KR19980015702A - Structure of Wafer Cassette for Wafer Protection - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a wafer cassette, and more particularly, to a wafer cassette for transferring a cassette having a wafer therein and loading the cassette therein, The cassette includes side walls formed to be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval so as to be capable of accommodating wafers and interconnected with each other, horizontally extending jaws extending outward over the entire upper ends of the side walls, The wafer cassette includes a plurality of recesses formed in the wafer cassette, and the wafer is accommodated in the recesses. The wafer cassette is provided with a lid elastically coupled to the horizontal latching jaw.

Description

Structure of Wafer Cassette for Wafer Protection

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a wafer cassette, and more particularly, to a wafer cassette for transferring a cassette having a wafer therein and loading the cassette therein, Cassette.

Generally, a wafer cassette is a wafer transporting tool used for moving a wafer throughout a semiconductor manufacturing process. For example, an electrical die sorting (EDS) process, which is a process of testing the electrical performance of a wafer, The wafer that has undergone the preceding process in the process is accommodated in the wafer cassette, and then the wafer cassette is placed in the run cassette box and transferred to a specific place.

Thereafter, the wafer cassette is taken out from the run cassette box and then loaded into the EDS test equipment.

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional wafer cassette.

As shown in the figure, opposing side walls 3 are formed so that a space in which the wafers 2 are accommodated can be formed. Horizontal engaging jaws 4 are formed on the entire upper ends of the both side walls 3 . A plurality of grooves 6 are formed on the inner wall surface of the side wall 3 and a part of the upper end of the horizontal engaging jaw 4 so that the wafers 2 are arranged and arranged at regular intervals in the grooves 6 .

The wafer cassette 10 having the above-described structure is first loaded with about 25 wafers 2 that have undergone the preceding process.

Next, the wafer cassette 10 is placed in a run cassette box (not shown) and carried to the EDS test equipment. Thereafter, the wafer cassette 10 is taken out of the run cassette box and loaded into the EDS test equipment.

At this time, the operator loads the EDS test equipment while paying close attention to prevent the wafer cassette from tilting at a predetermined angle and pouring the wafer.

When the wafer cassette is tilted by 20 to 30 degrees inadvertently in the process of loading the wafer cassette having the above structure into the EDS test equipment, there is a problem that the wafer is detached from the cassette and is broken and the wafer is defective .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a wafer cassette which can easily open and close a wafer protective cover when loading a cassette with wafers therein, And to provide a wafer cassette capable of preventing breakage and failure of the wafer.

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional wafer cassette;

2 is a perspective view showing the wafer cassette according to the present invention separated.

FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 2 in combination; FIG.

Description of the Related Art [0002]

22: wafer 23: side wall 24: horizontal jaw

25: groove portion 26: groove 28: cover

29: Bending section 30: Projection section 40: Wafer cassette

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a wafer cassette for protecting a wafer, the wafer cassette including side walls which are formed at regular intervals to face each other to receive a wafer and are interconnected with each other, And a plurality of grooves formed on the inner surface of the side walls and the upper surface of the horizontal engaging jaw. The wafer cassette accommodated in the grooves is provided with a cover that is elastically coupled to the horizontal jaw.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the wafer cassette according to the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a front view showing the combination of Fig.

As shown in the figure, opposing side walls 23 are formed so that a space in which the wafers 22 are accommodated can be formed, and horizontal engaging jaws 24 are formed on the entire upper ends of both side walls 23 . A plurality of grooves 26 are formed on the inner wall surface of the side wall 23 and a part of the upper end of the horizontal engaging jaw 24 and the wafers 22 are arranged and arranged in parallel within the grooves 26 Is the same as the conventional one.

In the embodiment of the present invention, however, a groove 25 having a predetermined depth is formed on the lower surface in the longitudinal direction of the horizontal latching jaw 24, and the lid 28 is slidably inserted into the groove 25 .

The lid 28 is formed with a bent portion 29 so as to be able to receive the horizontal latching jaw 24 on the side opposite to the horizontal latching jaw 24 so as to cover the entire surface of the wafer cassette 40 as a whole And protruding portions 30 are formed on the inner side of the bent portions 29 so as to oppose the groove portions 25.

The lid 28 may be made of a material having elasticity so that the protrusion 30 of the lid 28 can be inserted into the groove 25, .

Hereinafter, the operation of the present invention will be described in detail.

The protruding portion 30 formed on the bent portion 29 spreads by applying a predetermined force to the bent portion 29 of the cover 28 to protect the wafer 22 inside the wafer cassette 40 from the outside, And is inserted into the groove portion 25 formed in the longitudinal direction on the lower surface of the jaw 24. The operator then carries the run cassette box to the EDS test equipment, which is a semiconductor manufacturing equipment, in order to put the wafer cassette 40 on which the lid 28 is mounted in a run cassette box (not shown) to perform the EDS test of the wafer 22 .

Subsequently, the wafer cassette 40 is taken out of the run cassette box and loaded into semiconductor manufacturing equipment (not shown). Thereafter, the worker applies a predetermined force so that the bent portion 29 of the lid 28 is opened and the protruding portion 30 is released from the groove portion 25 in order to remove the lid 28 mounted on the loaded wafer cassette 40 do.

By doing so, the wafer cassette can be reliably loaded into the semiconductor manufacturing equipment without pouring the wafer from the wafer cassette.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the bottom of the horizontal jaw is formed with a groove, and the cover having the protrusion inserted into the groove is formed. However, the groove may be formed in the cover and the protrusion may be formed on the lower surface of the jaw It is also possible.

Further, the shape of the groove portion and the bent portion can be deformed in any form as long as the slide can be inserted.

As described above, according to the wafer cassette structure for wafer protection according to the present invention, since the wafer cassette is provided with the removable cover, it is possible to prevent the wafer from being poured from the wafer cassette when loading the wafer cassette into the semiconductor manufacturing equipment It is effective.

Claims (6)

A horizontal jaw protruding outwardly over the entire upper end of the side walls, a plurality of jaws formed on the inner surface of the side walls and the upper surface of the horizontal jaw, Wherein the wafer cassette has a groove and the wafer is accommodated in the groove, wherein the wafer cassette is provided with a cover that is resiliently coupled to the horizontal jaw. The wafer cassette for protecting a wafer according to claim 1, wherein the lid has a bent portion for receiving the horizontal latching jaw on a side opposite to the horizontal latching jaw. The wafer holding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a groove portion having a predetermined depth is formed on a lower surface in the longitudinal direction of the horizontal latching jaw and a protrusion portion inserted into the groove portion is formed inside the bending portion opposed thereto Wafer cassette. The wafer cassette for wafer protection according to claim 3, wherein the lid is made of a material having elasticity. The wafer cassette for wafer protection according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the groove portion and the protrusion portion are formed upside down. The wafer cassette according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the bent portion has a U-shape.