JPH05160249A - Wafer carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce liquid residue on a carrier by forming a notch part which is U-shaped in the bottom direction on a top plane extended at the right angle to the vertical direction on a wafer storing part front edge wall and forming a recessed part at the bottom of the notched part so as to permit the wafer storing part inner edge to be arranged upper than the outer edge. CONSTITUTION:A carrier 1 which stores a wafer is taken out from liquid such as processing liquid into a wafer storing part 2 which is surrounded by a wafer storing part side wall 7 and wafer storing part front and rear edge walls 4, 5a and 5b. At that time, the liquid on a cut plane 4b flows to the bottom of a notched part 4a along the cut plane 4b by the U-shaped inclination and flows down to the outside of the wafer storing part 2 along the inclined plane of a recessed part 4c provided at the bottom of the notched part 4. Therefore, when the carrier 1 is taken out from the liquid such as processing liquid, the liquid is efficiently exhausted from the cut plane 4b and the recessed part 4c and liquid residue is reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer transfer carrier in which a wafer, which is a base material for forming a semiconductor integrated circuit, is accommodated when the wafer is transferred.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 7, a carrier 50 for accommodating a silicon wafer has a pair of wafer accommodating section side walls 52 having a wafer accommodating groove 52a on the inner wall surface.
And the end walls 53 and 54 connecting the opposite end portions of the side walls 52 at the front and rear ends in the wafer arrangement direction. The wafer is surrounded by the side wall 52 and the end walls 53 and 54. The storage portion 51 is formed. In such a wafer storage portion 51, for example, 25 wafers are arranged at substantially equal intervals with the circular surfaces of the respective wafers arranged parallel to the vertical direction and the circular surfaces facing each other. The inner wall surfaces of the pair of wafer storage portion side walls 52 are curved, and the lower half of the wafer is supported by the curved portions. Therefore, an opening 51a is formed at the bottom of the wafer storage portion 51 facing the wafer storage opening into which the wafer is inserted so as to penetrate the inside and the outside of the wafer storage portion 51. In addition, the carrier transfer device grips the carrier 50 when transferring the carrier 50 in which the wafers are stored. The handle 55 is formed.

When a wafer is housed in the carrier 50 having the above-described structure, for example, when the wafer is subjected to etching processing, the carrier 50 housing the wafer is immersed in a processing solution or the like, and the wafer is subjected to predetermined processing. Is given. Then, after a lapse of a predetermined time, the carrier 50 containing the wafer is pulled out from the processing liquid or the like. When the carrier 50 is pulled up from the processing liquid or the like, the processing liquid or the like in the wafer storage portion 51 is efficiently drained from the opening 51a, and the processing liquid or the like does not significantly remain in the wafer storage portion 51.

On the other hand, the upper surface 53a of the end walls 53 and 54.
And 54a are conventionally horizontal planes extending in the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, that is, horizontal planes that are parallel to the liquid surface of the treatment liquid or the like when the carrier 50 is taken out from the treatment liquid or the like, and This is the part where liquid etc. is likely to remain. Therefore, when the carrier 50 containing the wafer is taken out from the processing liquid or the like, the conventional carrier 50 has the upper surface 5
There is a problem that the liquid is not efficiently drained from 3a and 54a, and the treatment liquid and the like remain on the upper surfaces 53a and 54a. Particularly, when the number of wafers to be stored in the carrier is increased, it is necessary to increase the plate thickness of the strength upper end walls 53 and 54, and as a result, the area of the upper surfaces 53a and 54a of the end walls 53 and 54 increases. However, there is a problem that the treatment liquid and the like are more likely to remain.

The residual treatment liquid or the like on the carrier 50 accelerates the reduction of the treatment liquid or the like in the treatment liquid tank or the like in which the treatment liquid or the like is stored, and further, it is necessary to clean the wafer after the treatment. This will cause obstacles such as increasing the amount of water used. The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wafer transfer carrier in which the amount of remaining liquid such as a processing liquid and a cleaning liquid is smaller than that of a conventional carrier.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a pair of side walls of a wafer accommodating portion having a wafer accommodating groove in an inner wall surface and facing each other, and the side walls facing each other at front and rear end portions in the wafer arrangement direction of the side walls. And a wafer storage part front and rear end walls for connecting the respective end portions of the wafer storage part, and a wafer transfer for storing the wafers from the upper side to the lower side in the wafer storage part surrounded by the wafer storage part side wall and the wafer storage part front and rear end walls. In the carrier for wafers, a substantially U-shaped cutout is formed downward on an upper surface of the front end wall of the wafer storage portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, and the inside edge of the wafer storage portion is formed at the bottom of the cutout. It is characterized in that an inclined concave portion is formed so as to be arranged above the outer edge of the wafer storage portion.

