JPH04269751A - Storage container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the washing away and removing of the stains sticking to the surfaces of reticules in particular with the storage container for storing the materials to be stored, such as reticules and masks. CONSTITUTION:The storage container is constituted by including a container body 21 which has a freely openable and closable door 21a and houses and stores the materials 11 to be stored, a spraying means 31 which atomizes a supplied liquid 14 to a misty form and sprays this liquid into the container body 21 storing the materials 11 to be stored and a discharge means 33 for discharging the liquid 14 accumulated in the container body 21.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a storage container for storing objects to be stored, such as exposure reticles and masks (hereinafter referred to as reticles), and in particular, to cleaning reticles from dirt that adheres to their surfaces during storage. Concerning storage containers that can be removed by

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Next, a conventional storage container for storing an object to be stored, such as a reticle, will be explained with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view for explaining a conventional storage container. In this specification, the same parts, materials, etc. are given the same reference numerals throughout the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, a conventional storage container includes a container body 21 having a door 21a that can be opened and closed, and a ventilation hole 22.
Placement shelves 2 arranged inside the container body 21 with dots a
2 and a gas tank (not shown) storing a gas with extremely low dust and moisture content, such as nitrogen gas 13,
It was configured to include a gas introduction pipe 23 that continuously blows out nitrogen gas 13 into the container body 21, and a gas exhaust pipe 24 that discharges the nitrogen gas 13 from inside the container body 21 to the outside.

To store the reticle 11 in the storage container 21, the holder 12 holding the reticle 11 vertically is placed on a shelf 22 horizontally disposed inside the container 21. After that, the door 21a is closed to seal the inside of the container body 21, and the nitrogen gas 13 is continuously introduced into the container body 21 from the gas introduction pipe 23.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The reticle 11 is prepared using an acid such as concentrated sulfuric acid (H2SO4) in order to dissolve and remove the residue of the resist (not shown) used in the manufacturing process.
) for several minutes. Thereafter, the reticle 11 is immersed in pure water to remove sulfuric acid adhering to its surface.

However, a very small amount of sulfuric acid remains on the surface of the reticle 11 manufactured in this way, and when the reticle 11 is used as a mask, the transparent surface of the reticle 11 is damaged by the ultraviolet rays received by the reticle 11. It became clear that the color changed and the transmittance of ultraviolet rays decreased.

A subsequent investigation revealed that the sulfuric acid remaining on the surface of the reticle 11 could be removed by immersing the reticle 11 in pure water for a long period of time to the extent that the above-mentioned discoloration did not occur. It was necessary to introduce a new immersion vessel (not shown), for example in the form of a bathtub, with which water could be supplied and drained.

[0008] For this reason, there are problems in that the installation cost of the immersion container and the space for installing the immersion container are additionally required within the clean room. The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and its purpose is to provide a storage container that can wash away dirt adhering to the surface of a reticle while it is being stored.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The object is to provide a container body 21 which has a door 21a which can be opened and closed as shown in FIG. and a spraying means 31 for spraying into the container body 21 in which the stored object 11 is stored, and the liquid 1 accumulated in the container body 21.
This is achieved by a storage container characterized in that it includes a discharge means 34 for discharging the liquid.

0010

[Function] In the storage container of the present invention, a liquid, for example, pure water 1
4 is configured to be sprayed in a mist form. therefore,
Pure water 1 is placed inside the container body 21 in which the reticle 11 is stored.
4 is atomized and sprayed by the ultrasonic humidifier 31, the surface of the reticle 11 is wetted with the pure water 14, and the reticle 1
Dirt, such as sulfuric acid, adhering to the surface of 1 will be washed away.

As described above, the storage container of the present invention has the storage function of storing the reticle 11 possessed by the conventional storage container explained with reference to FIG. It also has the function of being able to be placed in the room.

Therefore, the storage container of the present invention removes sulfuric acid adhering to the surface of the reticle 11 during storage, making it unnecessary to introduce the conventional storage container and the above-mentioned immersion container.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention for storing objects to be stored, such as reticles, will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view for explaining a storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention is constructed based on the conventional storage container explained with reference to FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. A container body 21 having a container body 21, a mounting shelf 22 arranged inside the container body 21 with ventilation holes 22a dotted therewith which also have the function of water passage holes, and a water supply communicating with a pure water tank (not shown). A spraying means, for example, an ultrasonic humidifier 31 that atomizes the pure water 14 supplied from the pipe 32 and sprays it into the container body 21 through the spray pipe 33; After the ventilation hole 22 of the mounting shelf 22
It consists of a drain pipe 34 for draining the pure water 14 flowing down from a.

Thus, the holder 1 with the reticle 11 vertically accommodated on the shelf 22 of the storage container according to one embodiment of the present invention.
2 is placed, the ultrasonic humidifier 31 atomizes pure water 14 into the container body 21 sealed with the door 21a, and the atomized pure water 14 continuously adheres to the surface of the reticle 11. At the same time, it flows down from the surface and reticle 1
Dirt, such as sulfuric acid, adhering to the surface of 1 will be washed away and removed.

As described above, the storage container according to one embodiment of the present invention has the storage function of storing the reticle 11 that the conventional storage container described with reference to FIG. It also has the function of being able to be immersed in pure water 14 for a long time.

Therefore, the storage container of the present invention removes sulfuric acid adhering to the surface of the reticle 11 while it is being stored, eliminates the need for the conventional storage container and the above-mentioned immersion container, and also eliminates the need for the expensive immersion container. It also becomes unnecessary to expand the area occupied by the installation in the clean room.

[0018]

As described above, the present invention can provide a storage container that has both the function of storing a reticle and the function of washing away dirt from the surface of the reticle while it is being stored. Therefore, the storage container of the present invention does not require the introduction of conventional storage containers and immersion containers, making it possible to reduce equipment investment costs and make effective use of clean rooms.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view for explaining a storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view for explaining a conventional storage container.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 is an object to be stored (reticle), 12 is a holder, 13 is a gas (nitrogen gas), 14 is pure water, 21 is a container body, 21a is a door, 22 is a mounting shelf, 22a is a , ventilation hole; 23 is a gas introduction pipe; 24 is a gas discharge pipe; 31 is a spraying means (ultrasonic humidifier); 32 is a water supply pipe; 33 is a spray pipe; 34 is a drain pipe. .

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A container body (21) which has a door (21a) that can be opened and closed and which stores and stores an object to be stored (11), and a container body (21) that atomizes the supplied liquid (14) and stores the object to be stored (11). thing(
11) into the container body (21) in which the liquid is stored, and a discharge means (34) to discharge the liquid (14) accumulated in the container body (21). A storage container characterized by: