JPH10114388A - Pellicle container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pellicle container which prevents an adhesive applied to a pellicle frame from being deformed due to long-term preservation and is easy to remove, in reuse, foreign matter by washing. SOLUTION: An adhesive protective sheet 4, for protecting an adhesive 3 applied to a pellicle frame 1, is shaped so as to be larger than the outer shape of the pellicle frame 1. The adhesive protective sheet 4 is held between a rib 21 and a placing part 15, and a pellicle 5 is fixed in place without applying force to the adhesive 3, thereby preventing idle movement of the pellicle 5. Further, the height of a positioning part 12, used for positioning when the pellicle 5 is placed on a placing base 10, is set greater than the thickness of the adhesive protective sheet 4 and not more than 1mm. This makes it easy to remove foreign matter when a pellicle container is washed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention prevents foreign matter such as dust from adhering to a photomask or a reticle (hereinafter referred to as a "reticle") used in a photolithography process in a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device such as an IC or an LSI. Frame with a dustproof film (hereafter referred to as pellicle)
And a container for storing the

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a photolithography process in a process of manufacturing a semiconductor element such as an IC or an LSI, a circuit pattern formed on a reticle is transferred to a resist film applied on a semiconductor substrate (wafer) by an exposure apparatus. In the transfer step, if foreign matter adheres to the reticle, the image of the foreign matter is transferred together with the circuit pattern, resulting in a defect in the circuit pattern formed on the semiconductor substrate.

[0003] On the other hand, a reticle is used after cleaning and confirming that there is no foreign matter which adversely affects a photolithography process by inspection. However, as the circuit pattern of a semiconductor becomes finer, the size of dust to be controlled also increases. It is very fine, and it is very difficult to keep the reticle clean only by cleaning and inspection.

Therefore, in recent years, pellicles for covering a reticle have been used. The pellicle is generally made of a metal pellicle frame, an optically stable transparent polymer thin film (pellicle) stretched on one surface of the pellicle frame, and a lower surface of the pellicle frame, that is, a pellicle. It consists of an adhesive applied to the other surface opposite to the provided surface, and an adhesive protective sheet for protecting the adhesive. Usually, the adhesive protective sheet is peeled off and adhered to the reticle.

[0005] By mounting the pellicle on the reticle as described above, it is possible to prevent foreign substances from directly adhering to the reticle. Also, even if foreign matter adheres to the pellicle, since the pellicle and the reticle pattern surface are separated from each other, when exposing the circuit pattern to the wafer, the shadow due to the foreign matter becomes thin in an out-of-focus state,
The adverse effect on the circuit pattern burned on the wafer can be eliminated.

Although the use of a pellicle has the above advantages, it is desirable that no foreign matter adheres to the pellicle itself. In particular, if foreign matter adheres to the inner surface side of the pellicle, there is a possibility that the foreign matter may drop onto the reticle pattern area when mounted on the reticle or for some reason after mounting.

In the case of such inconvenience, a defect is found after the pattern exposure on the wafer is completed, which may cause waste in the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device. In order to prevent such waste, foreign particles adhere to the pellicle. A storage container (pellicle container) has been proposed to prevent such a problem.

[0008]

As a pellicle container for preventing dust from adhering to a pellicle, for example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-45965. Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, the pellicle 50 is placed on the mounting table 100, and a lid 200 is placed over the mounting table 100 to form a sealed structure between the mounting table 100 and the lid 200, thereby invading foreign matter from outside. And the pellicle 50 is sandwiched between the lid 200 and the mounting table 100 from above and below. Further, by making the material of the pellicle container itself less likely to generate dust, it is possible to prevent the pellicle from floating in the pellicle container vertically and horizontally in the pellicle container due to vibration or the like at the time of transportation, thereby generating dust.

However, as described above, the mounting table 100
In the structure in which the pellicle 50 is vertically sandwiched between the pellicle 50 and the lid 200, a force is applied in the thickness direction of the pellicle 50,
As a result, the adhesive 3 applied to the lower surface of the pellicle frame
Force is applied to zero. For this reason, the adhesive 30 is deformed and the flatness is deteriorated. When the adhesive 30 is mounted on the reticle, sufficient adhesive strength is not obtained, or a gap is formed between the adhesive layer and the reticle surface, and the In some cases, a dustproof effect cannot be obtained. In particular, when the pellicle is stored in the pellicle container as described above for a long time, the tendency is remarkable.

