TW201713581A - Apparatus for carrying substrates - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for carrying substrates having a substrate-carrying assembly is provided. The assembly comprises a plurality of substrate-carrying devices, each of which including at least a positioning element for defining a substrate-accommodating space, and the plurality of substrate-carrying devices stack vertically to form the substrate-carrying assembly.

Description

Substrate carrier

The invention relates to a substrate carrying device, in particular to a substrate carrying device which can be used for carrying and storing a semiconductor wafer in a production line.

The Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) is a load-bearing and storage device for automated transfer systems in large-scale wafer production lines above 12 inches. The wafers carried in the FOUP are stored horizontally. Suitable for picking up with a robotic arm. As the semiconductor process changes with each passing day, it has entered the nanometer era, so the substrate or wafer in the process needs to be isolated from dust in the air, including impurities, particles and chemicals. One of the functions of FOUP is to ensure that the wafer can avoid the contamination between each production machine being contaminated by dust in the external environment, thus affecting the yield.

In the prior art, the components of the conventional FOUP for accommodating the wafer are mostly composed of a plurality of components vertically disposed at different positions of the casing and having a plurality of convex portions, and the levels are A highly embossed portion collectively carries a wafer. Due to the different positions of the cabinets, the convex portions are inevitably caused by the difference in the tolerance of the unassembled or fabricated tolerances, so that the wafers are easily shaken during the handling process. A more noteworthy issue is the phenomenon of stress concentration. Due to the carrier element and crystal inside the traditional FOUP The round contact points are small and the area is concentrated, while the large-sized wafers are heavy, and during the load-bearing process, the stress concentration of the wafer at the contact portion with the load-bearing member is easily generated, resulting in low grain yields adjacent to the contact portions. . Moreover, in order to assemble a carrier member or assembly within a FOUP enclosure, conventional techniques often require the use of fasteners such as screws. When these fasteners are present in a FOUP box that requires high cleanliness, the slit formed around the fastener is easy to provide a space for dust accumulation, making it difficult to maintain high cleanliness within the FOUP case, and storing the wafer therein. Easy to be contaminated by dust.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problem of causing dust accumulation pollution by using fasteners such as screws, it has been attempted to manufacture the inner space of the casing including the wafer carrier member in an integrally injection molding manner. However, due to the complex structure of the whole structure, the flow path design of the mold is facing a test, and it is difficult to achieve the yield and quality requirements required for mass production.

As a result of the job, the inventor, in view of the lack of the prior art, thought of and improved the idea of the invention, and finally invented the "substrate carrier device" of the present case.

Therefore, there is a need for a problem that overcomes the problems associated with conventional FOUP substrate carriers. In order to achieve the object of the present invention, a substrate carrying device is provided, comprising a substrate carrying assembly, which is composed of a plurality of substrate carrying members vertically stacked, the plurality of substrate carrying members comprising at least one positioning member for defining two One of the substrate receiving spaces between adjacent substrate carrying members.

1‧‧‧ cabinet

11‧‧‧ openings

12‧‧‧ upper surface

13‧‧‧ Lower surface

100‧‧‧Substrate load bearing assembly

110/170‧‧‧ substrate carrier components

112‧‧‧ Positioning parts

112A/112F‧‧‧Positioning holes

112B/112D‧‧‧First Positioning Department

112C/112E‧‧‧Second Positioning Department

113/113A/113B/113C/173‧‧‧ Bearer

115/175‧‧‧Open ring inner edge

121A/121D‧‧‧Fixed holes

121E‧‧‧Fixed parts

130‧‧‧Substrate accommodation space

200‧‧‧Substrate

210‧‧‧Contacts

220‧‧‧ outer edge

‧‧‧‧ Lifting angle

D‧‧‧Distance

150‧‧‧Locating pin

1 is a schematic view showing a substrate carrying device according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a substrate carrying assembly disposed in a case according to an embodiment of the present invention; 3 is a schematic view showing a plurality of substrate carrying members stacked in a vertical direction; FIG. 4A is a schematic view showing a substrate carrying member carried by a substrate in a case; FIG. 4B is a top view showing the substrate being carried on the substrate carrying member; 4C is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the substrate being carried on the substrate carrying member; FIG. 5A is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the present invention for fixing the substrate carrying member to the case through the fixing pin of the positioning pin and the case; Figure 5 is a schematic view of the upper part of the case; Figure 5A is a schematic view of the lower part of the case; Figure 6A is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the configuration of the protruding portion and the lower recessed portion of the substrate carrying member of the present invention; The figure is a schematic view showing still another embodiment of the configuration of the first positioning portion and the second positioning portion of the substrate carrying member of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the present BenQ plate carrying device of the housing is arranged a fixing hole and a fixing member of the embodiment; Figure 8 is a schematic view showing another embodiment in which a positioning hole is disposed on the substrate carrying member of the present invention.

The above described objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent and understood.

