peripheral edge 31 (FIG. 1 and the like) forming the container main body opening 21 and can close the container main body opening 21. The front retainer (not shown) is provided in a portion of the lid 3 that faces the substrate storage space 27 when the container main body opening 21 is closed by the lid 3. The front retainer (not shown) is disposed inside the substrate storage space 27 so as to be paired with the back side substrate support portion (not shown).

  The front retainer (not shown) supports the front part of the edges of the plurality of substrates W by contacting the edges of the plurality of substrates W when the container body opening 21 is closed by the lid 3. Is possible. The front retainer (not shown) supports the plurality of substrates W in cooperation with the back side substrate support portion (not shown) when the container body opening 21 is closed by the lid 3. A plurality of substrates W are held in a state in which adjacent substrates W are separated from each other at a predetermined interval and arranged in parallel.

  The substrate storage container 1 is made of a resin such as a plastic material. Unless otherwise specified, examples of the resin of the material include polycarbonate, cycloolefin polymer, polyetherimide, polyetherketone, and polybutyl. Examples thereof include thermoplastic resins such as terephthalate, polyether ether ketone, and liquid crystal polymer, and alloys thereof. When imparting electrical 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 glass fiber, carbon fiber or the like in order to increase the rigidity.

Hereinafter, each part will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the wall portion 20 of the container body 2 includes a back wall 22, an upper wall 23, a lower wall 24, a first side wall 25, and a second side wall 26. The back wall 22, the upper wall 23, the lower wall 24, the first side wall 25, and the second side wall 26 are made of the above-described materials and are integrally formed.

  The first side wall 25 and the second side wall 26 face each other, and the upper wall 23 and the lower wall 24 face each other. The rear end of the upper wall 23, the rear end of the lower wall 24, the rear end of the first side wall 25, and the rear end of the second side wall 26 are all connected to the back wall 22. The front end of the upper wall 23, the front end of the lower wall 24, the front end of the first side wall 25, and the front end of the second side wall 26 have a positional relationship facing the back wall 22 and have a substantially rectangular shape. The opening peripheral part 31 which forms is comprised.

  The opening peripheral edge 31 is provided at one end of the container body 2, and the back wall 22 is located at the other end of the container body 2. The outer shape of the container body 2 formed by the outer surface of the wall portion 20 is box-shaped. The inner surface of the wall portion 20, that is, the inner surface of the back wall 22, the inner surface of the upper wall 23, the inner surface of the lower wall 24, the inner surface of the first side wall 25, and the inner surface of the second side wall 26 are surrounded by these. 27 is formed. The container main body opening 21 formed in the opening peripheral edge portion 31 is surrounded by the wall portion 20 and communicates with the substrate storage space 27 formed in the container main body 2. A maximum of 25 substrates W can be stored in the substrate storage space 27.

  A portion of the rear end of the first side wall 25 and the rear end of the second side wall 26, the vicinity of the portion connected to the back wall 22, and a first side wall curved portion 225 bulging toward the outside of the container body 2 and A second side wall curved portion 226 is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6 and the like, gas flows in the surface on the inner side of the first side wall 25 and on the inner side of the second side wall 26 and in the first side wall curved portion 225 and the second side wall curved portion 226. The gas control part 151 which controls is formed. In the present embodiment, the back side fixing portion 51 formed at the rear end of the substrate support plate-like portion 5 attached to the inner surface of the first side wall 25 and the inner surface of the second side wall 26 is configured as the gas control unit 151. The

  As shown in FIG. 1, latch engaging recesses 40 </ b> A and 40 </ b> B that are recessed toward the outside of the substrate storage space 27 in the upper wall 23 and the lower wall 24 and in the vicinity of the opening peripheral edge 31. , 41A, 41B are formed. A total of four latch engagement recesses 40A, 40B, 41A, 41B are formed in the vicinity of the left and right ends of the upper wall 23 and the lower wall 24, one each.

  As shown in FIG. 1, ribs 28 are integrally formed with the upper wall 23 on the outer surface of the upper wall 23. The rib 28 is provided to increase the rigidity of the container body.