Conventionally, a pellicle container is generally formed of a synthetic resin material and is generally disposable from the viewpoint of ensuring cleanliness. It is desired to reuse the pellicle container from the viewpoint of environmental protection. When reusing the pellicle container, it is necessary to remove foreign substances by washing.

On the other hand, in order to position the pellicle at a predetermined position, a positioning section 120 based on the outer shape of the pellicle is provided inside the pellicle container. For example, FIG.
In the pellicle container shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 13, the protruding positioning portions 120 are scattered along the contour of the pellicle. However, since the positioning of the pellicle 50 is performed by the scattered positioning portions 120, the projections must be made somewhat high. Therefore, there is a possibility that foreign matter cannot be completely removed by brush cleaning such as automatic cleaning.

An object of the present invention is to prevent the adhesive from being adversely affected even when stored for a long period of time, to be excellent in the prevention of dust generation in a pellicle container due to vibrations during storage and transport, and to be used for cleaning during reuse. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pellicle container in which foreign substances can be easily removed.

[0013]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
(1) The invention according to claim 1 includes a pellicle frame 1, a pellicle film 2 stretched on one surface of the pellicle frame 1, and a pellicle film 2 stretched on the pellicle frame 1. A pellicle container for storing a pellicle 5 composed of an adhesive 3 applied to another surface facing the surface and an adhesive protection sheet 4 that is uniform or partially larger than the outer shape of the pellicle frame 1. , Pellicle 5
The present invention is applied to a pellicle container having a mounting table 10 on which the mounting table 10 is mounted and a lid 20 that covers the mounting table 10 so that the mounting table 10 can be opened and closed. When the cover 20 is closed, the adhesive protection sheet 4 is placed on the mounting table 1.
The above-mentioned object is achieved by having the holding member 21 for holding the holding member 21 between zero. (2) According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the pellicle container according to the first aspect, the holding member 21 is formed integrally with the lid 20. (3) According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the pellicle container according to the first aspect, the holding member 21 is formed separately from the lid 20. (4) In the pellicle container according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the pellicle container according to the first aspect, the positioning portion, which is higher than the thickness of the adhesive protection sheet and is equal to or less than 1 mm, conforms to the outer shape of the pellicle frame. It is provided.

In the meantime, in the section of the means for solving the above-mentioned problems, which explains the structure of the present invention, the drawings of the embodiments of the present invention are used to make the present invention easy to understand. It is not limited to the embodiment.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

-First Embodiment- Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a pellicle container according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a top view, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing details of a portion P shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. It is the figure which expanded the part. As shown in FIG. 1, the pellicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention has a rectangular frame-shaped pellicle frame 1 having one surface on which a pellicle film 2 is stretched, and a pellicle film 2 on which a pellicle film 2 is stretched. And an adhesive protection sheet 4 for protecting the adhesive 3 applied to the other surface. A pellicle container for housing the pellicle 5 configured as described above includes a mounting table 10 constituting a container main body,
The pellicle 5 is placed on the mounting portion 15 of the mounting table 10, and the pellicle 5 is placed on the mounting portion 15 to cover the pellicle 5 in a container to prevent foreign matter from adhering. To prevent. Note that FIGS. 2 and 3 show the state in which the lid 20 has been removed to avoid complication.

At the center of the mounting table 10, there is formed a mounting portion 15 which is raised more like a plateau than other portions of the mounting table 10, and the pellicle 5 is mounted on the mounting portion 15. The adhesive protection sheet 4 of the pellicle 5 is provided around the mounting portion 15.
A positioning portion 12 having a height h1 and a shape conforming to the outer shape of the pellicle 5 is formed integrally with the mounting table 10, so that the pellicle 5 in the horizontal direction with respect to the mounting table 10 with respect to the outer shape of the adhesive protection sheet 4. Positioning becomes possible.

The thickness t of the adhesive protection sheet 4 is usually about 130 to 260 μm, but the height h1 of the positioning portion 12 is not less than the thickness t of the adhesive protection sheet 4 and not more than 1 mm. By doing so, it is easy to remove foreign substances in cleaning when the pellicle container is reused, and the positioning function of the pellicle 5 is not impaired.

