TW201923942A - Storage apparatus for storing cassettes for substrates and processing apparatus equipped therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a storage apparatus to store cassettes for substrates comprising: a moveable base plate constructed and arranged to hold cassettes; an outer wall provided with an opening to receive and remove the cassettes from the base plate, and a moving device constructed and arranged to move the base plate with respect to the opening. The storage apparatus is provided with a stationary sensor near the opening for detecting at least one of a presence and a correct orientation of a substrate cassette on the base plate at the opening.

Description

Storage equipment for storing cassettes for substrates and processing equipment provided with same [Cross-reference to related patent applications]

The present invention claims U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 673,110, filed on August 9, 2017 and entitled `` CASSETTE HOLDER ASSEMBLY FOR A SUBSTRATE CASSETTE AND HOLDING MEMBER FOR USE IN SUCH ASSEMBLY '' and filed on November 13, 2017 And the rights of US Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 585,283 entitled "STORAGE APPARATUS FOR STORING CASSETTES FOR SUBSTRATES AND PROCESSING APPARATUS EQUIPPED THEREWITH", the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The invention mainly relates to a storage device for a cassette for storing a substrate. The present invention also relates to a processing apparatus for processing a substrate and provided with such a storage apparatus.

Storage equipment can be used in the equipment used to manufacture discrete and integrated semiconductor products on semiconductor material substrates. To transport the substrate, a cassette can be used, which will require storage equipment.

The storage device for storing the substrate cassette includes: a movable bottom plate constructed and configured as a fixed cassette; An opening outer wall is provided for placing and taking out the cassette from the bottom plate; a moving device constructed and configured to move the bottom plate relative to the opening. On the bottom plate, a plurality of cassettes for storing at least one semiconductor material substrate can be stored through openings in the outer wall. A fixing member can be provided above the bottom plate and supported by the bottom plate to position the cassette in the correct position on the bottom plate.

A sensor may be needed to detect at least one of the presence and correct orientation of a substrate cassette on the bottom plate in the opening. Since a large number of cassettes may be stored in the storage device, a large number of sensors may be required to detect the presence and correct orientation of the substrate cassette on the bottom plate. The sensor may require a power connection and communication with fixed parts of the storage device. Therefore, a cable feedthrough may be required to allow the motherboard to move. One disadvantage of a design with a movable sensor and cable feedthrough on the backplane may be that the design can become very bulky.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage device with a simplified sensor design to detect at least one of the existence and correct orientation of a substrate cassette on a bottom plate.

Accordingly, a storage device for a cassette for storing a substrate is provided, which includes: a movable bottom plate constructed and configured as a fixed cassette; an outer wall provided with an opening for placing and taking out the cassette from the bottom plate; The mobile device is configured to move the bottom plate relative to the opening. The storage device is provided with a static sensor near the opening to detect at least one of the presence and correct orientation of the cassette on the bottom plate.

By having a stationary sensor near the opening to detect at least one of the presence and correct orientation of the substrate cassette on the base plate, it is not necessary to move the wires for the base plate in order to detect the presence of the cassette and correctly position . This can simplify the design of storage equipment.

A processing device for manufacturing a semiconductor product may be provided with a storage according to the present invention device. Such equipment allows products to be manufactured in large quantities and easy to maintain and / or install.

In addition to the components required to process the semiconductor substrate, the device may include a means for arranging or removing the cassette in the storage device. A substrate handler for arranging a substrate in a cassette or removing a substrate from the cassette may also be provided in the apparatus.

These and other specific examples will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of some specific examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to any specific specific examples disclosed.