  A top flange 29 is fixed to the central portion of the upper wall 23. The top flange 29 is a member that is a portion that is hung and suspended in the substrate storage container 1 when the substrate storage container 1 is suspended in an AMHS (automatic wafer conveyance system), PGV (wafer substrate conveyance carriage), or the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, air supply holes 45 and exhaust holes 46, which are two types of through holes, are formed at the four corners of the lower wall 24 as ventilation paths. In the present embodiment, the two through holes in front of the lower wall 24 are exhaust holes 46 for discharging the gas inside the container, and the two through holes in the rear supply gas to the inside of the container. It is the air supply hole 45 for doing. An air supply filter portion 80 and an exhaust filter portion 81 are disposed in the through holes of the air supply hole 45 and the exhaust hole 46, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the air supply filter unit 80 includes a housing 82 as a filter unit housing, a filter 83, and a check valve 84. The filter 83 and the check valve 84 are fixed to the housing 82 portion. The filter 83 is disposed closer to the substrate storage space 27 than the check valve 84. The air supply filter unit 80 can pass gas only from the space outside the container body 2 to the substrate storage space 27 through the filter 83 by the check valve 84. At that time, the filter 83 prevents particles contained in the gas from the external space of the container body 2 from passing through.

  The exhaust filter unit 81 has the same configuration as that of the air supply filter unit 80. However, the function of the check valve is different from that of the air supply check valve 84, and the container main body 2 is moved from the substrate storage space 27. Gas can pass only to the outside space.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, two gas ejection control mechanisms 101 are provided opposite to each other in the vicinity of the inner surface of the back wall 22 of the substrate storage space 27 of the container body 2. As the gas ejection control mechanism 101, polyethylene, polypropylene, or the like can be used in addition to the resin of the substrate storage container 1 described above.

  These gas ejection control mechanisms 101 are disposed above the air supply holes 45 and are attached to the gas ejection control mechanism mounting portion 150. As shown in FIG. 4, the gas ejection control mechanism 101 includes a tubular gas circulation part 110 having a plurality of openings, and a connection part 120 for connecting the air supply filter part 80 and the tubular gas circulation part 110. Yes. Hereinafter, the direction from the tubular gas circulation part 110 to the substrate W is defined as the substrate direction, and the direction from the tubular gas circulation part 110 to the gas control part 151 of the substrate support plate-like part 5 is defined as the gas control part direction. The tubular gas circulation part 110 is provided with a substrate direction opening part 130 and a gas control part direction opening part 140. As shown in FIG. 6, the substrate direction opening 130 is directed to the center of the substrate W accommodated in the container main body 2, and the gas control unit direction opening 140 is a gas control provided on the side wall of the container main body 2. It is directed to the part 151. The inside of the tubular gas circulation part 110 is hollow. The size and arrangement of the substrate direction opening 130 and the gas control unit direction opening 140 are appropriately designed so that the flow rate of the gas ejected from the substrate direction opening 130 and the gas control unit direction opening 140 is uniform. Is possible. In the present embodiment, the openings are arranged so as to be ejected into the inter-substrate space 200 between the plurality of substrates W stored in the vertical direction in the substrate storage container 1.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 7 etc., the tubular gas circulation part 110 has a predetermined height between the lower wall 24 and the upper wall 23. In the present embodiment, the uppermost opening is disposed between the 13th and 14th substrates W stored in the container body 2.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the lid 3 has a substantially rectangular shape that substantially matches the shape of the opening peripheral edge 31 of the container body 2. The lid 3 can be attached to and detached from the opening peripheral edge 31 of the container main body 2, and the lid 3 can close the container main body opening 21 by attaching the lid 3 to the opening peripheral edge 31. . It is an inner surface of the lid 3 (the surface on the back side of the lid 3 shown in FIG. 1), and is formed at a position immediately behind the opening peripheral edge 31 when the lid 3 closes the container body opening 21. An annular seal member 4 is attached to a surface facing the surface of the stepped portion (the seal surface 30). The seal member 4 is made of various types of thermoplastic elastomers such as polyester and polyolefin that can be elastically deformed, fluorine rubber, and silicon rubber. The seal member 4 is arranged so as to go around the outer peripheral edge of the lid 3.

