JPH0626263U - Support container for thin plates - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] The wafer is supported horizontally to suppress dust generation when the wafer is loaded or unloaded. [Structure] A large number of rib pieces 15 for supporting wafers in multiple stages
The semiconductor wafer carrier box 10 is provided with supporting ribs 15 provided with A in parallel and facing each other. The supporting rib 15 and the introducing portion 20 located on the introducing outlet 12A side;
The aligning portion 21 located on the back side is formed, and the rib piece 15A of the introducing portion 20 is thinly formed to widen the rib piece space so that the wafer 11 can be easily introduced or extracted. The rib pieces were formed to be thick so that the rib piece interval was narrowed so that the rib pieces could be supported horizontally accurately with the wafer 11 inserted. It is preferable that the alignment section 21 is provided at least up to the introduction / exit 12A side of the center of gravity of the wafer 11. Rib piece 1
You may provide the support bed part 34 in 5A.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a thin plate supporting container for accommodating and supporting a plurality of thin plates such as semiconductor wafers at equal intervals in multiple stages and collectively performing a plurality of processes such as storage, transportation, cleaning, etching and drying.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 As a thin plate support container for accommodating and supporting a plurality of thin plates at the same time for storage, cleaning, etching and the like, a carrier box 1 for a semiconductor wafer using a semiconductor wafer as a thin plate is known. This semiconductor wafer carrier box 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing only one of a pair of facing side plates of the semiconductor wafer carrier box 1 from the inside.

The semiconductor wafer carrier box 1 is formed with one opening, and has a housing 2 having a wafer loading / unloading port 2 A for loading and unloading the wafer 7 (see FIG. 4), and the housing 2 is opposed to each other. The supporting ribs 5 are provided on the inner side surfaces of the two side plates 3 in multiple stages, respectively, and each of the side plates 3 has a supporting rib 5 for accommodating and supporting a plurality of wafers 7 in parallel and in multiple stages.

Each supporting rib 5 is composed of a large number of rib pieces 5 A provided in parallel on the side plate 3 at regular intervals. The rib pieces 5A are formed to have a thin cross-sectional shape, and the adjacent rib pieces 5A have a large gap.

At the innermost portion of each supporting rib 5, there is provided an innermost supporting portion 5B which is formed by curving inward toward each other, and regulates the insertion limit of the inserted wafer 7 and positions it. ing.

When one side surface (left side surface in FIG. 2) of the housing 2 is placed vertically (in a state of horizontally supporting the wafer 7 inserted therein), the housing 2 is inserted inside. A horizontal support plate portion 6 that supports the housing 2 is provided so that the wafer 7 thus obtained becomes horizontal.

In the conventional semiconductor wafer carrier box 1 configured as described above, a plurality of wafers 7 are supported in parallel and in multiple stages, and the plurality of wafers 7 are immersed in a cleaning solution together with the box 1. Perform processing, etc.

An automatic wafer transfer machine (not shown) is used when the wafer 7 is introduced into and taken out from the semiconductor wafer carrier box 1. As this automatic wafer transfer machine, a loader (not shown) for inserting the wafer 7 into the semiconductor wafer carrier box 1 and an unloader (not shown) for inserting the wafer 7 out of the carrier box 1 are used.

On the other hand, due to recent remarkable technological innovation in the semiconductor industry, fine processing of ICs has become possible, and the degree of integration has further increased. Along with that, the generation of dust has become a problem. For this reason, the factors that cause dust generation are limited, and even in the automatic wafer transfer machine, the wafers 7 can be transferred from the semiconductor wafer carrier box 1 to the robot one by one, unlike the conventional transfer method. It has changed to a method of putting in and out.

This robot has a fork 8 shown in FIG. 3, and the fork 8 is inserted between two adjacent wafers 7 housed in the semiconductor wafer carrier box 1 to locate the wafer located on the upper side. Lift up 7 slightly and lead it out. Further, there is also one in which the forks 8 are arranged in multiple stages and a plurality of wafers 7 are simultaneously introduced and withdrawn.

[0011]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 By the way, in the semiconductor wafer carrier box 1 as described above, the ribs 5A are spaced apart from each other and facing each other because the dimensions are set to allow a margin in consideration of shrinkage and mold release at the time of molding. The spacing between the supporting ribs 5 is set larger than the size of the wafer 7. Further, the interval between the supporting ribs 5 is formed in a taper shape that gradually widens toward the wafer inlet / outlet 2A. Therefore, the wafer 7 can be moved back and forth and left and right while being inserted and supported in the semiconductor wafer carrier box 1. If the wafer 7 is moved back and forth and left and right, it tilts in the moving direction as shown in FIG. Leveling becomes poor. When the wafers 7 are tilted and the levelness is deteriorated, the gap size between the adjacent wafers 7 becomes non-uniform, and the forks 8 come into contact with the wafers 7 when the forks 8 are inserted between the wafers 7. When the wafer 7 is supported and taken out, the wafer 7 and the rib pieces 5A may come into contact with each other and move while rubbing to generate dust. Then, there is a problem that this dust generation causes a reduction in the yield rate of the wafer 7.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a thin plate support container capable of accurately supporting a wafer horizontally and suppressing dust generation at the time of introduction or discharge. To do.

