JPH01274446A - Wafer holding basket - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent contact of the mirror surface of a wafer with separately provided ribs in conveying and in transportation in a pattern housed in a case and to protect the wafer from contamination and breakdown, by providing a groove in a flexible supporting mechanism, and shifting the central line of the groove from the central line of the interval between ribs. CONSTITUTION:A wafer W is insered into a gap between separately provided ribs 16 and 17 from the open upper part of a basket 1. The wafer is supported with flexible supporting mechanisms 18 and 19. A groove 21 is provided so that it is shifted from a central line 22 between the separately provided ribs 16. Since the wafer W is supported on the bottom of such a groove 21, the wafer W is inclined so that only one surface is in contact with the separately provided rib 16. Therefore, the mirror surface of the wafer W is held in the basket 1 in the non-contact state. Since vibration in conveying the wafer W is absorbed with the flexible supporting mechanism 18, shock is not applied to the wafer, and breakdown is prevented.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention protects semiconductor wafers from contamination when they are transported within a processing process, and protects them from damage and contamination when they are transported in a case. This invention relates to a wafer holding basket.

[Conventional technology]

Semiconductor wafers are held in baskets with one side mirror-polished and transported between processing steps, and are also transported in the same state in cases. As a conventional wafer holding basket, the top and bottom surfaces are open, a pair of opposing side walls are curved inward on the bottom side, the left and right ends of the side walls are connected by an end wall, and both inner surfaces of the side walls are connected. A type is used in which a plurality of spacing ribs are provided facing each other, and wafers are inserted between the spacing ribs to hold a large number of wafers in parallel. Further, as a conventional wafer transport case, a case in which such a wafer holding basket is housed in a box and covered with a lid is used.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

When using such traditional wafer holding baskets,
There was a problem in that the mirror surface of the wafer came into contact with the spacing ribs and the mirror surface was contaminated. Contamination is primarily caused by adhesion of particles from the plastic material that makes up the spacing ribs. Furthermore, in conventional wafer transport cases, when the lid is closed, each wafer does not come into contact with the spacing ribs due to the action of the wafer retainer provided in the lid, but when the lid is open, each wafer comes into contact with the spacing ribs. The mirror surface is still contaminated.

An object of the present invention is to protect the wafer from contamination and damage by preventing the mirror surface of the wafer from coming into contact with the spacer ribs, both when the wafer is transported within a processing process and when it is transported in a case. shall be.

[Means to solve the problem]

A specific example of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the wafer holding basket of the present invention has an open top surface and a bottom surface 11, and a pair of opposing side walls 12 and 13 that are curved inward on the bottom surface 11 side. 12.13
The left and right ends of the
A plurality of spaced-apart ribs 16, 17 are provided oppositely on the side inner surface of the side wall 12.13, and a flexible support mechanism 18.19 is provided at the end of the side wall 12.13 on the bottom side 11. The flexible support mechanism 18.19 is provided with a plurality of grooves 21, as shown in FIG. They are staggered.

[For production]

The wafers W are loaded from the open top of the cage shown in FIG. Mechanism 1
Supported by 8.19. In addition, one end wall 15 on the car
is open for taking out the wafer W with an automatic machine or a vacuum bin set, and an indexing bar 20 extends in the middle.

Figure 1 A-A shows the state in which wafers are held on the basket.
When shown in a partial cross section, as shown in FIG.
Since the wafer W is supported by the flexible support mechanism 18 at the bottom of the groove 21 which is provided offset from the center line 22 between each rib, the wafer W is tilted so that only one side has the spaced apart ribs. Contact with 16. The inclination of the wafer W is determined by the spacing rib 1
If 6 and 17 are tilted as shown in Fig. 3, it will be more reliable. Therefore, the mirror surface of the wafer W is held on the cage in a non-contact state. Further, since vibrations generated when the wafer W is transported between processing steps are absorbed by the flexible support mechanism 18, no impact is applied to the wafer W, and damage to the wafer W is prevented.

The top of the basket supporting the wafers W is housed in a box holder as shown in FIG. 4, and can be transported by attaching M↓ as shown in FIG. Reference numeral 31 in FIG. 4 is a guide for guiding the top of the car when storing the top of the car.

The retaining convex portions 43 and 44 of the black clay are the box main δ engaging concave portions 32°33
When engaged, the top of the car is fixed by the guide 31 inside the box owner and the presser 41 inside M↓. The tool W has a flexible support mechanism 18.19 and a wafer holder 42 in the clay.
It is fixed in the vertical direction by At this time, the back surface of the wafer is also held in a non-contact state with the spacing ribs 16 and 17 due to the positional relationship with the wafer holder 42. This state is shown in FIG. 6. If the flexible support mechanism 18 is of a discontinuous type divided at the spacer rib 16 as shown in FIG. 6, each wafer W is supported independently. Because
Even if there is a part where the wafer is not inserted, the holding effect will not be affected by this.

〔Effect of the invention〕

By using the wafer holding basket of the present invention, the mirror surface of the wafer can be held in a non-contact state, both when transporting the wafer within the processing process and when transporting the wafer in a case. Therefore, the wafer can be protected from contamination and damage.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of a wafer holding basket of the present invention;
Figures 2 and 3 are partial cross-sectional views of the wafer holding basket of the present invention, and Figure 4 shows a box that serves as a case for transporting wafers using the wafer holding basket of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the lid, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the state of wafers housed in the case. Top: Basket, 11: Bottom, 12.11 Side wall, 14.15:
End wall, 16. 17: Spacing rib, 18° 19: Flexible support mechanism, 20: Index bar, 21: Groove, 22: Center line,
1 box, 31 guide, 32, 33: engagement recess, soil: lid,
41: Holder, 42: Wafer presser, 43. 41 Engagement convex portion. Patent applicant: Nippon Steel Corporation and one other person Figure 4 Figure 5/d 2/

Claims (1)

[Claims] The top and bottom surfaces are open, a pair of opposing side walls are curved inward on the bottom side, the left and right ends of the side walls are connected by an end wall, and a plurality of spaced holes are formed on both inner surfaces of the side walls. ribs are provided oppositely, a flexible support feature is provided at the bottom end of the sidewall, and a centerline of the groove of the flexible support feature and a centerline between the spacing ribs are provided. A wafer holding basket characterized by being provided in a staggered manner.