JP4372313B2 - Substrate storage container - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention accommodates a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter abbreviated as a wafer), a mask glass, a liquid crystal cell, or a recording medium, and transports the substrate and positions and / or processes the processing device for processing the substrate. More particularly, the present invention relates to a structure for holding a substrate by a retainer of the substrate storage container.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Wafers and mask glass substrates involved in semiconductor manufacturing are rapidly increasing in size (for example, 300 mm to 400 mm or more) for the purpose of reducing costs by improving the yield of the substrate due to severe price competition for semiconductor devices. It has been progressing on the pitch. At the same time, semiconductor circuits are increasingly miniaturized, and the DRAM design rule (minimum processing line width) is also shifting from 0.25 μm to 0.18 μm, not only in factories where substrates are processed, The container used when the substrate is transported is increasingly required to be highly clean. The substrate processing apparatus is provided in a local environment (mini-environment) isolated from the outside world, and the local environment is used for performing various processes for creating electronic circuit wiring on the substrate with high yield. It needs to be highly cleaned (Federal standard 209E has a cleanness of 1 or less, 0.01 level if necessary).
However, it was predicted that enormous investment would be required along with technical difficulties to keep the entire semiconductor production plant in such a high clean environment.
[0003]
Therefore, a method has been proposed in which only a local area necessary for processing a substrate is made into a highly clean environment, and the substrate is stored and transported in a sealed substrate storage container between several clean environments formed by the substrate. ing. Furthermore, development of a substrate storage container that can be automatically transported without contaminating the stored substrate and that can directly access the processing apparatus is underway. In recent years, the idea of forming a plurality of such local environments and performing microfabrication on the substrate to improve the yield is becoming mainstream.
[0004]
A substrate storage container 60 used for substrate transportation and storage or positioning to a processing apparatus, for example, as shown in an exploded perspective view of FIG. 10, a container main body 61 for aligning and storing a plurality of substrates, It comprises a lid 63 that closes the opening 62 of the container main body 61 so that it can be sealed. A pair of substrate support portions 64 for horizontally supporting the substrate are assembled to the opposing inner walls of the container main body 61, and the bottom of the container main body 61 is placed on the processing apparatus for positioning. A bottom plate 65 having a reverse V-shaped projection 65a (hereinafter referred to as V group) and a through hole 65b (hereinafter referred to as retaining feature) for fixing the substrate storage container to the processing apparatus is attached.
[0005]
Further, a sealing gasket 66 is sandwiched between the container main body 61 and the lid 63 and is used to keep the substrate storage container 60 in a sealed state. The lid 63 closes the opening 62 of the container main body 61 so as to be sealed by a latch mechanism 68 including a latching claw 67 that can be operated from the outside. A retainer 75 (see a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 11) that contacts the end surface of the substrate is attached to the inner surface of the lid 63, and the retainer 75 is a frame having a locking portion that can be attached to the inner surface of the lid 63. And one or a plurality of rows of elastic pieces 76 extending from opposite side walls of the base member so as to come into contact with each of the substrates, and gradually spread toward the opposite substrate at the tip of the elastic pieces. An inclined surface and a contact groove 77 that contacts the substrate are formed.
[0006]
Then, the processing apparatus in the local environment is connected to the substrate storage container 60 as described above, which is transported from the outside, and the substrate stored inside is loaded from the substrate storage container 60 into the processing apparatus. An access unit is provided for unloading from the processing apparatus to the substrate storage container. The access unit is equipped with a substrate storage container, a load port that performs positioning and connection operation to the processing apparatus, and a lid that is disposed at a position facing the lid 63 of the substrate storage container 60 to open and close the lid. A body opening and closing device.
[0007]
On the surface of the load port, there are provided a plurality of positioning pins whose tips are spherical, and a fixing member that is inserted into a through-hole in the center of the bottom plate of the substrate storage container to fix the retaining feature. The plurality of positioning pins contact the V group arranged at the bottom of the substrate storage container to automatically center the substrate storage container and accurately position it at a predetermined position, and process the substrate storage container using a fixing member. Secure to the device. Thereafter, the positioning unit, which is the mounting portion of the substrate storage container, is moved forward to move the substrate storage container in parallel, and the cover body is brought into contact with the cover member of the cover body opening / closing device in a sealable manner.
