KR100607723B1 - Smif pod of smif apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a SMIF pod of an SMIF device, comprising: a pod door (100) on which a wafer cassette (1) is seated; A pod cover 200 coupled to an upper side of the pod door 100 and having a vent hole 210 formed at one side thereof; Coupled to the vent 210 of the pod cover 200, the residues such as gas fumes remaining on the wafer mounted on the wafer cassette 1 transferred into the pod cover 200 vent 210 of the pod cover 200 Exhaust unit 300 for exhausting through the outside; A detector 400 which detects the wafer cassette 1 when the wafer cassette 1 is transferred into the pod cover 200 and outputs a wafer cassette detection signal; Receiving a wafer cassette detection signal output from the sensing unit 400, and includes a control unit 500 for controlling the exhaust unit 300, the residue of the gas fumes, such as gas fumes remain on the surface of the wafer after the unit process When it is transferred to the inside of the SMIF pod by the wafer cassette in a state, the residue such as gas fume is evacuated to the outside of the SMIF pod to prevent the occurrence of polymeric particles on the wafer surface due to the residue such as the gas fume, This has the effect of improving the yield of the wafer.

Description

SMIF POD of SMIF device {SMIF POD OF SMIF APPARATUS}

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional SMIF device,

2 is an exploded perspective view of the SMIF pod of the SMIF device according to the present invention,

3 is a control block diagram of a SMIF pod of the SMIF device according to the present invention,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the exhaust of the SMIF pod of the SMIF device according to the present invention,

5 is a side cross-sectional view of the exhaust portion of the SMIF pod of the SMIF device according to the present invention,

6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a detector of a SMIF pod detects a wafer cassette of a SMIF device according to the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

100; Pod door 200; Pod cover

210; Vent 300; Exhaust

310; Housing 311; Air vent

312; Battery mounting space 320; motor

330; Blower fan 400; Detector

410; Light emitting element 420; Light receiving element

500; Control

The present invention relates to a SMIF pod of an SMIF device, and more particularly, to exhausts residues such as gas fumes generated during a wafer process and introduced into the SMIF pod together with the wafer cassette to the outside of the SMIF pod. It relates to the SMIF pod of an SMIF device that prevents residues from generating polymeric particles on the wafer surface.

SMIF is an abbreviation of Standard Mechanical Interface. It is used to prevent human error during atmospheric control and process processing in a clean room such as a small space. SMIF device is a peripheral device of semiconductor device manufacturing equipment that performs semiconductor device manufacturing process. Alternatively, the wafer cassette in which the wafer is stored is used to load / unload the semiconductor device manufacturing equipment.

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional SMIF device. As shown, the SMIF apparatus includes a SMIF pod 10 for accommodating the wafer cassette 1, an SMIF port 20 for storing or withdrawing the SMIF pod 10, and an inside of the SMIF port 20. It includes a drive unit 30 is provided to move the wafer cassette 1 in the vertical direction.

The SMIF pod 10 includes a pod door 11 provided below the cover, and a cover 13 mounted on the pod door 11 and covering the wafer cassette 1 in which the wafers W are aligned. Include.

In addition, since the inside of the SMIF pod 10 is preferably blocked from the inflow of air from the outside, the pod cover 13 is injected into the interior of the SMIF pod 10 to the engagement portion with the pod door 11 The sealing material 15 which consists of rubber materials for preventing this is provided.

The SMIF port 20 includes a port plate 21, a guide rail 23 and a port door 25 having an 'L' shape.

The port plate 21 is for keeping the lower surface of the SMIF pod 10 horizontally when the SMIF pod 10 is positioned on the SMIF port 20, and the guide rail 23 is used for the port plate 21. It is provided around each vertex and serves to guide the SMIF pod 10 to the desired position on the SMIF port 20.

The port door 25 is in contact with the pod door 11 is transferred vertically by the drive unit 30 to carry the wafer cassette 1 on the pod door 11.

In addition, a plurality of pod positioning pins 25a are positioned above the port door 25, and the pod positioning pins 25a are respectively inserted into insertion holes (not shown) formed in the bottom surface of the pod door 11. Then, the SMIF pod 10 is placed at a desired position.

