KR101608829B1 - Apparatus for removing fume - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wafer cassette on which wafers are loaded and an exhaust unit for discharging the fumes of the wafers loaded on the wafer cassette. The wafer cassettes are provided on both sides of a stacking table on which wafers are stacked, And the inclined portion includes an inclined portion inclined toward the wafer loaded on the table, the inclined portion being provided with a purge gas supplied to the wafer placed on the table, And a purge gas discharge port for discharging the purge gas.
Through the present invention, the process gas remaining on the wafer can be efficiently removed.

Description

Apparatus for removing fume

The present invention relates to a fume removing apparatus.

In general, the semiconductor manufacturing process includes etching, vapor deposition, and etching, and most of the processes are performed while the process gas is filled.

Most of the process gases are vented during the process, but some remain on the wafer surface, affecting wafer damage or polluting the devices used in the process.

In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent No. 10-1294143 of the present applicant discloses a wafer processing apparatus in which a fume removing function is provided in a cassette of an EFEM itself.

However, in the case of the above-described wafer processing apparatus, there is a disadvantage that the fumes on the entire wafer surface can not be removed uniformly.

(Patent Document 1) KR10-1294143 B1

An object of the present invention is to provide a fume removing apparatus for removing a process gas remaining on a wafer.

A fouling removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention includes: a wafer cassette on which a wafer is loaded; And an exhaust unit for exhausting the fumes of the wafer loaded on the wafer cassette, wherein the wafer cassette is provided on both sides and is loaded with a wafer; And a front opening provided in front of the loading table for loading and unloading wafers to be loaded on the loading table, wherein the loading table includes an inclined portion inclined toward the wafer loaded on the loading table toward the front opening, A purge gas outlet for supplying a purge gas to the wafer placed on the stage can be provided.

The space between the racks provided on both sides of the front opening may be smaller than the diameter of the wafer loaded on the wafer cassette.

Wherein the purge gas outlet includes a plurality of purge gas outlets, and at least a part of the purge gas outlet is provided in the inclined portion, wherein the stacker further comprises a purge gas flow path for flowing purge gas flowing into the stack to the purge gas outlet, And a plurality of branched flow paths branched from the main flow path to the plurality of purge gas discharge ports, respectively, wherein each of the plurality of branched flow paths is arranged to form an obtuse angle with the main flow path in the direction in which the purge gas is supplied .

The purge gas outlet may include a plurality of purge gas outlets, and at least a portion of the purge gas outlets may be provided in the inclined portion. The purge gas outlets may be provided with a larger diameter as the purge gas outlet is disposed closer to the front opening.

The purge gas outlet is provided in each of the vertically spaced stacked stages to supply purge gas to each of the vertically stacked wafers .

The stacker may further include a pin for supporting the wafer.

The wafer cassette may be at least partially transparent.

And a piercing plate provided on the rear surface for communicating the wafer cassette and the exhausting unit. The piercing plate may include a plurality of intake holes having a longer width toward the upper portion.

The exhaust unit may include a compressed air discharge accelerator for supplying compressed air to control the discharge pressure of the fume charged in the wafer cassette.

The compressed air discharge accelerator is provided with a tube communicating with an exhaust gas pressure sensor for sensing the exhaust pressure of the fume, and the end of the tube may be provided so as to face the discharge direction of the fume discharged through the compressed air discharge accelerator have.

And a first sensor for detecting presence or absence of a wafer in the wafer cassette.

And a second sensor for sensing whether the wafer loaded in the wafer cassette is loaded in place.

And an illumination unit for illuminating the inside of the wafer cassette.

And a heating member for heating the interior of the wafer cassette, wherein the heating member comprises: an upper heater provided on an upper surface of the case of the wafer cassette; A lower heater provided on a lower surface of the case of the wafer cassette; And a bar heater provided on a side surface of the case of the wafer cassette.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fouling removing apparatus comprising: a main body; A wafer cassette detachably mounted on the main body and loaded with a wafer; And an exhaust unit provided in the main body, for exhausting the fumes of the wafer loaded on the wafer cassette, the wafer cassette including: a case surrounding the wafer loaded on the wafer cassette through an upper surface, both sides and a lower surface; A plurality of stacks arranged on both sides of the case and spaced vertically so as to stack a plurality of wafers; And a piercing plate provided on a rear surface of the case for communicating the wafer cassette and the exhausting unit, wherein the stacking unit includes a purge gas outlet provided in each of a plurality of stacking tables for supplying a purge gas, The purge gas supplied to the wafer through the discharge port flows between the stacked wafers without being leaked out of the wafer cassette and can be exhausted to the exhaust section through the perforated plate.

The stack may further include a pin to minimize the area of supporting the wafer.

The stacker may be formed to have a width corresponding to a space between both sides of the case and the wafer loaded on the fin so that the purge gas supplied from each of the plurality of stackers provided at the upper and lower parts is not mixed with each other.

And a bezel for connecting the wafer cassette and the main body to prevent a purge gas from flowing into the space between the wafer cassette and the main body.

The wafer cassette may be detachably mounted on the base plate. The wafer cassette may be detachably mounted on the base plate.

The wafer cassette may further include a digital leveler for outputting an abnormal signal when the wafer cassette is not leveled when the wafer cassette is seated on the base plate.

The main body includes a purge gas supply port to which a purge gas supplied from the outside is supplied. The wafer cassette has a purge gas supply port coupling portion formed in a shape corresponding to the purge gas supply port and selectively coupled to the purge gas supply port And the purge gas supplied to the purge gas supply port may be discharged to the purge gas outlet of the stacker through the purge gas supply port coupling unit when the purge gas supply port coupling unit is engaged with the purge gas supply port.

Wherein the purge gas supply port includes protrusions, and the purge gas supply port coupling part includes a groove having a shape corresponding to the protrusion, and when the purge gas supply port coupling part is coupled to the purge gas supply port, Can be inserted.

The lower end of the main body may include a rotatable castor, and a leveler capable of moving up and down to fix the main body.

An interface unit may be provided outside the main body, and the interface unit may include a display unit for outputting an operating status.

The interface unit may further include a communication port capable of communicating with the outside.

The main body is provided with a discharge port for communicating the wafer cassette and the discharge section, and the position of the discharge port can be varied.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fouling removing apparatus comprising: a wafer cassette on which a wafer is loaded; And an exhaust unit for exhausting the fumes of the wafer loaded on the wafer cassette, wherein the wafer cassette is provided on both sides and is loaded with a wafer; And a purge gas supply port provided in the loading table for supplying a purge gas to the wafer mounted on the loading table, wherein the exhaust unit includes a compression unit for supplying a fluid to control the exhaust speed of the fume loaded on the wafer cassette, And an air discharge accelerator.

Wherein the compressed air discharge accelerator includes: a compressed air discharge portion into which the supplied fluid flows into the compressed air discharge accelerator; And a compressed air moving part formed to uniformly flow the supplied fluid throughout the compressed air discharging part.

