TWI395698B - Cushion within wafer container - Google Patents

Description

Wafer box wafer limiter

The present invention relates to a wafer cassette, and more particularly to a wafer limiting element disposed in a wafer cassette.

Modern semiconductor technology has developed rapidly, and optical Lithography plays an important role. As long as it is about the definition of patterns, it depends on optical lithography. In the application of semiconductors, optical lithography technology is to make a designed circuit into a permeable light ray with a specific shape. Using the exposure principle, the light source is projected through a reticle to a silicon wafer to expose a particular pattern. The projected germanium wafer or other semiconductor component projecting body must also remain absolutely quiet.

When the semiconductor process enters the deep sub-micron era, the semiconductor factory has higher and higher requirements for dust-free. Although the wafer is processed in the reaction chamber, the cleanliness requirements inside the reaction chamber can be met. However, in order to transport the wafer from the reaction chamber of the previous stage to the next process chamber, and to avoid contamination of the wafer by the external environment, it must be transported through the wafer cassette, which is a hollow box structure. There is a wafer cassette carrying a wafer inside. The inside of the boat box is provided with a plurality of slots for placing a plurality of wafers, and a nitrogen or inert gas is used inside the wafer to protect the wafer to avoid being transported during transportation. Pollution of the external environment.

Generally, inside the wafer cassette, in addition to separating the wafers by a plurality of slots in the wafer cassette, a plurality of grooves are often arranged in the wafer cassette to fix the wafer. Typically the grooves are serrated to separate the wafers. The serrated bevel allows the wafer to be lifted up and the wafer to be suspended from the placement surface of the wafer cassette.

However, in the absence of a buffer, during the handling process, the wafer inside the wafer cassette is often scratched or even broken due to a slight vibration or shaking. situation. And the fragmented wafer particles may affect the cleanliness of the entire wafer cassette, which increases the cost.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a wafer limiting device having a wafer that can be secured in a wafer cassette.

In view of the above circumstances, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a wafer constraining member disposed inside a wafer cassette, and the wafer holder is stabilized by the first cartridge and the second cartridge. Keep it separate and separate and reduce unnecessary shaking and collision.

For the above purpose, the present invention firstly provides a wafer cassette configured with a wafer restriction member, comprising a first box body and a second box body, the first box body having a first opening, and the second box body having a second opening opposite the first opening. When the first opening is closed with the second opening, an accommodating space is formed; a sealing ring is mounted on the periphery of the second opening of the second box for combining with the first opening periphery to form a seal when the cover is closed status. A boat box having a third opening and a fourth opening relative to one of the third openings. When the wafer cassette is placed in the wafer cassette, the fourth opening is placed downward and combined with the second inner surface of the second housing, the third opening surface facing upward and the first inner surface of the first housing When the wafer boat box is combined with the first box body and the second box body, there is a binding direction in which the fixed phase is embedded according to the shape of the wafer cassette.

The first casing includes a first inner surface, and the first inner surface has at least one pair of first hooks corresponding to the two sides and spaced apart, and each pair of the first hooks is divided into two rows of left and right and parallel aligned There is a distance between the two rows of hooks. In addition, on opposite side sides of the first inner surface, there is a pair of third hooks, the second box body includes a second inner surface, and at least two pairs on both sides of the second inner surface correspond to each other and The second hooks are arranged at intervals, and each pair of first hooks is divided into two rows of left and right parallel alignment and a distance between the two rows of hooks. And configuring a first wafer restriction on the first surface and a second wafer restriction on the second inner surface of the first wafer restriction.

Through the design provided by the invention, the silicon wafer can be firmly fixed in the wafer cassette during the handling process, and the scratching and chipping of the silicon wafer can be prevented, thereby reducing the cost and increasing the cleanliness of the entire manufacturing process. .

Since the present invention discloses a wafer restriction member disposed inside the wafer cassette, some of the detailed manufacturing of the wafer cassette and the wafer cassette used are achieved by using the prior art, and therefore, in the following description, Do not give a full description. Moreover, the drawings in the following texts are not completely drawn in accordance with actual relevant dimensions, and their function is only to show a schematic diagram relating to the features of the present invention.