The driving unit 30 includes a transfer member 31 coupled to the lower side of the port door 25, a lead screw 33 screwed to the transfer member 31 to transfer the transfer member 31 in the vertical direction, and a lead. It is connected to the screw 33 includes a motor 35 for rotating the lead screw 33.

The motor 35 is connected to a pulley 33a and a belt 34 whose shafts are axially coupled to the lead screw 33, and the conveying member 31 by rotating the lead screw 33 by the rotation of the motor 35. The port door 25 coupled to) is moved vertically along the lead screw 33.

The SMIF pod of the conventional SMIF device is applicable to an etching process or a deposition process using a gas fume, ie, CH-based gas, on the surface of a wafer after the unit process is completed. If the progress time to the next process is delayed after completion of the process, the CH-based fumes react with the surface of the wafer to form polymer particles, thereby lowering the yield.

Therefore, the presence of residues such as gas fumes in the wafer mounted on the wafer cassette transferred into the SMIF pod has serious consequences.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is that the wafer is transferred to the SMIF pod by the wafer cassette in the state that residues such as gas fumes remain on the surface after the unit process By evacuating residues such as gas fumes to the outside of the SMIF pod, it is possible to prevent the generation of polymeric particles on the wafer surface due to residues such as gas fumes, thereby providing a SMIF pod of the SMIF device which improves the yield of the wafer. It is.

The present invention for realizing such an object, and a pod door on which the wafer cassette is seated; A pod cover coupled to an upper side of the pod door and having a vent formed on one side thereof; An exhaust portion coupled to the vent hole of the pod cover and exhausting residues such as gas fumes remaining on the wafer mounted on the wafer cassette transferred into the pod cover to the outside through the vent hole of the pod cover; A detector for detecting a wafer cassette when the wafer cassette is transferred into the pod cover and outputting a wafer cassette detection signal; Receiving a wafer cassette detection signal output from the detection unit, characterized in that it comprises a control unit for controlling the exhaust unit.

An exhaust part is formed at one side of the exhaust part, a battery mounting space in which the battery is mounted is formed, and a housing coupled to the periphery of the ventilation hole in the outer surface of the pod cover; A motor installed in the housing and receiving power from the battery mounted in the battery mounting space; It characterized in that it comprises a blowing fan coupled to the rotating shaft of the motor.

The exhaust port of the housing is characterized in that a filter for purifying the residue, such as the gas fume to be exhausted is attached.

The sensing unit includes a light emitting device for outputting light of a constant wavelength, and a light receiving device for receiving light output from the light emitting device and outputting a wafer cassette detection signal, wherein the light emitting device and the light receiving device are located on the lower side of the inner side of the pod cover. It is installed so as to face each other, characterized in that for detecting the wafer cassette passing through the lower side of the pod cover to be transferred into the pod cover.

The control unit operates the exhaust unit only for a predetermined time when receiving the wafer cassette detection signal from the sensing unit to exhaust the residue such as gas fume in the pod cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention.

2 is an exploded perspective view of the SMIF pod of the SMIF device according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a control block diagram of the SMIF pod of the SMIF device according to the present invention. As shown, the SMIF pod of the SMIF device according to the present invention includes a pod door 100, a pod cover 200, an exhaust unit 300, a detection unit 400, and a controller 500. do.

The pod door 100 has a wafer cassette 1 seated on an upper side thereof, mounted on an upper side of a port door 25 (shown in FIG. 1) of an SMIF device, and moved vertically together with the port door 25. The wafer cassette 1 is transferred.

The pod cover 200 is coupled to the upper side of the pod door 100, the vent hole 210 is formed on one side. On the other hand, the pod cover 200 is provided with a sealing material 220 in the coupling portion with the pod door 100 for sealing when combined with the pod door 100.

The exhaust part 300 is coupled to the vent 210 of the pod cover 200, and the gas fume remaining on the wafer mounted on the wafer cassette 1 that is seated in the pod door 100 and transferred into the pod cover 200. The residue of the back is exhausted to the outside of the pod cover 200 through the vent 210.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the exhaust of the SMIF pod of the SMIF device according to the present invention, Figure 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the exhaust of the SMIF pod of the SMIF device according to the present invention. As shown, the exhaust part 300 forms a battery mounting space 312 in which an exhaust port 311 is formed on one side and the battery B is mounted, and the vent hole 210 is formed on the outer side of the pod cover 200. Coupled to the housing 310 coupled to the surroundings, the motor 320 is installed in the housing 310 and supplied with power from the battery (B) mounted in the battery mounting space 312, and coupled to the rotating shaft of the motor 320 Blowing fan 330 is included.