1‧‧‧treatment equipment

2‧‧‧Storage Equipment

3‧‧‧ outer wall

4‧‧‧ rotating table

5‧‧‧ entrance

6‧‧‧ entrance

8‧‧‧ substrate handler

9‧‧‧ Cassette

10‧‧‧processing station

11‧‧‧processing station

12‧‧‧processing station

13‧‧‧ wafer

14‧‧‧ rotating table

15‧‧‧ compartment

16‧‧‧ Wafer Carrier

17‧‧‧lifting device

21‧‧‧Storage Equipment

22‧‧‧Substrate Disposer

23‧‧‧processing station

24‧‧‧ channel opening

25‧‧‧Robot

26‧‧‧Aisle opening

27‧‧‧ Wafer Carrier

28‧‧‧ rotating table

29‧‧‧Port

30‧‧‧Guide

31‧‧‧ Cylinder

32‧‧‧processing station

35‧‧‧Storage Equipment

36‧‧‧ rotating table

37‧‧‧Drive

38‧‧‧ channel opening

39‧‧‧ Filter

40‧‧‧axis

41‧‧‧Export

61‧‧‧Cartridge holder

63‧‧‧ floor

65a‧‧‧Left fixture

65b‧‧‧Right fixing

66‧‧‧block

67LB‧‧‧face

67LF‧‧‧face

67RB‧‧‧End

67RF‧‧‧face

68‧‧‧ Hole

70‧‧‧ wall

71LB‧‧‧Side

71LF‧‧‧Side

71RB‧‧‧Side

71RF‧‧‧Side

72‧‧‧ wall

75‧‧‧ Bolt

77‧‧‧Slot

79‧‧‧ slender block

81‧‧‧ slender block

83‧‧‧Guide

85‧‧‧ positioning groove

87‧‧‧Guide

91‧‧‧ Sensor

93‧‧‧ Removable components

95‧‧‧ indicator

97‧‧‧ Pivot arm

98‧‧‧ Counterweight

99‧‧‧ Pivot

100‧‧‧ Bolt

It should be understood that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be increased relative to other elements to help improve understanding of the illustrated embodiments of the invention.

Figure 1 shows a schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of a processing device.

Fig. 2 is a partially cutaway and schematic perspective view of another processing equipment.

FIG. 3 is a partially cut-away perspective view of the storage device for the device of FIG. 1 or 2. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a cassette holder assembly according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the cassette fixing base assembly of FIG. 1. According to an embodiment, a cassette having a relatively small-sized substrate is provided.

6 is a rear view of the cassette fixing base assembly of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment, with a cassette having a relatively large-sized substrate.

7 is a top perspective view of a bottom plate for placing a cassette according to an embodiment, and a bottom perspective view of a front fixing member mounted on the bottom plate.

FIG. 8 depicts a front view of a base plate of a cassette for fixing a substrate.

Figures 9a, 9b and 9c disclose more details of the block of Figure 4 and the movable element according to an embodiment Top, section and bottom view.

These figures are not drawn to scale, and the thickness and direction dimensions have been exaggerated for clarity. Corresponding areas will have the same reference numerals as much as possible.

FIG. 1 illustrates a processing apparatus 1 for processing a semiconductor substrate (also referred to as a wafer). These wafers are subjected to a number of processing steps to form a number of integrated circuits on their surface, which are then cut from the wafer and further processed.

The substrate is usually carried in a cassette, and several cassettes 9 are shown in the storage device 2 in the top view of FIG. 1. The storage device 2 includes a movable bottom plate. By setting a rotating table 4, two to ten (such as six) cassettes are respectively placed on three levels, so the table 4 may include a total of eighteen cassettes, for example.

The storage device 2 is provided with an outer wall 3 which is provided with an opening to serve as an entrance and exit for the cassettes that are self-maintained in a clean room with a very low dust content. The cassette 9 can be placed on the movable floor of the table 4 through the entrance 5.

As clearly shown in the figure, the cross section of the storage device 2 has a periphery of at least a regular polygon, that is, the three wall sections on the right side of FIG. 1 form a part of a regular octagon. The sections of the processing stations 10, 11 and 12 described further below also have an at least partially regular polygonal perimeter. Stations 2, 10, 11 and 12 are shown as separate stations and are connected to other stations on the side.

In the apparatus 1, a central station having a substrate handler 8 is provided. The substrate handler 8 can remove the substrate 13 from the cassette 9 and place it on the wafer carriers of the stations 10, 11 and 12. After processing, the substrate handler removes the processed substrate from the wafer carrier of the processing station again, and places it in the next processing station or rotates through the rotating main board 4 to the positioned empty cassette 9. The cassette 9 with the processed substrate 13 can be removed from the storage device 2 through the entrance 6, and the entrance 6 has the same function as the entrance 5.

Each of the processing stations 10, 11 and 12 shown in FIG. 1 may be provided with a rotating table 14, which defines Three compartments 15. Each of the three compartments is provided with a wafer carrier 16. The rotating table 14 can be moved and stopped in three rotating positions. At each of these locations, a robot in the transfer station 8 can access one of the wafer carriers. After loading the wafer carrier 16 into one of the three compartments 15, the rotary table 14 moves clockwise by a third of a turn. The freshly loaded wafer carrier is now positioned above the lifting device 17 and below an oven. The lifted device 17 lifts the loaded wafer carrier into an oven, and performs wafer processing therein. When processing is complete, the wafer carrier is moved down again to table 14, which then moves a third more turn. At the same time, the next wafer carrier 16 is reloaded and can be placed in the oven using the lifting device 17. The freshly processed wafer can be cooled for a period of time. After the processing cycle is finished again, the rotary table is rotated by a third turn again, so that the wafer carrier 16 with the processed and cooled wafers is returned to the starting position of the connection transfer station 8. The processed wafer is then removed from the wafer carrier and placed in, for example, a wafer carrier in place at the processing station 11 or a cassette 9 in place. The operations of the processing stations 11 and 12 are the same in this case.

