JP7333224B2 - Substrate storage container - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to substrate storage containers.

A substrate storage container (FOUP) used in a semiconductor manufacturing process includes a container body for storing substrates and a lid that can be detachably attached to an open front surface of the container body. The lid has locking means for locking and closing the opening of the container body with the container body, and a side portion of the lid is formed with a locking means opening through which the locking means can move forward and backward. ing.

This type of substrate storage container is washed after use and reused. When cleaning the lid, cleaning water flows into the interior of the lid. At this time, the washing water mainly flows into the lid through four locking means openings formed in the side surface of the lid. Also, during drying after washing, washing water mainly flows out from the four locking means openings.

However, when the lid is washed and dried, if the drying is insufficient, part of the washing water may remain inside the lid. Such residual water can be prevented by lengthening the drying time, but in recent years, shortening of the drying time is required in order to improve the cycle of the washing and drying process. In addition, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, the gases (such as chlorine) used in the lid may flow into and stay inside the lid, corroding metal parts.

In view of this, a substrate storage container has been proposed in which a plurality of flow holes are formed in the front surface of the lid, and cleaning water or the like flows in and out through these flow holes (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4321950

However, in the conventional technology as described above, water remains on the inside of the side surface of the lid, especially on the inside of the lower side surface of the four side surfaces of the lid when the lid is stood upright for drying. Cheap.

Accordingly, in one aspect, an object of the present invention is to provide a lid for a substrate storage container that can suppress the occurrence of water residue inside the lid when the lid is washed and dried.

According to one aspect, a substrate storage container used in a semiconductor manufacturing process includes a container body for storing substrates, and a lid that can be detachably attached to an open front surface of the container body, wherein the lid is and locking means for locking and closing the opening of the container main body with the container main body, wherein the side face part includes a locking means opening in which the locking means can move back and forth. , and a vent opening.

According to one aspect, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of water residue inside the lid during cleaning and drying of the lid.

It is an exploded schematic perspective view showing a substrate storage container of one embodiment. It is a perspective view of a lid. It is a front view of a lid. It is a top view of a lid. It is a side view of a lid. FIG. 11 is a plan view of the essential parts of the lid showing a second embodiment of the ventilation opening; FIG. 11 is a plan view of the main part of the lid showing a third embodiment of the ventilation opening;

Each embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Since at least the front surface of the lid of this embodiment is made of a transparent member, the drawings show the internal members of the lid as seen through.

1 is an exploded schematic perspective view showing a substrate storage container 1 of one embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lid 20, FIG. 3 is a front view of the lid 20, and FIG. , are plan views of the lid 20, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the lid 20. FIG.

(Substrate storage container)
As shown in FIG. 1 , the substrate storage container 1 includes a container body 10 that stores substrates W, and a lid 20 that closes an opening 11 of the container body 10 .

(container body)
The container body 10 is a box-shaped body, and is a front open type with an opening 11 formed in the front. The opening 11 is bent with a step so as to expand outward, and the surface of the step is formed as a seal surface 12 on the inner peripheral edge of the front surface of the opening 11 . Note that the container body 10 is preferably of a front open type because it is easy to insert a substrate W having a diameter of 300 mm or 450 mm, but may be of a bottom open type in which the opening 11 is formed on the bottom surface.

Supports 13 are arranged on both left and right sides inside the container body 10 . The support 13 has the function of placing and positioning the substrate W. As shown in FIG. A plurality of grooves are formed in the support 13 in the height direction to form so-called grooved teeth. The substrate W is placed on two grooved teeth on the left and right that are at the same height. The material of the support 13 may be the same as that of the container body 10, but a different material may be used in order to improve heat resistance, washability, and slidability.

In this embodiment, as an example, the substrate storage container 1 is a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod), but it may be a container used for other purposes such as a FOSB (Front Opening Shipping Box). In the case of FOSB, the substrate W is held by the front retainer 30 and the substrate holding portion by having the support 13, for example, a "<"-shaped or straight substrate holding portion on the far side of the groove teeth. It may be something like The support 13 and the rear retainer are provided in the container body 10 by insert molding, fitting, or the like. However, in a modified example, a rear retainer (not shown) may be arranged at the rear (deep side) inside the container body 10 . In this case, the rear retainer may be paired with a front retainer 30 described later to hold the substrate W when the lid body 20 is closed. The support 13 and the rear retainer are provided in the container body 10 by insert molding, fitting, or the like.

The substrate W is supported by the support 13 and housed in the container body 10 . An example of the substrate W includes a silicon wafer, but is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a quartz wafer, a gallium arsenide wafer, a glass wafer, a resin wafer, or the like.

A robotic flange 14 is detachably provided at the center of the ceiling of the container body 10 . The substrate storage container 1 containing the substrates W in a clean state is gripped by the robotic flange 14 by a transport robot in the factory and transported to the processing apparatus for each process for processing the substrates W. FIG.

Manual handles 15 to be gripped by an operator are detachably attached to the central portion of the outer surface of both sides of the container body 10 .

