JPH09328187A - Thin plate support container with identification mark - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily change a bar-code tag in a simple constitution and securely attach it. SOLUTION: An identification mark like a bar-code is provided at a position which can be easily found from the outside and parallelly arranged wefers are supported at the same time. And a plate-container pocket 15 formed within the wall facing the outside to contain the bar-code tag 16 and the cover body closing the opening in the state the bar-code tag 16 is contained in the pocket 15, are provided. The bar-code tag 16 that a bar-code has been already written, it can be written or it can be exchanged, is used. A white board may be contained in the plate-container pocket 15 in order to easily identify the bar-code written on the external surface of the plate-container pocket 15.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention supports a plurality of thin plates such as a semiconductor wafer, a storage disk and a liquid crystal plate at the same time,
The present invention relates to a thin plate support container with an identification mark used when it is immersed in a chemical solution or pure water or transported, and particularly to a thin plate support container with an identification mark that can be efficiently processed and managed using the identification mark.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When processing a large number of thin plates such as semiconductor wafers, a large number of supporting containers are required. And when using a large amount of support containers, it is necessary to recognize and manage each support container in order.

For this reason, it is generally known that each support container is provided with an identification mark. For example, (1) a rewritable memory module encapsulated in a synthetic resin (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-250114), and (2) a bar code embedded (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-57243, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-22225).
58), (3) using a detachable block (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-165947), and (4) using a detachable mark plate (Jikken 6-39453).

[0004]

However, each of the above-mentioned supporting containers having identification marks has its own problems.

(1) In the case of (1), the memory module including the light receiving circuit, the light emitting circuit, the memory circuit, and the microprocessor has a complicated structure, and when used in a large number of supporting containers, an error or a failure occurs. Is a problem. In addition, the cost increases.

(2) In the case of (2), since the plate in which the bar code is written is embedded in the support container, the content of the bar code cannot be changed later. Therefore, the data cannot be changed depending on the difference in processing, and efficient processing corresponding to a plurality of processing steps cannot be performed.

(3) In the cases of (3) and (4), a detachable block or the like is used, but the block or the like is accidentally contacted with the arm portion of the transfer robot or the like, and is not damaged or dropped. There is a risk.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. With a simple structure, the content of the mark can be easily changed according to the processing content, and there is no fear of falling off, and it can be used for chemicals or pure water. An object of the present invention is to provide a thin plate support container with a unique identification mark.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the first invention is to provide an identification mark at a position which can be recognized from the outside, and to simultaneously support a plurality of thin plates arranged in parallel. In a thin plate supporting container with an identification mark, a plate storage pocket which is provided in a wall portion facing the outside and in which a plate with an identification mark is stored, and a lid which closes the entrance with the plate stored in the plate storage pocket It is characterized by having a body.

A plate containing an identification mark necessary for management of the thin plate supporting container is stored in the plate storage pocket and closed with a lid. Thereby, the plate with the identification mark can be easily and surely attached to the thin plate supporting container.

A second aspect of the invention is characterized in that the plate is made of an identification mark plate having an identification mark written therein, or a plate material capable of writing the identification mark or a rewritable plate material.

When the identification mark plate on which the identification mark is already written is used as the plate, it can be used as it is by simply inserting it into the plate storage pocket. When a plate material on which an identification mark can be written is used as the plate, the identification mark is written by a laser beam or the like after the plate is stored in the plate storage pocket. When a plate material whose identification mark can be rewritten is used as the plate, the identification mark representing necessary information is written after the plate material is stored in the plate storage pocket. When other information is required, an identification mark representing it is written.

A third aspect of the present invention is the identification mark plate or the plate member according to claim 2, wherein the plate has an identification mark written thereon, and the identification mark is recognized by accommodating any one of them in the plate storage pocket. And a white plate for facilitating.

When the plate is stored in the plate storage pocket, a white plate is put together on the back side of the plate to increase the amount of reflected light when reading the identification mark with light from the outside, so that the plate can be recognized more accurately. Will be able to.

A fourth invention is characterized in that the plate is a white plate for facilitating the recognition of the identification mark written on the outer surface of the wall portion where the plate storage pocket is located.

When recognizing the identification mark by using light, the light that normally passes through the wall is reflected by the white plate stored in the plate storage pocket, and the mark can be recognized more accurately.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, an identification mark is provided at a position that can be recognized from the outside, and the identification mark can be written in a thin plate support container with an identification mark that simultaneously supports a plurality of thin plates arranged in parallel. It is characterized in that a flat plate material or a rewritable plate material is embedded in the wall portion.

By embedding a plate material in which the identification mark can be written in the wall portion, it is possible to write information according to the required use. Further, by embedding a rewritable plate material in the wall portion, the information can be rewritten as necessary.

A sixth invention is based on the fifth invention.
It is characterized in that a white plate for facilitating the recognition of the identification mark written on the outer surface of the wall is embedded in the wall.

