KR20220144556A - Apparatus of inspecting particles of surface of carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus for inspecting foreign substances on the surface of a carrier capable of clearly identifying fine foreign substances on the surface of the carrier by securing sufficient sharpness detected by a camera. The apparatus includes: an inspection part including an inspection module inserted into the carrier to inspect foreign substances present on the surface of the carrier made of a light-transmitting material; and a light absorption box accommodating the carrier in order to inspect the foreign substances. The inspection module includes: a light irradiation part for irradiating inspection light; and a camera set with the light irradiation part to detect foreign substances, wherein the light absorption box absorbs inspection light passing through the carrier.

Description

Apparatus of inspecting particles of surface of carrier

The present invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting foreign substances, and more particularly, to an apparatus for inspecting foreign substances such as foreign substances and cracks existing on a surface of a carrier made of a material that transmits light.

A carrier is a front opening shipping box (hereinafter referred to as 'FOSB') used for transport and storage of substrates for manufacturing microelectronic devices such as semiconductors and displays, and is used for transport and storage as well as process progress. There is a Front Open Unified Pod (hereinafter referred to as 'FOUP') used as a In general, FOUP is often used as a carrier. The substrate is supported by a shelf installed inside a cassette or carrier that can be inserted into the body. The surface of the carrier is made of various organic or inorganic materials and is exposed to particles having a size of 1 μm or less. Since foreign substances present on the surface of the carrier may contaminate the substrate, it is necessary to check this for cleaning.

On the other hand, a device for inspecting foreign substances present on the surface of a transparent body uses a lighting means and a camera as in Korean Patent No. 10-1867589. If the concept of inspecting foreign substances with the device is applied to a method of inspecting foreign substances on the surface of a carrier, clarity in a camera is insufficient due to light scattering, etc., and in particular, it is difficult to identify fine particles having a size of 1 μm or less. Practically, the fine foreign material has a fatal adverse effect on the quality of the microelectronic device. Accordingly, it is necessary to sufficiently ensure the sharpness in the camera, and to clearly check the fine foreign matter present on the surface of the carrier.

An object to be solved by the present invention is to provide a foreign material inspection apparatus on the surface of a carrier that can clearly identify fine foreign substances present on the surface of the carrier by sufficiently ensuring the sharpness detected by the camera.

An apparatus for inspecting foreign substances on a surface of a carrier for solving the problems of the present invention is an inspection unit including an inspection module inserted into the inside of the carrier and the foreign substances in order to inspect the foreign substances present on the surface of the carrier made of a material that transmits light In order to inspect the light absorption box for accommodating the carrier. In this case, the inspection module includes a light irradiator for irradiating inspection light and a camera configured with the light irradiator to detect the foreign material, and the light absorption box absorbs the inspection light passing through the carrier.

In the apparatus of the present invention, the inspection module can be moved up and down or rotated left and right by a drive shaft. The inspection module is disposed on the side and bottom of the module support for supporting the inspection module. The inspection module may be disposed on at least one side of the side of the module support. The light irradiation unit may be irradiated with either white light or blue light. The light absorption box may be formed of an absorption material itself that absorbs the inspection light, or may be formed by coating the absorption material.

In a preferred device of the present invention, the light absorption box includes a heating layer emitting infrared rays, and an infrared sensor for detecting the infrared rays may be added to the inspection module. A light absorption layer may be attached to the heating layer, and the light absorption layer may be formed of an absorption material itself that absorbs the inspection light, or may be formed by applying the absorption material. The heating layer may include a resistor that generates heat by receiving power.

According to the apparatus for inspecting foreign substances on the surface of a carrier of the present invention, by utilizing a light absorption box that absorbs inspection light passing through the carrier, the sharpness detected by the camera is sufficiently secured, and fine foreign substances present on the surface of the carrier can be clearly identified. have. In addition, it is possible to increase the detection effect of foreign substances by using infrared rays as an auxiliary.

1 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a first inspection device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1 .
3 is a photograph showing a carrier detected by the first inspection device according to the present invention.
4 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a second inspection device according to the present invention.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V of FIG. 4 .

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below may be modified in various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in detail below. The embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those of ordinary skill in the art. In the drawings, exaggerated representations are made for convenience of explanation. On the other hand, terms indicating positions such as upper, lower, front, etc. are only related to those shown in the drawings. In practice, the inspection device can be used in any optional orientation, and in actual use, the spatial orientation changes according to the orientation and rotation of the inspection device.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a foreign material inspection device that can clearly identify fine foreign substances on the surface of the carrier by sufficiently securing the sharpness detected by the camera by utilizing a light absorption box that absorbs inspection light passing through a carrier. do. To this end, the structure of a foreign material inspection apparatus including a light absorption box will be specifically studied, and a method of checking a fine foreign material using the light absorption box will be described in detail. Foreign substances made of various organic substances or inorganic substances may be present on the surface of the carrier, and in particular, the embodiment of the present invention is very useful in identifying foreign substances having a size of 1 μm or less.