The positioning portion 12 is provided with a notch portion 14 as shown in FIG. 2, which is a tab 6 serving as a handle when the adhesive protective sheet 4 is peeled off from the pellicle 5. This is to avoid interference. The notch 14 and the tab 6 can be used as a guide for determining the pellicle mounting direction when the pellicle 5 is mounted on the mounting table 10, and the workability is improved.

The mounting table 10 has been described above. Next, the lid 20 will be described. A mounting portion 15 provided at the center of the mounting table 10 is provided at the center of the lid 20.
Is formed, and a space for accommodating the pellicle 5 is formed between the mounting portion 15 and the lid portion 23.

When the lid 20 is placed on the mounting table 10 on which the pellicle 5 is mounted, the mounting portion 15
A rib 21 that contacts and presses the outer peripheral portion of the adhesive protection sheet 4 of the pellicle 5 placed thereon is formed integrally with the lid 20 along the inner periphery of the positioning portion 12.

With the above configuration, the pellicle 5
The outer edge of the adhesive protection sheet 4 and the positioning portion 12 are positioned substantially horizontally with respect to the mounting table 10, and further, the outer peripheral portion of the adhesive protection sheet 4, specifically, a portion protruding from the outer shape of the pellicle frame 1. Is sandwiched between the mounting portion 15 and the ribs 21 provided on the lid 20, thereby preventing movement in the vertical and horizontal directions.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, since the pellicle 5 is fixed via the adhesive protection sheet 4 in the pellicle container, the pellicle frame 1 is And no force is applied to the adhesive 3. Therefore, the flatness of the adhesive 3 applied to the pellicle 5 is maintained even after long-term storage.

In the above description of the embodiment, the adhesive protection sheet 4 of the pellicle 5 is mounted on the mounting portion 15 of the mounting table 10.
A positioning portion 12 having a height h1 and a shape conforming to the outer edge shape of the pellicle 5 is formed integrally with the mounting table 10, and the pellicle 5 is mounted on the mounting portion 15.
Although the example in which the outer edge of the adhesive protection sheet 4 is aligned with the positioning portion 12 when mounting on the positioning portion 12 is described, the positioning portion 12 is replaced with the positioning portion 12 as shown in FIG.
The positioning line 12a may be provided on the mounting portion 15 by a method such as color molding or printing. By doing so, the placing section 1
The unevenness on the surface 5 is eliminated, and it is possible to provide a pellicle container excellent in foreign matter removal property at the time of cleaning.

-Second Embodiment- Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As in the first embodiment, when the height h1 of the positioning unit 12 is set to the minimum necessary,
When mounting the pellicle 5 on the mounting table 10, the positioning unit 1
2 may be difficult to see. Therefore, in this embodiment, an auxiliary positioning portion 13 having a height h2 is provided at a key position on the positioning portion 12. The height h2 of the auxiliary positioning portion 13
Is about 2 to 4 mm, and is scattered only at important points above the positioning portion 12, so that the easiness of removing foreign substances at the time of cleaning is not impaired.

-Third Embodiment- A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the first and second embodiments described above, the example in which the rib 21 is formed integrally with the lid 20 has been described.
In the third embodiment, the rib 21 is replaced by a separate holding frame 30.

The holding frame 30 is provided as a component separate from the lid 20 or the mounting table 10, and is formed in a frame shape surrounding the outer periphery of the pellicle. By interposing the holding frame 30 between the mounting table 10 on which the pellicle 5 is mounted and the lid 20, the same effect as in the first and second embodiments can be obtained, and the lid can be obtained. There are no protrusions on the inner surface of the inner surface 20 which hinder the workability of cleaning, and foreign matter can be easily removed.

Further, by making the material of the holding frame 30 different from the material of the lid 20 and having a relatively low elastic coefficient, the thickness of the adhesive protection sheet 4 can be varied, and the thickness of the lid 20 can be reduced. It is possible to absorb the gap or rattling of the joint A between the lid 20 and the mounting table 10 which may exist due to the variation in the dimensions of the mounting table 10 by the elastic deformation of the holding frame 30, thereby ensuring higher sealing performance. It is possible to prevent foreign matter from entering from outside.

-Fourth Embodiment- A fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first to third embodiments, the positioning portion 12 is provided on the mounting table 10 over substantially the entire circumference so as to follow the contour conforming to the outer edge shape of the adhesive protection sheet 4. As a reference, the pellicle 5 is positioned in the horizontal direction, and the outer edge of the adhesive protective sheet 4 protrudes over the entire outer periphery of the pellicle frame 1, and the protruding portion is pressed by the ribs 21 or 30 over substantially the entire circumference. However, in the fourth embodiment, the positioning and the pressing are performed by arranging the positioning portions 12b and the ribs 21b that are provided partially so as to be along the outer edge shape of the pellicle 5. Things.

