JP4412235B2 - Substrate storage container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate storage container used for storage, transportation, storage, processing, etc. of a substrate made of silicon wafer, glass, mask glass, or the like.

In recent years, in order to further improve the production amount in the semiconductor industry, a substrate made of a semiconductor wafer having a large diameter of 300 mm, a glass wafer, or the like has begun to be used. Such a large substrate may be damaged or damaged by external impact or deflection during transportation or transportation, and it is required to handle it safely in a state of being stored in a predetermined substrate storage container.
In addition, in order to prevent an error when the substrate is taken out from the container or reinserted by an automatic machine, stability of the mounting position of the substrate is also required.

  In order to reduce the contact between the substrate and the substrate support part during transportation or storage of the container, it has been proposed to lift the substrate horizontally by two retainers (see Patent Document 1). In the case of Patent Document 1, when closing the lid, the substrate 13 moves to the deepest portion 28 of the V-shaped groove 30 (FIG. 16) of the lid and rear retainers, so that the substrate is completely horizontal from the substrate support portion. Since it is lifted and supported, when the lid is opened, the substrate slides down the V groove of the retainer and is supported again by the substrate support portion. When the opening and closing of the lid is repeated and the position movement of the substrate is repeatedly performed, the positional accuracy of the substrate changes for each substrate supporting portion, and the accuracy is deteriorated.

Also, when the rear retainer stops in the middle of the V-groove, the position of the substrate moves, so that the substrate removal error or the accompanying process stoppage trouble, or in the worst case, the substrate may be damaged due to the collision between the substrate and the removal machine There was a serious problem of damage.
Further, generation of particles due to friction between the substrate and the side wall surface when the substrate is moved on the side wall surface (slope) of the V groove on the rear side, and damage to the end surface of the substrate have been problems.

  Reduces the generation of particles due to changes in the position of the substrate due to repeated contact and separation of the substrate with the substrate support part when the lid is opened and closed, and friction and collision between the substrate and the substrate support part and the V groove slope When the opening of the container main body is closed with the lid, the center position in the height direction of each contact groove (V groove) that contacts the substrate end surface of the retainer is positioned on the substrate support portion of the container main body. It is also configured to be positioned above the center position in the height direction of each substrate so that a part of the substrate is floated and held from the substrate support when the substrate is stored ( Patent Document 2).

  In the substrate storage container shown in Patent Document 2, regarding the shape of the contact groove of the retainer that the substrate contacts when the lid is closed, “the contact groove has an inclined surface for guiding the substrate, The cross section is formed in a V-shape or U-shape ”, and“ the contact surface of the rear support (corresponding to the position regulating portion of the present invention) to the substrate is a vertical surface or an inclined surface. Although it can be formed, it is preferable that the cross section is V-shaped or U-shaped. " In the case of the V shape, the angles γ and δ formed by the V-shaped slope shown in FIG. 16 with the horizontal are assumed to be γ≈δ.

  Further, regarding these materials, “the retainer is formed from a synthetic resin such as polyether ether ketone resin, polycarbonate resin, polybutylene terephthalate resin, polyether imide (PEI), and various thermoplastic elastomers (TPO, TPEE, etc.). "The rear support is formed from various thermoplastic elastomers such as polyester and polyolefin, and thermoplastic resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, as in the case of the retainer. Preferably, elastic deformation is smaller than the retainer 50. It is desirable to be made from such a shape and material. "

  The substrate storage container shown in Patent Document 2 can significantly reduce the occurrence of troubles and particles as compared with the substrate storage container shown in Patent Document 1, but the shape of the material is also limited. From this point of view, the generation of particles due to friction and sliding with the substrate at the contact grooves of the rear support and the retainer is still slightly recognized, and further performance improvement is desired.

Japanese translation of PCT publication No. 2003-522078 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-9142

  In view of the above situation, the present invention is a member that constitutes a substrate storage container that further reduces the generation of particles due to friction and sliding between the substrate and the substrate storage container when the substrate is stored and transported by the substrate storage container. It is an object to make the shape, material, and the like of the material more preferable.