[0008]
The lid opening / closing device usually has a connection surface that is a wall portion perpendicular to the substrate mounting surface of the load port, and the connection surface is an opening for transferring the substrate from the substrate storage container in the external environment into the processing apparatus. Has a part. Usually, the opening is sealed with a cover member to prevent the internal environment from being contaminated by intrusion of particles floating in the outside. The cover member has a latch mechanism operating device that positions and holds the lid of the substrate storage container and unlocks and locks the latch mechanism housed inside the lid.
[0009]
When processing and processing a substrate in the mini-environment environment, first, the substrate storage container positioned is moved forward until it comes into contact with the cover member provided in the seal zone of the opening of the load port. Cover the perimeter to be sealable. And on the inner surface of the cover member, a pair of positioning pins called a registration pin and a pair of rotatable operation keys connected to the operation device of the latch mechanism are arranged, and a suction part for vacuum-sucking the lid Is provided as appropriate. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the lid 63 has a key groove 69 into which a latch key is inserted and a pair of circular positioning recesses (not shown, which normally pass through the center point of the lid). The center points are arranged symmetrically on the line).
[0010]
After the front of the substrate storage container 60 is thus positioned by the positioning pins, the operation key inserted in the key groove 69 of the lid 63 rotates to release the latch mechanism between the container body 61 and the lid 63 and the container. The locking claw 67 is removed from the locking recess 70 provided on the inner periphery of the opening of the main body 61, and the lid 63 is removable.
Next, while the lid 63 is held by the cover member, the lid 63 is retracted and lowered together to be separated from the container main body 61, and the opening 62 of the container main body 61 communicates with the inside of the processing apparatus. At this time, since the peripheral edge of the opening 62 of the container body 61 is sealed by the sealing region of the lid opening / closing device wall, contaminants floating in the external environment do not enter the inside.
In this way, when the lid 63 is removed and the opening 62 of the container main body 61 communicates with the processing apparatus, the substrate is loaded and taken into the processing apparatus from the inside of the substrate storage container 60, and thereafter subjected to various processing and processing. The
[0011]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In this way, the processing of the substrate can be performed in a mini-environment environment. In the case of a conventional substrate storage container, the substrate is stored in the substrate support part of the container body, and the opening is opened by the lid. When closing, the elastic piece of the retainer attached to the inner surface of the lid contacts the peripheral edge of the substrate and pushes it in to align the substrate in the front-rear direction, and the substrate comes into surface contact with the support part. In the state, since the substrate is only sandwiched between the stopper portion at the end of the support portion or the rear support, when the substrate storage container is transported, the substrate will be rubbed on the substrate support portion due to vibration during transport, There was concern about the generation of particles such as wear powder.
[0012]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and is a substrate storage container standardized by the SEMI standard. When a substrate is stored in a container body and an opening is closed with a lid, the substrate and a supporting portion are transported. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate storage container that does not cause wear and does not contaminate the substrate.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following means. Substrate storage container according to claim 1 has an opening, phase substrate support for mounting horizontally one or a plurality of substrates on opposite inner walls are provided to support the one end surface of the substrate on the rear side Substrate storage having a container main body provided with a rear support serving as a stopper in the storage direction of the substrate, and a lid body that sealably closes the opening and has a retainer attached to an inner surface of the container. A container,
The retainer has a rectangular frame-shaped base member and a plurality of pairs of elastic pieces extending obliquely in a direction facing the opposing substrate from the left and right side walls of the base member,
The elastic pieces are each formed with a V-shaped concave section that is a contact groove with which the end of the substrate contacts,
The retainer is arranged such that the center position in the height direction of the contact groove is located 0.3 mm to 3 mm above the center position in the height direction of the substrate located on the substrate support portion. ,
When the substrate is horizontally placed on the substrate support part in the container body and the opening of the container body is closed by the lid, the retainer surrounds the substrate placed horizontally on the substrate support part. Abutting the edge, floating one end of the substrate on the opening side from the substrate support portion, and aligning the substrate in the front-rear direction while holding it obliquely between the retainer and the rear support; It is characterized by being housed in a container body .