First, please refer to Fig. 1, which is a schematic view of a wafer cassette of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the wafer cassette 1 includes a first box body 10 and a second box body 20 . The first box body 10 has a first opening 11 , and the second box body 20 has a first opening 11 . The second opening 21 is. When the first opening 11 and the second opening 21 are closed, an accommodating space is formed; a sealing ring 24 is mounted on the periphery of the second opening 21 of the second casing 20 for covering the first opening 11 The perimeters are joined to form a sealed state. A wafer cassette 30 has a third opening 31 and a fourth opening 33 opposite to the third opening 31. When the wafer cassette 30 is placed in the wafer cassette 1, its fourth opening 33 is placed downward and combined with the second inner surface 23 in the second casing 20, and the third opening surface 31 faces upward and is first The first inner surface 13 of the casing 10 is combined; when the wafer cassette 30 is combined with the first casing 10 and the second casing 20, there is a direction in which the fixed phase is embedded according to the shape of the wafer cassette 1.

Next, please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic top view of the inside of the first case of the present invention. The first casing 10 includes a first inner surface 13 and a pair of first aligning portions 133 formed on the first inner surface 13. The first aligning portion 133 has a ridged shape and has a first slope 1331 and The second slope surface 1333, wherein the second slope surface 1333 has a slope higher than the first slope surface 1331. The first inner surface 13 and each of the first slope surfaces 1331 have at least one pair of first hooks 131 corresponding to the two sides and spaced apart; In this embodiment, it is composed of three pairs of first hooks 131. As shown in FIG. 2, each pair of first hooks 131 is divided into two rows of left and right parallel alignment and a distance between the rows of hooks. Further, between the opposite side edges of the first inner surface 13 and the pair of second slope surfaces 1333, there is a pair of third hooks 132. Next, please refer to FIG. 3, which is a schematic view of the inner side of the second casing of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the second casing 20 includes a second inner surface 23, and a pair of second aligning portions 233 are disposed on both sides of the second inner surface 23, and the pair of second aligning portions 233 are It is inclined to form a third slope 2331. And between the pair of third slopes 2331 of the second inner surface 23, at least a pair of second hooks 231 corresponding to the two sides and spaced apart; in the embodiment, three pairs of second The hook 231 is composed of. As shown in FIG. 3, each pair of first hooks 231 is divided into two rows of left and right parallel alignments and a distance between the rows of hooks.

The first hook 131, the second hook 231 and the third hook 132 of the embodiment can be manufactured by integral molding, for example, using injection molding or injection molding technology, and the material thereof can be a polymer material. The first case 10 can be formed using a transparent polymer material.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a schematic diagram of the wafer restriction member of the present invention. The wafer restriction member is divided into a first wafer restriction member 40a disposed on the first inner surface 13 of the first case body 10 and a second wafer restriction member 40b disposed on the second inner surface 23 of the second case body 20. The first wafer restriction member 40a and the second wafer restriction member 40b are the same components, and the first wafer restriction member 40a will be described below.

The first wafer restricting member 40a includes a pair of longitudinally and spacedly disposed wings 401, a partition 403 formed between the pair of wings 401, and between the partition 403 and each of the wings 401 Then, a plurality of laterally and spaced-arranged ribs 405 are integrally connected; wherein each of the wings 401 is formed with a plurality of spaced-apart hook holes 402, and each of the hook holes 402 is distributed respectively. Each of the first hooks 131 on the first inner surface 13 corresponds; in addition, the partition 403 Then, a plurality of laterally and spacedly arranged ridges 407 and recesses 409 are disposed. In the present embodiment, each of the ridges 407 on the partition 403 is parallel and aligned with each of the ribs 405.

Obviously, when the first wafer limiting member 40a is disposed on the first inner surface 13 of the first casing 10, the plurality of hook holes 402 on the first wafer limiting member 40a can be used with each phase. The corresponding first hook 131 is integrated into one. When the second wafer limiting member 40b is disposed on the second inner surface 23 of the second casing 20, the second hole can be similarly formed by the hook hole 402 on the second wafer limiting member 40b. The hook 231 card is integrated into one.