  The substrate storage container of the present invention has an opening, a substrate support portion 12 having a support surface for horizontally supporting one or a plurality of substrates 13 on the inner wall of the opposite side wall 11 of the container body 2, and a substrate support A container body 2 provided with a position restricting portion 15 located on the rear side of the portion 12, and a lid body in which the opening portion is closed so as to be able to be sealed and a retainer 18 that is in contact with the end surface of the substrate 13 is attached to the inner surface. 3, when the opening of the container body 1 is closed by the lid 3, the holding groove (substrate storage groove) 25 of the retainer 18 serves as the opening side end of the substrate 13. The other end portion of the rear substrate 13 is supported by being floated from the support portion 12 and in contact with the side wall of the position restricting portion 15 at a position below the support surface of the substrate support portion 12. The retainer 18 can be attached to the inner surface of the lid 3. A base member (frame body portion) 20 having a stop portion (attachment portion) 19 and one or a plurality of rows of elastic pieces 22 extending from opposing side walls 21 of the base member (frame body portion) 20 so as to contact each of the substrates 13. And the holding groove 25, and the lower inclined surface 26 of the deepest portion 28 of the holding groove 25 is set to be steeper and longer than the upper inclined surface 27.

  The vertical distance from the deepest portion 28 of the holding groove 25 to the upper surface of the substrate support portion 12 when the retainer 18 holds and holds a part of the substrate 13 from the substrate support portion 12 is 1.0 mm or more. It is preferable that the position restricting portion 15 on the rear side of the substrate support portion 12 that supports the rear side of the substrate is made of a resin having a lower friction coefficient than the resin that forms the substrate support portion 12.

In the present invention, the substrate storage groove is asymmetrical, and the inclined surface on the lower surface side of the deepest part is set to be steeper and longer than the inclined surface on the upper side. The substrate can be stored in the substrate, and the substrate can be accurately placed on the substrate support portion even when the substrate is removed. In the present invention, when the lid is attached to the container body, the opening-side substrate is merely lifted from the substrate support portion, and there is no position movement on the rear-side wall surface.
When the lid is opened, the height of the lifted substrate on the opening side is gradually lowered and only moves onto the substrate support portion, so that the substrate is mounted on the substrate support portion with high positional accuracy. Also, as before, when the lid is closed, the board competes against the wall on the rear side, and when the lid is opened, it does not repeat the operation of returning to the original. , Process troubles can be effectively prevented.

In addition, particle generation due to friction during movement can be reduced. That is, the front side of the substrate is lifted from the substrate support part to a height of 1.0 mm or more, preferably 1.5 mm or more and held obliquely, so that even if there is vibration and the substrate flutters, It can hold | maintain without making it contact a board | substrate support part.
Furthermore, if the rear side position restricting portion is partially formed of polybutylene terephthalate in the side wall of the container body, it has excellent friction resistance, so that the contact portion of the substrate will not be damaged, and wear powder will not be damaged. Since it can prevent generating, it is more preferable.
In the present invention, one end of the substrate is supported by a retainer composed of an elastic piece, the other end of the substrate is supported by a position restricting portion made of a cushioning material, and only one end of the substrate is lifted from the substrate supporting portion. Compared with holding both ends of the substrate with elastic members, resonance can be prevented, and the substrate can be held without breakage.

  In the present invention, the substrate housing groove of the retainer provided inside the lid is formed asymmetrically, the deepest portion of the groove is located above the substrate contact portion plane of the substrate support portion, and the lid is placed in the container. When locking to the opening of the main body, while holding the board with the retainer provided inside the lid, push it into the rear side, and use the rear side contact part of the board support part as the fulcrum. The substrate is held by contacting the side end below the upper surface of the substrate support. At this time, the inclined surface constituting the substrate storage groove (holding groove) of the rear retainer is made asymmetric, and the lower inclined surface of the deepest part is set to be steeper and longer than the upper inclined surface. The basic point is that the bottom surface of the substrate on the opening side is lifted and the substrate supported in a horizontal state is tilted so that the substrate holding position is lowered from the opening side to the rear side. It is a feature.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 is an overall perspective view of the substrate storage container of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the substrate storage container, and FIG. 3 is formed on the inner wall surface of the side wall of the substrate storage container. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional explanatory view showing details of the vicinity of the position restricting portion on the inner wall surface of the substrate storage container according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a rear view of a lid that is an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory plan view showing a retainer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 6 showing the retainer side holding portion.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 6 showing the attachment state of the retainer side holding portion.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional explanatory view of a retainer side holding portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 (a) to 10 (c), in one embodiment of the present invention, when the lid plate is attached to the fuser body, the retainer lifts the opening side portion of the substrate placed on the substrate support portion. It is explanatory drawing which has shown typically a mode that a board | substrate is hold | maintained diagonally.
FIG. 11 shows the positional relationship between the retainer holding portion and the substrate mounted on the substrate support portion when the lid body is closed from the state where the lid body is opened in the case of the substrate support portion according to another embodiment of the present invention. Are explanatory diagrams schematically showing (a) to (c) in order.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the elastic body arrangement of the retainer provided inside the lid.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the elastic body of the retainer provided inside the lid.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing a modified example of the mounting structure of the front side retainer, and FIG. 15 is an explanatory view showing a state where the retainer provided inside the lid body of FIG. 14 is attached to the lid body. .