The housing 310 is coupled to the ventilation holes 210 of the pod door 200 by bolts 211 or screws. For this purpose, a plurality of screw holes 230 are formed around the ventilation holes 210 of the pod door 200, A flange 313 is formed at an end of the housing 310, and a screw hole 313a is formed on the flange 313 at a position corresponding to the screw hole 230 of the pod door 200.

On the other hand, the exhaust port 311 of the housing 310 may be attached to the filter 340 for purifying the residue, such as the exhaust gas fume. Therefore, the air cleanliness in the workplace is improved by purifying residues such as gas fumes and exhausting them to the outside.

The filter 340 is mounted inside the filter plug 350 in which the through hole 351 is formed in the center, and the filter plug 350 protrudes outward from the exhaust port 311 of the housing 310. Screwed into the shaft. Therefore, the filter cap 340 which is open after the filter cap 350 is opened from the round tube 360 may be replaced, or the filter 340 may be exchanged according to the components of residues such as gas fumes generated during the wafer unit process. .

In addition, the battery mounting space 312 of the housing 310 forms an opening 314 which communicates with the outside so that the battery B can be mounted from the outside, and the opening 314 has a door 315 that can be opened and closed. One side of the door 315 is hinged to the opening 314, the other side is coupled to the slider 315a for detachably coupling the opening 314 and the door 315 to each other.

The motor 320 is preferably a direct-current motor, the motor is fixed to the fork in the fork to the housing 310 and the branched end is attached to the inner surface of the housing 310, respectively, in order to mount the motor 320 to the housing 310; In the center of the member 370 is fixed with a bolt or a screw.

The blowing fan 330 is coupled to the rotation shaft of the motor 320 and is installed to be adjacent to the vent 210 of the pod cover 200.

The detection unit 400 detects this when the wafer cassette 1 is transferred into the pod cover 200 and outputs a wafer cassette detection signal.

On the other hand, the sensing unit 400 is composed of a light emitting device 410 for outputting light of a predetermined wavelength, and a light receiving device 420 for receiving the light output from the light emitting device 410 and outputs a wafer cassette detection signal, For example, the light emitting device 410 may include a light emitting diode, and for the light receiving device 420, a photodiode may be used.

In addition, the light emitting device 410 and the light receiving device 420 are respectively installed on the lower side of the inner side of the pod cover 200 to face each other, passing through the lower side of the pod cover 200 to be transferred into the pod cover 200. The wafer cassette 1 is sensed. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when the upper end of the wafer cassette 1 seated on the pod door 100 rising vertically by the port door 25 of the SMIF device passes through the lower side of the pod cover 200. The sensing unit 400 including the light emitting device 410 and the light receiving device 420 detects the same.

The controller 500 receives a wafer cassette detection signal output from the detector 400 and controls the exhaust unit 300. That is, the control unit 500 recognizes that the wafer cassette 1 is mounted into the pod cover 200 by receiving the wafer cassette detection signal output from the light receiving element 420 of the detection unit 400, and the battery mounting space 312. The motor 320 is driven by supplying the power of the battery B mounted to the motor 320 of the exhaust unit 300.

Meanwhile, the control unit 500 may operate the exhaust unit 300 only for a predetermined time when receiving the wafer cassette detection signal from the detection unit 400 to exhaust the residues such as gas fumes in the pod cover 200. have. Therefore, even if the control unit 500 operates the exhaust unit 300 only for a predetermined time determined according to the unit process of the wafer, the control unit 500 can completely exhaust the residues such as the gas fume in the pod cover 200. The base 300 is prevented from operating unnecessarily.