The compressed air discharge accelerator may further include an expansion part provided to expand toward the discharge direction of the fume to induce a flow direction of the fluid flowing through the compressed air discharge part.

The compressed air discharge portion may be variable in size.

A regulator for controlling the pressure of the fluid supplied to the compressed air discharge accelerator; And an exhaust gas pressure sensor for sensing the exhaust pressure of the fume, wherein the regulator can be controlled by comparing the exhaust pressure of the fume measured by the exhaust gas pressure sensor with the atmospheric pressure.

A tube communicating with the exhaust gas pressure sensor may be provided in the compressed air discharge accelerator and the end of the tube may be disposed to face the discharge direction of the discharged fume through the compressed air discharge accelerator.

The wafer cassette is provided with a perforated plate including a plurality of intake holes communicating with the exhaust part. The fume of the wafer passing through the perforated plate is guided by an upper hopper at least partially having a streamlined shape, have.

The fumes that have been guided by the upper hopper and flowed to the exhaust section can be guided again by the lower hopper of the exhaust section.

Through the present invention, the process gas remaining on the wafer can be efficiently removed.

1 is a perspective view showing a foul removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view showing a fume removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention.
3 is an exploded perspective view showing a foul removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention.
4 (a) is a perspective view showing a configuration of an upper main body of the apparatus for removing fouling according to an example of the present invention, and FIG. 4 (b) is a sectional view taken along line I-I 'of FIG.
5 is a plan view showing a configuration of the upper main body of the apparatus for removing fume according to an example of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a bottom view showing a foul removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention. FIG.
7 is a perspective view showing the wafer cassette of the apparatus for removing foul spots according to an example of the present invention.
8 is a perspective view and a partial enlarged view showing a wafer cassette of a foul removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a loading table of a first wafer receiving portion of a vapor removing device according to an example of the present invention. FIG.
10 is a cross-sectional view showing a coupling structure of a wafer cassette, a base plate, and an upper body of a foul removing apparatus according to the present invention.
11 is a perspective view showing an exhaust part of the apparatus for removing foul water according to an example of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an interface unit of a foul removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 13 is a schematic view for explaining a flow path of purge gas, compressed air, and fumes in the apparatus for removing foul water according to an example of the present invention. FIG.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. It should be noted that, in adding reference numerals to the constituent elements of the drawings, the same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals even though they are shown in different drawings. In the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the difference that the embodiments of the present invention are not conclusive.

In describing the components of the embodiment of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. These terms are intended to distinguish the constituent elements from other constituent elements, and the terms do not limit the nature, order or order of the constituent elements. When a component is described as being "connected", "coupled", or "connected" to another component, the component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, Quot; may be "connected,""coupled," or "connected. &Quot;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a foul removing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 are perspective views showing a foul removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a foul removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention.

1 to 3, the apparatus for removing foul deposits according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a main body 100 and a wafer cassette 200.

The main body 100 can form the appearance of the foul removing device according to an example of the present invention. The main body 100 may include a partition 101, a front plate 102 and a first hook 103 as an example.

The partition 101 may be a standard for dividing the main body 100 into an upper main body 110 and a lower main body 120. That is, the upper portion of the partition 101 may be referred to as an upper body 110, and the lower portion of the partition 101 may be referred to as a lower body 120. Further, the partition 101 may be referred to as a lower surface of the upper body 110 or an upper surface of the lower body 120. The upper body 110 and the lower body 120 will be described later.

4, a height adjuster 310 of a base plate 300 to be described later is supported on the partition 101, and a height fixture 320 can be inserted and fixed. That is, the partition 101 can support the base plate 300, which will be described later.

In addition, a gas supply path 101a may be provided in the lower portion of the partition 101 as shown in FIG. The gas supply path 101a is a circuit for supplying a gas (hereinafter referred to as "purge gas") supplied to the wafer to remove the fumes of the wafer supplied through the purge gas connection port 570, which will be described later, To be supplied to a gas pipe (not shown). That is, the gas supply path 101a communicates the purge gas connection port 570 with the purge gas pipe of the wafer cassette 200. [

The front plate 102 forms the front surface of the main body 100 and can contact the EFEM (not shown). More specifically, the apparatus for removing faucets according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be a side storage provided at one side of the EFEM. Herein, the EFEM is an abbreviation of Equipment Front End Module, which is a module for supplying wafers to a process module .

In the front plate 102, a bezel 117 may protrude from the EFEM side to be contacted. Also, a first hook 103 may be provided on the rear side of the front plate 102.

The first hook 103 can be hooked to the second hook 111 of the upper body 110 to be described later and can be engaged with the hooks of the first hook 103 and the second hook 111, And the upper body 110 can be easily attached and detached.

The main body 100 may include an upper body 110 and a lower body 120 as an example. The upper body 110 and the lower body 120 will be described later.

4 (a) is a perspective view showing a configuration related to an upper main body of the apparatus for removing foul mist according to an example of the present invention, (b) is a sectional view taken along line I-I ' FIG. 6 is a bottom view showing a fume removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention. FIG.

1 to 5, the upper body 110 includes a second hook 111, a fastening portion (not shown), a front opening 113, an upper surface 114, a side surface 115, a bezel 117, A purge gas supply port 118, and a discharge port 119.

The second hook 111 may be formed in a shape corresponding to the first hook 111 of the front plate 102 and hooked to the first hook 111 as mentioned above. The second hook 111 may be formed such that the distal end of the hook is directed downward, for example, and the first hook 103 may be formed such that the distal end of the hook faces upward. In this case, it is convenient to remove the upper body 110 from the front plate 102 simply by lifting the upper body 110 upward.

The fastening part serves to fasten the upper body 110 to the lower body 120. That is, the attaching and detaching upper body 110 can be firmly coupled to the lower body 120 through the fastening portion. The fastening portion may include, for example, a structure for screw connection. That is, the upper main body 110 and the lower main body 120 can be fixed firmly by screwing.

The front opening 113 is formed in front of the upper main body 110 and functions as a transfer passage of the wafer. That is, the wafer is supplied to the upper main body 110 through the front opening 113 or the wafer is discharged from the upper main body 110. More specifically, the front opening 113 can communicate with the EFEM and the wafer transfer robot arm (not shown) of the EFEM can transfer the wafer to the wafer cassette 200 inside the upper body 110 through the front opening 113 Can supply. In addition, the wafer transfer robot arm of the EFEM can discharge the wafer loaded in the wafer cassette 200 inside the upper body 110 through the front opening 113.

The upper surface 114 is a term referring to the upper surface of the upper body 110. In an example of the present invention, the upper surface 114 may include a transparent plate 114a. In this case, the user of the apparatus for removing the foul mist according to an example of the present invention has an advantage that the inside of the upper body 110 can be observed through the transparent plate 114a.