  When the lid 3 is attached to the opening peripheral edge 31, the seal member 4 is sandwiched between the seal surface 30 and the inner surface of the lid 3, and is elastically deformed. The lid 3 seals the container body opening 21. Shuts down in a closed state. By removing the lid 3 from the opening peripheral edge 31, the substrate W can be taken in and out of the substrate storage space 27 in the container body 2.

  The lid body 3 is provided with a latch mechanism. The latch mechanism is provided in the vicinity of both left and right end portions of the lid 3, and as shown in FIG. 1, two upper latch portions 32 </ b> A and 32 </ b> B that can project upward from the upper side of the lid 3, and the lid 3. And two lower latch portions (not shown) that can project downward from the lower side of the upper side. The two upper latch portions 32 </ b> A and 32 </ b> B are disposed in the vicinity of the left and right ends of the upper side of the lid 3, and the two lower latch portions are disposed in the vicinity of the left and right ends of the lower side of the lid 3.

  An operation unit 33 is provided on the outer surface of the lid 3. By operating the operation portion 33 from the front side of the lid body 3, the upper latch portions 32A and 32B and the lower latch portion (not shown) can be protruded from the upper side and the lower side of the lid body 3, It can be set as the state which does not protrude from a lower side. The upper latch portions 32A and 32B protrude upward from the upper side of the lid body 3 and engage with the latch engagement recesses 40A and 40B of the container body 2, and the lower latch portion (not shown) is the lid body 3. The lid 3 is fixed to the opening peripheral edge 31 of the container body 2 by projecting downward from the lower side of the container and engaging with the latch engagement recesses 41 </ b> A and 41 </ b> B of the container body 2.

  On the inner side of the lid 3, a recess (not shown) that is recessed outward from the substrate storage space 27 is formed. A front retainer (not shown) is fixedly provided on the concave portion (not shown) and the lid 3 outside the concave portion.

  The front retainer (not shown) has a front retainer substrate receiving portion (not shown). Two front retainer substrate receiving portions (not shown) are arranged in pairs so as to form a pair spaced apart at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction. The front retainer substrate receiving portions arranged in pairs so as to form a pair in this way are provided in a state where 25 pairs are juxtaposed in the vertical direction. When the substrate W is stored in the substrate storage space 27 and the lid 3 is closed, the front retainer substrate receiving portion sandwiches and supports the edge of the edge of the substrate W.

  In the substrate storage container 1 as described above, the gas replacement by the gas ejection control mechanism 101 is performed as follows.

  When the substrate storage container 1 is used as an in-process container in a process in the factory, the lower wall 24 is located at the lower part and the upper wall 23 is located at the upper part in the container body 2. The gas purging method for the substrate storage container 1 is performed in two ways: when the cover 3 closes the container body opening 21 of the container body 2 and when the cover 3 is removed from the substrate storage container 1. There is. Hereinafter, description will be given in a state where the container body 2 is closed with the lid 3.

  In a state where the container body 2 is closed by the lid body 3, the purge gas is supplied to the air supply filter section 80 provided in the air supply hole 45 of the lower wall 24 of the container body 2. The check valve 84 in the air supply filter unit 80 can pass gas only from the outside of the container body 2 to the substrate storage space 27 inside the container body 2, and cannot pass gas in the opposite direction. Therefore, the purge gas supplied to the inlet of the air supply filter unit 80 passes through the check valve 84 and the filter 83.

  The purge gas that has passed through the supply air filter part 80 passes through the connection part 120 and enters the tubular gas circulation part 110. The purge gas that has entered the tubular gas circulation part 110 rises upward due to the pressure of the purge gas, hits the upper surface 111 of the tubular gas circulation part, and the internal pressure of the tubular gas circulation part 110 increases. As a result, the purge gas is ejected from the substrate direction opening 130 and the gas control unit direction opening 140 provided on the side of the tubular gas circulation part 110.

