TWI697027B - Apparatus for supplying gas for wafer container - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a gas supply device for a wafer container in which purge gas is injected into a wafer container that houses and transports wafers. The gas supply device for a wafer container includes: a mounting table portion on which a wafer container is mounted; a gas inlet and outlet portion corresponding to the positions of the gas inlet and gas outlet formed in the wafer container, and includes a housing and a nozzle, wherein the housing Combined with the mounting table, the nozzle can be inserted into the housing up and down and a flow path for purge gas in and out is formed inside; the drive part, which is connected to the nozzle, is raised and lowered, and provides an upward driving force to raise the nozzle; elasticity The part elastically supports the driving part, thereby providing elastic force to the direction in which the driving part rises. According to this, the driving part and the elastic part are provided to provide a sufficient driving force for raising the nozzle, and when the wafer container is removed from the upper part of the nozzle, the nozzle is smoothly raised, thereby preventing waste of purge gas.

Description

Gas supply device for wafer container

The present invention relates to a gas supply device for a wafer container, and more particularly to a gas supply device for a wafer container in which a purge gas is injected into a wafer container that houses and transports wafers.

Generally speaking, semiconductor devices are formed by various wafer processes, including the following processes: a deposition process for forming a film on a wafer; a chemical/mechanical polishing process for planarizing the film; A photolithography process for forming a photoresist pattern on the film; a pattern etching process for forming the film with electrical characteristics using the photoresist pattern; for implanting specific ions in a fixed area of a wafer Ion implantation process; cleaning process for removing impurities on the wafer; inspection process for inspecting the surface of the wafer on which the film or pattern is formed, etc. In addition, including wafer heat treatment process.

As mentioned above, the semiconductor device is selectively formed by repeatedly performing the deposition process, the polishing process, the lithography process, the etching process, the ion implantation process, the cleaning process, the inspection process, the heat treatment process, etc. on the wafer. Semiconductor devices, wafers are transported to specific locations required in each process.

In the semiconductor manufacturing process, the processed wafers are high-precision items, so care must be taken not to be contaminated or damaged by external contaminants and impacts during storage and transportation. In particular, during the process, care must be taken to ensure that the wafer surface is not contaminated by impurities such as dust, moisture, and various organic substances during storage and transportation. Therefore, when storing and transporting wafers, the wafers must be stored in separate wafer containers to protect them from external impacts and contamination.

For this reason, wafer containers containing a plurality of wafers in a fixed number of units are widely used, such as a front opening wafer pod (Front Opening Unified Pod; FOUP). The wafers in the front open wafer box (FOUP) are transported to the wafer process processing device by the transport robot of the wafer transport device.

At this time, the air that flows in when the wafer is in and out of the wafer container is filtered, but there is still some unfiltered air in the sealed front-open wafer box (FOUP), and such air contains such as Molecular contaminants such as oxygen, moisture, and ozone.

Therefore, the surface of the wafer housed in the wafer container generates a chemical reaction by generating fume gas (Fume Gas) from the processed wafer, which causes a reduction in the productivity of the semiconductor wafer.

As described above, in order to reduce the chemical reaction initiated by the contaminants or internal humidity of the wafers contained in the wafer container, the gas supply device of the wafer container supplies the wafer container containing the wafers for a predetermined time to purge Gas to regulate pollutants or internal humidity.

In the conventional gas supply device, when the wafer container is placed, the nozzle supplies the purge gas to the inside of the container through the load drop of the wafer container; when the wafer container is removed, the load applied to the nozzle disappears and the nozzle rises again , Stop supplying purge gas.

At this time, the conventional Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2016-0128806 for re-raising the nozzle describes a gas supply device including a mounting table portion and a gas inlet/outlet portion, an elastic sheet is installed in the gas inlet/outlet portion, and the nozzle Gives up and down elasticity.

Korean Patent Registration Gazette No. 10-1655437 describes a purge nozzle that inserts a spring inside the holder and moves the nozzle downward by an elastic force equivalent to the FOUP pressing the nozzle while maintaining a predetermined compression to prevent leakage and breakage .