The notch acts so that, for example, when the wafer transfer carrier is taken out from the processing liquid or the like, the processing liquid or the like on the upper surface of the notch flows down to the bottom side along the roughly U-shaped inclined surface. Furthermore, the recessed portion provided at the bottom of the notch acts so that the processing liquid or the like that has flowed down along the notch flows out to the outside of the wafer housing. Therefore, the notch and the recess function so that the liquid can be efficiently discharged from the front end wall of the wafer storage portion.

Further, according to the present invention, in the above structure, the inner edge of the wafer storage portion is located above the outer edge of the wafer storage portion on the upper surface of the rear end wall of the wafer storage portion extending in the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction. You may comprise so that it may be an inclined surface inclined so that it may be arrange | positioned.

Further, according to the present invention, in the above structure, an inner edge of the wafer housing portion is arranged above an outer edge of the wafer housing portion on an upper surface of the sidewall of the wafer housing portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction. It may be configured to have an inclined surface.

With this structure, the inclined surface of the rear wall of the wafer storage portion or the side wall of the wafer storage portion acts so as to efficiently drain the liquid to the outside of the wafer storage portion.

Further, according to the present invention, a pair of opposing side walls of a wafer storage portion having a wafer storage groove on the inner wall surface and respective end portions of the side walls facing each other at front and rear end portions of the side walls in the wafer arrangement direction are connected to each other. A wafer transfer carrier for storing wafers from the upper side to the lower side in a wafer storage portion surrounded by the side wall of the wafer storage portion and the front and rear end walls of the wafer storage portion. The upper surface extending in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction in either the side wall of the wafer storage unit or the front and rear end walls of the wafer storage unit is inclined so that the inner edge of the wafer storage unit is located above the outer edge of the wafer storage unit. It is characterized by being an inclined surface.

With this structure, the upper surface extending in the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction on either the side wall of the wafer storage portion or the front and rear end walls of the wafer storage portion efficiently flows the liquid to the outside of the wafer storage portion. It acts like a drop.

[0013]

EXAMPLE The material constituting the carrier in this example is a fluororesin rich in water repellency, like the conventional constitutive material of the carrier. As a method for producing the carrier, one fluororesin body is cut and processed. There are three methods, that is, by injection molding, and by dividing and assembling cutting and injection molding. 1 to 6
Shows a carrier manufactured by the above cutting process.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the carrier 1 is opposed to a pair of side walls 7 of the wafer accommodating section having a large number of wafer accommodating grooves 6 on the inner wall surface, and front and rear ends of the side walls 7 in the wafer arrangement direction. It is composed of a front end wall 4 and a rear end wall 5 that connect the respective end portions. In addition, the pair of wafer storage portion side walls 7, the front end wall 4 and the rear end wall 5 form the wafer storage portion 2
An opening 2a is formed in a bottom portion of the wafer storage portion 2 facing the wafer storage opening so as to penetrate the inside and the outside of the wafer storage portion 2. Further, a handle 3 is formed along the side wall 7 of the wafer storage portion on the wafer storage port side of each side wall 7 of the wafer storage portion. In order to reduce the weight of the carrier 1 and the like, the rear end wall 5 is provided with a generally rectangular opening 5g penetrating the inside and the outside of the wafer storage portion 2 as shown in FIGS. A first rear end wall 5a and a second rear end wall 5b are formed parallel to each other. Further, in order to reduce the weight of the carrier 1 and improve the drainage efficiency of the wafer storage unit 2, each wafer storage unit side wall 7 has a rectangular opening along the wafer arrangement direction as shown in FIGS. 7a and the opening 7b are opened at an appropriate interval.

The carrier 1 shown in this embodiment can accommodate 50 wafers, and the weight of transferred wafers is increased due to the increase in the number of wafers stored in the carrier 50 of the conventional carrier 50. In order to maintain the structural strength, the plate thickness t1 of the front end wall 4 and the plate thickness t2 of the first rear end wall 5a and the second rear end wall 5b both correspond to those of the conventional carrier 50 for storing 25 wafers. It is made thicker than the plate thickness of the side walls 53 and 54. In the front end wall 4, as shown in FIG. 2, the front end wall 4 is formed in the wafer storage portion 2 due to a cutting operation for forming a wafer storage groove 6 into which a wafer is inserted on the inner wall surface of the wafer storage portion side wall 7. The width W of the carrier 1 is approximately equal to the width W thereof, and the upper surface of the carrier 1 on the wafer storage port side is cut out in an arc shape having a substantially U shape. The above U
The concept of the V-shape also includes the above-mentioned arc shape and, for example, a V-shape.