The side surface 115 is a term referring to a surface forming the side of the upper body 110 and may include a transparent plate 115a like the upper surface. In this case, as described in the description of the upper surface 114, the user of the apparatus for removing the foul mist according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has an advantage of observing the inside of the upper body 110 through the transparent plate 115a have.

The bezel 117 may protrude from the front plate 102. The bezel 117 can be partially inserted into the EFEM when coupled with the EFEM through such a structure. Accordingly, the bezel 117 can be manufactured in consideration of the turning radius of the wafer transfer robot arm of the EFEM.

1, the bezel 117 engages the wafer cassette 200 and the upper main body 110 at a front side, and purge gas purged from the wafer cassette 200 is supplied to the wafer cassette 200 and the upper main body 110, To the space between the upper surface 110 and the upper surface 110a.

The purge gas supply port 118 is connected to the purge gas supply port combiner 270 and the purge gas supply port combiner 270 so that the purge gas supply port combiner 270 of the wafer cassette 200, And may be provided in a corresponding shape. The purge gas supply port 118 may include, for example, a protrusion 118a protruding inward as an example. In this case, the purge gas supply port coupling portion 270 is provided with a groove 271 having a shape corresponding to the projection 118a, so that the projection 118a is inserted into the groove 271, 110 and the wafer cassette 200 can be combined.

The fume discharge port 119 serves to discharge fumes (residual process gas) generated from the wafer loaded on the wafer cassette 200. In the process module, the process proceeds to the process gas atmosphere (the process gas is supplied to the inside of the process chamber). Even after the process is completed, the process gas remains on the wafer. However, the process gas remaining on the wafer affects wafer damage or contamination of devices used in the process. The fume discharge port 119 serves as a passage for communicating with the exhaust part 400 to be described later and discharging the process gas remaining on the wafer. As an example, the fumes remaining on the wafer received in the wafer cassette 200 may flow along the upper hopper 260 of the wafer cassette 2000 and enter the lower hopper 410 through the fume outlet 119 and then be discharged .

Further, the fume discharge port 119 may be formed by the fume discharge port forming portion 119a as shown in Fig. The fume discharge port forming portion 119a is movable so as to change the position of the fume discharge port 119. [ Accordingly, there is an advantage that the position of the discharge port 119 can be adjusted when the apparatus for removing the foul mist according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed in the EFEM, so that it can be used in both the left and right sides of the EFEM.

2 and 6, the lower main body 120 may include a side surface 121, a bottom surface 122, a discharge port 123, a caster 124, a leveler 125, and a door 126 have.

The side surface 121 may include an interface unit 500 as shown in FIG. 2, which will be described later.

The lower surface 122 may be formed with a bottom surface of the lower main body 120 and a foaming outlet 123, a caster 124 and a leveler 125 to be described later.

The fume discharge port 123 may communicate with the connection port 450 of the exhaust unit 400 to be described later and serve as a passage for discharging the fume discharged through the exhaust unit 400 to the outside. The discharge port 123 may be circularly formed at the center of the lower surface 122 of the lower main body 120, but is not limited thereto.

The casters 124 are provided on the lower surface 122 of the lower main body 120 to increase the mobility of the fouling removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention. More specifically, the castor 124 is provided with a wheel so that the fouling device can easily move through the rotation of the castor 124.

The leveler 125 is provided on the lower surface 122 of the lower main body 120 to increase the fixing force of the foul removing device according to an example of the present invention. More specifically, the leveler 125 can move up and down by rotation and protrude from the lower surface 122 of the lower main body 120 more than the caster 124. When the leveler 125 protrudes from the lower surface 122 of the lower main body 120 more than the caster 124, the caster 124 floats in the air, so that the user can not easily move the fume removing device State. Of course, even when both the caster 124 and the leveler 125 are touching the floor, the movement of the fume removing apparatus can be restricted. Further, the leveler 125 can also be used to adjust the height when installing the de-humidifier in the EFEM.

When the user desires to move the fume removing device, the user may turn the leveler 125 to move the fuser 125 to the upper part so that the caster 124 touches the bottom surface of the fume removing device. In this state, the user can move the fume removing device only by a force that pushes the fume removing device. If the fume removing apparatus is installed in the EFEM, the leveler 125 may be rotated to move the leveler 125 so that the leveler 125 can reach the floor so that the foul removing apparatus can be firmly installed without moving.

The door 126 is provided on a side surface 121 of the lower main body 120 and can be selectively opened and closed. That is, the user can easily access the inside of the lower main body 120 by opening and closing the door 126.

A wafer cassette 200 loaded with wafers is accommodated in the upper body 110. In addition, the wafer cassette 200 can also be described as being supported by the lower body 120. The wafer cassette 200 will be described in detail below.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a wafer cassette of a foul removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a perspective view and a partially enlarged view showing a wafer cassette of a foul removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention, Fig. 7 is a plan view showing a loading table of a first wafer accommodating portion of a vapor removing device according to an example of the invention.

7 to 9, the wafer cassette 200 of the apparatus for removing foul deposits according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a case 210, a first wafer accommodating portion 220, a second wafer accommodating portion 230, A first sensor 292, a second sensor (not shown), and a second sensor (not shown). The first sensor 292 and the second sensor 292 are connected to each other through a connection member 240, a perforated plate 250, an upper hopper 260, a purge gas supply port coupling unit 270, And an illumination unit 294. The illumination unit 294 may be a light source.

The case 210 can form an appearance of the wafer cassette 200. [ The case 210 may be larger than the wafer so as to accommodate the wafer therein. The case 210 may be formed to be hermetically sealed except for a portion corresponding to the front opening 113 of the upper body 110 as shown in Figs. In this case, the purge gas injected from the purge gas outlet 226 of the first wafer accommodating portion 220, which will be described later, can flow and be discharged only in the case 210. That is, when the case 210 is not provided, the purge gas discharged to the wafer flows through the entire inside of the upper body 110 and is used to remove the fumes of the wafer as compared with the case 210 provided The amount of the purge gas is increased. In other words, the sealing structure of the case 210 may serve to save the amount of purge gas used to remove the fume of the wafer. This may be explained by the sealing structure of the case 210 improving the fumigation efficiency of the wafer.

The case 210 may have a front opening 211 formed at a size corresponding to a position corresponding to the front opening 113 of the upper body 110. The front opening 211 of the case 210 can function as an access passage for the wafer. As described above, the case 210 may have a closed structure except for the front opening 211.

The case 210 may include an upper heater 241, a leveler 291, and the like on the upper surface 212. The upper heater 241 and the leveler 291 will be described later.

The case 210 may have a first wafer receiving portion 220, a second wafer receiving portion 230, a side gas pipe 282, and a bar heater (not shown) on the side surface 213. The first wafer receiving portion 220, the second wafer receiving portion 230, the side gas pipe 282, and the bar heater will be described later.

In addition, the case 210 may include a perforated plate 250 and an upper hopper 260 on the rear surface 214. The perforated plate 250 and the upper hopper 260 will be described later.