Registered Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1703854 discloses the following solenoid separation type N2 cleaning nozzle, combined with the solenoid to operate the purge nozzle integrally, and then installed in the FOUP in the LPM (Load Port Module, load port module ), move the nozzle of the LPM in the downward direction through the solenoid. After that, if the FOUP is already installed in the LPM, the nozzle moves back in the upward direction by the elasticity of the spring, and the nozzle tightly adheres to the FOUP to prevent leakage.

The conventional technique described above is to provide a spring between the housing and the nozzle, and use the elastic force of the spring to raise the nozzle. On the other hand, another conventional technique is to connect the nozzle to a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder, and to raise the nozzle as the hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder moves up and down.

However, the upward driving force provided by the spring or hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder is limited. Even if the additional load generated at the initial stage of driving causes the wafer container to be separated, the nozzle cannot be sufficiently provided because the upward driving force is not sufficiently provided to the nozzle Rise.

If the nozzle cannot be raised sufficiently, the purge gas is continuously supplied even when the wafer container is not installed, so the purge gas is wasted; the gas supply device is not successfully driven, so the productivity of the wafer processing process is reduced; If the wafer container is mounted in a state where it is not sufficiently raised, the airtightness between the wafer container and the nozzle is reduced, so there is a problem of leakage of purge gas.

The present invention is proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gas supply device for a wafer container: when the wafer container is separated from the upper part of the nozzle, the nozzle is smoothly raised to prevent the purge gas from waste.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a gas supply device for a wafer container that smoothly raises and lowers a nozzle and thereby improves the productivity of a wafer processing process.

The present invention for achieving the above object as a gas supply device for a wafer container injecting a purge gas into a wafer container accommodating and transporting a wafer includes: a mounting table portion on which the wafer container is mounted; gas in and out The portion corresponds to the positions of the gas inlet and gas outlet formed in the wafer container, and includes a housing and a nozzle, wherein the housing is coupled to the mounting table portion, and the nozzle is inserted into the housing in a lifting manner and A flow path for purge gas in and out is formed inside; the driving part is raised and lowered while being connected to the nozzle, and provides an upward driving force to raise the nozzle; the elastic part elastically supports the driving part, and further The upward direction of the driving part provides elastic force.

Preferably, the driving part includes: a cylinder fixed to the lower part of the mounting table part; a piston that moves up and down inside the cylinder; a connecting part that connects the piston and the nozzle so that the The piston and the nozzle rise and fall at the same time; and the fluid inlet and outlet portion allows fluid to enter and exit the internal space between the cylinder and the piston, so that the pressure of the piston rises through the cylinder.

Preferably, the elastic part includes: a fixing member fixed to the lower part of the mounting table part; a moving member slidingly inserted into the fixing member and transmitting elastic force to raise the piston; and an elastic member provided In the fixed part, the moving part is elastically supported to provide elastic force to the piston.

Preferably, the elastic portion includes an elastic member that is arranged in an internal space between the cylinder and the piston, and elastically supports the piston to provide elastic force to the piston.

Preferably, the driving unit has a plurality of the cylinders, and has a plurality of the pistons, the plurality of the pistons are inserted into the plurality of the cylinders, respectively, to form a plurality of the internal spaces while lifting .

Preferably, a plurality of the cylinders are composed of a first cylinder, a second cylinder, and a third cylinder arranged in a row; a plurality of the pistons are composed of a first piston, a second piston, and a third piston, The first, second, and third pistons are inserted into the first, second, and third cylinders, respectively, to form a first internal space, a second internal space, and a third internal space; The first internal space, the third internal space, or the second internal space has the elastic member and is higher in height than other internal spaces.

As described above, the present invention has a driving portion and an elastic portion to provide a sufficient driving force that can raise the nozzle. Further, when the wafer container is removed from the upper portion of the nozzle, the nozzle is smoothly raised, thereby preventing waste of purge gas.