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the substrate storage container 1 of the present invention includes a container main body 2 and a lid 3, and a robotic flange 4 and a manual handle 5 are provided on the top and side surfaces of the container main body 2. Is provided.
The container body 2 has an opening in the front, a flange 8 and a recess 9 into which the lid is fitted are formed on the periphery of the front opening, and a seal member (not shown) provided on the lid side wall 10. To form a seal and close the opening in a sealed state.
As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 3, on the inner wall surface of the opposite side wall 11 of the container body 2, as shown in FIGS. It is formed at regular intervals and can hold one or a plurality of substrates 13 in a horizontal state. A step 14 for prohibiting the movement of the substrate is provided in a portion near the opening of the substrate support portion 12.

  A position restricting portion 15 that restricts the position of the substrate 13 to be inserted is formed on the rear side (back side) of the substrate on the inner wall surface of the opposite side wall 11 of the container body 2. As shown in FIG. 4, the position restricting portion 15 is formed as a side wall that is slightly inclined with respect to the side wall 11 (outer wall surface) of the container main body 2 (in a cross section, it is steeply inclined). In this way, when the substrate is inserted into or removed from the container body, the angle formed by the substrate support portion and the side wall is an obtuse angle, so the front side end of the substrate is moved in the vertical direction. However, the substrate can be prevented from rubbing the side wall.

Further, when one end portion of the substrate is lifted, the rear end portion of the substrate comes into contact with the side wall inclined at an obtuse angle almost at right angles, so that the substrate is stably held, and sliding at this portion is also smaller. .
It is desirable that the position restricting portion be made of a material that is less wearable than the material forming the container body.
The lid 3 is provided with an operation key hole 6 used to open and close the lid 3, and the latch mechanism 7 that can be automatically operated from the outside is operated via the operation key hole 6 to engage the lid 3. It can be stopped and unlocked. In addition, the latching of a cover body is not restricted to this, The thing by which the engagement piece for latching to a container main body is provided in the left and right side walls can also be used.

A retainer 18 that is in contact with the end surface of the substrate to be stored is attached to the inside of the lid 3 (FIG. 5).
As shown in detail in FIGS. 6 to 9, the retainer 18 has a substantially rectangular frame body (base member) having a plurality of attachment portions (locking portions) 19 for fixing the retainer 18 at intervals. 20, an elastic piece 22 projecting from the left and right side walls of the frame body (base member) 20 toward the center, and a retainer side holding portion 23 positioned at the tip of the elastic piece 22. An attachment portion (locking portion) 19 is engaged with and attached to an engagement portion 24 provided on the back surface of the lid 3.

A retaining groove 25 is formed in the retainer side retaining portion 23. As shown in FIG. 9, the holding groove 25 has a lower inclined surface 26 and an upper inclined surface 27, and is formed in an asymmetric shape in the vertical direction. At this time, the lower inclined surface 26 is set to have a longer inclined surface as compared with the upper inclined surface 27 (when viewed as a cross-section, it is steeply inclined). In a state where the lid is opened, the substrate 13 ₁ supported by the substrate supporting portion, to the substrate 13 ₂ position when lifted from the substrate support by the lid is closed, the substrate end lifted. The lifting amount is set to 1.0 mm or more, preferably 1.5 mm or more.

Since the lift amount is 1.0 mm or more, even if the center of the lifted substrate is bent by 0.2 to 0.3 mm or slightly vibrated in the vertical direction due to vibration or impact during transportation, the container of the substrate Since the end on the center line parallel to the opening surface of the main body is higher than the amount of bending described above from the substrate support portion, it makes line or surface contact with the substrate support portion or rubbing except for the other end portion. Rubbing can be prevented.
When the lifting amount is 1.5 mm or more, a sufficient space (about 0.5 mm) that is equal to or greater than the value obtained by multiplying the maximum deflection dimension by the safety factor (1.5) on the above-mentioned substrate center line can be secured, so it is safer. Can hold the substrate.