The case 210 includes a lower heater 242, a purge gas supply port coupling unit 270, a lower gas pipe (not shown), a first sensor 292, a second sensor (not shown) And an illumination unit 294. The lower heater 242, the purge gas supply port coupling unit 270, the lower gas pipe, the first sensor 292, the second sensor and the illumination unit 294 will be described later.

The first wafer receiving portion 220 serves to support the wafer and supply purge gas to the wafer. The first wafer receiving part 220 may be provided on both sides of the side surface 213 of the case 210, as shown in FIG. In addition, the first wafer receiving part 220 may include a plurality of stacking units 221, which can stack a single wafer, in a vertically spaced configuration. The wafer can be taken in and out of the spacing spaces between the plurality of stacking units 221. In other words, the wafer transfer robot arm of the EFEM can move the wafer through and out of the spacing space between the plurality of stacking units 221. Through such a structure, the first wafer receiving portion 220 can support a plurality of wafers stacked and separated from each other.

The mounting table 221 may include an inclined portion 222 as an example. 8 and 9, the inclined portion 222 is a portion inclined toward the circular wafer mounted on the loading table 221 as a part of the loading table 221 and projecting toward the circular wafer. The inclined portion 222 may be provided with a second purge gas outlet 226c to be described later. The second purge gas discharge port 226c supplies a purge gas to the front of the circular wafer loaded on the loading table 221 (see FIG. 8) (see FIG. 8) . That is, the inclined portion 222 of the mounting table 221 and the second purge gas discharge port 226c provided on the inclined portion 222 are disposed on the wafer placed on the table 221, It does not have any area.

Further, the table 221 may have a pin 223 for supporting the wafer. A plurality of pins 223 may be provided on the stage 221 to support the wafer. The pin 223 may be, for example, a thin rod as shown in FIG. When the wafer is supported by the pin 223, the contact portion between the wafer and the other member is minimized to support the wafer, thereby minimizing the damage of the wafer due to contact.

In the case of the loading table 221, it may have a predetermined width (see w in Fig. 9). In this case, the purge gas supplied to the wafer loaded on the fin 223 flows only in the horizontal direction in a state where the purge gas clogged with the loading table 221 and the wafer is restricted. That is, when the stage 221 has a width to fill the space between the wafer and the case 210, the vertical movement of the purge gas by the stage 221 and the wafer is limited, Is advantageous in that the amount of energy is saved. This can be explained by improving the fume removal efficiency of the wafer as well as the sealing structure of the case 210 mentioned above.

The stage 221 may have a purge gas inlet 224 for receiving a side gas line 282 for supplying a purge gas. That is, the purge gas may be introduced into the loading table 221 through the purge gas inlet 224.

Further, the stage 221 may be provided with a purge gas flow path 225 and a purge gas discharge port 226. The purge gas channel 225 is a channel through which the purge gas introduced through the purge gas inlet 224 flows to be discharged through the purge gas outlet 226. That is, the purge gas outlet 226 is a passage through which the purge gas introduced through the purge gas inlet 224 passes through the purge gas passage 225. The purge gas discharged through the purge gas outlet 226 is supplied to the wafer loaded on the loading table 221.

The purge gas flow path 225 may include a plurality of branched flow paths 225b, 225c, 225d, and 225e branched from the main flow path 225a. The purge gas passage 225 includes a main passage 225a, a first branch passage 225b, a second branch passage 225c, a third branch passage 225d and a fourth branch passage 225e can do. The first branched flow path 225b to the fourth branched flow path 225e may be sequentially called backward from the front (direction in which the wafer is supplied). The first branched flow path 225b to the fourth branched flow path 225e may be formed to have an obtuse angle with the main flow path 225a in the direction in which the purge gas is supplied. The flow path for injecting a relatively small amount of the purge gas among the first branch flow path 225b to the fourth branch flow path 225e may be perpendicular or acute to the main flow path 225a in the direction in which the purge gas is supplied Can be deployed. The diameters of the first branch passage 225b, the second branch passage 225c, the third branch passage 225d and the fourth branch passage 225e may be different from each other. Here, the diameter can be understood as a concept including an index indicating the size of the polygon such as width, width, and the like. The diameters of the first branched flow passage 225b, the second branched flow passage 225c, the third branched flow passage 225d and the fourth branched flow passage 225e are the same as the diameters of the first branched flow passage 225b, And can be made smaller toward the flow path 225e. The diameters of the first branch passage 225b, the second branch passage 225c, the third branch passage 225d and the fourth branch passage 225e are the same as the diameters of the first purge gas outlet 226b, The purge gas outlet 226c, the third purge gas outlet 226d, and the fourth purge gas outlet 226e. Accordingly, the diameter of the first purge gas outlet 226b may be reduced toward the fourth purge gas outlet 226e. In this case, more purge gas is discharged from the purge gas outlet 226, which relatively discharges the purge gas toward the front of the wafer. At this time, since the purge gas discharged to the wafer flows from the front side (the front opening 211 side) to the rear side (the side of the pier plate 250), a larger amount of purge gas flows from the front to the back of the wafer.

In addition, a fixture (not shown) may be provided on the stage 221. A rod-shaped support member (not shown) may be inserted into the fixture so as to fix and support a plurality of stackers 221. That is, the plurality of stacking units 221 can be fixedly supported and spaced apart from each other through the fixture.

The mounting table 221 of the first wafer accommodating unit 220 may be provided on both sides of the inside of the case 210 of the wafer cassette 200. At this time, (B, see Fig. 8) may be provided so as to be smaller than the diameter of the wafer. This structure is advantageous for supplying the purge gas from the front of the wafer as mentioned above. However, in the present invention, it is possible to provide a spacing space between the stacking units 221 to prevent the wafer from entering and leaving the space.

The second wafer receiving portion 230 serves to support the wafer. Also, the second wafer receiving portion 230 may be described as supporting the wafer by assisting the first wafer receiving portion 220. The second wafer receiving portion 230 may be provided on both sides of the side surface 213 of the case 210, as shown in FIG. In addition, the second wafer receiving portion 230 may be provided relatively rearward as compared with the first wafer receiving portion 220. The second wafer receiving portion 230 may include a loading bar 231 and a pin 232 protruding from the loading bar 231. The pin 232 serves to support the wafer from below. The pin 232 of the second wafer receiving portion 230 may be provided in the form of a thin bar having the same shape as the pin 223 of the first wafer receiving portion 220 to minimize the contact area with the wafer can do.