In the present embodiment, two sets of the tubular gas circulation part 110 described above are provided. As shown by the arrows in FIG. 6, the purge gas that has exited from the substrate-direction openings 130 of the respective tubular gas circulation portions 110 is jetted to the central portion of the substrate W stored in the container body 2. Then, these purge gases collide in the vicinity of the center of the substrate W and change their direction toward the container body opening 21. In other words, the purge gas is jetted from the central portion of the back wall 22 in the left-right direction toward the container body opening 21. Thereafter, the gas inside the container body 2 is released to the outside from the exhaust filter portion 81 provided in the exhaust hole 46 disposed in the front direction of the lower wall 24 of the container body 2. Similarly, the purge gas that has exited from the gas control unit direction opening 140 of each tubular gas flow part 110 is located inside the first side wall curved part 225 and the second side wall curved part 226, respectively, as indicated by arrows in FIG. It is ejected to the arranged gas control unit 151. Then, these purge gases are reflected by the respective gas control units 151 and change their direction toward the inner wall 22 and the upper wall 23. Thereafter, the purge gas accumulated in the back wall 22 and in the vicinity of the upper wall 23 flows in the direction of the container body opening 21 in such a manner that it is pushed out by the purge gas coming later. As for the purge gas in the vicinity of the container body opening 21, the gas inside the container body 2 is released to the outside from the exhaust filter portion 81 provided in the exhaust hole 46 disposed in the forward direction of the lower wall 24 of the container body 2. The
In this way, the purge gas is supplied to the supply air filter unit 80 and the gas is released from the exhaust filter unit 81 for a predetermined time, whereby the substrate container 1 is purged.

  When the gas purge is performed with the lid 3 removed from the substrate storage container 1, the amount of gas released from the exhaust filter portion 81 to the outside decreases, and the gas released from the container body opening portion. The gas purge itself is performed in the same manner only by increasing the amount of gas. Of course, needless to say, it is necessary to attach the lid 3 to the container body 2 immediately after the gas purge is completed. Moreover, in this embodiment, although it is an Example in the case of two tubular gas circulation parts, it is not restricted to this. For example, it goes without saying that one tubular gas circulation part may be provided. At that time, in order to allow the purge gas to flow toward the gas control portions of the first side wall and the second side wall, a new opening can be provided in the tubular gas circulation portion to adjust the gas flow.

  Next, a test for comparing the replacement status of the substrate storage space 27 was performed. In the test, the gas ejection control mechanism 101 in the present embodiment is removed, and the pattern 1 is formed by ejecting the purge gas from the connection opening while being offset from the center of the air supply filter unit 80 by the connection unit 120. The basic shape of the control mechanism 101 is the same, and the entire length of the tubular gas circulation part 110 is the pattern 2 in which openings are arranged between all the 25 substrates W stored in the substrate storage space 27, and the gas in this embodiment A test was conducted with the ejection control mechanism 101 manufactured as a pattern 3.

  In the test, a humidity sensor is installed in the center of the first, thirteenth, and twenty-fifth substrates among the twenty-five substrates stored in the substrate storage space 27. Supply 50 liters per minute and check the humidity drop. In this test, a nitrogen purge for 2 minutes was performed with the lid 3 removed from the container body 2. Originally, the nitrogen concentration should be measured, but instead of measuring the nitrogen gas concentration, the nitrogen gas substitution state was measured as a change in humidity using the fact that the nitrogen gas was completely dry. . The initial state is the test environment air (humidity). The state where the nitrogen gas concentration is high is a state where the humidity is low in this test.

  FIG. 8 shows the test results for pattern 1, FIG. 9 for pattern 2, and FIG. 10 for pattern 3. As shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 9, the replacement efficiency of the first substrate in pattern 1 was poor, and the replacement efficiency of the 13th and 25th substrates in pattern 2 was poor. In the pattern 1, the purge gas ejected from the connection opening 112 rises in the upper wall direction, so that the purge gas hardly flows in the vicinity of the lower wall of the container and the replacement is difficult to be performed. Since the internal pressure does not increase for a long time, the purge gas ejected into the substrate storage space 27 varies, and uniform replacement is not performed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, in pattern 3 according to the present invention, sufficient replacement was performed at all the measurement points, and a sufficient decrease in humidity was observed. From these results, the tubular gas circulation part 110 is provided, and the entire length of the tubular gas circulation part 110 is set to a predetermined height from the lower wall 24 to the upper wall 23, and an opening is provided between the substrates up to the 13th substrate W to perform purging. It was found that the replacement can be done efficiently.