[0013]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises supporting ribs in which a plurality of rib pieces are arranged in multiple stages so as to support the thin plate in multiple stages at equal intervals, and the supporting ribs are opposed to each other in parallel, and one opening is provided. In a thin plate support container which serves as an introduction outlet for introducing or leading out the thin plate, the supporting rib is configured by an introduction portion located on the introduction outlet side and a matching portion located on the back side, and The rib pieces are thinly formed so that the thin plate can be easily introduced or pulled out to widen the rib piece intervals, and the rib pieces of the matching portion are supported horizontally and accurately with the thin plate inserted. In order to be able to do so, it is characterized in that it is formed to be thick and the interval between rib pieces is narrowed.

It is desirable that the aligning portion is provided at least up to the inlet / outlet side of the center of gravity of the thin plate so that the thin plate can be stably supported.

Further, the rib pieces are thinly formed over their entire length so that the rib pieces can be easily introduced or led out, and the rib piece intervals are widened, and the rib pieces inserted into the rib pieces are thinly formed. You may provide the support bed part which supports a board horizontally.

[0016]

[Action]

 With the above configuration, by forming the rib pieces of the introducing portion to be thin and widening the rib piece spacing, it becomes easy to introduce or draw out the thin plate, and the thin plate and the support container do not rub. Also, by forming the rib pieces of the matching part to a thick wall and narrowing the rib piece spacing, the range of deviation of the thin plate is limited, and the horizontal accuracy when the thin plate is stored is improved when the thin plate is inserted all the way in. . This improvement in horizontal accuracy prevents the forks from coming into contact with the thin plates when the forks are inserted between the thin plates in order to pull out the thin plates. As a result, the problem caused by dust generation can be solved.

By providing the aligning portion up to the inlet / outlet side of the center of gravity of the thin plates inserted into the support container, the thin plates can be supported horizontally and stably, and the fork does not contact between the thin plates. It can be inserted securely.

Further, by forming the entire rib pieces thin to widen the rib pieces and providing a supporting bed portion on the rib pieces, the thin plate can be easily introduced or withdrawn, and the supporting bed is supported. The thin plate can be stably supported horizontally by the part.

[0019]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The thin plate support container of the present invention is a container for supporting a plurality of thin plates such as a semiconductor wafer, a storage disk, and a liquid crystal plate in parallel. Hereinafter, a case where a semiconductor wafer is used as the thin plate and a semiconductor wafer carrier box is used as the thin plate supporting container will be described as an example.

First Embodiment The overall structure of the semiconductor wafer carrier box 10 of this embodiment is substantially the same as that of the conventional semiconductor wafer carrier box 1 described above. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, a housing 12 having a wafer introduction outlet 12A for opening and closing the semiconductor wafer 11 and having the wafer introduction outlet 12A, and the housing 12 are opposed to each other. The support ribs 15 are provided on the inner side surfaces of the two side plates 13 and 14 in multiple stages, respectively, and support ribs 15 for accommodating and supporting a plurality of wafers 11 in parallel and in multiple stages.

The casing 12 is configured by connecting and supporting two facing side plates 13 and 14 to each other by an upper connecting plate 16 and a lower connecting plate 17. The housing 12 is placed vertically with the lower connecting plate 17 side facing down. Below the side plates 13 and 14, when the housing 12 is placed vertically, a horizontal surface serving as a reference surface 18A for supporting the housing 2 so that the wafer 11 supported inside becomes horizontal. A support plate portion 18 is provided. The wafer inlet / outlet 12A is an opening for introducing / outgoing the wafer 11, and is set to have a size slightly larger than the maximum diameter of the circular wafer.

The supporting rib 15 is composed of a large number of rib pieces 15 A provided inside the side plates 13 and 14 in parallel at regular intervals. The supporting ribs 15 are positioned at the wafer inlet / outlet port 12A side, the matching portion 21 positioned at the inner side of the inlet portion 20 and the innermost side, and regulate the insertion limit of the wafer 11. In addition, the back side support portion 22 supports the wafer 11 from the back side. In the introduction part 20, when the wafer 11 is introduced into or extracted from the box, the rib pieces 15A are thinly formed and the taper angle is increased in the same manner as in the prior art so that the introduction or the extraction is easy. Is sharp and the rib spacing is wide (see Fig. 4).