The storage device 2 may be combined with two or only one of the processing stations 10, 11 or 12. Other processing stations may be used in place of the processing stations 10, 11, 12. The result of an embodiment in which the cross-section has at least a part of the periphery of a regular polygon, and the unit is connected to other units at the side of the periphery of the regular polygon. As a result, the degree of freedom of construction of the device according to the processing required can be high.

As further shown in FIG. 1, the substrate handler 8 is embodied as a part of a regular octagonal perimeter having a square periphery, and each of the storage device 2 and the processing stations 10, 11, and 12 having an angle of 135 degrees, and having a substrate handler 8 Side of the length. In this way, the storage device 2 and the processing stations 10, 11 and 12 can be combined with a substrate handler 8.

However, due to the construction according to the invention, another combination is possible. FIG. 2 shows, for example, a device composed of a storage device 21 and two processing stations corresponding to those shown in FIG. 1, and each processing station may correspond to the processing stations 10, 11, and 12. The substrate handler 22 is also arranged here. This substrate handler includes, as described above, a robot hand 25 that can remove the wafer 13 from the cassette 9 and place it in a wafer carrier 27 in a processing station, and vice versa. The robot 25 itself may be a known robot and is mounted on a lift The device is arranged so that its operating arm can bridge the height difference between the bottom wafer in the lower cassette and the top wafer in the upper cassette 9. In addition to this, wafer shifting usually proceeds from the lowest position to the highest position, that is, the wafer 13 is taken out from the bottommost cassette 9 or wafer carrier 27 and continues to the topmost position. The top returns the wafer back to the wafer carrier or cassette and continues to the bottom. This prevents dust particles from falling on the wafer below.

As clearly shown in FIG. 2, each connectable station has a case on the cymbal, which has a closeable channel opening in at least one of the sides in the portion having a regular polygonal perimeter. In this embodiment, the processing stations 23, 32 each have a channel opening 26. The storage device 21 is provided with three passage openings 24. The opening of the channel can be opened and closed by using a port 29, which is housed in the guide 30 and can be moved up and down by a linear actuator (such as a cylinder 31). An inflatable seal may be incorporated into the guide 30. In the closing situation of the opening 29, this seal is inflated and thus obtains a close-fitting sealing contact. When the port 29 needs to be moved, the inflatable seal can be made pressureless to move it away from the port 29. As a result, when the port 29 is opened, there will be no or only slight sliding contact, so there is little danger of the formation of loose dust particles (which is particularly undesirable in the environment according to the invention). The wafer carrier 27 housed in the rotating table 28 is also schematically indicated in FIG. 2.

Figure 3 shows a storage device according to the invention. The cross section of this device 35 has a full regular octagon formed in equilateral sides. The storage device 35 may be provided with four passage openings 38 similar to the passage opening 24 of the unit 21 shown in FIG. 2. The storage device 35 may include a rotating table 36 in which eight cassettes 9 for wafers 13 may be placed on three layers, respectively. The driving device 37 accommodated in a closed compartment of the device 35 can be used to drive the table 36 to rotate about a vertical axis and be fixed in different rotational positions.

The device 35 may be provided with its own gas circulation device. This includes central air supply through a shaft 40 of the rotating table, which shaft leads to the inner space of a centrally arranged cylindrical filter 39. The gas supplied via the shaft 40 flows through the filter 39 in a horizontal radial direction through the cassette 9 in a laminar flow manner. Near the outer periphery, the gas flows upward and is discharged through an outlet 41 provided in an upper portion of the storage device 35. Since the central air supply is achieved in this way, all sides of the device 35 can be used to connect other units. Gas circulation may be necessary for purging and maintaining extremely low levels of dust particles in the equipment.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a cassette holder assembly for a storage device 2, 35 (in FIGS. 1 and 3) for storing a cassette 9 having a substrate 13 according to an embodiment. The cassette fixing base assembly 61 includes a movable bottom plate 63 provided to the rotating tables 4, 36 (FIGS. 1 and 3).

The cassette fixing base 61 includes the same left fixing member 65a and right fixing member 65b supported by the movable bottom plate 63 to position the cassette at left R and right L viewed from the front F, respectively. The left and right fixing members 65a, 65b are substantially the same as each other. Each of the fixing members 65a, 65b is mirror-symmetrical with respect to a line J passing through the center of the fixing member from the rear B to the front F.

An additional fixing in the form of a block 66 may be provided on the bottom plate 63 to position the cassette. The block 66 may be provided with a hole 68 which can be used by the sensor to sense the presence or correct positioning of the cassette on the cassette fixing base 61.