In addition, the present invention enables the nozzles to smoothly move up and down, thereby further improving the productivity of the wafer processing process.

In addition, the present invention has a plurality of pistons, so that the ascending driving force provided to the nozzle can be increased.

In addition, in the present invention, a mounting sensing portion for sensing whether a wafer container is installed is provided on the mounting table, and then the purge gas is supplied only when the wafer container is placed on the mounting table, which can improve the purge gas while preventing the loss of the purge gas. Processing efficiency.

In addition, the mounting sensing portion of the present invention can detect whether the wafer container is installed in a contact or non-contact manner. Furthermore, the mounting sensing portion can easily sense whether the wafer container is installed or not.

In addition, according to the present invention, the gas injection part and the gas discharge part, which are the gas inlet and outlet parts, are arranged at different positions from each other, and the flowability of the purge gas can be improved while the purge gas is easily taken in and out.

10: Mounting table

11: binding hole

20: Gas access section

21: Shell

22: Nozzle

22a: protrusion

22b: groove part

23: Sealing parts

23a: casing

23b: Seal

24: Elbow

30: Drive Department

31: missing body

31a: the first cylinder

31b: Second cylinder

31c: Third cylinder

32: Piston

32a: the first piston

32b: Second piston

32c: third piston

33: Connection

34: Fluid access section

35: interior space

35a: First interior space

35b: Second interior space

35c: Third interior space

40: Elastic part

41: fixed parts

42: Moving parts

43: Elastic parts

44: Elastic parts

45: Support parts

50: Install the sensing part

51: thruster

52: Bracket

53: Induction tool

100: wafer container

1 is a structural view showing a gas supply device for a wafer container according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a gas supply device for a wafer container according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 3 is a front cross-sectional view showing the rising state of the nozzle of the gas supply device for a wafer container according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 3; and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a BB sectional view of FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional exploded view of a gas supply device for a wafer container according to a second embodiment of the present invention FIG. 8 is a front cross-sectional view showing a nozzle rise state of a gas supply device for a wafer container according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 9 is a CC cross-sectional view of FIG. 8; FIG. 10 is a DD cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 FIG. 11 is a front cross-sectional view showing the nozzle lowered state of the gas supply device for a wafer container according to the second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 12 is a EE cross-sectional view of FIG. 11; and FIG. 13 is a FF cross-sectional view of FIG. 12 .

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a structural view showing a gas supply device for a wafer container according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a gas supply device for a wafer container according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 3 is a front cross-sectional view showing the rising state of the nozzle of the gas supply device for a wafer container according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 3; and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a BB sectional view of FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional exploded view of a gas supply device for a wafer container according to a second embodiment of the present invention Figure; Figure 8 is a diagram showing the second embodiment of the present invention for a wafer container gas supply device ascending shape 9 is a CC cross-sectional view of FIG. 8; FIG. 10 is a DD cross-sectional view of FIG. 9; FIG. 11 is a nozzle lowering state showing a gas supply device for a wafer container according to a second embodiment of the present invention FIG. 12 is a EE cross-sectional view of FIG. 11; and FIG. 13 is a FF cross-sectional view of FIG.

The gas supply device for a wafer container of the present invention can be divided into a first embodiment and a second embodiment. The constituent elements of each embodiment are basically the same, but there are differences in some structures. In addition, in various embodiments of the present invention, the same element symbols will be used for constituent elements that produce the same effect.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gas supply device for a wafer container according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a gas supply device for injecting a purge gas into a wafer container 100 that houses and transports a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer And includes a mounting table portion 10, a gas inlet/outlet portion 20, a driving portion 30, and an elastic portion 40.

The wafer container 100 serves as a container that holds a plurality of wafers in a fixed number of units to protect the wafers from external impacts and contaminants during storage and transportation of the wafers during the semiconductor manufacturing process. Round box (Front Opening Unified Pod; FOUP) wafer container.

Of course, the wafer container 100 can also be used in at least one of a deposition process, a grinding process, a lithography process, an etching process, an ion implantation process, a cleaning process, an inspection process, and a heat treatment process.

