JPH087637Y2 - Support container for thin plates - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial application] The present invention is for thin plates such as semiconductor wafers, etc., for accommodating and supporting a plurality of thin plates in multiple stages at equal intervals and performing a plurality of processes such as storage, transportation, cleaning, etching and drying collectively. Regarding support container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A plurality of thin plates are simultaneously stored and supported for storage.
As a thin plate support container for performing processes such as cleaning and etching, a semiconductor wafer carrier box 1 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 opposing 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 2A 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, 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 5A 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 part of each supporting rib 5, there is provided an innermost support part 5B which is formed by curving inwardly toward each other.
The insertion limit of the inserted wafer 7 is regulated and positioned.

On one side surface (left side surface in FIG. 2) of the housing 2,
A horizontal support plate portion that supports the casing 2 so that the wafer 7 inserted therein is horizontal when the casing 2 is placed vertically (a state in which the wafer 7 inserted therein is supported horizontally). 6
Is provided.

In the conventional semiconductor wafer carrier box 1 having the above structure, a plurality of wafers 7 are supported in parallel and in multiple stages, and a cleaning process of soaking the plurality of wafers 7 together with the box 1 in the cleaning liquid is performed. To do.

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 the remarkable technological innovation of the semiconductor industry in recent years, 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 are taken in and out by the robot one by one from the semiconductor wafer carrier box 1 in the conventional transfer method. The method has changed.

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 so that the upper wafer 7 is located. Lift slightly and lead to the outside. 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 extracted.

[0011]

By the way, in the carrier box 1 for a semiconductor wafer as described above, the ribs are set to have a margin in consideration of shrinkage, mold release, etc. during molding. The interval between the pieces 5A and the interval between the opposing supporting ribs 5 are 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 introduction port 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. Then, when the wafers 7 are tilted and the levelness is deteriorated, the dimension of the gap between the adjacent wafers 7 becomes non-uniform, and when the forks 8 are inserted between the wafers 7, the forks 8 come into contact with the wafers 7 and generate. 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 extraction. To do.

[0013]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention supports disk-shaped thin plates in multiple stages and at equal intervals.
Support ribs with many rib pieces arranged in multiple stages in parallel
The thin plates are introduced or guided so that one of the openings is provided facing each other.
In a thin plate support container that serves as an introduction outlet to be taken out,
Install the rib pieces so that the thin plate can be easily inserted or removed.
Over the entire length of the rib to widen the rib intervals,
Through the center of gravity of the thin plate inserted in the
Each supporting rib provided with orthogonal straight lines facing each other
At the position of the rib on the inlet / outlet side from the point where
Support projections that support the thin plate inserted in the
At the same time, set the thin plate insertion limit on the innermost side of the rib piece.
There is a back side support part that regulates and supports the thin plate from the back side.
The thin plate comes into contact with the back side support part and is inserted to the limit position.
In this condition, the back side support and the support
The feature is that the plate is supported horizontally.

[0014]

[Operation] With the above structure, the rib piece at the introduction portion is formed thin
To increase or decrease the rib interval so that a thin plate can be introduced or led out.
Is easy, and there is no friction between the thin plate and the support container.
Become.

Further, a straight line passing through the center of gravity of the thin plate and each supporting rib
Supporting protrusion provided at the inlet / outlet side of the intersection with the
And the back side support portion provided on the innermost side of the rib piece, the thin plate
Supports thin plates horizontally and accurately and stably.
Can contact the robot's fork between the lamellas
Will be able to be inserted without fail.

[0016]

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

[First Embodiment] The overall structure of the carrier box 10 for semiconductor wafers of this embodiment is almost the same as that of the conventional carrier box 1 for semiconductor wafers described above. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, a casing 12 having a wafer introduction outlet 12A configured to open one side and introduce and withdraw the semiconductor wafer 11 therein.
And the two side plates 13 and 1 of the housing 12 facing each other.
4 is provided on each of the inner side surfaces of the wafer 4 in multiple stages, and is composed of supporting ribs 15 for accommodating and supporting a plurality of wafers 11 in parallel and in multiple stages.

The housing 12 has two side plates 13 and 1 facing each other.
4, the upper connecting plate 16 and the lower connecting plate 17 connect and support each other. This housing 12 is the lower connecting plate 1
It is placed vertically with the 7 side down. Below the side plates 13 and 14, when the housing 12 is placed vertically, a horizontal support serving as a reference surface 18A for supporting the housing 2 so that the wafer 11 supported inside becomes horizontal. A 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 ribs 15 are a large number of rib pieces 15A arranged in parallel inside the side plates 13 and 14 at regular intervals.
It consists of The supporting ribs 15 include the introducing portion 20 located on the wafer introducing outlet 12A side and the introducing portion 2
The alignment section 21 is located on the back side of 0, and the back side support section 22 is located on the innermost side and regulates the insertion limit of the wafer 11 and supports the wafer 11 from the back side. In the introduction unit 20, when the wafer 11 is introduced into or extracted from the box, the introduction or the extraction is facilitated.
As in the prior art, the rib pieces 15A are formed thin so that the taper angle is acute and the rib interval is wide (FIG. 4).
reference).