Next, please refer to FIG. 5A, which is a partially enlarged schematic view of the partition of the present invention. The ridge portion 407 of the partition portion 403 of the wafer limiting member 40a/40b is a block-shaped symmetrical structure with a narrow width and a narrow width, so that each ridge portion 407 has a symmetrical first oblique side 4071 and a second oblique side 4073; a recess 409 is formed between the first oblique side 4071 and the second oblique side 4073 of the adjacent ridge 407; therefore, when the wafer is in contact with the wafer restriction 40a/40b, the ridge is thereby The first beveled edge 4071 and the second beveled edge 4073 of the 407 introduce the wafer into the recess 409. Then, a plurality of positioning elements 404 are disposed on the first oblique side 4071 and the second oblique side 4073 of each ridge 407, and the positioning elements 404 are symmetrically disposed on the first oblique side centering on the concave portion 409. 4071 and the second bevel 4073; further, in order to further enable the wafer to be effectively fixed in each of the recesses 409, in the present embodiment, the thickness of the positioning member 404 near the recess 409 is greater than the proximity of the ridge The thickness of the top end of 407, at the same time, each positioning element 404 is closer to the bottom end of the locating element 404 near the ridge 407, and further forms a curved receiving portion 406, so that the first oblique side 4071 and the second oblique side 4073 are The recess 409 and the receiving portion 406 of the positioning element 404 are embedded in the wafer.

Please refer to FIG. 5B, which is a schematic view showing the configuration of another embodiment of the partition of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the ridge 407 of the partition 403 of the wafer restricting member 40a/40b Similarly to FIG. 5A, the plurality of positioning elements 404 in FIG. 5B are disposed on the first oblique side 4071 and the second oblique side 4073 at a staggered interval centering on the concave portion 409. In order to further enable the wafer to be effectively fixed in each of the recesses 409, in the present embodiment, the thickness of the positioning member 404 near the recess 409 is greater than the thickness of the top end of the ridge 407, and at the same time, each positioning element 404 Near the bottom end of the locating element 404 near the ridge 407, a curved receiving portion 406 is further formed, so that the recess 409 of the first oblique side 4071 and the second oblique side 4073 and the receiving portion 406 of the positioning member 404 To embed the wafer.

The wafer restriction member 40a/40b of the embodiment may be manufactured by integral molding, and the material of the wafer restriction member 40a/40b may be a polymer material, for example, PBT or PVDF, etc. Further, the positioning of the embodiment The element 404 may be integrally formed or assembled on the first beveled edge 4071 and the second beveled edge 4073 of the ridge 407 of the partition 403, for example, using a stamping process, or directly adhering to the ridge 407. The first oblique side 4071 and the second oblique side 4073 are formed, and the material of the positioning component 404 can be a polymer material.

Next, please refer to FIG. 6 , which is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the wafer restriction member in the first case of the present invention. As described above, when the first wafer restriction member 40a is mounted on the first inner surface 13, the hook hole 402 disposed on the two wing portions 401 can be corresponding to the first hook 131 of the first inner surface 13 of the casing. It will be stuck, as shown in Figure 6. The manner in which the hook hole 402 and the first hook 131 are locked is that the first protruding portion 1311 of the first hook 131 is embedded in the hook hole 402 of the first wafer limiting member 40a to be fixed. One of the two sides of a projection 1311 limits the displacement of the first wafer restriction 40a to the first flange 1313.

Since the first wafer limiting member 40a is formed of a polymer material, it has a certain elasticity. Therefore, when assembling, only the first wafer limiting member 40a is slightly squeezed, and each hook hole can be After the 402 is aligned with each of the first hooks 131, the first part is released. After the wafer restriction member 40a, the elastic deformation of the first wafer restriction member 40a itself can be performed. In the present embodiment, after the first wafer restriction member 40a is clamped, it is spaced apart from the first inner surface 13 by a distance, that is, not in contact with the first inner surface 13.

Next, please refer to FIG. 7 , which is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the boat box fixing component in the first box body of the present invention. An elastic strip-shaped boat case fixing member 43 formed of a polymer material, and the two ends thereof are fastened to the third hook 132 of the first inner surface 13, wherein the third hook 132 is disposed on The first hook 131 and the side wall of the first box are correspondingly spaced apart; each of the third hooks 132 is formed by a pair of corresponding hook portions 1321 and one outside the hook portion 1321 The third edge 1323 is formed; therefore, when the two ends of the elongated boat case fixing member 43 are fixed to the third hook 132, since the boat case fixing member 43 is long, it can be utilized for elasticity. The feature is such that the wafer cassette fixing member 43 is fixed to the third hook 132 to form an arch structure.

