JPH0636584Y2 - Substrate storage container - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] << Industrial Application Field >> The present invention is applicable to a plurality of thin substrates such as semiconductor wafers and liquid crystal substrates when they are immersed in a required processing liquid or a required vapor for cleaning treatment. The present invention relates to a substrate storage container for holding a plurality of thin plate-shaped substrates in a vertical posture in parallel with each other in the front-rear direction.

<Prior art> When a thin plate substrate (hereinafter referred to as a wafer at the end) is immersed in a chemical bath such as a cleaning bath for processing, a plurality of wafers are housed in a cassette in a vertical posture in parallel with each other. , The cassette is soaked in a chemical bath. As this cassette, the one disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 57-17143 (invention name "semiconductor wafer storage jig") is known.

This is a cassette composed of a front and rear side wall member and a side wall member having a plurality of substrate receiving grooves vertically formed on the inner surface thereof. By engraving from the upper end of the member to the upper and lower intermediate parts of the side wall member, the wafer is received at the lower end of the substrate storage groove.

<Problems to be Solved> A conventional cassette of this kind is integrally formed of a chemical resistant resin such as fluororesin or polypropylene. However, in the case of a resin cassette, there is a problem in that, when a wafer treated with a chemical solution is washed with pure water, the processing chemical solution that has permeated the background of the cassette flows out into the pure water and adheres foreign matter to the wafer. This is because the processing chemical solution infiltrates into the porous minute recesses and holes generated on the resin surface when molding the resin cassette by capillary action, and remains in the minute recesses, etc.,
It is considered that this residual processing chemical solution flows out into pure water and contaminates the wafer.

Further, in the past, since the substrate storage groove was formed up to the middle of the side wall member and the lower edge of the substrate storage groove was used to receive the peripheral edge of the wafer, the processing liquid was applied to the lower end portion of the substrate storage groove that receives the wafer. May remain.

That is, if the upper end surface of the side holding plate that is continuous with the substrate storage groove is a horizontal surface, the substrate storage container is immersed in a processing bath of processing liquid or processing liquid vapor to process the wafer, and then the wafer is taken out, or When the processing liquid in the processing tank is discharged, the processing liquid stays as droplets on the upper end surface of the side holding plate. The droplets flow down during transfer of the substrate storage container and remain in the portion of the substrate storage groove that receives the wafer.

Further, in the apparatus for processing a wafer by sequentially immersing the substrate storage container containing the wafer in a plurality of types of processing tanks,
Not only the droplets mix with another processing liquid to deteriorate the processing quality, but also the processing liquid is consumed and the processing liquid is excessively consumed.

Moreover, when the substrate storage container is subsequently dried after the wafer processing, the remaining droplets hinder the drying.

Further, when the droplets attached to the substrate storage container are reattached to the wafer, stains on the wafer may occur.

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate storage container that eliminates such inconvenience.

<< Means for Solving the Problems >> In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

That is, it is a substrate storage container that stores and holds a plurality of substrates side by side in a vertical posture in a substrate storage space formed in an open-closed frame, and a plurality of substrate storage grooves that penetrate vertically are fixed. Formed at a pitch, the left and right side holding plates arranged in a state where the board receiving grooves are poked to a predetermined gap and are perforated left and right, and the board receiving grooves are formed at the same pitch as the board receiving grooves of the side holding plates, A bottom holding rod arranged in a state where the substrate receiving groove is located in the same vertical plane as the substrate receiving groove of the side holding plate, and a pair of front and rear connected to both ends of the core of the side holding plate and the bottom holding rod. The upper and lower end surfaces of the side holding plate, which is formed of a fixed member and vertically penetrates the substrate storage groove, are formed into inclined surfaces, and the bottom surface of the substrate receiving groove of the bottom holding rod is received by the side holding plate. Along the edge of the board, facing the inside of the board container and facing downward It is formed on a slanted inclined surface, the bottom holding rod is arranged at a position deviated to the left and right from the central portion between the left and right side holding plates, and the upper end of the substrate storage groove of the side holding plate is located more than the contact position with the substrate Formed high, an outward facing flange for holding is formed on at least one outer wall of the left and right side holding plates and the front and rear fixed members, and the left and right side holding plates, the bottom holding rod and the front and rear fixed members are formed. It is characterized by being formed of a quartz material.