The heating member 240 serves to heat the inside of the wafer cassette 200. The heating member 240 may include, for example, an upper heater 241, a lower heater 242, and a rod heater (not shown). The upper heater 241 may be provided on the upper surface 212 of the case 210. The lower heater 242 may be provided on the lower surface 215 of the case 210. The bar heater may be provided on the side surface 213 of the case 210. The heating member 240 can be uniformly disposed on the upper surface 212, the side surface 213 and the lower surface 215 of the case 210 as shown in the figure to uniformly heat the inside of the wafer cassette 200. [

The perforated plate 250 may be provided on the rear surface 214 of the case 210 as an example. Further, the perforated plate 250 may include a plurality of intake holes 251. The air intake hole 251 is a passage through which the fume and purge gas generated from the wafer accommodated in the wafer cassette 200 are discharged. The shape of the air intake hole 251 may be, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, but is not limited thereto. That is, the intake holes 251 may be formed in various shapes such as a circular shape, a polygonal shape, or the like, as long as they can only function as exhaust passages for fume and purge gas. However, the intake holes 251 may be formed so as to have a wider width toward the upper portion (see FIG. 8). In this case, the fume and purge gas inside the wafer cassette 200 can be uniformly discharged in the upper and lower portions. The fume and purge gas are discharged through the upper hopper 260 provided on the rear surface of the perforated plate 250 and the fume discharge port 119 provided in the partition wall 101 corresponding to the lower surface of the upper body 110, This is because the flow path of the fume and purge gas forms a flow velocity higher than that at the lower part of the wafer cassette 200 located relatively close to the discharge port 119.

The upper hopper 260 serves to guide the fume and purge gas discharged through the air intake hole 251 of the perforated plate 250 to the discharge port 119 of the upper body 110. The upper hopper 260 may include, for example, an inclined portion 261, a streamlined portion 262, and a discharge passage 263 as shown in Fig. The inclined portion 261 is positioned at the upper portion of the upper hopper 260 and guides the fume and purge gas discharged through the air intake hole 251 toward the lower discharge port 119. The streamlined portion 262 is positioned below the inclined portion 261 and serves to guide the fume and purge gas to the discharge port 119. The streamlined portion 262 can have a streamlined structure so that there is no yarn area where the fume and purge gas are stagnant. The discharge passage 263 is provided below the streamline portion 262 and can be inserted into the discharge port 119. The fume and purge gas discharged through the fume outlet 119 flows into the lower hopper 410 of the exhaust unit 400, which will be described later.

The purge gas inlet fitting portion 270 may be inserted into the hollow portion 301 of the base plate 300 and the purge gas inlet portion 118 of the upper body 110 as shown in FIG. The purge gas supply port coupling portion 270 is coupled to the hollow portion 301 and the purge gas supply port 118. When the purge gas supply port coupling portion 270 is coupled to the hollow 301 and the purge gas supply port 118, It becomes a state that can be. The purge gas supplied from the gas supply path 101a can be discharged to the wafer surface through the purge gas outlet 226 of the loading table 221 via a purge gas pipe (not shown), which will be described later. The purge gas supply port coupling portion 270 may include a groove 271 as an example. The groove 271 may be formed in a shape corresponding to the projection 118a of the upper body 110. In this case, when the purge gas supply port coupling part 270 is inserted into the purge gas supply port 118, the protrusion 118a is inserted into the groove 271, so that a firm coupling force can be formed. In addition, since the binding force between the purge gas supply port 118 and the purge gas supply port combining part 270 is improved through such a structure, leakage of the purge gas is prevented.

The purge gas pipe (not shown) is connected to the purge gas supply port coupling unit 270 and supplies purge gas to the purge gas inlet 224 of the first wafer storage unit 220. The purge gas pipe may include, for example, a lower gas pipe (not shown) and a side gas pipe 282. The lower gas pipe may be arranged along the lower surface 215 of the case 210 as an example. The lower gas pipe may connect the purge gas supply port coupling portion 270 and the side gas pipe 282. That is, the lower gas pipe can supply the purge gas supplied through the purge gas inlet fitting portion 270 to the side gas pipe 282. The side gas pipe 282 may be coupled to the purge gas inlet 224 as shown in FIG. 8 to supply the purge gas channel 225 with purge gas.

The leveler 291 serves to detect whether the wafer cassette 200 is horizontally installed. The leveler 291 may be, for example, a digital leveler. In this case, the horizontal measurement value of the wafer cassette 200 sensed by the leveler 291 can be displayed through the display unit 520 of the interface unit 500 to be described later. In addition, a separate gauge (not shown) may be provided on the interface unit 500 to display measured values measured by the digital leveler. In addition, when the measured value measured by the leveler 291 exceeds a reference value, that is, when the wafer cassette 200 is not horizontally fitted (in a correct position), a warning message (Not shown) may be provided. The warning output unit may be controlled by a control unit (not shown) to be described later. The horizontal adjustment of the wafer cassette 200 is performed by the base plate 300, which will be described later.

The first sensor 292 senses the presence or absence of a wafer in the wafer cassette 200. The first sensor 292 may be provided on the bottom surface 215 of the case 210 as shown in FIG. 8 as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The first sensor 292 may be connected to the control unit and the control unit may control to stop the discharge of the purge gas when it is determined by the first sensor 292 that no wafer exists in the wafer cassette 200 have.

The second sensor (not shown) serves to detect whether or not the wafer loaded on the pins 223, 232 of the stackers 221, 233 of the wafer cassette 200 protrudes forward, that is, whether the wafer is loaded in the correct position do. The second sensor may be provided on the lower surface 215 of the case 210, but is not limited thereto. The second sensor may be connected to the control unit. If it is determined by the second sensor that the wafer can not be loaded in the predetermined position, the second sensor may output a warning message or a warning sound through the alarm output unit. The EFEM wafer transfer robot arm To control the wafer to be loaded in place.

The illumination unit 294 serves to illuminate the inside of the wafer cassette 200. As an example, the upper body 110 may include transparent plates 114a and 115a and the wafer cassette 200 may be made of a material that is transparent to the case 200. In this case, When the light is irradiated inside the cassette 200, the user can observe whether or not the work inside the wafer cassette 200 is progressing from the outside. The illumination unit 294 may be, but is not limited to, an LED as an example.

10 is a cross-sectional view showing a coupling structure of a wafer cassette, a base plate, and an upper body of a foul removing apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 10, the apparatus for removing foul water according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further include a base plate 300.

The base plate 300 is provided between the wafer cassette 200 and the partition 101 of the main body 100 to adjust the horizontal and vertical positions of the wafer cassette 200. That is, the base plate 300 may include a leveling structure. The base plate 300 may include, for example, a hollow portion 301, a height adjuster 310, and a height fixture 320. The purge gas supply port fitting portion 270 of the wafer cassette 200 may be inserted into the hollow portion 301 of the base plate 300. 4, the height adjuster 310 of the base plate 300 may be moved up and down by rotation to adjust the distance between the base plate 300 and the partition wall 101. As shown in FIG. 4, the height fixture 320 of the base plate 300 penetrates the base plate 300 and is at least partially inserted into the partition 101 to fix the base plate 300 to the main body 100 can do. The height fixture 320 may be screwed to the main body 100, for example, but is not limited thereto.

