JPH05291386A - Wafer case - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce foreign substance caused by contacting a wafer with a groove part by a method wherein a contact area of the groove part on the wafer side for the wafer is made small. CONSTITUTION:A wafer case 1 contains a wafer 2 positioned by a groove part 4 provided in an inner peripheral part, the groove part 4 for the wafer 2 is partially provided to make small the contact area for the wafer 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique relating to the shape of a wafer case, and more particularly to a technique effective for reducing the generation of foreign matter caused by taking a wafer in and out of the case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor manufacturing process, when a predetermined processing (or processing) is performed on each wafer, several tens of wafers are placed in a wafer case and one of the wafers is processed. Is pulled out by a manual or automatic robot and conveyed to a processing position (or processing position).

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a conventional wafer case.

The wafer case 1 is usually formed in a box shape by molding using a plastic-based material, a fluororesin-based material, or the like, and the surfaces on both sides facing the wafer 2 (front and rear surfaces in the drawing).
And the bottom surface (opening for pushing up the wafer 2 from below) are cut. Grooves 3 (for example, a depth of 2 mm) for holding the peripheral edge of the wafer 2 are formed on the inner side wall at regular intervals (front-back direction in the drawing). Further, projections 1a are horizontally formed on both ends (right and left ends in the figure) of the upper part of the wafer case 1 so that an instrument (jig) or the like can be engaged during transportation.

[0005]

According to the study of the present inventor, in the technique of storing a wafer in a case such that the wafer is fitted in the groove, rubbing between the peripheral edge of the wafer and the inner wall of the groove of the case can be avoided. However, there is a possibility that foreign matter (a minute chip on the wafer, etc.) may occur due to the contact. For example, when the process applied to the wafer is pattern printing, if the foreign matter is on the pattern, a product defect will occur. Such a problem becomes more serious as the pattern interval becomes narrower.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a wafer case capable of reducing foreign matters caused by contact between a wafer and a groove.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0008]

Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, a brief description will be given to the outline of typical ones.
It is as follows.

That is, in a wafer case for accommodating a wafer in a state where the groove is provided in the inner peripheral portion, a means for reducing the contact area of the groove with the wafer is provided.

[0010]

According to the above means, the contact area of the groove with the wafer is reduced. Therefore, the generation of foreign matter due to contact is reduced, and the quality of the product can be improved.

[0011]

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 is a front view showing a first embodiment of a wafer case according to the present invention. In addition, in FIG.
The same reference numerals have been used for the same elements as those, so that the duplicate description will be omitted here.

The present embodiment is characterized in that the groove portion 4 having a plurality of groove portions 4 (three in this embodiment) having a length of several cm in contact with the wafer 2 is provided. With such a configuration, the area of the groove portion that contacts the wafer 2 can be extremely reduced.

As a result, it is possible to extremely reduce the generation of foreign matter, and thus to reduce the adhesion of foreign matter to the wafer 2.

[0014]

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 2 is a front view showing a second embodiment of the wafer case according to the present invention.

In this embodiment, the wafer case 1 having the structure shown in FIG. 5 is used.
In the above, the feature is that the groove portion 5 in which only the depth of the groove portion 3 is approximately halved is provided while keeping the entire shape as it is. By doing so, the contact area between the wafer 2 and the wafer case 1 can be halved, and the chance of foreign matter generation can be halved.

[0016]

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing details of a groove portion of a third embodiment of a wafer case according to the present invention.

In the present embodiment, in at least one of the structures shown in FIG.
It is characterized in that one protrusion 6 (for example, a hemispherical protrusion) is provided. Here, the distance between the protrusions 6 is set to be the conventional inter-groove distance (however, the distance between the outer surfaces of the groove portions 3 is the same as the conventional one).

With such a structure, the conventional example and each of the above-described examples are in surface contact with the wafer 2, whereas the present example is in point contact. Therefore, it is possible to further reduce the generation of foreign matter depending on the contact.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the projection 7 may have a flat tip surface. With this configuration, the protrusion 6 having the configuration shown in FIG. 3 is easily worn due to contact, but the wear resistance can be improved while reducing the contact area.

The invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described above based on the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

For example, the shape of the protrusion 6 is shown as a hemispherical shape, but it may be in the shape of an acute angle, a wave, a trapezoid, or the like.

[0022]

The effects obtained by the typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.
It is as follows.

That is, in a wafer case for accommodating a wafer in a state of being positioned by a groove portion provided on the inner peripheral portion, means for reducing the contact area of the groove portion with the wafer is provided. The generation of foreign matter due to contact with the groove is reduced, and the quality of the product can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a first embodiment of a wafer case according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a second embodiment of the wafer case according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a third embodiment of the wafer case according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a groove showing another example of the protrusion.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a conventional wafer case.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Wafer Case 1a Protrusion 2 Wafers 3, 4, 5 Grooves 6, 7 Protrusions

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A wafer case for accommodating a wafer in a state of being positioned by a groove portion provided on an inner peripheral portion, wherein the wafer case is provided with means for reducing a contact area of the groove portion with respect to the wafer. Case. 2. The wafer case according to claim 1, wherein the means is one in which the groove is partially removed. 3. The wafer case according to claim 1, wherein the means has a shallow groove depth. 4. The wafer case according to claim 1, wherein the means is provided with at least one protrusion on the inner facing surface of the groove. 5. The wafer case according to claim 4, wherein the protrusion is a hemispherical protrusion.