The fixing members 65a and 65b may have end faces 67LB, 67LF, 67RB, and 67RF respectively to engage with the cassette to restrict the position of the cassette to be substantially parallel to the bottom plate 63 in the direction from front F to rear B. Each of the fixtures may have left end faces 67LB, 67LF and right end faces 67RB, 67RF. Seen from the front F, the right end faces 67RB, 67RF can be located to the right of the fixing members 65a, 65b, and the left end faces 67LB, 67LF can be located to the left of the fixing members 65a, 65b. The left end faces 67LB and 67LF and the right end faces 67RB and 76RF of the fixing members 65a and 65b may be substantially parallel.

The right end faces 67RB and 67RF of the right fixing member 65b and the left end faces 67LB and 67LF of the left fixing member 65a may be configured to be engaged with the cassette 69 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). The right end faces 67RB and 67RF of the right fixing member 65b and the left end faces 67LB and 67LF of the left fixing member 65a may not be arranged to be engaged with the cassette 9. If there is wear on the end face of the fixing member, the positions of the fixing members 65a, 65b can be exchanged to use the other end face.

The cassettes can have different sizes, which may depend on the size of the substrate and the preference of the fab owner in which the cassettes are used, and the fixtures can be constructed to accommodate different sizes. Each of the fixing members 65a, 65b One can have at least two end faces, defined as small cassette end faces 67RF, 67LF for cassette 9 for 150 mm diameter substrate W (see FIG. 5), and a cassette for 200 mm diameter substrate W (see FIG. 6) 9 large cassette end faces 67RB, 67LB. Relative to the large cassette end faces 67RB and 67LB, the small cassette end faces 67RF and 67LF can be set toward the front F of the bottom plate 63 to engage with smaller-sized cassettes.

The fixing members 65a, 65b may have sides 71LF, 71LB, 71RF, and 71RB to engage with the cassette 9 and limit the position of the cassette to be substantially parallel to the bottom plate 63 in the direction from the right R to the left L and in front The direction from F to the rear B is substantially perpendicular to the bottom plate 63. Two side surfaces defined as the right side surfaces 71RF and 71RB and the left side surfaces 71LF and 71LB may be provided. Seen from the front, the right sides 71RF, 71RB can be located to the right of the fixture, and from the front F, the left sides 71LF, 71LB can be located to the left of the fixtures 65a, 65b.

The right side surfaces 71RF and 71RB of the right fixture 65b and the left side surfaces 71LF and 71LB of the left fixture 65a may be arranged to be engaged with the cassette 9. The right side surfaces 71RF and 71RB of the right fixture 65b and the left side surfaces 71LF and 71LB of the left fixture 65a may not be arranged to be engaged with the cassette 9.

The fixing member includes at least two sides defined as small cassette sides 71RF and 71LF and large cassette sides 71RB and 71LB. Relative to the large cassette sides 71RB and 71LB, the small cassette sides 71RF and 71LF can be set toward the front F of the bottom plate 63 to engage the smaller-sized cassette 9 (see FIG. 5). Relative to the small cassette sides 71RF and 71LF, the large cassette sides 71RB and 71LB can be disposed toward the rear B of the bottom plate 63 to engage with the larger-sized cassette 9 (see FIG. 4).

Both the fixing members 65a, 65b may have sides to engage the cassette and restrict the position of the cassette in the opposite direction from the right R to the left L. The cassette can be positioned in the left-to-right direction through the fixing members 65a, 65b.

The fasteners 65a, 65b are detachably fixed to the bottom plate 63 through fasteners, such as threaded fasteners, such as bolts 75 passing through the slot holes 77. The slot 77 may have a direction perpendicular to a line from the front F to the rear B to adjust the positions of the fixing members 65 a and 65 b on the bottom plate 63.

FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of the movable bottom plate 3 for accommodating the cassette, and a bottom perspective view of the right fixing member 65b mounted on the bottom plate 63. FIG. 7 can show that the slot hole 77 has a direction perpendicular to the line J from the front F to the rear B of the fixing member 65b. The fixing member 65b may be provided with elongated blocks 79, 81 which fit into the guide groove 83 and / or the positioning groove 85 provided on the bottom plate 63. The two guide elongated blocks 79 may be smaller than the two guide grooves 83 in a direction perpendicular to the line J from the front F to the back B, so that the fixing member 65b can be adjusted and fixed in that direction on the bottom plate 63.

A positioning elongated block 81 may have the same size as the positioning groove 85 in a direction substantially perpendicular to a line J from the front F to the back B and a direction substantially parallel. If the bracket 65b is mounted on the bottom plate 63, the positioning elongated block 81 and the positioning groove 85 can fix the fixing member on the bottom plate 63 in the left-right and front-rear directions.