In the matching portion 21, as shown in FIG. 6, the rib pieces 15A are formed thick to make the taper angle obtuse and narrow the rib interval. The thickness (taper angle) of the rib piece 15A is set so that the wafer 11 inserted to the deepest side is parallel to the reference surface 18A. That is, when the wafer 11 is inserted all the way into the box, the wafer 11 is supported by the maximum outer diameter points 25, 25 (see FIG. 5) and the back side support portions 22, 22 at four points. The molding position of the upper side surface of the rib piece 15A is set so that the wafer 11 becomes parallel to the reference surface 18A when supported at these four points. Since the wafer 11 is circular, the position corresponding to the center of gravity of the wafer 11 is the maximum outer diameter points 25, 25.

Further, the lower side surface of the rib piece 15A is set to such an extent that the distance between two adjacent rib pieces 15A is narrowed and the lateral movement of the wafer 11 is restricted at the maximum outer diameter portion of the wafer 11. There is. Further, the matching portion 21 is provided slightly from the maximum outer diameter points 25, 25 to the wafer introducing / exiting port 12A side.

When the wafer 11 is inserted into the semiconductor wafer carrier box 10 configured as described above, the wafer 11 is horizontally supported by the fork 8 (see FIG. 3), moved to the insertion position, and moved to the box 10. It is inserted inside. The position at this time is adjusted so that the maximum outer diameter of the wafer 11 does not come into contact with the rib piece 15A of the alignment portion 21, so that it does not come into contact with the rib piece 15A when the wafer 11 is inserted.

With this position maintained, the wafer 11 is inserted into the box 10 until it abuts on the back side support portion 22. At the time of insertion, the rib pieces 15A in the introducing portion 20 have a large interval, so that they can be easily inserted. When the wafer 11 is inserted until it abuts on the rear side support portion 22, the fork 8 moves slightly downward and the wafer 11 is placed on the rib piece 15A of the alignment portion 21. In this state, the wafer 11 is supported by the back side support portion 22 and the matching portion 21, and the movement of the wafer 11 in the left-right direction is the upper and lower side surfaces of the rib piece 15A, and the movement in the front-rear direction is the back-side support portion. Each of the wafers 11 is regulated by 22, and the wafers 11 are placed while maintaining the horizontality, so that the gap size between the wafers 11 becomes uniform.

When the wafers 11 stored in the box 10 in multiple stages are taken out, the forks 8 are inserted between the wafers 11. At this time, since the wafers 11 are accurately horizontally supported, the dimensions between the wafers 11 are uniform and the forks 8 do not come into contact with the wafers 11. When the fork 8 is fully inserted, the fork 8 is moved slightly upward to lift the wafer 11. Then, the fork 8 is pulled out to take out the wafer 11. At this time, the amount of upward movement of the wafer 11 by the fork 8 is set so that the maximum outer diameter portion of the wafer 11 does not come into contact with the lower side surface of the rib piece 15A of the matching portion 21. Even if the mounting position of the wafer 11 is slightly shifted and the wafer 11 comes into contact with each other, the matching portion 21 is formed only up to the maximum outer diameter points 25, 25, and therefore the friction portion between the matching portion 21 and the wafer 11 is small. Not too far away.

As described above, in the semiconductor wafer carrier box 10 of the present embodiment, since the wafer 11 can be accurately horizontally supported, dust is not generated due to contact of each part when the wafer 11 is introduced or withdrawn. Can be prevented.

Further, even when the fork 8 is inserted, the wafer 11 and the fork 8 do not come into contact with each other, and it is possible to reliably prevent the damage of the wafer 11 and the stop of the work line.

Second Embodiment The overall structure of the semiconductor wafer carrier box 31 of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the structure of the supporting rib 32 is different. That is, the rib pieces 33 forming the supporting ribs 32 are thinly formed, and the distance between the rib pieces 33 is wide over the entire length thereof. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the rib piece 33 is provided with a supporting bed portion 34 for horizontally supporting the wafer 11. The supporting bed 34 is provided near the maximum outer diameter points 25, 25 (on the side of the small number of wafer introduction / exit 12A), and the two supporting beds 34 and the rear side supporting portion 22 have four wafers 11. Supported. Since the size of the supporting bed 34 is sufficient as long as it can support the wafer 11 in the vicinity of the maximum outer diameter points 25, 25, even if the supporting bed 34 is provided with a small width (width in the longitudinal direction of the rib piece 15A), the supporting bed 34 has a relatively large width. It may be provided.