A U-shaped notch 4 in the front end wall 4
Although the cutting surface 4b of a is a surface along the horizontal direction, the tangent line to the arc of the cutout 4a is such that the processing liquid or the like does not remain on the cutting surface 4b when the carrier 1 is taken out from the processing liquid or the like. As shown in FIG. 5, the bottom of the notch 4a, which is within a predetermined range with respect to the horizontal contact point, has an inclined surface that is inclined downward from the inner edge of the wafer storage portion to the outer edge thereof. The recess 4c is formed over the plate thickness t1. Therefore, when the carrier 1 is taken out from the liquid such as the processing liquid, the liquid on the cutting surface 4b flows along the cutting surface 4b to the bottom of the notch 4a due to the inclination due to the U shape, and is provided on the bottom. The water flows down along the inclined surface of the recess 4c to the outside of the wafer storage unit 2. Therefore, for example, when the carrier 1 is taken out from a liquid such as a treatment liquid, the cutting surface 4b and the recess 4c in the front end wall 4 are removed.
Then, the liquid is efficiently discharged and the liquid is less likely to remain.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the first rear end wall 5
The upper surface 5c at a is inclined in the downward direction from the inside to the outside of the wafer storage unit 2. Therefore, when the carrier 1 is taken out from the liquid such as the processing liquid, the liquid on the upper surface 5c flows down to the outside of the wafer housing portion 2, and the liquid rarely remains on the upper surface 5c. The lower surface 5d of the first rear end wall 5a is located on the vertical direction side of the first rear end wall 5a, and for example, when the carrier 1 is taken out from the processing liquid or the like, the liquid does not collect and therefore the inclined surface is Not formed.

Further, as for the upper surface 5e of the second rear end wall 5b, if the carrier 1 is taken out of the liquid such as the processing liquid, the liquid is likely to collect on the upper surface 5e as it is as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. The upper surface 5e is inclined in the downward direction from the inside of the wafer storage unit 2 to the outside. Therefore, for example, when the carrier 1 is taken out from a liquid such as a processing liquid, the liquid on the upper surface 5e flows down toward the outside of the wafer housing portion 2 and the liquid rarely remains on the upper surface 5e. The lower surface 5f of the second rear end wall 5b is located on the vertical side of the second rear end wall 5b, and when the carrier 1 is taken out of the processing liquid or the like, the liquid does not collect, and thus an inclined surface is formed. Not not.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface 3a of the handle 3 located on the wafer storage port side is formed in a triangular mountain shape so as to be convex toward the wafer storage port.
Therefore, for example, when the carrier 1 is taken out from the liquid such as the processing liquid, the liquid on the upper surface 3a flows down toward the outer side of the wafer housing 2 and the inner side of the wafer housing 2, and the liquid remains on the upper surface 3a. Is few. still,
The liquid that has flown down toward the inside of the wafer storage unit 2 flows down along the inner wall of the wafer storage unit 2 toward the opening 2a at the bottom of the carrier 1, and then flows out from the opening 2a to the outside of the wafer storage unit 2.

Openings 7 formed in the side wall 7 of each wafer storage portion
Similarly to the upper surfaces of the first rear end wall 5a and the second rear end wall 5b in the a and the opening 7b, the lower opening wall 7c in the openings 7a and 7b located on the side of the opening 2a in the bottom of the carrier 1 is described. As shown in FIG. 6, 7 and 7d are inclined in the downward direction from the inside of the wafer housing 2 to the outside of the wafer housing 2. Therefore, for example, when the carrier 1 is taken out from the liquid such as the processing liquid, the liquid in the lower opening walls 7c and 7d flows down toward the outer side of the wafer housing portion 2, and the liquid remains in the lower opening walls 7c and 7d. Is few. The upper opening walls 7e and 7f, which are the facing surfaces of the lower opening walls 7c and 7d, are located on the vertical side of the side wall 7 of the wafer accommodating portion, and when the carrier 1 is taken out from the liquid such as the processing liquid, No slope is formed because it does not accumulate.