The identification mark written on the surface of the wall is
When recognizing using light, the white plate embedded in the wall reflects light that would otherwise pass through the wall. Thereby, the identification mark can be recognized more reliably.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[Structure] Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The thin plate supporting container with an identification mark according to 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, and the thin plate is subjected to a surface treatment by immersing it in a chemical solution. It is used when the surface is washed by immersing it in pure water. Here, a wafer carrier that supports a semiconductor wafer will be described as an example of a thin plate supporting container with an identification mark.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wafer carrier 1 of the present embodiment is roughly configured by front and rear end walls 2 and 3 and left and right side walls 4,5.

At the upper ends of the side walls 4 and 5, there are provided flange plate portions 6 and 7 which horizontally extend in the left-right direction. Support ribs 8 and 9 for supporting a large number of wafers (not shown) in parallel are provided on the inner surfaces of the side walls 4 and 5.

At the bottom of the side walls 4,5 are two foot plates 10,1.
1 is provided. Each of the foot plates 10 and 11 is a portion that comes into contact with an upper surface of a mounting table (not shown) when the wafer carrier 1 is mounted on a horizontal table portion (not shown), and is arranged in a longitudinal direction of the wafer carrier 1. It is provided in parallel.

Plate storage pockets 15 are appropriately provided in the end walls 2 and 3, the flange plate portions 6 and 7 or the foot plates 10 and 11 which are the wall portions facing outward. In FIG. 1, the plate storage pockets 15 are provided on the end wall 2, the flange plate portion 6 and the foot plate 10, respectively, but they are provided at one or more places depending on the usage mode. The wafer carrier 1 is injection-molded by a mold using a synthetic resin such as a fluororesin as a material. Then, the plate storage pocket 15 is integrally molded by a mold.

The shape of the plate storage pocket 15 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, it is composed of a narrow inner side 15A and a wide inlet side 15B. The back side 15A is formed into a size that can accommodate a bar code tag 16 (see FIG. 1) as an identification mark, and the entrance side 15B is almost covered with the lid body 17 so as to be closed by the lid body 17. It is molded to the same size.

The bar code tag 16 is made of fluorocarbon resin such as PFA, ceramics, or plate material such as PEEK. A barcode is written on the surface of the barcode tag 16 by laser light. What is written by laser light does not dissolve as impurities even when immersed in a chemical solution or pure water. Therefore, the bar code tag 16
It can be used as it is without providing a protective film.

The lid 17 is formed of the same material as the wafer carrier 1, and closes the entrance side 15B of the bar code tag 16 in the plate accommodating pocket 15. This lid 17 may be simply press-fitted to the entrance side 15B, and after press-fitting, the entrance side 15B
The contact portion between the lid 17 and the lid 17 may be melted and completely sealed.

It should be noted that the bar code tag 16 is stored in the plate storage pocket 15 so that the bar code does not directly appear on the outside, but the wall of the wafer carrier 1 has a certain degree of light transmission, and therefore the accuracy is high. A high barcode reader can read barcodes.

[Operation] The wafer carrier 1 configured as described above can be used in various types such as immersion in a chemical solution tank or a pure water tank while simultaneously supporting a plurality of semiconductor wafers in a semiconductor wafer manufacturing line. Processing is performed. A large number of wafer carriers 1 are used in this production line,
These are managed by the bar code written on the bar code tag 16.

In the manufacturing line, each wafer carrier 1
The bar code tag 16 stored in the plate storage pocket 15 is traced from the outside with a bar code reader (not shown) to read the data. Then, each wafer carrier 1 is managed based on the read data.

On the other hand, when it is necessary to change the data content of the bar code tag 16 due to a change in the manufacturing line or other reasons, the lid 17 is removed and the other bar code tag 16 or an identification mark other than the bar code. Replace with the board that has written. Thereby, the data required for processing can be changed appropriately.

[Effect] As described above, the wafer carrier 1
Since the bar code tag 16 is housed in the plate housing pocket 15 provided in the wall of the wafer carrier, a large number of wafer carriers 1 can be efficiently managed.

Since the bar code tag 16 is simply stored in the plate storage pocket 15, the bar code tag 16 can be securely attached to the wafer carrier 1 with a simple structure, and there is no risk of the bar code tag 16 falling off.

The information necessary for the wafer carrier 1 can be easily changed only by replacing the bar code tag 16 in the plate storage pocket 15.

[Modification] (1) In the above-described embodiment, the bar code is written on the bar code tag 16 with the laser light so that the bar code may not be melted as impurities even if it is dipped in a chemical solution or the like. In the case of sealing, the barcode tag 16 does not come into contact with the chemical liquid or the like, so that the barcode may be written by another means such as printing.

(2) In the above embodiment, the bar code is used as the identification mark, but other types of bar code, identification marks other than the bar code such as numbers and symbols, that is, the process using the wafer carrier 1 is performed. -The identification mark necessary for management may be used.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the bar code tag 16 in which the bar code is written in advance is used as the plate to be stored in the plate storage pocket 15. However, after the bar code tag 16 is stored in the plate storage pocket 15, the bar code is written. A possible plate material or a rewritable plate material may be used.