The bottom surface of the container body 10 is provided with, for example, an air supply valve 18 and an exhaust valve 19 having check valve functions. Inert gas such as nitrogen gas or dry air is supplied from the supply valve 18 to the inside of the substrate storage container 1 closed by the lid 20, and discharged from the exhaust valve 19, whereby the substrate storage container 1 is It replaces the gas inside the , and maintains an airtight state. It is preferable that the air supply valve 18 and the exhaust valve 19 are positioned outside the position where the substrate W is projected onto the bottom surface. do not have. In addition, the air supply valve 18 and the exhaust valve 19 have filters for filtering gas. At least one of the intake valve 18 and the exhaust valve 19 may be in the form of a two-way valve instead of the form of a check valve.

The replacement of the internal gas is carried out for the purpose of blowing off impurities on the accommodated substrates W, lowering the internal humidity, etc., and keeping the inside of the substrate storage container 1 clean during transportation. By detecting the gas on the side of the exhaust valve 19, it can be confirmed whether the gas replacement is performed reliably. When the gas inside is replaced, or when the lid 20 is attached to the container body 10 and closed, the pressure inside the substrate storage container 1 becomes positive, and conversely, the lid 20 is removed from the container body 10. At times, the inside of the substrate storage container 1 becomes negative pressure.

(Lid body)
The lid 20 has a substantially rectangular shape and is attached to the front of the opening 11 of the container body 10 . As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the lid body 20 includes a lid body 21 and a pair of locking mechanisms 24 (an example of locking means) installed on the lid body 21 for locking. is detachably fitted in the opening front part of the.

The lid main body 21 includes a front plate 22 forming a front surface 21a of the lid main body 21, and a back plate 23 forming a rear surface 21b and four side surfaces 21c to 21f of the lid main body 21.

A pair of locking operation holes 21g for operating the locking mechanism 24 are formed in the front surface portion 21a of the lid body 21. As shown in FIG.

A pair of holes 21h ( An example of a locking means opening) is formed.

A plurality of reinforcing ribs 21i and 21j are erected on the rear surface side of the rear surface portion 21b of the lid body 21 (the inner side of the lid body 20). The reinforcing ribs 21i are radially erected on the rear surface of the rear surface portion 21b to reinforce the rear surface portion 21b. In addition, the reinforcing rib 21j (an example of the rib) is provided upright between the rear surface peripheral edge portion of the rear surface portion 21b and the rear surface of the side surface portions 21c to 21f, and mainly reinforces the side surface portions 21c to 21f. . Note that, in a modified example, the reinforcing ribs 21i may be omitted.

Each locking mechanism 24 is rotatably supported by the lid body 21 and is connected to a rotating plate 26 that is engaged with a locking operation key (not shown). It has a pair of connecting plates 27 that slide in the vertical direction, and locking claws 25 that are provided at the tip of each connecting plate 27 and protrude from the recess 21h as the connecting plates 27 slide. Then, the locking claw 25 protruding from the retractable hole 21h is fitted into the locking hole 10a formed in the container body 10, whereby the locking mechanism 24 is locked and removal of the lid 20 is restricted.

In addition, an elastic front retainer 30 for horizontally holding the front peripheral edge of the substrate W is detachably attached or integrally formed in the central portion of the rear surface portion 21 b of the lid portion main body 21 .

The front retainer 30, like the grooved teeth of the support 13 and the substrate holding portion, is a portion that comes into direct contact with the wafer, and therefore is made of a material with good cleaning and sliding properties. The front retainer 30 can also be provided in the lid body 20 by insert molding, fitting, or the like.

Examples of materials for the container body 10 and lid 20 include thermoplastic resins such as polycarbonate, cycloolefin polymer, polyetherimide, polyethersulfone, polyetheretherketone, and liquid crystal polymer. Conductive agents such as conductive carbon, conductive fibers, metal fibers, and conductive polymers, various antistatic agents, ultraviolet absorbers, and the like may be added to the thermoplastic resin as appropriate.

(ventilation opening)
Next, the ventilation openings 21m and 21n, which are essential parts of the present disclosure, will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. FIG.

The lid 20 has ventilation openings 21m and 21n on at least one of the side portions 21c to 21f. When provided on the side portions 21c and 21d of the lid body 20, the side portions 21c and 21d are provided with not only a retracting hole 21h through which the locking claw 25 of the locking mechanism 24 retracts, but also ventilation openings 21m and 21n. It will be. The ventilation openings 21m and 21n allow the inside and outside of the lid 20 to communicate with each other in the same manner as the retraction hole 21h. Therefore, when cleaning the lid 20, cleaning water flows into the lid 20 from the ventilation openings 21m and 21n in addition to the four holes 21h formed in the side surfaces 21c and 21d of the lid 20. Also, during drying after washing, washing water flows out from the ventilation openings 21m and 21n in addition to the four inlet/outlet holes 21h.

With such ventilation openings 21m and 21n, the area of the opening that communicates the inside and outside of the lid 20 is increased. Breathability can also be improved. In addition, since the ventilation openings 21m and 21n are formed in one of the side portions 21c to 21f instead of the front portion 21a of the lid 20, water remains inside the side portions 21c to 21f of the lid 20. can be suppressed. In particular, when the lid 20 is stood upright to dry, if the side portions 21c to 21f where the ventilation openings 21m and 21n are formed are placed downward, the cleaning water remaining inside the lid 20 can be quickly drained. be able to.