For a cassette having a size slightly deviating from the standard-sized cassette, it may be necessary to slightly adjust the distance between the fixing members 65a, 65b. For fine adjustment of the distance between the fixing members 65a, 65b in the left-right direction, the positioning elongated block 81 can be (partially) removed. For example, the top of the block 81 may be cut off to allow the fixing member 65b to be fixed to the bottom plate 63 in an adjustable manner in the left-right direction. The guide elongated block 79 (which is smaller than the guide groove 83 in the left-right direction) allows the fixing piece 65b to be fixedly adjustable in that direction. In the front-rear direction, the guide elongated block 79 can still fix the fixing member 65b to the bottom plate 63. A fastener, such as a bolt 75 (FIG. 4) engaged with a threaded hole 89 passing through the slotted hole 77, can fix the fixing member.

As shown in FIG. 7, the fixing member 65 b is mirror-symmetrical with respect to a line J passing through the center of the fixing member from the front F to the rear B. The symmetrical design of the fixing members 65 a and 65 b can ensure that the same fixing members 65 a and 65 b can be used on the right and left sides of the bottom plate 63.

The fixing member 65a may include at least two, for example, four substantially parallel end faces 67LB, 67LF, 67RB, 67RF (see FIG. 4). When viewed from the front, the two end faces may be right end faces 67RB, 67RF located on the right side of the fixing member, and left end faces 67LB, 67LF located on the left side of the fixing member when viewed from the front. The end faces 67LB, 67LF, 67RB, 67RF may be substantially parallel to each other. In addition, solid The fixing member 65a may include at least two, for example, four substantially parallel sides 71LF, 71LB, 71RF, 71RB. When viewed from the front, the two end faces may be right side surfaces 71RF and 71RB located on the right side of the fixture, and left side surfaces 71LF and 71LB located on the left side of the fixture when viewed from the front. The sides may be substantially parallel to each other.

The side surface of the fixing member 65a may be substantially perpendicular to the end surface. The side can intersect with an end surface. The seat member 65a may have at least one guide surface 87 that interfaces with the side and / or the end surface. The guide surface 87 may have an angle between 15 and 75 degrees with the end or the side.

The fixing member 65a may be provided with a slot hole 77 for a fastener, and the slot hole 77 has a direction perpendicular to a line from the front F to the rear B of the fixing member. The fixing member 65a may be provided with at least one elongated block body extending downward from a bottom surface of the fixing member.

The fixing members 65a and 65b may be injection molded. The fixture may include a polymer. For example, the fixture may include an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene material (selected for its strength and flexibility).

The fixture 65a is easy to manufacture because it has a symmetrical relationship between the left and right sides when viewed from the front F. It is also easy to use, because only one fastener, such as a bolt 75, is needed to mount the fixing member 65a on the bottom surface 63.

The fixings can be made of plastic or metal. The metal can be aluminum or stainless steel. The plastic can be acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE). These materials can have a low coefficient of friction as well as other advantageous properties, such as good processability. In addition, the material is stable compared to the cleaning agent to properly clean the material.

The size of the cassette fixing base 61 can be adapted to the size of the cassette 9, which can be a box-shaped body with an open front side. The size of the cassette can be determined by the diameter (such as 200mm) and the number of the substrates W to be arranged therein. The bottom plate 63 may have a thickness between 0.2 and 4 mm, preferably between 0.3 and 3 mm, and may be made of stainless steel, and is provided with holes for fixing the cassette holders 65a and 65b to the cassette holder 61 to One part of the device.

The height of the cassette holders 65a and 65b may be 5 to 25 mm. For the cassette holders 65a and 65b, a polymer such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polypropylene, or polyethylene may be used, which may have metal or dust particles that do not form harmful to the manufacturing process of the IC during operation advantage. Other materials that can be used as the cassette holders 65a and 65b can be aluminum or stainless steel.

The cassette holder can be used in a device for processing semiconductor substrates to transport substrates to and from the device. In such an apparatus, for example, a high-temperature furnace, a reaction chamber may be used to produce a fine-sized structure on a semiconductor substrate, such as an integrated circuit.

FIG. 8 depicts a front view of a movable base plate 63 for a cassette for a substrate fixed in the storage device 2 (FIG. 1). The cassette 9 shown is fixed by a cassette holder of a lower movable bottom plate (not shown). The storage arrangement is provided with an outer wall, which is provided with openings 5 and 6 for placing and taking out the cassette 9 from the movable bottom plate.

A mobile device constructed and configured to move the base plate and the cassettes thereon may be provided. For example, it has the form of a driving device 37 (such as a rotary motor) in FIG. 3. The moving device can move the cassette on the bottom plate 63 toward or away from the opening.