The intersecting portion of the upper inclined surface 27 and the lower inclined surface 26 becomes the deepest portion 28 of the holding groove 25, where the substrate is stably held. The angles α and β formed with the horizontal line of the holding groove 25 are set to 45 to 75 ° for the lower inclined surface 26 and 25 to 60 for the upper inclined surface 27 depending on the friction coefficient of the retainer side holding portion 23. Is done. FIG. 9 shows an example in which the lower inclined surface 26 is set to 63 ° and the upper inclined surface 27 is set to 40 ° when the retainer-side holding portion 23 is polybutylene terephthalate.
10A to 10C, when the cover plate is attached to the container main body, the retainer side holding portion 23 lifts the opening side portion of the substrate 13 placed on the substrate support portion 12, and the substrate The manner in which 13 is held obliquely is shown schematically in order.

  That is, when the lid 3 starts to be closed with respect to the container body 2, the lower inclined surface 26 of the retainer side holding portion 23 first comes into contact with the substrate 13 (FIG. 10A). When the lid further advances toward the opening, the end surface on the opening side of the substrate 13 moves toward the deepest portion 28 of the holding groove 25 along the lower inclined surface 26 (FIG. 10B). Finally, it is held at the deepest portion 28 of the holding groove 25 (FIG. 10C). At this time, one end portion on the opening side of the substrate 13 is lifted from the substrate support portion 12, and the rear side is in contact with a position restricting portion (15, FIG. 4) located below the substrate contact surface of the substrate support portion 12. Supported. When the lid 3 is removed, on the contrary, the opening-side end face of the opening-side substrate 13 slides down from the holding groove 25 of the retainer 18 and is placed on the substrate support 12 again.

FIG. 11 shows another embodiment in which a plurality of substrate receiving protrusions 29 having a semicircular cross section for holding the substrate 13 horizontally are provided on the substrate support portion 12. In this case, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be expected, and the area of the portion supporting the substrate 13 is small, so that contamination of the substrate can be further reduced.
The container body is made of polycarbonate, cycloolefin polymer, polyetherimide, polyetheretherketone, etc., or these resins and alloy resins, carbon, carbon fiber, carbon nanotube, metal fiber, metal oxide, high conductivity A resin selected from resins imparted with conductivity by adding molecules or the like can be used. In particular, it is preferable to form with a highly transparent polycarbonate.

Moreover, it is preferable to form the position restricting portion from, for example, a polybutylene terephthalate resin, which is a material that is less wearable than the material forming the container body.
Next, the formation of the container body 2 of the present invention will be described step by step. The material is described as an example of the material preferred above, but is not limited thereto.
First, a part of the side wall 11 of the container main body 2 that becomes the base of the substrate support portion is formed of polycarbonate resin. Subsequently, for example, a low-wear polybutylene terephthalate resin is injected from the back surface side of the substrate support portion 12 using the injection port 16 (FIG. 4) formed in the side wall 11 of the container body 2, and the position restricting portion is formed. Form.

In order to prevent the position restricting portion 15 from coming out on the front side, if a portion having a dimension set larger than the front side, for example, a portion such as the position restricting flange 17 is provided on the back side, the position restricting portion 15 and the container body 2 (side wall 11 of the substrate storage container) is preferable because it can prevent the position restricting portion 15 from being peeled off or shifted even when the adhesive strength at the interface with the substrate (side wall 11 of the substrate storage container) is small and does not have sufficient adhesive strength.
A part of the side wall 11 of the finished container body 2 is inserted into a container body forming mold so as to be integrated with the container body. In this way, the container body 2 is formed in which the position restricting portion 15 that is in contact with the substrate 13 is formed of a low friction resin.

In the present invention, since the retainer holding groove is provided in a vertically asymmetrical shape, it is preferable to prevent a mounting error when the retainer is attached. This is because the retaining groove of the retainer is asymmetrical in the vertical direction, and if the vertical direction is wrongly attached, the effect of lifting the substrate cannot be exhibited sufficiently.
For this purpose, the frame body (base member) used for attachment is shaped so as to be vertically asymmetric. Protrusion (1) 31 is formed on the upper left and right side walls of the frame (base member), and (poca) protrusion (2) is formed on the upper side of the frame (base member). In addition, a concave portion into which these protrusions can be inserted is formed only in the upper portion of the attachment portion (locking portion) 19 on the inner surface of the lid so that the retainer can be attached only in the correct direction.