[0014]
The substrate storage container of claim 2 is based on the invention of claim 1, and the retainer has one or a plurality of rows in which the elastic pieces extend from opposite side walls of the base member and can be attached to the inner surface of the lid. And the elastic piece has an inclined surface for guiding the substrate to the contact groove .
[0015]
In the present invention, a V-shaped contact groove is formed at the tip of the elastic piece that contacts the substrate of the retainer, and the center position of the contact groove in the height direction of each of the substrates accommodated in the substrate support portion. The height is 0.3 mm to 3 mm higher than the center position in the height direction, preferably 0.5 mm to 2 mm.
[0016]
Thus, when the lid is closed by attaching the retainer so as to be higher by 0.3 mm to 3 mm with respect to the center position in the height direction of the substrate accommodated in the support portion, the substrate becomes the V groove of the retainer. It is possible to reduce the occurrence of abrasion powder due to the substrate being rubbed on the support portion when the substrate storage container is transported, thereby eliminating the possibility of contaminating the substrate.
[0017]
Furthermore, substrate storage container according to claim 3, assumes the invention of claim 1, wherein the container body has the rear support for holding the substrate from the back side end of the substrate support, the retainer sandwiching the substrate between the substrate and the contacting portion and the rear support is characterized and Turkey to hold float part of the substrate from the substrate support.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 is a side view of a substrate storage container, FIG. 2 is a rear view of the lid, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate storage container 10 includes a container body 20 having a substantially cubic shape having an opening 20a on the front surface, a lid 30 for closing the opening 20a so as to be sealable, a container body 20 and a lid. A gasket 40 for closing the body 30 in a sealed state and a retainer 50 attached to the inner surface of the lid 30 for holding the substrate W are provided.
Furthermore, as parts for transporting the substrate storage container 10, a robotic flange 21 detachably attached to the top surface of the container body 20, a pair of side rails 22, a pair of manual handles 23, and a pair of bottom parts provided at the bottom. A bottom rail 24 and a bottom plate 25 disposed on the lower surface of the container body 20 are provided. In addition, it is preferable to provide the window part 26 formed in the back surface of the container main body 20 with the transparent member which can confirm the board | substrate to accommodate from the outside.
[0019]
The container body 20, the robotic flange 21, the side rail 22, the bottom plate 25, and the like are made of polycarbonate having sufficient rigidity and strength, thermoplastic resin such as acrylic resin, PEEK, or the like as a base resin. It is molded from a thermoplastic resin to which antistatic performance is imparted by adding an alloying technique with a conductive resin or a conductive additive such as carbon fiber or metal fiber. Alternatively, a conductive polymer film may be applied to or coated on a thermoplastic resin to impart conductivity.
[0020]
A plurality of locking recesses for locking the lid body 30 are provided on the inner periphery of the opening 20a of the container body 20, and the outer periphery of the opening 20a is a flange portion over the entire periphery. 20b is formed. Further, on the inner walls facing each other of the container body 20, a plurality of substrates W are integrally separated from each side wall of the container body 20 as shown in FIG. The substrate support portion 27 is formed in a shelf shape.
A rear port 28 serving as a stopper for the substrate to be inserted is provided on the back side of the substrate support portion 27 as an integral part of the container body 20 or as a separate part.
In addition, it is preferable that the contact surface with the board | substrate of the rear support 28 is provided with the V-shaped or U-shaped inclined surface.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 2, the retainer 50 used in the substrate storage container of this embodiment includes a rectangular frame-shaped base member 52 and a plurality of pairs extending obliquely in the direction facing the substrate from the left and right side walls of the base member. The elastic piece 53. The elastic piece 53 has a leaf spring structure in which the width direction branches in a comb shape and is arranged symmetrically. On the outer surface of the base member 52, a notch or a locking portion 54 made of a protrusion or the like is formed, and the protrusion or the notch or the like provided on the back surface of the lid 30 so as to be engaged therewith. It engages with a locking part (not shown) made of and is detachably attached.