The storage device 1 may be provided with a stationary sensor 91 (see FIG. 8) near the opening to detect at least one of the existence and correct orientation of the substrate cassette on the movable bottom plate 63. The sensor 91 may be installed inside the outer wall of the storage device or may be installed on a stationary frame portion of the device. The sensor 91 may be at least one of optically detecting the presence and correct orientation of the substrate cassette on the bottom plate 63. The base plate 63 may have a movable element 93 arranged to contact the cassette and be moved by the cassette when the cassette is placed in the correct orientation on the movable base plate 63.

An indicator 95 can be moved by the movable element 93 to indicate that the cassette is in the correct orientation. The indicator 95 may be constructed and configured to be within the viewing angle of the optical sensor 91 to indicate to the optical sensor the existence and correct orientation of the substrate cassette on the bottom plate. The indicator 95 may be a reflective device, such as a mirror that reflects the radiation beam from the sensor 91 back to the sensor 91. The (optical) sensor 91 may have a radiation source to A radiation beam (such as a 640 nm laser beam) is directed at a mirror and a sensor that detects the reflection of the radiation beam. Since the bottom plate 63 is movable and the movable element 93 and the indicator 95 are connected to the bottom plate, they are also movable. The sensor is stationary and the storage device can be constructed and configured to move different indicators 95 to the front of the sensor 91 by movement of the bottom plate 63 near the entrance. This may have the advantage that only one sensor 91 is required to measure the presence and / or correct placement of the cassettes on the plurality of base plates. In addition, it is not necessary to provide a cable to the movable member of the storage device, because all active members are stationary parts provided on the storage device. The movable base plate is only provided with passive components, such as the movable element 93 and the indicator 95.

9a to 9c disclose more detailed top, cross-section, and bottom views of the block 66 and the movable element 93 of FIG. 4 according to an embodiment. The movable element 93 may have a pivot arm 97, and the block 66 may be provided with a pivot axis 99 for pivotally installing the pivot arm 97 below the bottom plate 63. An indicator 95 may be provided on one end of the arm, the indicator being movable when the arm is pivoted, indicating that the cassette is in the correct orientation. The pivoting arm may have a weight body 98 and a stopper on the other end of the arm, the stopper restricting the movement of the movable element and the weight body pushes the movable element toward the cassette. The bottom plate 63 may have a hole, and the movable element 93 may have a pin 100 configured to cooperate with the cassette and be movably disposed in the hole. The block 66 may be provided with a hole 68 and the latch is movable in the hole. The block can be partially configured and arranged in an opening of the bottom plate 63. In this configuration, the movable element 93 may be provided on the lower side of the base plate 63.

The storage device may be provided with walls 70, 72 (see FIG. 4) extending upward from the bottom plate 63, leaving one side open at the front F to allow the cassette to enter and exit the bottom plate 63. The wall 72 opposite the opening may be provided with a hole to purge the cassette to remove particles from the cassette. The bottom plate may have a horizontal plane for accommodating the cassette, and the device may be constructed and configured with a bottom plate that is movable and rotatable about a rotating vertical axis in the horizontal direction. The wall may extend upward from the bottom plate 63 and define an isosceles trapezoid on the bottom plate.

The walls 70, 72 and the bottom plate 63 can be constructed with a sheet of metal, which is provided with an L-shaped slot or a straight slot. The walls 70, 72 and the bottom plate 63 may also be provided with L-shaped lips. The L-shaped lip can fit into the L-shaped slot or a straight slot. After bending through the lip of the L-shaped slot or straight slot, it can be between the walls 70, 72 and the bottom plate 63 Provide a solid link. By providing such a stable connection between the walls 70, 72 and one or each of the walls 70, 72 and the bottom plate 63 multiple times, the rigid structure of the disc conveyor belt can be produced by simply using sheet metal.

The optical sensor 91 may be a camera, which is constructed and configured so that the cassette on the bottom plate 63 near the opening of the entrance and exit is within the camera's viewing angle to detect the presence and correctness of the substrate cassette on the movable bottom plate. At least one of them.

The storage device 2 (Fig. 1) may have a computer, which may be operatively connected to the camera and be provided with a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is provided with machine vision software to detect the presence of the substrate cassette on the base plate and at least correctly oriented One.

The storage device 2 may be a part of the processing device 1 for processing a substrate, and may have a processing device for processing a substrate. A substrate handler may be provided to move the substrate from the cassette to the processing apparatus and to move the substrate from the processing apparatus to the cassette after processing. The processing device may have a reactor containing a reaction chamber for processing a plurality of substrates.

Several substrates, such as silicon wafers, can be placed on a substrate holder or wafer boat inside the reactor. Alternatively, a single substrate can be placed on a substrate holder inside the reactor. Both the substrate and the bracket or wafer boat can be heated to a desired temperature. In a typical substrate processing step, a reactant gas is passed through a heated substrate, thereby depositing a thin layer of a reactant material or a gaseous reactant on the substrate.