The operation of the SMIF pod of the SMIF device having such a structure is performed as follows. When the wafer cassette 1 on which the wafer having been processed in the unit process is mounted on the upper side of the pod door 100 is seated, the pod door 100 is lifted vertically by the port door 25 of the SMIF device, and the pod door 100 Wafer cassette (1) rising in the vertical direction along with the () is sensed by the light emitting element 410 and the light receiving element 420, respectively, the upper end facing each other below the inner side of the pod cover 200, the light receiving The control unit 500 recognizes by receiving the wafer cassette detection signal output from the element 420 to operate the blower fan 330 by supplying the power of the battery (B) to the motor 320 of the exhaust unit (300).

Therefore, residues such as gas fumes remaining in the wafers mounted on the wafer cassette 1 and transported in the SMIF pod are exhausted to the outside. On the other hand, residues such as gas fumes to be exhausted are exhausted to the outside in a state purified by the filter 340 attached to the exhaust port 311 of the housing 310.

In addition, the motor 320 that is mounted on the wafer cassette 1 into the SMIF pod and operates to exhaust residues such as gas fumes remaining on the transferred wafer is controlled by the controller 500 according to the wafer unit process. By only operating for a time to prevent the motor 320 is unnecessary to operate for a long time.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention as described above, when the wafer, which has been subjected to the unit process, is transferred into the SMIF pod by the wafer cassette while residues such as gas fumes remain on the surface, residues such as gas fumes are removed. Exhaust out of the SMIF pod prevents the generation of polymeric particles on the wafer surface due to residues such as gas fumes.

As described above, the SMIF pod of the SMIF device according to the present invention is transferred to the SMIF pod by the wafer cassette in the state in which the wafer after the unit process remains with residues such as gas fumes on the surface. By evacuating the residue to the outside of the SMIF pod, it is possible to prevent the generation of polymeric particles on the surface of the wafer due to residues such as gas fumes, thereby improving the yield of the wafer, and remaining of the gas fume and the like introduced into the SMIF pod. By purifying water by exhausting the filter at the time of exhaust, it has the effect of maintaining the cleanliness in a workplace.

What has been described above is only one embodiment for implementing the SMIF pod of the SMIF device according to the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, as claimed in the following claims of the present invention Without departing from the gist of the present invention, one of ordinary skill in the art will have the technical spirit of the present invention to the extent that various modifications can be made.

Claims (7)

In the SMIF pod of the SMIF device, A pod door on which the wafer cassette is seated; A pod cover coupled to an upper side of the pod door and having a vent formed on one side thereof; An exhaust unit coupled to an air vent of the pod cover and exhausting residues such as gas fumes remaining in a wafer mounted on a wafer cassette transferred into the pod cover to the outside through the air vent of the pod cover; A detector for detecting a wafer cassette when the wafer cassette is transferred into the pod cover and outputting a wafer cassette detection signal; A control unit which receives a wafer cassette detection signal output from the detection unit and controls the exhaust unit; SMIF pod of the SMIF device, characterized in that it comprises a. The method of claim 1, wherein the exhaust unit, An exhaust port is formed at one side, and a battery mounting space in which the battery is mounted is formed, and a housing coupled to the periphery of the ventilation hole in the outer surface of the pod cover; A motor installed in the housing and receiving power from a battery mounted in the battery mounting space; A blowing fan coupled to the rotating shaft of the motor; SMIF pod of the SMIF device, characterized in that it comprises a. 3. The SMIF pod of the SMIF apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a filter for purifying residues such as gas fumes exhausted is attached to the exhaust port of the housing. [4] The SMIF device of claim 3, wherein the filter is mounted inside a filter stopper having a through hole formed at a center thereof, and the filter stopper is screwed into a circular pipe protruding outward from an exhaust port of the housing. SMIF Pod. The SMIF pod of an SMIF device according to claim 1, wherein the sensing unit comprises a light emitting device for outputting light having a predetermined wavelength, and a light receiving device for receiving light output from the light emitting device and outputting a wafer cassette detection signal. . The method of claim 5, wherein the light emitting element and the light receiving element are respectively installed on the lower side of the inner surface of the pod cover to face each other, to detect the wafer cassette passing through the lower side of the pod cover to be transferred into the pod cover. SMIF Pods for SMIF devices. The SMIF device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit exhausts residues such as gas fume in the pod cover by operating the exhaust unit only for a predetermined time when receiving the wafer cassette detection signal from the sensing unit. SMIF Pod.

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