[0022]
The elastic piece 53 of the retainer 50 is formed so as to extend obliquely from the left and right side walls of the base member 52 toward the substrate. The tip of the elastic piece 53 is formed with a V-shaped concave portion that becomes the contact groove 55, and the substrate W is appropriately bent so that the substrate W does not move and become contaminated or broken during the transport of the substrate storage container 10. Is holding in. The contact groove 55 of the elastic piece 53 has an inclined surface for guiding the substrate W, and the cross section of the recess is formed in a V shape or a U shape. The inclined surface is formed as a guide portion that can come into contact with the substrate even when the contact position with the substrate is displaced due to dimensional variation, substrate deflection, or the like. Thereby, the substrate W placed on the substrate support portion 27 of the container body 20 is first brought into contact with the inclined surface and gradually guided to and held at the center position of the contact groove 55 as the substrate W is pushed.
In the present embodiment, the case where the tip of the elastic piece has a cantilever structure with a free end is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the elastic piece may have a double-supported beam structure. It goes without saying that it is good.
Such a retainer 50 is formed from a synthetic resin such as polyether ether ketone resin, polycarbonate resin, polybutylene terephthalate resin, polyether imide (PEI), or various thermoplastic elastomers (TPO, TPEE, etc.).
[0023]
FIG. 4 shows a state in which the substrate W is stored through the opening 20a of the container body 20 of the substrate storage container 10 of the present embodiment, and the lid 30 is to be attached thereto. In this state, The substrate W is horizontally placed on the substrate support portion 27 of the container body 20. In addition, a rear support 28 serving as a stopper in the storage direction of the substrate W is formed in a portion on the back side when viewed from the opening 20 a of the container body 20.
The rear support 28 may be formed integrally with the container body 20 as shown in FIG. 3, or may be formed as a separate part as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and open so as to face the retainer 50. You may install in the back | inner side of the part 20a. Similar to the retainer 50, the rear support 28 is made of various thermoplastic elastomers such as polyester and polyolefin, and thermoplastic resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Preferably, it is desirable to use a shape and material so that elastic deformation is smaller than that of the retainer 50.
Further, the contact surface of the rear support 28 with the substrate W can be formed in a vertical surface shape or an inclined surface shape, but the cross section is preferably V-shaped or U-shaped.
[0024]
FIG. 5 shows a state in which the opening 20 a of the container body 20 is closed by the lid 30, and the substrate W accommodated at this time is along the inclination of the V-shaped contact groove 55 of the retainer 50. When the tip is gradually lifted and the lid 30 is locked to the container pair 20, the substrate W is supported by being lifted upward by the contact groove 55 of the retainer 50 and the other end is rear. Since the substrate 28 is held by the support 28, the substrate W floats up from the substrate support portion 27 and is supported so as not to come into surface contact with the substrate support portion 27. 6 and 7 schematically show the substrate W, the contact groove 55 of the retainer 50, and the substrate support portion 27 in order to explain this state more easily. These show a state in which the contact groove 55 of the retainer 50 lifts and holds one end of the substrate W from the substrate support portion 27.
[0025]
Each center line (center position) Ob in the height direction of the contact groove 55 of the retainer 50 is mounted on the substrate support portion 27 of the container body 20 and faces each of the substrates W facing the retainer 50 as shown in FIG. It is attached so that h = 0.3 mm to 3 mm above the center line (center position) Oa in the height direction on the support portion. Preferably, it is set to 0.5 mm to 2 mm.
Thus, since the center position in the height direction of the contact groove 55 of the retainer 50 is positioned higher than the center position of the substrate W on the substrate support portion 27 of the container body 20, the lid 30 is placed in the container. When the mounting substrate storage container 10 is transported to the main body 20, the inclined surface of the contact groove 55 of the retainer 50 gradually lifts the substrate W and holds it at the center of the contact groove 55. Since a part of the back surface of the substrate W is lifted from the substrate support portion during the conveyance of the substrate 10 and the contact area is reduced, there is almost no friction between the substrate and the substrate support portion 27, and generation of wear powder can be remarkably reduced, and contamination of the substrate Can be prevented.
[0026]
8 and 9 show another embodiment of the substrate storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate storage container 10 ′, and FIG. 9 is a front view of the container body 20 ′. Here, the substrate support portion 27 ′ of the substrate W is formed as a separate member, attached to the container body 20, and a pair of rear supports 28 ′ on the container body 20 is opposed to the retainer 50 attached to the inner surface of the lid 30. It is attached to do.