<Operation> Since the substrate container is made of a quartz material in the present invention, its surface can be formed into a smooth surface without microscopic concaves and holes, and the background of the chemical solution on the constituent members can be formed. The phenomenon that the particles infiltrate into the substrate and the particles that flow out therefrom adhere to the substrate will not occur.

Also, in the present invention, the upper and lower end surfaces of the side holding plate having the board receiving groove formed vertically therethrough are formed as inclined surfaces, and the bottom surface of the board receiving groove of the bottom holding rod is received by the board. Since it is formed as an inclined surface that is inclined downward toward the inner side of the substrate storage container along the edge, it operates as follows.

When the substrate storage container is taken out of the processing tank or the processing liquid in the processing tank is discharged, the processing liquid quickly flows down along the nuclear inclined surface. That is, the processing liquid does not stay in the form of liquid droplets on the upper end surface and the lower end surface of the side holding plate and the substrate receiving groove of the bottom holding rod.

Therefore, when the substrate storage container is transferred or the like, there is no inconvenience that the liquid droplets flow down and remain on the portion of the substrate storage groove that receives the wafer.

<< Embodiment >> A drawing shows an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view, and FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view.

This substrate storage container (hereinafter referred to as a cassette) has a pair of left and right side holding plates (2) having a plurality of substrate storage grooves (1) penetrating vertically and formed with a certain pitch in front and back, and a part of the peripheral surface. A pair of columnar bottom holding rods (4) each having a substrate receiving groove (3) formed at the same pitch as the substrate accommodating groove (1), and side holding plates (2) and bottom holding. A set of front and rear fixed members (5) connected to both ends of the rod (3)
It consists of and.

The side holding plate (2), the bottom holding rod (4), and the fixing member (5) are each made of a quartz material, and are placed between the front and rear fixing members (5) and (5) that are opposed to each other at a predetermined interval. The side holding plate (2) is arranged such that the substrate storage grooves (1) face each other with a predetermined gap, and the bottom holding rod (4) is placed between the front and rear fixed members (5) (5). A frame body that is vertically open by arranging the substrate receiving groove (3) with a small space left and right with the substrate receiving groove (3) located in the same vertical plane as the substrate receiving groove (1) of the side holding plate (2). It is formed integrally with.

The upper end of the substrate storage groove (1) formed in the side holding plate (2) is at least a predetermined height above the left and right positions in contact with the wafer (9) when the wafer (9) is stored in the cassette. It must be formed. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, in order to align the orientation flats of the wafers (9), the rotatable roller (10) for lowering the orientation of the wafer (9) is raised to move the wafer (9). 9) Bottom holding rod (4)
This is because the side holding plates (2) and (2) have a wafer guiding action when they are raised and rotated from (4).

Further, the height of the substrate storage groove (1) is such that the wafer guide action when the cassette is immersed in the cleaning tank and the cleaning process is performed while rotating the wafer (9) as shown in FIG. It suffices if the height is such that the holding plate (2) can be operated.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wafer (9) is placed in the wafer storage groove of the wafer elevating rod (12), the wafer (9) is lifted from the cassette, and is held by the pair of wafer holding rods (13). However, the side holding plates (2) and (2) have a wafer elevating / lowering guide function when the wafer (9) is transferred to another cassette.

Further, when the holding fingers of the automatic transfer means (not shown) are locked to the collar portions (6) and (6) in FIG. 1 and transferred to another processing tank, the side holding plates (2) (2) ) Board storage groove (1)
It also has a steady rest function to prevent the wafer (9) from falling due to vibration. The length of the substrate accommodating groove (1) is determined so as to fulfill such various functions.