Of course, the wafer cassette 200 itself may be provided with a structure for adjusting the level and the height. However, in an embodiment of the present invention, even when a plurality of wafer cassettes 200 are used in combination by applying the horizontal and vertical adjustment structure of the wafer cassette 200 to the base plate 300, There is no need to adjust the temperature.

11 is a perspective view showing an exhaust part of the apparatus for removing foul water according to an example of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, the apparatus for removing foul water according to an example of the present invention may further include an exhaust unit 400.

The exhaust unit 400 can suck the fumes generated from the wafer loaded in the wafer cassette 200 and the purge gas injected from the wafer cassette 200 and exhaust it to the outside. The exhaust unit 400 may include a lower hopper 410, a first exhaust pipe 420, a second exhaust pipe 430, an exhaust pump 440, and a connection port 450.

The lower hopper 410 may be provided on a lower surface of the upper body 110 or below the partition wall 101. That is, the lower hopper 410 may be provided inside the lower main body 120. The lower hopper 410 communicates with the fume discharge port 119 of the upper body 110 and guides the flow of the fume and purge gas discharged through the fume discharge port 119. The lower hopper 410 can guide the fume and purge gas discharged through the discharge port 119 to the first exhaust pipe 420. The lower hopper 410 forms a double hopper structure together with the upper hopper 260 located in the upper body 110. In one embodiment of the present invention, backflow of exhaust fumes and exhaust gas through the double hopper structure can be minimized. Further, the lower hopper 410 can have a streamlined structure with an open top, thereby minimizing the yarn area where the fume and purge gas are stagnated.

The first exhaust pipe 420 can connect the lower hopper 410 and the second exhaust pipe 430. That is, the fumes and the exhaust gas flowing into the first exhaust pipe 420 through the lower hopper 410 can flow to the second exhaust pipe 430. The first exhaust pipe 420 may include a connecting pipe (not shown) and a connecting end 422 as an example. The connection pipe may connect the lower hopper 410 and the first exhaust pipe 420. Therefore, the connection pipe may include a sealing member so as to prevent fumes and exhaust gas from leaking at the connection end. The connection end 422 may be formed on the side of the first exhaust pipe 420 and connected to a separate pipe (not shown). As an example, the connection end 422 may communicate with a pipe (not shown) connecting the inside of the EFEM. In this case, there is an advantage that only a relatively simple piping structure can be installed to remove fluids such as fumes in the EFEM. The connecting end 422 may be provided with an opening / closing member such as a damper and may be controlled to be opened only during use.

The second exhaust pipe 430 connects the first exhaust pipe 420 and the connection port 450. An exhaust pump 440 may be provided inside the second exhaust pipe 430 as an example.

The exhaust pump 440 can control the flow direction and speed of the fluid on the flow path leading to the upper hopper 260, the lower hopper 410, the first exhaust pipe 430 and the second exhaust pipe 430. That is, the fume and purge gas in the wafer cassette 200 can be discharged to the outside by the exhaust pump 440, and the discharge amount per unit time of the fume and purge gas can be increased or decreased.

The exhaust pump 440 may be provided as a member for controlling the speed of the fluid by supplying compressed air through a compressor (not shown) without using a motor as an example. Hereinafter, this member will be referred to as a compressed air discharge accelerator . It should be noted, however, that the compressed air supplied to the compressed air discharge accelerator may be replaced by another fluid. In this case, there is an advantage that the vibration transmitted to the fume removing apparatus is minimized as compared with the case of using a motor. Further, although the motor is continuously required to be replaced, the compressed air discharge accelerator has the advantage of solving such a problem. In FIG. 11, the structure of the compressed air discharge accelerator is shown in detail in cross section.

11, the compressed air discharge accelerator includes a first body 441, a second body 442, an expansion portion 443, a compressed air movement portion 444, and a compressed air discharge portion 445 can do.

The first body 441 and the second body 442 may be hollow tubes, as shown in FIG. 11, at least partially corresponding to each other. When the first body 441 and the second body 442 are coupled, a compressed air moving part 444 and a compressed air discharging part 445 may be provided between the first body 441 and the second body 442. The compressed air moving unit 444 is a space through which compressed air introduced through an external compressor can flow. The compressed air discharging unit 445 compresses compressed air, which has flowed through the compressed air moving unit 444, The first body 441 and the second body 442, respectively. In other words, the compressed air supplied to the compressed air discharge accelerator flows through the compressed air moving portion 444, which is a space between the first body 441 and the second body 442, and flows through the compressed air discharging portion 445 And flows into the first body 441 and the second body 442. At this time, the compressed air is discharged along the compressed air discharging portion 445 after the compressed air moving portion 444 is filled, so that the discharged compressed air can be discharged uniformly without being deviated to one side. The compressed air discharging portion 445 may be manufactured in various sizes. In addition, the compressed air discharging portion 445 may be provided to be variable. The variable structure of the compressed air discharging portion 445 can be realized by providing the first body 441 and the second body 442 so as to be relatively movable. In this case, since the amount of the compressed air discharged through the compressed air discharge portion 445 is variable, the exhaust speed of the exhaust gas discharged through the compressed air discharge accelerator can be changed.

The second body 442 may include an expanding portion 443 having a larger diameter toward the lower portion. In this case, the compressed air introduced into the inside of the first body 441 and the second body 442 flows toward the wide diameter portion of the expanded portion 443. This is because the pressure of the gas acting on the portion having a larger diameter than the portion having a smaller diameter is relatively small, and the gas having the higher pressure tends to flow toward the lower pressure side. That is, the expanding portion 443 can serve to determine the direction of the flow of the compressed air flowing into the first body 441 and the second body 442. When compressed air flows in the compressed air discharge accelerator, the fume and purge gas in the wafer cassette 200 communicated through the upper hopper 260, the lower hopper 410 and the first exhaust pipe 430 The discharge direction and the speed are influenced.

Referring to FIG. 13, the compressed air discharge accelerator may further include a valve 446, a regulator 447, and an operating air pressure sensor 448 as a configuration related to compressed air. The valve 446 may be a member for opening and closing the flow path of the compressed air. That is, whether or not the compressed air is supplied through the valve 446 can be determined. The valve 446 may be, for example, an on / off valve, but is not limited thereto and may be a valve that controls the amount of compressed air passing through, such as a damper. The regulator 447 can keep the speed or amount of the compressed air passing through the regulator 477 constant. That is, in one embodiment of the present invention, compressed air can be supplied to the compressed air discharge accelerator through the regulator 447 at a constant amount or at a constant rate. The working air pressure sensor 448 can sense the pressure of the compressed air provided to the compressed air discharge accelerator. The operation air pressure sensor 448 may be connected to the control unit and the control unit may output the pressure value measured by the operation air pressure sensor 448 to the display unit 520 to be described later, If it is different from the predetermined pressure value, a warning message can be outputted through the warning output section.