Please refer to FIG. 8 for a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the wafer restriction member in the second casing of the present invention. When the second wafer limiting member 40b is mounted on the second inner surface 23, since the second wafer limiting member 40b is identical in structure to the first wafer limiting member 40a, it is fixed in the second inner portion of the second housing 20 When the second hook 231 on the surface 23 corresponds to the hook hole 402 of the wing portion 401, the second wafer limiting member 40b can be fastened to the second hook 231, as shown in FIG. 10; The second protruding portion 2311 of the second hook 231 is embedded in the hook hole 402 of the second wafer limiting member 40b to be fixed, and the second edge 2313 is used by one of the two sides of the second protruding portion 2311 ( Please refer to FIG. 3) to limit the displacement of the second wafer limiter 40b.

According to the foregoing description, in the first wafer restriction member 40a and the second wafer restriction member 40b of the present embodiment, a recess formed between the plurality of ridges 407 on the partition portion 403 of each of the wafer restriction members is formed. The configuration of 409 is a state corresponding to each other. When the wafer is placed between the first wafer restriction member 40a and the second wafer restriction member 40b, each The two ends of the wafer are in contact with the recess 409 of the first wafer restriction member 40a and the second wafer restriction member 40b. Therefore, each wafer sheet is formed in a parallel state to avoid A necessary collision.

Next, please refer to FIG. 9, which is a schematic diagram of loading a wafer in the wafer cassette of the present invention. First, the wafer is first loaded on the wafer cassette 30, and then the fourth opening 33 of the wafer cassette 30 is placed downward and combined with the second inner surface 23 in the second casing 20, and via the second inner The pair of second alignment portions 233 on the surface 23 guide the relative positions of the wafer cassette 30 to the second wafer restriction member 40b with the third slope surface 2331. At this time, the bare edge portion of the wafer of the fourth opening 33 contacts the recess 409 on the second wafer restricting member 40b, and the positioning member 404 distributed on both sides of the recess 409 sandwiches the wafer. The wafer can be effectively fixed.

When the fit is closed, the third opening 31 of the boat case 30 is combined with the first inner surface 13 in the first case 10 and is first through the pair of first alignment portions 133 on the first inner surface 13. The slope surface 1331 (please refer to FIG. 2) guides the relative positions of the wafer cassette 30 to the first wafer restriction member 40a. The exposed edge portion of the wafer of the third opening 31 contacts the recess 409 on the first wafer limiting member 40a, and the positioning member 404 distributed on both sides of the recess 409 sandwiches the wafer, thereby being effective. Secure the wafer.

Since the first wafer restricting member 40a and the second wafer restricting member 40b in the first casing 10 and the second casing 20 have their positions corresponding to each other, each of the first casing 10 will be correspondingly arranged when the fitting is closed. The edges of the upper and lower ends of the wafer are fixed in the recess 409 of the wafer limiting member 40a/40b, so that the wafer does not move during the handling of the wafer cassette 1, so that the wafer can be prevented from moving. And caused the problem of fragmentation. It should be emphasized here that in the present invention, if the first wafer restriction member 40a is disposed only in the first case 10 of the wafer cassette (that is, the second wafer restriction member 40b is not disposed in the second case 20) When the second wafer restriction member 40b is disposed only in the second case 20 of the wafer cassette (that is, the first wafer restriction member 40a is not disposed in the first case 10), the same can be used. The problem of preventing fragmentation of the wafer due to movement is achieved, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In addition, after the wafer cassette 30 is placed into the second casing 20, and when the first casing 10 of the wafer cassette is covered with the second casing 20, the first inner surface 13 of the first casing 10 is located. The upper caged boat cage fixing member 43 (please refer to FIG. 7) is pressed by the cover, so that the boat box fixing member 43 presses the edge of the third opening 31 of the boat case 30 to be fixed to avoid The boat case 30 is unnecessarily shaken, and the seal ring 24 disposed at the periphery of the second opening 21 is joined to the periphery of the first opening 11 to form a sealed state during the cover to prevent the penetration of contaminants.

While the present invention has been described above in terms of the preferred embodiments thereof, it is not intended to limit the invention, and the invention may be modified and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The patent protection scope of the invention is subject to the definition of the scope of the patent application attached to the specification.