Outward flanges (6) on the upper ends of the left and right side holding plates (2)
To form a concave portion (7) at the upper end portions of the left and right side portions of the front and rear fixing member (5) to hold the cassette from the front-rear direction. It is configured so that it can be suspended. Further, by forming the lower end edges of the left and right side holding plates (2) to be positioned higher than the lower end edges of the front and rear fixing members (5), the substrate storage space (where the processing liquid is formed inside the cassette) is formed. 8) It is easy to flow into the inside, and the processing liquid and the wafer (9) are efficiently contacted. Therefore, even when ultrasonic cleaning is performed from below, ultrasonic waves easily reach the wafer surface.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 to 4 described later, the upper end surface (1a) and the lower end surface (1b) of the side part holding plate (2) vertically penetrating the substrate storage groove (1). Are formed on the respective inclined surfaces. Remove the substrate storage container from the processing tank,
Alternatively, when the processing liquid in the processing tank is discharged, the processing liquid is caused to quickly flow down along the nuclear inclined surfaces (1a) and (1b) so as not to stay. Therefore, when the substrate storage container is transferred, there is no inconvenience that the droplets flow down and remain on the portion of the substrate storage groove (1) that receives the wafer (9).

The bottom holding rod (4) is arranged in plane symmetry with respect to a vertical plane passing through the left and right centerlines of the cassette formed in a frame shape, and is arranged apart from directly under the substrate. For this reason, a roller (10) for adjusting the orientation flat of the wafer (9) between the pair of bottom holding rods (4) and a wafer lifting mechanism (12) for transferring the wafer to another container. ) Can be inserted and removed. The bottom surface of the substrate receiving groove (3) formed in the nucleus bottom holding rod (4) is inclined downward toward the inside of the cassette along the edge of the wafer (9) received there. It is formed on an inclined surface.

In the cassette thus formed, the wafer (9) is inserted into the substrate storage space (8) formed therein while being guided by the substrate storage groove (1) formed in the side holding plate (2). , The wafer (9) is accommodated in a vertical posture, but since the substrate accommodating groove (1) is formed in a vertically penetrating manner, the wafer (9) is accommodated in the substrate receiving member of the bottom holding rod (4). It will be received by the stop groove (3) and will prevent its fall. At this time, since the bottom of the substrate receiving groove (3) is tangentially in contact with the peripheral surface of the wafer (9), the peripheral surface of the wafer (9) and the bottom surface of the substrate receiving groove (3) are in point contact with each other. Touching. Therefore, when the cassette is pulled out from the processing liquid tank, the processing liquid or foreign matter does not remain in the substrate storage groove (1) or the substrate receiving groove (3) portion, and the liquid can be surely drained. .

Although the bottom holding rod (4) is composed of a pair of left and right rods in the above embodiment, it may be constituted by a single rod.

Reference numeral (15) in FIG. 1 denotes a reference contact surface formed on the outer surface of the fixed member (5), and the side surface holding plate (2) is provided with a substrate storage groove ( 1) and the substrate holding groove (3) is processed in the bottom holding rod (4). Further, the reference contact surface (15) is used for positioning, and the reference contact surface (15) is brought into contact with a positioning portion (not shown), so that an external wafer holding rod (not shown),
Alternatively, the pitch of the wafer elevating rod and the wafer accommodating groove are accurately matched so that the wafer is not dropped when it is clamped or lifted.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which each side holding plate (2) is divided into upper and lower parts, a processing liquid flow space (11) is provided between them, and front and rear fixing members (5). ) The bottom holding rod (4) mounted between the lower parts of (5) is formed by a prism having a triangular cross section, and the bottom holding rod (4) having a prismatic shape is arranged with its apex angle facing upward. Even in this case, the substrate holding groove (3) is formed in the bottom holding rod (4), and the substrate receiving groove (3) is formed on the bottom surface of the groove so that the processing liquid and the foreign matter are not accumulated. It is formed on the inclined surface which is inclined downward toward the inner side of the cassette along the edge of the substrate which is received.