The ventilation openings 21m and 21n are preferably provided on at least one side of the upper side portion 21c and the lower side portion 21d among the four side portions 21c to 21f. With this configuration, the ventilation openings 21m and 21n are formed in the upper side surface portion 21c or the lower side surface portion 21d, which tends to be on the lower side when the lid 20 is stood upright for drying. It is possible to improve the efficiency of water drainage when drying by drying. In addition, since the upper side surface portion 21c and the lower side surface portion 21d are provided with retractable holes 21h, the opening areas of the side surface portions 21c and 21d are expanded together with the retractable holes 21h, and the drainage efficiency and air permeability are further improved. can be made

The ventilation openings 21m and 21n are provided on the upper side surface 21c and the lower side surface 21d of the four side surfaces 21c to 21f, and/or on the left side surface 21e and the right side surface 21f. It is preferably provided. In other words, the ventilation openings 21m and 21n are preferably provided in at least two opposing side portions 21c to 21f among the four side portions 21c to 21f. In this way, the air passes straight through the inside and outside of the lid 20, so that the ventilation of the lid 20 can be further improved.

It is preferable that the opening ratio of the ventilation openings 21m and 21n of one of the side portions 21c to 21f provided with the ventilation openings 21m and 21n is 30 to 80%. In other words, S1 is the area of one of the four side portions 21c to 21f in which the ventilation openings 21m and 21n are provided, and the area of the ventilation openings 21m and 21n in the one side portion 21c to 21f is defined as S1. S2/S1 is preferably between 0.3 and 0.8, where S2 is the opening area. The reason is that if S2/S1 is less than 0.3, the drainage efficiency and air permeability of the lid 20 are not sufficiently improved. This is because the strength is lowered.

The ventilation openings 21m and 21n of this embodiment are rectangular in shape, and are provided in plurality on one side surface 21c to 21f. Specifically, the upper side surface portion 21c and the lower side surface portion 21d are provided between a pair of the insertion/removal holes 21h with one ventilation opening 21m wider than the insertion/removal hole 21h and a ventilation opening 21m wider than the insertion/removal hole 21h. It has two narrow ventilation openings 21n. In this way, compared with the case where the same opening area is realized by one ventilation opening, the decrease in strength can be suppressed.

The ventilation openings 21m and 21n are formed at positions avoiding the reinforcing ribs 21j. In this way, the required opening area can be ensured while maintaining the reinforcing effect of the reinforcing ribs 21j.

Although each embodiment has been described in detail above, it is not limited to a specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope described in the claims. It is also possible to combine all or more of the constituent elements of the above-described embodiments.

For example, the opening shape of the ventilation openings is not limited to the rectangular ventilation openings 21m and 21n as in the above embodiment. For example, a circular ventilation opening 21p shown in FIG. 6 or a slit-shaped ventilation opening 21q shown in FIG. 7 may be used. Also, the number of ventilation openings formed in one side surface portion 21c to 21f is not limited to three in the above embodiment, and may be two or less. Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the number may be four or more. In this case, compared to other embodiments, the rigidity of the lid can be efficiently increased.

1 Substrate storage container 10 Container main body 10a Locking hole 11 Opening 12 Seal surface 13 Support member 14 Robotic flange 15 Manual handle 18 Air supply valve 19 Exhaust valve 20 Lid 21 Lid main body 21a Front surface 21b Rear surface 21c Side surface 21d Side portion 21e Side portion 21f Side portion 21g Locking operation hole 21h Escape hole (locking means opening)
21i reinforcing rib 21j reinforcing rib (rib)
21m ventilation opening 21n ventilation opening 21p ventilation opening 21q ventilation opening 22 front plate 23 rear plate 24 locking mechanism (locking means)
25 locking claw 26 rotating plate 27 connecting plate 30 front retainer W substrate

Claims (6)

A substrate storage container used in a semiconductor manufacturing process,
a container body for housing the substrate;
a lid detachably attachable to the open front of the container body,
The lid has a side portion and locking means for locking and closing the opening of the container body with the container body,
The side portion has a locking means opening in which the locking means can move back and forth, and a ventilation opening,
The lid has ribs on the back surface of the side surface,
The substrate storage container , wherein the ventilation opening is formed at a position avoiding the rib . 2. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein said ventilation opening is provided on at least one of an upper side and a lower side of said side surface portion. 2. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein said ventilation openings are provided on each of upper and lower sides of said side surface and/or on left and right sides of said side surface. S2/S1 is 0.3 to 0.8, where S1 is the area of one side of the side surface where the ventilation opening is provided, and S2 is the opening area of the ventilation opening on the one side. The substrate storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is between 5. The substrate storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an opening shape of said ventilation opening is circular, rectangular, or slit-shaped. The substrate storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a plurality of said ventilation openings are provided on at least one side of said side surface portion.

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