FIG. 9 is a top view of a pellicle container according to the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing details of a portion Q in FIG. 9 and 10, the lid 20b is omitted to avoid complication of the drawings.

In FIG. 9, tabs 41 are provided at four places on the adhesive protective sheet 4b. With respect to the portion other than the tab 41, the outer dimensions of the adhesive protection sheet 4b substantially match the outer edge dimensions of the pellicle frame 1. Further, the positioning portions 12b are scattered along a contour conforming to the outer shape of the pellicle frame 1, and perform the positioning of the pellicle 5 in the horizontal direction.

Referring to FIG. 10, the lid 20b has four ribs 21b facing the tab 41.
Are provided integrally, and each rib 21b presses the tab 41, respectively, whereby the pellicle frame 1
Are not directly pressed, but the tab 41 of the adhesive protection sheet 4b is pressed to prevent the pellicle 5 from moving vertically and horizontally.

As described above, in the description of the fourth embodiment, the positioning portion 12 is formed so as to follow the outer edge shape of the pellicle 5.
Although the example in which the pellicle 5 is positioned in the horizontal direction by scattered dots b has been described, the outer edge of the adhesive protection sheet 4b larger than the outer dimensions of the pellicle frame 1 is positioned by the positioning portion 12c as shown in FIG. May be. Further, the number and arrangement of the positioning portions when the positioning portions are scattered are not limited to those shown in FIG. 9 or FIG.

In the correspondence between the above embodiment and the claims, the rib 21 and the holding frame 30 constitute a holding member.

[0034]

【The invention's effect】

(1) According to the pellicle container according to the first to fourth aspects of the invention, the adhesive protective sheet of the pellicle is held together with the lid or between the holding member and the mounting table provided separately or separately. With this configuration, the pellicle can be held without applying force to the adhesive, and the pellicle can be prevented from floating in the pellicle container. Thereby, a pellicle container in which the adhesive does not deform due to long-term storage can be provided. (2) In particular, when the holding member is formed as a separate member as described in the third aspect, foreign matter can be easily removed when the lid is washed when the pellicle container is reused. In addition, when the holding member is provided separately, the pellicle container according to the present invention can be configured by merely interposing the holding member on the conventional lid, and the pellicle container can be formed by sharing the lid. Manufacturing costs can be reduced. (3) According to the pellicle container according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the height of the positioning portion is reduced, it is possible to provide a pellicle container in which foreign substances can be easily removed when the mounting table is washed when the pellicle container is reused. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a pellicle container according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the pellicle container according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing details of a portion P in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of the pellicle container according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the pellicle container according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of a pellicle container according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a main part of a pellicle container according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of a pellicle container according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a top view of a pellicle container according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing details of a portion Q in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a top view showing a modified example of the pellicle container according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a pellicle container according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 13 is a top view showing a pellicle container according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 pellicle frame 2 pellicle film 3 adhesive 4 adhesive protective sheet 5 pellicle 6, 41 tab 10 mounting table 12 positioning section 13 auxiliary positioning section 14 cutout section 15 mounting section 20 lid 21 rib 22 contact section 23 lid section 30 holding frame

Claims (4)

[Claims] A pellicle frame, a pellicle film stretched on one surface of the pellicle frame, and an adhesive applied to another surface of the pellicle frame facing the pellicle film-stretched surface;
A pellicle container for storing a pellicle composed of an adhesive protection sheet that is uniform or partially larger than the outer shape of the pellicle frame, and a mounting table on which the pellicle is mounted, and a mounting table that can be freely opened and closed. A pellicle container having a cover and a cover, wherein the pellicle container has a holding member for holding the adhesive protection sheet with the mounting table when the cover is closed. 2. The pellicle container according to claim 1, wherein said holding member is formed integrally with said lid. 3. The pellicle container according to claim 1, wherein the holding member is formed separately from the lid. 4. The pellicle container according to claim 1, wherein a positioning portion that is higher than the thickness of the adhesive protection sheet and 1 mm or less is provided according to the outer shape of the pellicle frame. container.