  According to the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment having the above configuration, the following effects can be obtained.

  As described above, the substrate storage container 1 is a cylindrical wall portion in which a container main body opening is formed at one end and the other end is closed, and includes a back wall, an upper wall, a lower wall, and a pair of side walls. A wall having a container body opening formed by one end of the upper wall, one end of the lower wall, and one end of the side wall; and an inner surface of the upper wall, an inner surface of the lower wall, an inner surface of the side wall, and a back wall The inner surface of the container can store a plurality of substrates and can be attached to and detached from the container body opening in which a substrate storage space communicating with the container body opening is formed, and the container body opening can be closed. A substrate storage container comprising a lid and capable of replacing the gas inside the container using a plurality of air passages that allow the substrate storage space and the space outside the container body to communicate with each other. Air supply holes used to supply gas to the inside or the space inside the container Located on the lower wall separated from the inner surface of the back wall, the exhaust hole used for releasing the gas to the outside space, the gas control unit for controlling the gas flow inside the container provided on the side wall, It has a predetermined height between the lower wall and the upper wall, and has a gas ejection control mechanism for circulating the gas supplied from the air supply holes in the direction of the substrate stored in the container body and the direction of the gas control unit.

  Further, the gas ejection control mechanism includes a tubular gas circulation part having an opening on a side surface and a plurality of openings for ejecting gas in the direction of the substrate and the gas control part, and a supply hole and a tubular gas circulation part. It has a connection part that is formed at one end and is connected to an air supply hole so that gas can flow, and the gas supplied to the air supply hole is supplied to the tubular gas flow part through the connection part and then ejected from the opening of the tubular gas flow part Further, the gas flows in the direction of the inner wall of the container body and the direction of the upper wall after hitting the gas control unit of the container body.

  In particular, the gas control unit is provided in the curved portion of the connection portion between the container body side wall and the back wall.

  Furthermore, it was set as the structure which is a back | inner side fixing | fixed part of the board | substrate support-like board part for supporting the board | substrate arrange | positioned at the side wall of a container main body by a gas control part.

  In particular, the opening of the tubular gas circulation part is arranged between the adjacent substrates of the plurality of substrates accommodated in the container body, and the gas is ejected into the space between the adjacent substrates. It was set as the structure to do.

  In particular, when 25 substrates are accommodated in the container body at equal intervals, the uppermost opening of the opening of the tubular gas circulation portion is between the 13th and 14th substrates counted from the lower wall side. It was set as the structure arranged.

With this configuration, the purge gas supplied to the air supply filter section collides with the upper surface of the tubular gas circulation section when passing through the tubular gas circulation section, and the pressure of the substrate W stored in the container body is increased. The same state as if purge gas was supplied to the central part of the back wall in the left-right direction by once being ejected to the central part and then intersecting in the vicinity of the central part of the substrate W and changing the direction to the container body opening side It becomes. Furthermore, the purge gas is also ejected toward the gas control unit on the side wall. The purge gas ejected toward the gas control unit is reflected by the gas control unit and changes its direction toward the rear wall and the upper wall. Then, it flows into the container body opening in an extruded form. That is, the purge gas does not stay in the substrate storage space of the container main body, and flows from the supply air filter section to the exhaust filter section or the container main body opening, and the gas inside the container is discharged to the outside for replacement. Further, by appropriately designing the opening of the tubular gas circulation part and the fluid control part, the flow rate of the gas purge gas flowing inside the container can be made uniform in the vertical direction of the container.
Therefore, it is possible to provide a substrate storage container that can efficiently replace the gas in the substrate storage space of the container body and perform a uniform gas purge in a short time. For this reason, since the rate at which the silicon wafer is exposed to the purge gas in the semiconductor processing step is increased and uniform gas replacement can be performed, the yield of semiconductor chips fabricated on the silicon wafer can be improved. Furthermore, since the gas replacement can be performed efficiently in a short time, the process time is shortened and the cost is reduced.