The lower end of the side holding plate (2) may be inclined in the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG.

Further, the substrate storage container according to the present invention may be used as a wafer cassette for storing wafers in a rotary partition dryer called a spin dryer.

<Effect> In the present invention, since the substrate storage container is made of a quartz material, the surface thereof can be formed into a smooth surface having no minute concave portions or holes of a porous shape, and the substrate of the chemical solution to the constituent members can be formed. The phenomenon that infiltration from the surface of the storage container and particles exuding from the surface adhere to the substrate does not occur. As a result, the treatment liquid tank is not affected by the treatment liquid in the previous step, and the surface treatment of the substrate can be performed with high quality.

Further, in the present invention, since the upper end surface and the lower end surface of the side holding plate and the bottom surface of the substrate receiving groove of the bottom holding rod are formed as inclined surfaces, respectively, the substrate storage container is taken out from the processing tank,
Alternatively, when the processing liquid in the processing tank is discharged, the processing liquid quickly flows down along each of the inclined surfaces, and the processing liquid is discharged to the upper end surface of the side holding plate and the substrate receiving groove of the bottom holding rod. Since it does not stay as droplets, it has the following effects.

In an apparatus for processing a wafer by sequentially immersing a substrate storage container containing a wafer in a plurality of types of processing tanks, the droplets adhering to the substrate storage container are mixed with another processing liquid to deteriorate the processing quality. There is no fear.

Further, it is possible to reduce the consumption of the processing liquid due to taking out the processing liquid.

Further, in the apparatus for drying the substrate storage container that stores the wafers after the above processing, water droplets do not hinder the drying.

Moreover, since the water droplets that have adhered to the substrate storage container do not reattach to the wafer, stains on the wafer do not occur.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal front view, and Figs. 3 and 4 are views corresponding to Fig. 2 of another embodiment, respectively. FIG. 5 is a side view in which a part of another embodiment is removed. 1 ... Substrate storage groove, 1a ... Upper surface of side holding plate, 1b ...
Lower end surface of side holding plate, 2 ... Side holding plate, 3 ... Board receiving groove, 4 ... Bottom holding rod, 5 ... Fixed member, 6 ... Collar part, 8 ... Board storage space , 9 ... substrate.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-60-177642 (JP, A) JP-A-61-39545 (JP, A) Actual development Sho-60-926 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A substrate storage container for storing and holding a plurality of substrates side by side in a vertical posture in a substrate storage space formed in a vertically open frame body, and a plurality of substrate storage grooves penetrating vertically. Are formed at a fixed pitch, and the left and right side holding plates are arranged so that the board receiving grooves face each other with a predetermined gap and face each other, and the board receiving grooves are formed at the same pitch as the board receiving grooves of the side holding plates. The bottom holding rods are formed so that the board receiving groove is located in the same vertical plane as the board receiving groove of the side holding plate, and the front and rear connected to each end of the side holding plate and the bottom holding rod. It is composed of a set of fixed members, and the upper and lower end surfaces of the side holding plates which are formed by vertically penetrating the substrate housing groove are formed as inclined surfaces, and the bottom surface of the substrate receiving groove of the bottom holding rod is Along the edge of the board that receives it, facing the inside of the board storage container It is formed on an inclined surface that tilts in the direction, and the bottom holding rod is placed at a position left and right apart from the center between the left and right side holding plates, and the upper end of the substrate storage groove of the side holding plate contacts the substrate. Formed higher than the position, an outward facing flange for holding is formed on the outer wall of at least one of the left right side holding plate and the front and rear fixed members, and the left right side holding plate, bottom holding rod and front and rear fixed A substrate storage container, wherein the member is made of a quartz material.