A series of these processing steps performed on a substrate is called a recipe. If the deposited layer has the same crystalline structure as the underlying silicon substrate, it is called an epitaxial layer. This is sometimes referred to as a single crystal layer because it has only one crystal structure. Through subsequent deposition, doping, lithography, etching, and other processes, these layers are made into integrated circuits, depending on the size of the substrate and the complexity of the circuit, producing tens to thousands or even millions of integrated devices.

Various process parameters are carefully controlled to ensure the high quality of the resulting layers. One such key parameter is the substrate temperature during each formulation step. During CVD, for example, a deposition gas reacts and is deposited on a substrate within a specific temperature range. Different temperatures also lead to different deposition rates.

The particular embodiments shown and described are illustrative of the invention and its best mode and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope and scope of the implementation in any way. In fact, for the sake of brevity, the conventional manufacturing, connection, preparation and other functional aspects of the system may not be described in detail. In addition, the connecting lines shown in the various figures are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and / or physical couplings between the various elements. Many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical system and / or may not be present in some embodiments.

Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it will be understood that the present invention may be implemented in other ways than described. For example, as described in the following numbered items:

1. A cassette fixing seat assembly for fixing a cassette for storing at least one semiconductor material substrate in an internal space, which can be accessed from a front end of the cassette into the internal space, the cassette fixing seat assembly comprising: A bottom plate for receiving the cassette; and a right and a left fixing member supported by the bottom plate to position the cassette on the right and left sides when viewed from the front, wherein the right and left fixing members Substantially the same as each other.

2. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 1, wherein the fixing members are mirror-symmetrical with respect to a line passing through the center of the fixing member from back to front.

3. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 1, wherein the fixing members respectively have at least two end faces engaged with the cassette to restrict the position of the cassette to the front-to-back direction with the bottom plate. Substantially parallel, the at least two end surfaces include at least one right surface and at least one left surface, where the right end surface is located to the right of the fixing member and the left end surface is located to the left of the fixing member when viewed from the front.

4. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 3, wherein the right end face of the right fixing member and the left end face of the left fixing member are configured to be engaged with the cassette.

5. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 4, wherein the right end face of the left fixing member and the left end face of the right fixing member are not configured to be engaged with the cassette.

6. The cassette fixing seat assembly according to item 3, wherein the fixing members respectively have at least four end faces that are engaged with the cassette, so as to limit the position of the cassette to the bottom plate and to the right of the cassette. And one of the left side of the small cassette end face and one large cassette end face are substantially parallel in the front-to-back direction, wherein the small cassette end face is located in front of the bottom plate compared to the large cassette end face, To engage with a relatively small size cassette.

7. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 1, wherein the fixing members each have a side to engage with the cassette, and limit the position of the cassette to be substantially right-to-left with the bottom plate. Parallel and substantially perpendicular to the bottom plate in a front-to-back direction.

8. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 7, wherein the fixing members respectively include at least two sides, including a right side and a left side, wherein the right side is located on the right side of the fixing member when viewed from the front. , And the left side is located to the left of the fixing member.

9. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 8, wherein the right side of the right fixing member and the left side of the left fixing member are configured to be engaged with the cassette.

10. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 9, wherein the right side of the left fixing member and the left side of the right fixing member are configured not to engage with the cassette.

11. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 7, wherein the fixing member includes at least two sides, including a small cassette side and a large cassette side, wherein the small cassette side is compared to the large cassette. The side is located forward of the base plate to engage a relatively small-sized cassette.

12. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 1, wherein both of the fixing members have a side surface to engage with the cassette, and restrict the position of the cassette in the opposite direction from right to left.

13. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 1, wherein the fixing members are detachably fixed to the bottom plate through a fastener passing through a slot hole, and wherein the slot has a vertical direction from a line from front to back. direction.

14. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 1, wherein the fixing member is provided with at least one An elongated block body extends from the bottom surface of the fixing member and is constructed to fit into a groove provided on the bottom plate.

15. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 14, wherein the elongated block is smaller than the groove in a direction perpendicular to a line from front to back to allow the fixing member to be fixedly fixed in that direction.

16. The cassette holder assembly according to item 14, wherein the elongated block is the same size as the slot in a direction perpendicular to a line from front to back, and is at least partially removable to allow the fixation The pieces are fixed in that direction.

17. A fixing member for positioning a cassette for storing at least one semiconductor material substrate on a bottom plate in a cassette fixing seat assembly, wherein the fixing member has a front and a rear, and is worn relative to the front to the rear A line passing through the center of the fixture is substantially mirror-symmetrical.