The exhaust pump 440 may be provided with a tube 575a at least a part of which is provided inside the exhaust pump 440 to communicate therewith. The tube 575a is connected to an exhaust gas pressure sensor 575 to be described later so as to measure the pressure of the exhaust gas passing through the exhaust pump 440. The tube 575a may be provided such that the end 575b faces the exhaust direction of the exhaust gas. In this case, a negative pressure is formed in the exhaust gas pressure sensor 575 connected to the tube 575a. It is confirmed through a plurality of experiments that a more accurate exhaust pressure is measured when the distal end 575b of the tube 575a takes a different direction Respectively.

The connection port 450 may connect the second exhaust pipe 430 to the discharge port 123 of the lower main body 120. That is, the fume and purge gas flowing to the exhaust pump 440 in the second exhaust pipe 430 through the connection port 450 can be discharged to the outside. The connection port 450 is coupled to one side of the fume discharge port 123 of the lower main body 120 and a discharge pipe (not shown) is provided on the other side to discharge the fume and purge gas to the outside.

12 is a perspective view showing the interface unit of the apparatus for removing foul odor according to an example of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 12, the apparatus for removing foul water according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further include an interface unit 500.

The interface unit 500 may include many configurations for the user to operate the operation of the fouling removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention. The interface unit 500 may be provided on the side surface 121 of the lower main body 120 as an example, but is not limited thereto.

The interface unit 500 includes an EMO switch 510, a display unit 520, an operation unit 530, a compressed air gauge 540, a purge gas gauge 541, a communication port 550, A purge gas connection port 560 and a purge gas connection port 570.

The EMO switch 510 can quickly shut off the power supply in an emergency. That is, the MO switch 510 may be an operation stoppage or a power off button used in an emergency situation. That is, when the user presses the EMO switch 510, the purge gas supplied to the wafer cassette 200, the electric power transmitted to the heating member 240, the compressed air delivered to the exhaust pump 440, Can be stopped. It is needless to say that a power switch separate from the EMO switch 510 may be provided.

The display unit 520 can output the current operation status and the like of the fume removing apparatus according to an example of the present invention. The display unit 520 can output, for example, a digital leveler, a first sensor 292, a second sensor, and a measurement value measured by the operation air pressure sensor 448, for example. The display unit 520 can function as a warning output unit and can output a warning message if necessary. Also, the display unit 520 may be connected to the control unit and controlled by the control unit. The display unit 520 is provided as a touch screen, for example, and can also serve as an operation unit 530 to be described later.

The interface unit 500 further includes a heater temperature control unit 521 for controlling the heating member 240 for controlling the internal temperature of the wafer cassette 200 and outputting the temperature of the heating member 240 . The heater temperature control unit 521 may be provided separately from the display unit 520 and the operation unit 530 to be described later but may be provided separately from the heater temperature control unit 521 by the display unit 520 and the operation unit 530, Can be performed.

The operation unit 530 may function as a means for the user to input a command to control the operation of the foul removing device according to an example of the present invention. The user can confirm whether or not the purge gas is supplied and the supply pressure (supply amount, supply time) through the operation unit 530, the temperature inside the wafer cassette 200 (whether the heating member 240 is operating) The supply of air and the supply pressure can be manipulated. In addition, items to be operated by the operation unit 530 may be output through the display unit 520 so that the user can confirm the items.

The compressed air gauge 540 can output the pressure of compressed air provided to the compressed air discharge accelerator which is an example of the exhaust pump 440 of the exhaust part 400. [ The compressed air gauge 540 may be coupled to an operating air pressure sensor 448 to output a sensed pressure value through the operating air pressure sensor 448. [

The purge gas gauge 541 can output the pressure of the purge gas purged into the wafer cassette 200. The purge gas gauge 541 may be connected to the purge gas pressure sensor 573 to output a sensed pressure value through the purge gas pressure sensor 573. [

The communication port 550 may be provided to communicate with the EFEF and the semiconductor process main equipment. That is, a communication cable capable of communicating with other equipment can be connected to the communication port 550.

The compressed air connection port 560 may be connected to an external compressor to supply compressed air to the compressed air discharge accelerator. That is, the compressed air discharged through the compressor can be supplied to the compressed air discharge accelerator through the compressed air connection port 560.

A purge gas connection port 570 may be connected to an external purge gas source (not shown) to supply purge gas to the wafer cassette 200. That is, the purge gas discharged through the purge gas supply source can be supplied to the wafer cassette 200 through the purge gas connection port 570.

13, the apparatus for removing fouling according to an example of the present invention further includes a valve 571, a regulator 572, a purge gas pressure sensor 573, and a filter 574 as a configuration for supplying purge gas can do.

The valve 571 may be a member for opening and closing the flow path of the purge gas. That is, whether or not the purge gas is supplied through the valve 571 can be determined. The valve 571 may be, for example, an on / off type valve, but is not limited thereto and may be a valve for controlling the amount of purge gas passing therethrough like a damper. The regulator 572 can maintain the speed or amount of the purge gas passing through the regulator 572 constant. That is, in one embodiment of the present invention, the purge gas can be supplied to the wafer cassette 200 through the regulator 572 at a constant or constant rate. The purge gas pressure sensor 573 can sense the pressure of the purge gas supplied to the wafer cassette 200. The purge gas pressure sensor 573 may be connected to the control unit and the control unit may output the pressure value measured by the purge gas pressure sensor 573 to the display unit 520, If it is different from the set input value, a warning message can be outputted through the warning output unit. The filter 574 serves to filter the purge gas supplied through the purge gas passage. As an example, the supplied purge gas may be nitrogen (N ₂ ), in which case unwanted fluids may be filtered through the filter.

The power connection port 580 may be coupled with a power cable for supplying power to the foul removing device according to an example of the present invention. That is, power may be supplied to the foul removing device through the power connection port 580.

Further, the apparatus for removing foul water according to an example of the present invention may further include an exhaust gas pressure sensor 575. The exhaust gas pressure sensor 575 is connected to a tube 575a provided at least partly inside the exhaust pump 440 to sense the pressure of the exhaust gas (fume and purge gas) exhausted through the exhaust part.

The apparatus for removing foul water according to an example of the present invention may further include a control unit. As described above, the control unit includes a digital leveler, a first sensor 292, a second sensor, an operation air pressure sensor 448, a purge gas pressure sensor 573, a display unit 520, an operation unit 530, Output unit, and the like. That is, the control unit may be connected to various sensors, a configuration for inputting operation control commands, a configuration for displaying the operation status, and the like for controlling the operation of the foul removing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, Can be controlled. However, it is needless to say that the configuration not mentioned may be controlled by the control unit.

Hereinafter, the operation of the apparatus for removing fume according to an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 13 is a structural view for explaining a flow path of purge gas, compressed air, and fume in the apparatus for removing fume according to an example of the present invention. FIG.