1 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a first inspection apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1 . However, the drawings are not expressed in a strict sense, and there may be components not shown in the drawings for convenience of description.

1 and 2 , the first inspection apparatus 100 includes a first inspection unit 10 and a light absorption box 20 . The carrier CR, which is an object to be inspected, is made of a transparent material through which light is transmitted, and is accommodated in the light absorption box 20 when subjected to an inspection. The carrier (CR) is used for transport and storage of a substrate for manufacturing microelectronic devices such as semiconductors or displays. The carrier (CR) includes a Front Opening Shipping Box (hereinafter referred to as 'FOSB') and a Front Open Unified Pod (hereinafter referred to as 'FOUP') used for transportation and storage as well as process progress. have. The surface of the carrier CR is made of various organic materials or inorganic materials, and in particular, a foreign material P having a size of 1 μm or less is attached. The first inspection unit 10 and the light absorption box 20 check the foreign substances P present on the surface of the carrier CR that may contaminate the substrate, and also include cracks present in the carrier CR. Defects can also be identified. Since the embodiment of the present invention is useful for checking the foreign material (P), it will be mainly described with the foreign material (P).

The first inspection unit 10 includes a drive shaft 11 , a module support 12 , and a first inspection module 13 . The first inspection module 13 is mounted while the light irradiation unit 13a and the camera 13b form a set. The first inspection module 13 is mounted on the side and bottom of the module support 12 . The first inspection module 13 mounted on the side detects a foreign material P attached to the side of the facing carrier CR, and the first inspection module 13 mounted on the bottom surface of the facing carrier CR ) detects foreign substances (P) attached to the bottom surface. In the drawing, the state in which the first inspection module 13 is mounted on four sides of the module support 12 of the hexahedron is expressed, but the first inspection unit 10 can rotate, so that one of the side surfaces of the module support 12 is shown. It may be placed only on the side.

The first inspection module 13 is inserted into the carrier CR in order to inspect the foreign material P existing on the surface of the carrier CR. The first inspection module 13 inserted into the carrier GR moves up and down by the drive shaft 11 and rotates left and right. The distance D between the carrier CR and the light absorption box 20 may be appropriately adjusted in consideration of the convenience of operation and the detection of the foreign material P.

When the inspection light is irradiated from the light irradiation unit 13a, the inspection light incident to the foreign material P is reflected by the foreign material P and is detected by the camera 13b as in the first path (a). The inspection light incident to the area without the foreign material P passes through the carrier CR as in the second path (b) and is absorbed by the light absorption box 20 . Since the second path (b) absorbed by the light absorption box 20 is not reflected, it is not detected by the camera 13b. If a reflection box (not shown) is used instead of the light absorption box 20 , the second path b is reflected from the reflection box and detected by the camera 13b. In addition, since the carrier CR is not completely transparent, a part of the second path b is reflected like the third path c. In terms of reflection, the first reflected light (a) by the foreign material (P), the second reflected light (c) by the carrier (CR), and the third reflected light by the reflection box exist.

In the light absorption box 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the third reflected light by the reflection box is removed. When the light absorption box 20 is present, the camera 13b detects the first reflected light by the foreign material P and the second reflected light by the carrier CR. When the third reflected light is excluded, the effect of the third reflected light is blocked, so that the sharpness of the foreign material P detected by the camera 13b can be increased. When the clarity of the foreign material P is increased, the foreign material P present on the surface of the carrier CR can be more reliably confirmed. When the sharpness of the foreign material P is increased, it is possible to detect the foreign material P having a size of 1 μm or less.

On the other hand, although the reflective box was mentioned as an example in the preceding, the carrier CR may be exposed to the outside without the reflective box. When the carrier CR is exposed to the outside, the disturbance light outside the carrier CR may be detected by the camera 13b. The disturbance light lowers the sharpness of the foreign material (P), and the sensitivity to detect the foreign material (P) is lowered. The light absorption box 20 absorbs the disturbance light directed to the carrier CR, so that the disturbance light is not detected by the camera 13b. In the light absorption box 20 , the inspection light incident to the area free of the foreign material P is absorbed along the second path (b), and the disturbance light is also absorbed. Accordingly, the light absorption box 20 allows the camera 13b to detect the first reflected light reflected by the foreign material P and the second reflected light reflected from the carrier CR.

The inspection light emitted from the light irradiation unit 13a may use a light source such as an LED. Visible light such as white light may be employed as the inspection light, and blue light may be employed to increase the accuracy of inspection. Since the wavelength of the blue light is small, the sensitivity at which the foreign material P is detected may be increased. A known image sensor may be applied to the camera 13b. The light absorption box 20 may be formed of an absorption material itself that absorbs inspection light, or may be formed by applying the absorption material. For example, the absorbent material may be made by mixing a black material such as carbon black with a binder made of a polymer material. Even if the light absorption box 20 does not absorb all of the inspection light, it is sufficient as long as the foreign material P is detected by absorbing the inspection light within the scope of the present invention.