18. The fixing member according to item 17, wherein the fixing member includes: at least two substantially parallel end surfaces, wherein one end surface is a right end surface positioned to the right of the fixing member and the other end surface is viewed from the front. A left end surface on the left side of the fixing element; and at least two substantially parallel side surfaces, wherein one side surface is a right side surface on the right side of the fixing element and the other side surface is located on the right side when viewed from the front. A left side of the left side of the fixing member.

19. The fixture according to item 18, wherein the sides are perpendicular to the end faces and at least one of the sides intersects at least one of the end faces.

20. The fixing member according to item 17, wherein the fixing member is provided with a slot hole for a fastener, and wherein the slot has a direction perpendicular to a line from the front to the rear of the bracket.

21. The cassette fixing base assembly according to item 17, wherein the fixing member is provided with at least one elongated block extending from a bottom surface of the fixing member.

22. The cassette holder assembly according to item 17, wherein the fixing member comprises an injection-molded polymer material.

It should be understood that the configurations and / or methods described herein are exemplary in nature and that Such specific examples or embodiments are not considered to be limiting, as there may be many variations. The specific procedures or methods described herein may represent one or more of any number of handler strategies. Accordingly, the various actions described may be performed in the order described, in other orders, or in some cases omitted.

The subject matter of the present invention includes various processes, systems, and configurations, as well as other features, actions, effects, and / or characteristics disclosed herein, and all novel and non-obvious combinations and sub-combinations of any and all equivalents thereof. .

Claims (20)

A storage device for a cassette for storing a substrate includes: a movable bottom plate constructed and configured to fix the cassette; and an outer wall provided with an opening for placing and removing the cassettes from the bottom plate; And a moving device constructed and configured to move the bottom plate relative to the opening, wherein the storage device may be provided with a stationary sensor near the opening to detect the cassettes on the bottom plate at the opening At least one of its existence and correct orientation. If the storage device of claim 1, wherein the sensor is an optical sensor, the presence and correct orientation of the cassettes on the base plate are optically detected. As in the storage device of claim 2, wherein the base plate includes: a movable element positioned to be contacted and movable by the cassette when the cassette is in the correct orientation on the base plate; and an indicator by the The movable element moves and indicates that the cassette is in the correct orientation, wherein the indicator is within a viewing angle of the optical sensor to indicate to the optical sensor that the cassette is present and the correct orientation . The storage device of claim 3, wherein the movable element includes a pivot arm, and the bottom plate is provided with a pivot shaft, which pivotally mounts the pivot arm to the bottom plate. As in the storage device of claim 4, wherein the pivoting arm includes an indicator, the indicator can be moved when the arm is pivoted to indicate that the cassette is in the correct orientation. The storage device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the pivot arm includes a weight to push the movable element toward the cassette. For example, the storage device of claim 3, wherein a hole is provided in the bottom plate, and the movable element includes a latch to cooperate with the cassette and can be removably configured in the hole. The storage device of claim 3, wherein the movable element includes a stop, the stop restricting the movement of the movable element. The storage device of claim 3, wherein the movable element is disposed on a lower side of the base plate. The storage device of claim 3, wherein the indicator includes a reflector, and the optical sensor includes a radiation source to direct a radiation beam to the reflector and a sensor to detect the radiation beam Reflection. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the bottom plate is provided with a fixing member to position the cassettes on the bottom plate. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the wall is provided on the bottom plate and extends upward from the bottom plate, leaving one side open to access the bottom plate. If the storage device of claim 12, wherein a hole opposite to the open side is provided with a hole to purge the cassettes. The storage device of claim 12, wherein the walls define an isosceles trapezoid on the floor. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the base plate includes a plurality of areas for fixing the cassettes. For example, the storage device of claim 1, wherein the bottom plate may have a horizontal plane for placing the cassettes, and the device is constructed and configured to move the bottom plate in a horizontal direction. For example, the storage device of claim 1, wherein the optical sensor may be a camera, which is constructed and configured such that the cassettes on the bottom plate near the opening are within a viewing angle of the camera to detect the At least one of the presence of the cassettes on the bottom plate and the correct orientation. For example, the storage device of item 17, wherein the device is provided with a computer, is operatively connected with the camera, and is provided with a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is provided with machine vision software to detect the At least one of the presence of the cassette and the correct orientation. A processing device for processing a substrate includes: A storage device for storing cassettes as claimed in claim 1; a processing device for processing substrates; and a substrate handler configured and configured to move substrates from the cassettes to the processing device and after processing The substrates are moved from the processing device to the cassettes. The processing apparatus for processing a substrate as claimed in claim 19, wherein the processing apparatus comprises a reactor having a reaction chamber for processing a plurality of substrates.