The supporting bed portion 34 is formed in a wedge shape so that its upper side surface is horizontal and two opposing supporting bed portions 34 have the same height. Further, the height of the supporting bed portion 34 is the same as the height of the back side supporting portion 22. As a result, the wafer 11 is supported at four points by the back side support portion 22 and the support bed portion 34, and the horizontal state is maintained even if the wafer 11 is slightly shifted to the left or right.

With the above structure, the same operation and effect as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the semiconductor wafer 11 is used as the thin plate has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a support for accommodating and supporting a storage disk made of aluminum, a liquid crystal plate made of glass, or the like. Also in the case of a container, the same action and effect as described above can be obtained.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the wafer 11 is configured to be supported at four points including the back side support portion 22, but the back side support portion 22 is not provided, and portions parallel to each other (first Even when it is configured by only the portion corresponding to the introduction section 20 and the matching section 21 in the embodiment, the same operation and effect as described above can be obtained. In this case, in the first embodiment, the aligning portion 21 supports the wafer 11 at four points. In the second embodiment, the supporting bed portions 34 are provided at four places. This is particularly effective when supporting a rectangular one such as a liquid crystal plate.

In the first embodiment, the matching portion 21 is provided slightly to the wafer introduction port 12A side from the maximum outer diameter points 25, 25, but it may be provided to the wafer introduction port 12A side.

Further, the thickening portion of the rib piece 15A of the matching portion 21 is provided in the entire region in the longitudinal direction of the rib piece 15A, but it may be provided only in the vicinity of the maximum outer diameter points 25, 25.

Although the wedge-shaped supporting bed portion 34 is provided in the second embodiment, a protruding supporting bed portion 35 may be used as shown in FIG. Even in this case, the same operation and effect as those of the second embodiment can be obtained.

Although the supporting bed portion 34 is provided only on one side (the upper side surface of the rib piece 15A), it may be provided on both sides (the upper side surface and the lower side surface of the rib piece 15A facing each other). In this case, when the wafers 11 are pushed out from the back side support portion 22 side with the box 10 lying sideways (with the wafer introduction port 12A facing upward), the wafers 11 do not shake and the taking out becomes easy.

Further, as the supporting bed portion, as shown in FIG. 9, a supporting bed portion 36 having a shape inclined downward at the innermost portion of the rib piece 33 may be used. The mounting position of the supporting bed portion 36 may be in the vicinity of the maximum outer diameter points 25, 25 or at the whole. In this case, since the lower side surface of the wafer 11 is supported by the supporting bed portion 36, the upper side of the wafer 11 comes close to the lower side surface of the rib piece 33, and the lateral displacement of the wafer 11 is restricted. Can be prevented from tilting.

[0040]

[Effect of device]

 As described above in detail, according to the thin plate support container of the present invention, it becomes possible to accurately support the thin plate horizontally, and when the thin plate is introduced or led out, the thin plate and the container may come into contact with each other. It becomes possible to suppress dust generation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a carrier box for a semiconductor wafer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a conventional semiconductor wafer carrier box.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a fork.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a mounted state of a wafer in a conventional carrier box.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor wafer carrier box of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a mounted state of a wafer in the carrier box according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a mounted state of a wafer in the carrier box according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view showing another modification of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Carrier box for semiconductor wafer, 11 ... Semiconductor wafer, 12 ... Casing, 12A ... Wafer introducing / exiting port, 13,
14 ... Side plate, 15 ... Rib for support, 15A ... Rib piece, 18
... horizontal support plate part, 18A ... reference plane, 20 ... introduction part, 21
... Alignment part, 22 ... Back side support part.

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A supporting rib, in which a large number of rib pieces are arranged in multiple stages to support the thin plate in multiple stages at equal intervals, is provided in parallel with each other, and one opening portion introduces or draws out the thin plate. In a thin plate support container serving as an introduction outlet, the supporting ribs are composed of an introduction portion positioned on the introduction outlet side and a matching portion positioned on the back side, and a rib piece of the introduction portion is defined by the thin plate. In order to facilitate introduction or derivation, the rib pieces are formed thin to widen the gap between the rib pieces, and the rib pieces of the matching portion are thickened so that they can be supported horizontally and accurately with the thin plate inserted. A support container for thin plates, which is formed by narrowing the rib interval. 2. The thin plate support according to claim 1, wherein the aligning portion is provided at least up to the inlet / outlet side of the center of gravity of the thin plate so as to stably support the thin plate. container. 3. A supporting rib having a large number of rib pieces arranged in multiple stages to support the thin plate in multiple stages at equal intervals is provided in parallel with each other, and one opening portion introduces or draws out the thin plate. In a thin plate support container that serves as an inlet / outlet, the rib pieces are formed thinly over the entire length thereof so that the rib pieces can be easily introduced or led out, and the rib piece interval is widened, and the rib pieces are A support container for a thin plate, comprising a supporting bed portion for horizontally supporting the inserted thin plate.