As described above, all the surfaces of the carrier 1 in the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, on which the liquid may remain when the carrier 1 is taken out of the liquid such as the processing liquid, are inclined. As a result, the liquid is less likely to remain on the surface when the carrier 1 is taken out from the liquid.

The case where the carrier 1 is manufactured by cutting from one fluororesin body has been described above, but the technical idea described above can be similarly applied to the case of injection molding and combination molding. It is preferable that all surfaces that are in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction and in which the liquid is likely to remain when the carrier 1 is taken out from the liquid such as the processing liquid are inclined. Since the U-shaped notch 4a in the front end wall 4 is formed by the cutting method, the front end wall 4 is described above in the carrier manufactured by the injection molding and combining method. The first rear end wall 5a and the second rear end wall 5b may have the same structure.

[0023]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, a substantially U-shaped notch is formed downward on the upper surface of the front end wall of the wafer accommodating portion extending perpendicularly to the vertical direction, and the notch is formed. Since a concave portion is formed in the bottom portion of the wafer storage portion so that the inner edge of the wafer storage portion is located above the outer edge of the wafer storage portion, the vertical side wall of the wafer storage portion or the front and rear end walls of the wafer storage portion is formed. Since the upper surface extending in the direction perpendicular to the direction is an inclined surface so that the inner edge of the wafer storage portion is located above the outer edge of the wafer storage portion, for example, a wafer transfer carrier is taken out from the liquid. At this time, the liquid on the front and rear wall surfaces of the wafer storage portion and the side wall of the wafer storage portion of the carrier for wafer transfer, or the liquid on the front and rear wall surfaces of the wafer storage portion or the side wall of the wafer storage portion is stored along the concave portion or the inclined surface Since flows down to the outside, it is possible to reduce the residual amount of liquid in the wafer transfer carrier.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a wafer transfer carrier according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the wafer transfer carrier of the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the wafer transfer carrier of the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the wafer transfer carrier of the present invention shown in FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA shown in FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional wafer transfer carrier.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Carrier, 3a ... Handle upper surface, 4 ... Front end wall, 4a ... Notch, 4c ... Recessed part, 5 ... Rear end wall, 5a ... 1st rear end wall, 5b
... Second rear end wall, 5c and 5e ... Upper surface, 7 ... Wafer housing side wall, 7c and 7d ... Lower opening wall.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pair of wafer storage portion side walls (7) having wafer storage grooves (6) on the inner wall surface and facing each other, and the side walls (7) facing each other at front and rear ends of the side walls (7) in the wafer arrangement direction. ) Front and rear end walls (4,5
a, 5b), and the wafer is housed in the wafer housing part (2) surrounded by the side wall (7) of the wafer housing part and the front and rear end walls (4, 5a, 5b) of the wafer housing part from above to below. In the wafer transfer carrier to be housed, a substantially U-shaped notch (4) is formed downward in the upper surface of the wafer housing portion front end wall (4) extending perpendicularly to the vertical direction.
a), and a recessed portion (4c) is formed at the bottom of the notch (4a) so that the inner edge of the wafer storage portion is located above the outer edge of the wafer storage portion. Wafer transfer carrier. 2. The wafer storage unit rear end wall (5a and 5b) has an upper surface extending in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, the wafer storage unit inner edge being located above the wafer storage unit outer edge. 2. The carrier for wafer transfer according to claim 1, wherein the inclined surfaces (5c and 5e) are inclined. 3. An upper surface of the side wall (7) of the wafer housing portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction is inclined so that an inner edge of the wafer housing portion is located above an outer edge of the wafer housing portion. The carrier for wafer transfer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the carrier is an inclined surface (3a, 7c, 7d). 4. A pair of side walls (7) of a wafer storage portion facing each other having a wafer storage groove (6) on the inner wall surface, and the side walls (7) facing each other at front and rear ends of the side walls (7) in the wafer arrangement direction. ) Front and rear end walls (4,5
a, 5b), and the wafer is housed in the wafer housing part (2) surrounded by the side wall (7) of the wafer housing part and the front and rear end walls (4, 5a, 5b) of the wafer housing part from above to below. In the wafer transfer carrier to be stored, the wafer storage portion side wall (7), the wafer storage portion front and rear end walls
In any one of (4, 5a, 5b), the upper surface extending in the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction is an inclined surface that is inclined so that the inner edge of the wafer storage section is located above the outer edge of the wafer storage section. A carrier for wafer transfer characterized by the following.