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

  For example, the shape of the tubular gas circulation part, the back wall gas circulation part, and the gas ejection control part is not limited to the shape of the present embodiment. In particular, the number, arrangement, and size of the openings can be changed as appropriate. The shape of the container main body and the lid, the number and dimensions of the substrates W that can be stored in the container main body are the shape of the container main body 2 and the lid 3 in this embodiment, the number of substrates W that can be stored in the container main body 2, It is not limited to dimensions.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate storage container 2 Container body 3 Lid 4 Seal member 5 Substrate support plate-like part (side board support part)
20 Wall portion 21 Container body opening portion 22 Back wall 23 Upper wall 24 Lower wall 25 First side wall 26 Second side wall 27 Substrate storage space 28 Rib 29 Top flange 30 Sealing surface 31 Opening peripheral edge portions 32A, 32B Upper latch portion 33 Operation portion 40A, 40B, 41A, 41B Latch engaging recess 45 Air supply hole 46 Exhaust hole 51 Back side fixing part 80 Air supply filter part 81 Exhaust filter part 82 Housing 83 Filter 84 Check valve 101 Gas ejection control mechanism 110 Tubular gas flow Portion part 111 Tubular gas flow part upper surface 120 Connection part 130 Substrate direction opening part 140 Gas control part direction opening part 150 Gas ejection control mechanism attaching part 151 Gas control part 200 Inter-substrate space 225 First side wall curved part 226 Second side wall curved part W substrate

Claims (6)

A cylindrical wall portion having a container body opening formed at one end and the other end closed, having a back wall, an upper wall, a lower wall, and a pair of side walls, one end of the upper wall, An inner wall of the upper wall; an inner surface of the lower wall; an inner surface of the side wall; and an inner surface of the back wall. A container main body in which a plurality of substrates can be stored and a substrate storage space communicating with the container main body opening is formed;
It is detachable with respect to the container body opening, and comprises a lid that can close the container body opening,
In the substrate storage container that can replace the gas inside the container using a plurality of air passages that allow communication between the substrate storage space and the space outside the container body,
The ventilation path is provided in the side wall and an air supply hole used for supplying gas from the outside space to the inside of the container or an exhaust hole used for discharging gas from the space inside the container to the outside space. A gas control unit for controlling the gas flow inside the container;
Located in the lower wall spaced from the inner surface of the back wall, having a predetermined height from the lower wall to the upper wall;
A gas ejection control mechanism configured to circulate the gas supplied from the air supply hole in a substrate direction which is a direction of the substrate stored in the container body and a gas control unit direction which is a direction of the gas control unit; A substrate storage container. The gas ejection control mechanism is
A tubular gas circulation part having a plurality of openings for ejecting gas in the direction of the substrate and the gas control part in the form of a hollow cylinder having an opening on a side surface;
It is formed at one end of the tubular gas circulation part, and has a connection part that connects to the air supply hole so that gas can circulate,
The gas supplied to the air supply hole is supplied to the tubular gas circulation part through the connection part, and then ejected from the opening of the tubular gas circulation part, and further hits the gas control part of the container body. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein gas flows in a direction toward the back wall of the container body and in a direction toward the upper wall. The gas control unit
The substrate storage container according to claim 2, wherein the container storage container is provided at a curved portion of a connection portion between the side wall and the back wall of the container main body. The gas control unit
The substrate storage container according to claim 3, wherein the substrate storage container is a back side fixing portion of a substrate support plate-like portion for supporting the substrate disposed on the side wall of the container main body. The opening of the tubular gas circulation part is
The opening is disposed between adjacent substrates of a plurality of substrates accommodated in the container body, and gas is jetted into a space between the adjacent substrates. The substrate storage container described in 1. The gas ejection control mechanism is
When 25 substrates are accommodated in the container body at equal intervals, the uppermost opening of the opening of the tubular gas circulation part is located between the 13th and 14th substrates counted from the lower wall. The substrate storage container according to claim 2, wherein the substrate storage container is disposed.

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