First, the heating member 240 provided inside the wafer cassette 200 operates to adjust the temperature inside the wafer cassette 200 to a user-set temperature. The wafers are stacked on the fins 223 of the first wafer receiving portion 220 and the fins 232 of the second wafer receiving portion 230 of the wafer cassette 200.

Thereafter, a purge gas (for example, nitrogen (N ₂ ) is introduced through the purge gas outlet 226 of the first wafer accommodating portion 220 to remove the process gas (fumes) remaining on the wafer loaded on the wafer cassette 200 ) Gas. On the other hand, compressed air is supplied to the compressed air discharge accelerator of the exhaust unit 400. The supply of the purge gas and the supply of the compressed air will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

First, referring to the process of supplying the purge gas, a purge gas is supplied from the purge gas supply source (not shown) through the flow path (a). The purge gas supplied on the flow path passes through a valve 571 which is opened or closed automatically or manually and is changed to a pressure preset by the user in the regulator 572 and supplied with a predetermined pressure by the purge gas pressure sensor 573 And is filtered through a filter 574 and then supplied into the wafer cassette 200. [ More specifically, the purge gas filtered by the filter 574 passes through the gas supply path 101a of the main body 100 to the purge gas supply port combiner 270 provided on the lower surface 215 of the wafer cassette 200 Flows through the lower gas pipe communicating with the purge gas supply port coupling part 270 and flows through the side gas pipe 282 and flows through the purge gas flow path 225 of the loading table 221 of the first wafer accommodating part 220 And is discharged to the purge gas outlet 226. The flow of the purge gas in the loading table 221 of the first wafer accommodating unit 220 can be more precisely measured. For example, the purge gas flow path 225 is provided so as to have a larger diameter as it is located forward (see FIG. 8) In this case, the most purge gas flows through the first purge gas flow path 225b located at the frontmost position, and is discharged to the first purge gas discharge port 226b. Accordingly, since a large amount of purge gas flows from the front of the wafer, there is an advantage that no yarn area not reaching the purge gas is generated on the wafer. Particularly, in the case of the second purge gas outlet 226c, it is advantageous that the purge gas can flow to the center of the wafer even when the second purge gas outlet 226c is provided on the inclined portion 222 protruding toward the center of the loaded wafer.

The purge gas discharged into the wafer cassette 200 is supplied to the wafer cassette 200 along with the process gas remaining on the surface of the wafer along with the air holes 251 of the perforated plate 250 provided on the rear surface 214 of the wafer cassette 200 . The fume and purge gas discharged through the intake holes 251 are supplied to the upper hopper 260, the lower hopper 410, the first exhaust pipe 420, the second exhaust pipe 430, the exhaust pump 440, 450) sequentially and can be discharged to the outside. This process will be described in detail below with the supply of compressed air.

The compressed air is discharged from a compressor (not shown) and supplied to the flow path (b). The compressed air supplied to the flow path is passed through a valve 446 which is opened or closed automatically or manually, is changed to a pressure preset by the user in the regulator 447, and is supplied with a predetermined pressure by a working air pressure sensor 448 And then supplied to the compressed air discharge accelerator. The compressed air supplied to the compressed air discharge accelerator flows into the first body 441 and the second body 442 through the compressed air discharge portion 445 after flowing through the compressed air transfer portion 444. The compressed air introduced into the first body 441 and the second body 442 flows in a flow direction determined by the expanded portion 443. 11, the compressed air introduced into the first body 441 and the second body 442 flows toward the lower portion where the diameter of the expanded portion 443 gradually increases. Such a flow of compressed air also affects the inside of the wafer cassette 200 which is a communicated space. Accordingly, when compressed air or higher pressure compressed air is supplied to the compressed air discharge accelerator, the speed of the fume and purge gas discharged through the perforated plate 250 is increased.

That is, according to the compressed air supplied to the air ejector, the exhaust velocity of the fume and purge gas in the wafer cassette 200 is controlled so that the upper hopper 260, the lower hopper 410, the first exhaust pipe 420, The exhaust pipe 430, the exhaust pump 440 and the connection port 450 are sequentially flown and discharged to the outside (c). In addition, some of the fume and purge gas discharged to the outside may flow into the exhaust gas pressure sensor 575 and the pressure may be sensed (d).

Through such a series of processes, the fumes of the wafer loaded on the wafer cassette 200 can be efficiently removed. In addition, the series of processes may be performed when a command is inputted by the user through the operation unit 530, and various values such as the pressure of the purge gas and the pressure of the compressed air may be controlled. Further, information on the operation can be output through the display unit 520, and the user can confirm the operation state through the case 210 of the wafer cassette 200 and the upper main body 110 at least partially transparent. There is a possibility.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. That is, within the scope of the present invention, all of the components may be selectively coupled to one or more of them. Furthermore, the terms "comprises", "comprising", or "having" described above mean that a component can be implanted unless otherwise specifically stated, But should be construed as including other elements. All terms, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. Commonly used terms, such as predefined terms, should be interpreted to be consistent with the contextual meanings of the related art, and are not to be construed as ideal or overly formal, unless expressly defined to the contrary.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate rather than limit the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents thereof should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

100:
200: wafer cassette
300: base plate
400:
500:

Claims (8)

A wafer cassette having a stacking table on which wafers are stacked; And
A purge gas outlet for supplying a purge gas to the wafer loaded on the wafer cassette;
An exhaust unit for exhausting the purge gas supplied from the purge gas outlet and the fume of the wafer;
A compressed air discharge accelerator provided in the exhaust part;
A regulator for keeping a flow rate of the fluid supplied to the compressed air discharge accelerator constant;
And an exhaust gas pressure sensor for sensing an exhaust pressure of the purge gas and the fume,
The flow rate of the fluid passing through the regulator is increased to increase an exhaust flow rate of the purge gas and the fume or to decrease a flow rate of the fluid passing through the regulator to decrease an exhaust flow rate of the purge gas and the fume Fume removal device.
The method according to claim 1,
The compressed air discharge accelerator includes:
A compressed air discharge portion into which the fluid flows into the compressed air discharge accelerator; And
And a compressed air moving part formed to uniformly flow the fluid through the compressed air discharge part.
3. The method of claim 2,
The compressed air discharge accelerator includes:
Further comprising an expansion portion provided so as to expand toward the exhaust direction of the purge gas and the fume so as to induce a flow direction of the fluid flowing through the compressed air discharge portion.
3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the compressed air discharge portion can be variable in size.
delete The method according to claim 1,
A tube communicating with the exhaust gas pressure sensor is provided in the compressed air discharge accelerator,
And the end of the tube is disposed so as to face the purge gas and the exhaust direction of the fume.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the wafer cassette is provided with a perforated plate including a plurality of intake holes communicating with the exhaust unit,
Wherein the purge gas and the fumes that have passed through the perforated plate are guided by the upper hopper at least partially having a streamlined shape to flow to the exhaust unit.
8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the purge gas guided by the upper hopper and flowed to the exhaust part and the fume are guided and discharged again by the lower hopper of the exhaust part.

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