1‧‧‧ wafer cassette

10‧‧‧First box

11‧‧‧ first opening

13‧‧‧First inner surface

131‧‧‧First card hook

1311‧‧‧First bulge

1313‧‧‧ first side

132‧‧‧ third card hook

1321‧‧‧hook

1323‧‧‧ third side

133‧‧‧First Calibration Department

1331‧‧‧First slope

1333‧‧‧Second slope

20‧‧‧Second box

21‧‧‧ second opening

23‧‧‧Second inner surface

231‧‧‧Second card

2311‧‧‧second bulge

2313‧‧‧second side

233‧‧‧Second Calibration Department

2331‧‧‧ Third slope

24‧‧‧Seal ring

30‧‧‧Sailboat Box

31‧‧‧ third opening

33‧‧‧fourth opening

40a‧‧‧First wafer limiter

40b‧‧‧Second wafer limiter

43‧‧‧Ship boat box fixing components

401‧‧‧ wing

402‧‧‧Houdong

403‧‧‧Departure

404‧‧‧ Positioning components

405‧‧‧ ribs

406‧‧‧Acceptance Department

407‧‧‧ ridge

4071‧‧‧First bevel

4073‧‧‧second bevel

409‧‧‧ recess

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a wafer cassette of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic top view of the inside of the first case of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic top view of the inside of the second casing of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic view of a wafer constraining member of the present invention.

Fig. 5A is a partially enlarged schematic view showing the partition of the present invention.

Fig. 5B is a schematic view showing the configuration of another embodiment of the partition of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a schematic view showing the arrangement of wafer restriction members in the first cartridge of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a schematic view showing the arrangement of the boat box fixing member in the first casing of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a schematic view showing the arrangement of wafer constraining members in the second casing of the present invention.

Figure 9 is a schematic view showing the wafer cassette loaded with the wafer of the present invention.

40a‧‧‧First wafer limiter

40b‧‧‧Second wafer limiter

401‧‧‧ wing

402‧‧‧Houdong

403‧‧‧Departure

405‧‧‧ ribs

407‧‧‧ ridge

409‧‧‧ recess

Claims (11)

A wafer cassette configured with a wafer restriction member, comprising: a first case having a first opening, and a first inner surface opposite to the first opening in the first case body, and Having at least one pair of first hooks on the first inner surface; a second box having a second opening, and a second inner portion opposite to the second opening in the second housing a second cover for covering the first case to form an accommodating space; and a first wafer restricting member fastened on the first inner surface of the first case, The first wafer limiting member is characterized in that the first wafer limiting member comprises a pair of longitudinally and spacedly disposed wings, a partition formed between the pair of wings, and the partition is Each of the wings is integrally connected by a plurality of laterally and spacedly arranged ribs, and each of the wings is formed with a plurality of spaced apart hook holes, and each of the hook holes is respectively located Corresponding to each of the first hooks on the first inner surface, by each of the first hooks and each Engaging the hook hole, so that the first wafer retaining member limits on the first inner surface of the first housing, wherein there is further arranged a plurality of laterally spaced and are arranged ridge portion and the concave portion of the partition portion. The wafer cassette of claim 1, further configured with a sealing ring, the sealing ring being mounted on the second casing. The wafer cassette of claim 1, wherein the material of the wafer restriction member is a polymer material. The wafer cassette of claim 1, wherein a pair of third hooks are further disposed between opposite side edges of the first inner surface and each of the first hooks. The wafer cassette of claim 4, further comprising a wafer cassette fixing member, wherein the wafer cassette fixing member is fastened to the first inner surface by the third hook. The wafer cassette of claim 5, further comprising a wafer cassette, wherein the wafer cassette is disposed in the accommodating space formed by the first box and the second box, and It is fixed by the boat box fixing member. The wafer cassette of claim 1, wherein the ridge is formed by a first oblique side and a second oblique side, and the first oblique side and the second oblique side are disposed A plurality of positioning elements. The wafer cassette of claim 7, wherein the positioning elements are arranged symmetrically about the recess. The wafer cassette of claim 7, wherein the positioning elements are arranged in a staggered and spaced manner around the recess. The wafer cassette of claim 1, further comprising at least one pair of second hooks on the second inner surface of the second casing. The wafer cassette of claim 10, further comprising a second wafer restriction member and the second hooks, wherein the second wafer restriction member comprises: a pair of longitudinal members and a spaced apart wing portion, a partition formed between the pair of wing portions, and the partition portion and each of the wing portions are integrally connected by a plurality of laterally and spacedly arranged ribs, each of which a plurality of spaced-apart hook holes are formed on the wing portion, and each of the hook holes is respectively located corresponding to each of the second hooks on the second inner surface, by each of the second hooks Engaging with the hook hole, the second wafer limiting member is fastened to the second inner surface of the second box body, wherein the partition portion is further disposed with a plurality of transverse and spaced ridges Department and recess.