Also in this case, since the substrate W can be lifted from the substrate support 27 'and held between the rear support 28' by the retainer 50, the same effect can be obtained.
[0027]
In any case, a sealing gasket 40 is attached to the entire circumference of the side surface of the lid 30. The gasket 40 is formed from various thermoplastic elastomers, fluorine rubber, EPDM, EPM, NBR, IR, or the like. The raw material of the gasket 40 is most preferably selected from fluorocarbon rubber, which is appropriately selected according to the shape and hardness from the sealing performance, and is mainly made of fluororubber that generates a small amount of gas during heating.
The lid 30 has a built-in latch mechanism similar to that shown in the conventional example. However, the lid 30 is not limited to this, and the hook 30 provided on the outer surface of the lid 30 or the container body 20 and the container body And a locking member provided on the lid may be used.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the substrate storage container of the present invention, the center height of the V-groove that contacts the substrate of the retainer attached to the lid is higher than the substrate on the substrate support portion of the container body. made are mounting height is set so as to hold and push the back side while lifting one end of the substrate when the substrate abutting the substrate and the substrate support when or store and transport the substrate storage container almost no friction between the surfaces, can occur in the abrasion powder in prevention, it is not to contaminate the substrate. In addition, since a part of the substrate is supported by the retainer and the rear support, even when the substrate storage container is transported, the contamination due to the rubbing of the substrate is reduced as compared with the case where the substrate is supported by surface contact. Can do.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded side view of an embodiment of a substrate storage container according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a rear view of the embodiment of the lid body to which the retainer is attached.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the substrate storage container shown in FIG.
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in a state where the lid of the substrate storage container shown in FIG. 3 is removed.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in a state where the lid of the substrate storage container shown in FIG. 3 is attached.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the positional relationship between the retainer and the substrate support part of the container main body.
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a substrate is supported by a retainer.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of a substrate storage container according to the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a front view of another embodiment of the substrate storage container according to the present invention as viewed from the opening direction.
FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional substrate storage container.
FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional substrate storage container.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Board | substrate storage container 20 Container body 20a Opening part 21 Robotic flange 22 Side rail 24 Bottom rail 25 Bottom plate 26 Window part 27 Board | substrate support part 28 Rear support member 30 Lid 40 Gasket 50 Retainer 52 Base member 53 Elastic piece 54 Locking 55 Contact groove (V groove)
W Substrate Oa Substrate center line Ob Contact groove center line h Difference in height between Oa and Ob

Claims (3)

A substrate support unit having an opening and horizontally mounting one or a plurality of substrates on opposite inner walls is provided, and one end surface of the substrate is supported on the back side to serve as a stopper in the storage direction of the substrate. A substrate storage container having a container main body provided with a rear support, and a lid on which the opening is closed so as to be sealed, and a retainer attached to an inner surface of the container is attached to the inner surface of the container.
The retainer has a rectangular frame-shaped base member and a plurality of pairs of elastic pieces extending obliquely in a direction facing the opposing substrate from the left and right side walls of the base member,
The elastic pieces are each formed with a V-shaped concave section that is a contact groove with which the end of the substrate contacts,
The retainer is arranged such that the center position in the height direction of the contact groove is located 0.3 mm to 3 mm above the center position in the height direction of the substrate located on the substrate support portion. ,
When the substrate is horizontally placed on the substrate support part in the container body and the opening of the container body is closed by the lid, the retainer surrounds the substrate placed horizontally on the substrate support part. Abutting the edge, floating one end of the substrate on the opening side from the substrate support portion, and aligning the substrate in the front-rear direction while holding it obliquely between the retainer and the rear support; A substrate storage container which is stored in a container body . The retainer has one or a plurality of rows in which the elastic pieces extend from the opposing side walls of the base member, and has an engaging portion that can be attached to the inner surface of the lid, and the elastic piece has a substrate in the contact groove. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, further comprising an inclined surface for guiding . The container body has the rear support for holding the substrate from the back side end of the substrate support, the substrate sandwiched between the substrate and the contacting portion and the rear support of the retainer, said substrate substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein a portion of said and Turkey be held floating from the substrate support of the.

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