In the matching portion 21, as shown in FIG. 6, the rib piece 15A is formed thick to make the taper angle obtuse and narrow the rib interval. The thickness (taper angle) of this rib piece 15A is such that the wafer 11 inserted to the deepest end has a reference surface 18
It is set to be parallel to A. 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 inner 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 it is supported at four points. Since the wafer 11 is circular, the positions corresponding to the center of gravity of the wafer 11 are the maximum outer diameter points 25, 25.

Further, the lower 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 to the wafer introduction / exit 12A side from the maximum outer diameter points 25, 25.

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 to a height at which the maximum outer diameter of the wafer 11 does not come into contact with the rib piece 15A of the matching 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, since the rib pieces 15A in the introducing portion 20 have a large interval, they can be easily inserted. When the wafer 11 is inserted until it abuts on the back side support portion 22, the fork 8 moves slightly downward, and the wafer 11 moves the rib piece 1 of the alignment portion 21.
5A is mounted. 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-back direction is the back-side support portion 22. Each of the wafers 11 is regulated by, and the wafers 11 are placed while maintaining the horizontality, and 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 placed on the respective wafers 11.
Insert between. 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 when the mounting position of the wafer 11 is slightly displaced and the wafer 11 comes into contact with the wafer 11, 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. It's just a distance.

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 carrier box 31 for semiconductor wafers 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 piece 3 that constitutes the supporting rib 32
3 is thinly formed as a whole, and the intervals between the rib pieces 33 are wide over the entire length thereof. Then, as shown in FIG.
The rib segment 33, the supporting projection for supporting the wafer 11 horizontally
34 are provided. The supporting convex portion 34 is near the maximum outer diameter points 25, 25 (a little on the wafer introducing / exiting port 12A side).
That is, that is, through the center of gravity of the wafer 11 inserted inside
Straight lines that are orthogonal to the introduction and derivation directions are provided facing each other.
The wafer introduction port 12 from the point where it intersects with each supporting rib 32
It is provided at the position of the rib piece 33 on the A side , and these two supporting protrusions are provided.
The wafer 11 is supported at four points by the portion 34 and the back side support portion 22. The size of the supporting convex portion 34 is the maximum outer diameter points 25, 25.
Since it is sufficient that the wafer 11 can be supported in the vicinity, it may be provided with a slight width (width of the rib piece 15A in the longitudinal direction) or with a width that is somewhat large.

The supporting convex portion 34 is formed in a wedge shape so that the upper side surface thereof is horizontal and two opposing supporting convex portions 34 have the same height. Further, the height of the supporting convex portion 34 is equal to that of the rear side supporting portion 2.
It is the same height as 2. As a result, the wafer 11
Is supported at four points by the back side support portion 22 and the supporting convex portion 34, and the horizontal state is maintained even if it is slightly shifted to the left or right.

With the above construction, 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. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a support container for accommodating and supporting an aluminum storage disk, a glass liquid crystal plate, or the like. Also in the case, the same operation and effect as described above can be obtained.

In each of the above embodiments, the wafer 11 is supported at four points including the back side support portion 22,
Even when the back side support portion 22 is not provided and only the parallel portions (the portions corresponding to the introduction portion 20 and the matching portion 21 in the first embodiment) are provided, the same operation and effect as described above can be obtained. You can In this case, in the first embodiment, the matching portion 21 supports the wafer 11 at four points. Second
In the embodiment, the supporting convex portions 34 are provided at four places. This is particularly effective when supporting a quadrilateral such as a liquid crystal plate.

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

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

In the second embodiment, the wedge-shaped supporting projection 3 is formed.
4 and the formed, but as shown in FIG. 8, projecting supporting projection
It may be 35 . Also in this case, the same operation and effect as the second embodiment can be obtained.

Further, the supporting projection 34 is provided on one side (rib piece 15).
Although it is provided only on the upper side surface of A, 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 boxes 11 are laid sideways (with the wafer inlet / outlet 12A facing upward) and the wafers 11 are pushed out from the back side support portion 22 side and taken out, the wafers 11 do not swing and the taking out becomes easy.

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

[0037]

As described in detail above, according to the thin plate support container of the present invention, the thin plate can be supported horizontally and accurately, and the thin plate and the container can be installed or removed when the thin plate is introduced or withdrawn. It becomes possible to suppress dust generation due to contact with the like.

[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.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location H01L 21/304 341 C 21/306

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A disk-shaped thin plate is supported in multiple stages at equal intervals.
Support ribs with multiple rib pieces arranged in multiple stages in parallel
To face each other, one of the openings is introduced the thin plate or
In a thin plate support container that serves as an inlet / outlet to be led out, the rib pieces should be easily introduced or led out.
In addition, the rib interval is widened by molding thinly over the entire length.
And its introduction and derivation through the center of gravity of the thin plate inserted inside
Supports provided with straight lines orthogonal to each other facing each other
Rib piece position on the side of the inlet / outlet from the point where it intersects with the rib
The supporting projection that supports the thin plate inserted inside from below.
And the insertion of a thin plate on the innermost side of the rib piece.
Back side support that regulates the limit and supports the thin plate from the back side
Part, and the thin plate comes into contact with the back side support part and is inserted to the limit position.
In this state, a thin plate is formed between the back side support part and the supporting convex part.
A support container for thin plates, which is supported horizontally.