As the writable plate, a plate which is easily reacted by laser light is used. This is because the writing operation is performed from the outside of the plate storage pocket 15. For this reason, a material that is likely to be discolored by the laser light that has weakened slightly after passing through the wall surface of the plate storage pocket 15 is used, for example, a material that is easily burnt by the heat of the laser light. When this material is easily dissolved in a chemical solution or the like, the inside of the plate storage pocket 15 is sealed.

The rewritable material is an existing optical recording / reproducing plate material in which the surface state of the material, the light transmittance, etc. are changed by the heat of the laser light. In particular,
The existing optical recording / reproducing means can be used in which the reflection state of the material surface is changed to create a portion that diffusely reflects and a portion that transmits light to write an identification mark such as a barcode.

(4) As a plate to be stored in the plate storage pocket 15, a bar code tag 16 on which a bar code is written, and a white plate (not shown) to be stored along with the back side of the bar code tag 16 are provided. May be used. This white plate reflects more light rays emitted from the barcode reader when recognizing the barcode on the surface of the barcode tag 16 by the barcode reader, so that the barcode can be recognized more reliably. It is a thing. As a material for the white plate, a fluororesin such as PFA that is resistant to chemicals, PEEK, ceramics, or the like is used.
Further, when the inside of the plate storage pocket 15 is sealed, it is not necessary to consider the influence of a chemical solution or the like, so various materials can be used.

(5) Also, the plate storage pocket 15
A white plate alone may be used as the plate to be housed inside. In this case, a bar code is written by laser light on the outer surface of the wall portion where the plate storage pocket 15 is located. Then, when the barcode is read by a barcode reader, a light ray that would normally pass through the wall is reflected by the white plate in the plate storage pocket 15, and the difference between the black line portion and the white background portion of the barcode is obtained. Will be able to recognize more accurately.

(6) In the above-described embodiment, the plate storage pocket 15 is provided and the bar code tag 16 is stored therein. However, the bar code tag 16 is integrated during the injection molding of the wafer carrier 1. It may be embedded in. In this case, as the barcode tag 16, the above-mentioned barcode-writable plate material or rewritable plate material is used.
These plate materials are integrally embedded in the wall portion when the wafer carrier 1 is molded, and then a bar code is written by laser light.

(7) Further, a white plate for facilitating the recognition of the bar code written on the outer surface of the wall portion of the wafer carrier 1 may be integrally embedded in the wall portion during the injection molding. Good.

(8) In the above embodiment, the wafer carrier 1 was described as an example of the thin plate supporting container, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the wafer carrier 1 may be provided in a carrier box (not shown). Good. Moreover, you may use it for the thin plate support container which accommodates another thin plate. In these cases, the same operation and effect as those of the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0046]

As described above in detail, according to the thin plate supporting container with the identification mark of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Since the plate with the identification mark is stored in the plate storing pocket provided on the wall portion of the thin plate supporting container, a large number of thin plate supporting containers can be efficiently managed.

(2) Since the plate with the identification mark is simply stored in the plate storage pocket, the plate with the identification mark can be surely attached to the thin plate supporting container with a simple structure, and there is no risk of falling off.

(3) The information required for the thin plate supporting container can be easily changed only by replacing the plate with the identification mark in the plate storage pocket.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a wafer carrier according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a plate storage pocket of the wafer carrier according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Wafer carrier, 2, 3: End wall, 4, 5: Side wall, 6,
7: Flange plate part, 8, 9: Support ribs, 10, 11: Foot plate, 15: Plate storage pocket, 16: Bar code tag, 17: Lid body.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An identification mark is provided at a position that can be recognized from the outside, and in a thin plate support container with an identification mark that simultaneously supports a plurality of thin plates arranged in parallel, it is provided in a wall portion facing outward. A thin plate support container with an identification mark, comprising: a plate storage pocket in which a plate with an identification mark is stored; and a lid that closes the entrance in a state where the plate is stored in the plate storage pocket. 2. The thin plate supporting container with an identification mark according to claim 1, wherein the plate is an identification mark plate having an identification mark written therein, or a plate material capable of writing the identification mark or a rewritable plate material. A thin plate support container with a characteristic identification mark. 3. The thin plate supporting container with an identification mark according to claim 1, wherein the plate is an identification mark plate or plate material according to claim 2 in which an identification mark is written, and the plate together with any one of them. A thin plate supporting container with an identification mark, characterized in that the thin plate support container is stored in a storage pocket and comprises a white plate for facilitating recognition of the identification mark. 4. The thin plate supporting container with an identification mark according to claim 1, wherein the plate is a white plate for facilitating the recognition of the identification mark written on the outer surface of the wall portion where the plate storage pocket is located. A thin plate support container with an identification mark. 5. A thin plate support container with an identification mark, which is provided with a position where the identification mark can be recognized from the outside, and which simultaneously supports a plurality of thin plates arranged in parallel. A thin plate support container with an identification mark, in which possible plates are embedded in the wall. 6. The thin plate supporting container with an identification mark according to claim 5, wherein a white plate for facilitating recognition of the identification mark written on the outer surface of the wall is embedded in the wall. A thin plate support container with an identification mark.