3 is a photograph showing the carrier CR sensed by the first inspection apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the first inspection apparatus 100 will be referred to with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 .

According to FIG. 3 , foreign substances P and foreign substances DF such as cracks exist in the carrier CR photographed by the camera 13b. In particular, it was confirmed that the photographed foreign material P had a size of 1 μm or less. The foreign material DF is reflected by the foreign material P and the crack and is detected by the camera 13b as in the first path (a), and the carrier CR is part of the second path (b) in the third path ( It is reflected as shown in c) and detected by the camera 13b. Foreign matter (P) having a size of 1 μm or less was clearly detected because the clarity was secured by the light absorption box 20 . In other words, if the light absorption box 20 does not exist, it is difficult to check the foreign matter P having a size of 1 μm or less.

4 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the second inspection apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V of FIG. 4 . The second inspection apparatus 200 is the same as the first inspection apparatus 100 except for the light absorption box 40 and the second inspection unit 30 made of a heating element.

4 and 5 , the second inspection device 200 includes a light absorption box 40 including a heating layer 42 and a second inspection unit 30 including a second inspection module 31 . . The second inspection unit 30 includes a drive shaft 11 , a module support and a first inspection module 13 . In the second inspection module 31, an infrared sensor 31a is added to the first inspection module 13 in which the light irradiation unit 13a and the camera 13b are mounted. The light absorption box 40 includes a light absorption layer 41 attached to the heating layer 42 . At this time, the light absorption layer 41 is positioned facing the carrier CR, and is attached to the heating layer 42 . The light absorption layer 41 may be formed of an absorption material itself absorbing the inspection light of the second path (b), or may be formed by applying the absorption material. The absorbent material may be made by mixing a black material such as carbon black with a binder made of a polymer material. Even if the light absorption layer 41 does not absorb all of the inspection light of the second path (b), it is sufficient as long as it absorbs the inspection light and detects the foreign material P presented within the scope of the present invention.

Heating in the light absorbing box 40 is possible in various ways, for example, when the power supply unit 50 is connected to the heating layer 42 of the light absorption box 40 and power is applied, the heating layer 42 generates heat or the heating layer Heat may be generated by a resistor (not shown) mounted on 42 . When the heat is generated, the light absorption box 40 emits infrared rays. The second inspection device 200 not only performs the role of the light absorption box 20 presented in the first inspection device 100 , but also emits infrared rays due to heat generation. Infrared rays emitted from the light absorption box 40 are absorbed in different ways by the foreign material P and the carrier CR. The infrared sensor 31a may detect the infrared rays absorbed in different ways, thereby confirming the presence of the foreign material P.

It is preferable that the first inspection apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention be used alone or the second inspection apparatus 200 is used as an auxiliary. When the second inspection device 200 is used as an auxiliary, it is possible to find foreign substances P that have not been confirmed by the first inspection device 100 . If there is a trace that the presence of a foreign substance P is suspected with the second inspection device 200 using infrared light, but it is not confirmed with the first inspection device 100, the resolution of the camera 13b is increased to increase the presence of the foreign substance P You can check again whether Practically, it is difficult to detect a minute foreign material P with the light absorption box 40 and the infrared sensor 31a emitting infrared light, but traces of the foreign material P can be recognized. When the trace of the foreign material P is grasped, the presence or absence of the foreign material P can be checked with the camera 13b.

As mentioned above, although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention. It is possible.

10, 30; first and second inspection unit
11; drive shaft 12; module support
13, 31; first and second inspection module
13a; light irradiator 13b; camera
31a; infrared sensor
20, 40; light absorption box
41; light absorbing layer 42; heating layer
50; power supply

Claims (9)

an inspection unit including an inspection module inserted into the carrier to inspect foreign substances existing on the surface of the carrier made of a material that transmits light; and
In order to inspect the foreign material, it includes a light absorption box for accommodating the carrier,
The inspection module includes a light irradiator for irradiating inspection light and a camera configured with the light irradiator to detect the foreign material, and the light absorption box absorbs the inspection light passing through the carrier. of foreign material inspection device. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inspection module moves up and down or rotates left and right by a driving shaft. [Claim 2] The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inspection module is disposed on a side surface and a bottom surface of a module support supporting the inspection module. [4] The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the inspection module is disposed on at least one of the side surfaces of the module support. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light irradiation unit is irradiated with either white light or blue light. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light absorption box is made of an absorption material that absorbs the inspection light itself or is coated with the absorption material. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light absorption box includes a heating layer emitting infrared rays, and an infrared sensor for detecting the infrared rays is added to the inspection module. [8] The apparatus of claim 7, wherein a light absorbing layer is attached to the heating layer, and the light absorbing layer is made of an absorbing material itself that absorbs the inspection light or is coated with the absorbing material. . [Claim 8] The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the heating layer includes a resistor that generates heat by receiving power.

Images