1 is a schematic view showing a substrate carrying device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the substrate carrying assembly 100 is disposed in the casing 1. The casing 1 has an opening 11 which can be provided with a door (not shown) to form a closed space together with the casing 1. The opening 11 simultaneously provides the entry and exit of the articles contained therein. The substrate carrying assembly 100 includes a plurality of substrate carrying members 110, and each of the substrate carrying members 110 is disposed with at least one positioning member 112.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 simultaneously, a schematic diagram of the substrate carrying assembly 100 disposed in the casing 1 and a schematic diagram of stacking and combining the plurality of substrate carrying members 110 in the vertical direction are respectively shown. As shown, each of the substrate carrying members 110 has at least one locating member 112 and a carrier portion 113 having an open annular inner edge 115. The positioning member 112 is configured to define a substrate accommodating space 130 between two adjacent substrate carrying elements 110. The at least one positioning member 112 includes a positioning hole 112A, a first positioning portion 112B and a first positioning portion 112C. The first positioning portion 112B and the second positioning portion 112C are configured to match, so that the The substrate carrying members 110 may be vertically stacked to constitute the substrate carrying assembly 100; and the positioning holes 112A provide a space that can be penetrated. As shown in Fig. 2, the casing 1 has an upper surface 12 and a lower surface 13, and the upper surface 12 and the lower surface 13 are each provided with at least one fixing hole 121A. It can be understood from the relevant position in the figure that the substrate carrying assembly 100 can be firmly positioned and disposed in the casing 1 through the positioning hole 112A of the substrate carrying member 110 and the fixing hole 121A of the casing 1.

Those skilled in the art can understand from the above figures that the substrate carrying component 110 of the present invention is horizontally disposed in the casing 1 and different from the wafer carrier components disposed in different positions of the casing in the conventional FOUP. The substrate carrying member 110 has a simple geometry and is suitable for mass production by injection molding, and the flow path structure of the mold for the substrate bearing member 110 is also relatively simple, and the yield and reliability of the finished product can be maintained. At a very high standard.

4A is a schematic view showing a substrate 200 carried on the substrate carrying member 110 in the casing 1. The casing 1 and the substrate carrying member 110 are presented in a semi-sectional manner; FIG. 4B is a top view showing the substrate 200 carried on the substrate carrying member 110. FIG. 4C is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA when the substrate 200 is carried on the substrate carrying member 110 as shown in FIG. 4B. As shown, a plurality of board carrying members 110 are disposed in the case 1, and the substrate 200 can be inserted into and out of the case 1 through the opening 11, and placed on one of the board carrying members 110. The substrate 200 is typically a wafer in a semiconductor process or a substrate in a similar process.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4B, a plurality of load-bearing portions 113A, 113B, and 113C may be disposed on the open annular inner edge 115 of the substrate carrying member to be lifted to carry the substrate 200. In another embodiment, the carrier portion 113 of the substrate carrier member 110 can also be designed as an open annular carrier portion 113 that is lifted along the inner edge 115 of the substrate carrier member 110. Since the substrate carrying member 110 of the present invention separately carries a substrate 200, and the bearing portion 113 of the substrate carrying member 110 is located at the same horizontal position, there is no uneven phenomenon, and it is not easy to generate a load on the carrying process. The phenomenon that the substrate 200 is shaken. In order to further enhance the above effects, according to an embodiment of the invention, at least one of the carrying portions 113, 113A, 113B or 113C is an elastic material. In addition, whether it is an embodiment of the plurality of carrying portions 113A, 113B, and 113C, or an embodiment of the open annular carrying portion 113, since the substrate carrying member 110 of the present invention is in contact with the substrate 200 carried thereon The phenomenon of stress concentration in the contact portion 210 of the substrate 200 can be effectively avoided.

Referring to FIG. 4C, the load-bearing portion 113B is lifted at an angle α and contacts the contact portion 210 at the bottom of the substrate 200 such that at least a distance D is maintained between the contact portion 210 and the outer edge 220 of the substrate 200. Large substrates, such as wafers having a diameter of 12 吋 or more, have a considerable thickness. The substrate carrier device disposed in the conventional FOUP is supported on the vicinity of the wafer. This carrier mode will cause the wafer to deform downward near the center due to its own weight. Storage The wafer in the stored state will generate internal stress or even permanent deformation. The substrate carrying member 110 of the present invention is designed such that the fulcrum, that is, the contact portion 210 of the carrying portion 113B and the substrate is designed to have at least a distance D from the outer edge 220 of the substrate 200, and the portion of the substrate 200 adjacent to the outer edge 220 The weight on the right side (the right side in the figure) can balance the weight of the substrate 200 near the center, so that the downward deformation of the portion near the center can be effectively alleviated, and the internal stress is greatly reduced, thereby avoiding the possibility of permanent deformation.