Such an error prevention protrusion is not limited to the upper side, and may be provided on the lower side or the side piece as long as it is asymmetrical in the vertical direction.
As a retainer of an embodiment of the present invention, a pair of elastic pieces has a cantilever structure extending from left and right side walls of a frame body (base member), and a plurality of rows are formed by forming holding grooves at the ends of each elastic piece. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, a cantilever elastic piece structure alternately extending from the left and right side walls is formed so that the holding groove is aligned. It may be. Moreover, it is good also as a both-ends structure by connecting the elastic piece extended from the left and right side walls. In this case, one or a plurality of holding grooves can be formed.

  According to the present invention, generation of particles can be remarkably reduced during storage, storage, and transportation of the substrate, and stable operation can be performed. Therefore, the present invention is greatly advantageous in the technical field of handling substrates made of silicon wafer, glass, mask glass, and the like. It is.

It is a perspective view of the substrate storage container which is one embodiment of the present invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a perspective view of the board | substrate support part currently formed in the inner wall surface of the side wall of the board | substrate storage container shown in FIG. It is a partial section explanatory view showing the details near the position control part of the inner wall surface of the side wall of the substrate storage container which is one embodiment of the present invention. It is a rear view of the lid which is one embodiment of the present invention. It is a plane explanatory view showing a retainer which is one embodiment of the present invention. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. 6 which shows a retainer side holding | maintenance part. It is CC sectional drawing of FIG. 6 which shows the attachment state of a retainer side holding | maintenance part. It is an expanded sectional explanatory view of the retainer side holding part which is one embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment of the present invention, when the lid plate is attached to the fuser body, the retainer lifts the opening side portion of the substrate placed on the substrate support portion, and holds the substrate obliquely ( It is explanatory drawing shown typically in order to a)-(c). In the case of the substrate support portion according to another embodiment of the present invention, the positional relationship between the retainer holding portion and the substrate mounted on the substrate support portion in the state where the lid body is closed from the state where the lid body is opened is expressed as (a It is explanatory drawing shown typically in order to (c). It is explanatory drawing which shows embodiment of another elastic body arrangement | sequence of the retainer provided in the cover body inside. It is explanatory drawing which shows embodiment of another elastic body of the retainer provided in the cover body inside. It is explanatory drawing which shows the modification of the attachment structure of the retainer provided in the cover body inside. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which attached the retainer provided in the cover body inside of FIG. 14 to the cover body. It is sectional drawing showing the conventional retainer holding | maintenance part.

Explanation of symbols

1: Substrate storage container 2: Container body 3: Cover body 4: Robotic flange 5: Manual handle 6: Operation key hole 7: Latch mechanism 8: Flange portion 9: (the cover body fits in) Recess 10: Cover body side wall 11: Side wall (of the container body) 12: Substrate support part 13: Substrate 14: Step 15: Position restricting part 16: Injection port 17: Position restricting flange 18: Retainer 19: Attachment part (locking part)
20: Frame body (base member)
21: Side wall 22 (of base member): Elastic piece 23: Retainer side holding portion 24: Engaging portion 25: Holding groove (substrate housing groove)
26: (Lower) inclined surface 27: (Upper) inclined surface 28: Deepest portion 29: Substrate receiving protrusion 30: V groove 31: (Pokay) protrusion (1)
32: (Pokka-yo) protrusion (2)

Claims (3)

  A substrate support portion having an opening and having a support surface for horizontally supporting one or more substrates on the inner walls of the opposite side walls of the container body; and a position restricting portion positioned on the rear side of the substrate support portion; A substrate storage container having a container body provided with a lid body attached to a retainer that closes the opening so as to be sealable and is in contact with an end surface of the substrate. When closing the opening, the holding groove of the retainer holds the opening side end of the substrate floating from the substrate supporting portion, and the other end of the rear side substrate supports the side wall of the position restricting portion and the substrate supporting portion. The retainer is in contact with and supported at a position below the surface, and the retainer contacts the base member (frame body portion) having a locking portion (attachment portion) that can be attached to the inner surface of the lid, and the substrate. The base members (frame parts) face each other so that they touch each other It has one or more rows of elastic pieces extending from the wall and holding grooves, and the lower inclined surface of the deepest part of the holding grooves is set to be steeper and longer than the upper inclined surface. Substrate storage container.   The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein a vertical distance from the deepest portion of the holding groove to the upper surface of the substrate support portion when the retainer holds a part of the substrate in a floating state from the substrate support portion is 1.0 mm or more.   The substrate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a position restricting portion on the rear side of the substrate supporting portion that supports the rear side of the substrate is formed of a resin having a lower friction coefficient than a resin that forms the substrate supporting portion. Storage container.

Images