FIG. 5A is a schematic view showing an embodiment in which the substrate carrying member 100 is firmly positioned and disposed in the case 1 through the positioning hole 112A of the substrate carrying member 110 and the retaining hole 121A of the case 1 . . Fig. 5B is a schematic view of the upper portion of the casing 1, and Fig. 5C is a schematic view of the lower portion of the casing 1. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that although the embodiment shown in Figures 5A-5C is each layer that is similar in horizontal position of the device (e.g., upper surface 12 and lower surface 13 of case 1 or substrate carrier assembly 100) A total of 4 positioning points are arranged in the relative positions, however, according to the disclosure in the figure, those skilled in the art can adjust the number and position of the positioning points as needed.

As shown in FIG. 5A, during assembly, the positioning pin 150 can be used to respectively pass through the fixing hole 121A and the positioning hole 112A of the corresponding position, thereby fixing the position of the substrate carrying member, and the positioning pin 150 can be further disposed outside the case 1 A suitable fastener (not shown) is secured. Since the fasteners are all disposed outside the casing 1, the substrate carrying device proposed by the present invention does not It needs to be fixed in the box through any fasteners arranged in the box, so there is no problem of dust pollution caused by the fasteners in the conventional FOUP box.

6A and 6B show other embodiments of the configuration of the first positioning portion 112D/112B and the second positioning portion 112E/112C of the substrate carrying member 110 of the present invention, respectively. A person skilled in the art can select the manner in which the first positioning portion and the second positioning portion match each other as needed. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6A, the positioning member 112 does not have a positioning hole. In other words, the substrate carrying member 110 fabricated according to this embodiment can be vertically stacked into the substrate carrying assembly 100 without passing through the positioning hole. When the interior of the box is configured with suitable positioning elements (for example, the matching grooves and projections of the configuration), it can be disposed in the box.

Fig. 7 is a view showing an embodiment in which a casing of the substrate carrying device of the present invention is provided with a fixing hole and a fixing member. As shown in the figure, the casing 1 of the substrate carrying device 100 has at least one fixing hole 121D and at least one fixing member 121E. The position and configuration of the at least one fixing hole 121D can be protruded above the substrate supporting member 110 in FIG. 6A. The portion 112D is mated, and the position and configuration of the at least one fixing member 121E is matched with the lower recess portion 112E.

Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown a schematic view of a substrate carrying member 170 having only one positioning hole 112F disposed thereon. As shown, the substrate carrier member 170 has an open annular inner edge 175 Carrying portion 173. The positioning holes 112F in the figure are square, and those skilled in the art can select positioning holes of other configurations, and assemble the plurality of substrate bearing members 110 to the casing with matching pins (not shown) having matching cross-sectional configurations ( Not shown). Since the shape of the positioning hole is non-circular, when a matching pin (not shown) having a matching cross-sectional configuration is embedded therein, it is only necessary to use a combination of a set of positioning holes and the positioning pin to produce an excellent fixing effect.

In summary, the substrate carrying device proposed by the present invention is assembled by a substrate carrying component that is easy to mass-produce, and the inner edge of each substrate carrying component separately carries a substrate, which can avoid stress concentration of the bearing portion and can also reduce Variation in the level of the bearing site. The substrate carrying member proposed by the invention does not need to be assembled through the fasteners disposed in the FOUP box, and can avoid the problem of dust accumulation near the fasteners in the box body, and is a substrate carrying device which is highly suitable for a semiconductor production line. .

The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments and examples thereof, which are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various combinations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

110‧‧‧Substrate carrier components

112‧‧‧ Positioning parts

112A‧‧‧Positioning holes

112B‧‧‧First Positioning Department

112C‧‧‧Second Positioning Department

113‧‧‧Loading Department

115‧‧‧Open ring inner edge

130‧‧‧Substrate accommodation space

Claims (10)

A substrate carrying device comprising a substrate carrying component, wherein the substrate carrying component is composed of a plurality of substrate carrying components vertically stacked, the plurality of substrate carrying components comprising at least one positioning component for defining a substrate between two adjacent substrate carrying components Accommodate space. The substrate carrying device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of substrate carrying members each have an open annular inner edge, the open annular inner edge having at least one carrying portion. The substrate carrying device of claim 2, wherein the at least one carrying portion is in contact with a contact portion of a substrate, and a distance is maintained between the contact portion and an outer edge of the substrate. The substrate carrying device of claim 3, wherein the at least one carrying portion is made of an elastic material. The substrate carrying device of claim 3 or 4, wherein one of the plurality of substrate carrying members separately carries the substrate. The substrate carrying device of claim 3 or 4, wherein the substrate is a wafer. The substrate carrying device of claim 1, wherein the at least one positioning member further comprises a first positioning portion and a second positioning portion to vertically stack the plurality of substrate bearing members. The substrate carrying device of claim 7, wherein the substrate carrying device further has a box body having at least one fixing hole and at least one fixing member, and the position of the at least one fixing hole is opposite to the first positioning portion In cooperation, the position and configuration of the at least one fixing member match the second positioning portion. The substrate carrying device of claim 7, further comprising at least one positioning pin, the at least one positioning pin passing through the first positioning portion and the second positioning portion. The substrate carrying device of claim 9, wherein the substrate carrying device further has a box having at least one fixing hole, and the position of the at least one fixing hole matches the at least one positioning pin.