In addition, for the purge gas injected into the wafer container 100, various types of heated air, unheated air, non-oxidizing gas, or inert gas are used to adjust the humidity inside the wafer container 100 and reduce semiconductors caused by contamination The wafer is oxidized or damaged, and the purge gas in this embodiment is preferably nitrogen.

The mounting table portion 10 is provided as a mounting tool on which a wafer container that houses and transports a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer is placed, and is provided in front of a wafer mounting table as a gas supply device of the wafer container, the gas supply of the wafer container The device is to inject purge gas into the wafer container when the wafer container is transported and housed to prevent wafer contamination.

In addition, a coupling hole 11 is formed on the top of the mounting table portion 10, and a gas inlet/outlet portion 10 is arranged corresponding to the positions of the gas inlet and the gas outlet formed in the lower portion of the wafer container 100, and a fixed gas inlet/outlet can be provided around the coupling hole 11 The fastening tools of the portion 20, such as bolts and the like.

The gas inlet/outlet portion 20 may be a gas inlet/outlet tool for injecting or discharging purge gas into the wafer container 100 provided on the mounting table portion 10 on which the wafer container 100 is mounted, and may be composed of one or more gas injection portions and gas exhaust portions.

The gas inlet/outlet portion 20 protrudes toward the upper surface of the mounting table portion 10 so as to correspond to the gas inlet and gas outlet formed in the lower portion of the wafer container 100. In addition, the gas inlet/outlet portion 20 adheres or fixedly couples the sealing member 23 at a portion in contact with the wafer container 100.

The gas injection portion is an injection tool provided at one end of the mounting table portion 10 to inject purge gas into the wafer container 100; the gas discharge portion is provided at the other end of the mounting table portion 10 to discharge purge injected into the wafer container 100 A gas discharge tool; as shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the gas injection part and the gas discharge part include a housing 21, a nozzle 22 and a sealing member 23.

Since the gas injection part and the gas discharge part are arranged at different positions from each other, the purge gas can be easily injected and discharged while improving the fluidity of the purge gas in the wafer container 100.

The housing 21 is coupled and fixed to the lower portion of the mounting table portion 10, and an insertion hole for sliding the nozzle 22 is formed inside, and a coupling hole is formed on the upper surface of the housing 21 to allow a fastening tool to intervene to be coupled to the mounting table portion 10.

The nozzle 22 is a flow path member that is inserted into the insertion hole of the housing 21 up and down and flows purge gas, and the inside is a flow path at the central portion, and the flow path forms a through hole penetrating the upper end and the lower end to allow the purge gas to enter and exit .

In addition, the upper end of the nozzle 22 is formed to protrude to contact or engage and communicate with the gas inlet or gas outlet of the wafer container 100, and the lower end of the nozzle 22 intervenes in the elbow 24 to connect the supply of the gas supply tool that supplies the purge gas A discharge pipe for a pipe or a gas discharge tool that discharges purge gas.

The upper end of the nozzle 22 is formed to protrude from the upper surface of the mounting table portion 10, so that the contact position when the container 100 and the nozzle 22 are in contact can be easily grasped, and the wafer container 100 can be prevented from being damaged.

The sealing member 23 is provided as an airtight member above the nozzle 22, and when the wafer container 100 is mounted on the mounting table portion 10, the nozzle 22 and the wafer container 100 are sealed, and may be formed by a sleeve and a gasket.

The sleeve 23a is a protective member provided on the upper portion of the nozzle 22 to protect the upper end of the nozzle 22 exposed from the upper surface of the mounting table portion 10, and is formed substantially in the shape of a cylindrical shaft supporting the cylinder, and is preferably made of a cushioning material such as hard rubber The structure further reduces the impact load when the wafer container 100 is placed.

The gasket 23b is an air-tight pad that is in contact with the wafer container 100 when the wafer container 100 is placed and is provided on the sleeve to maintain airtightness, and is preferably made of an air-tight material compared to the hard rubber sleeve For example, it has soft rubber that is softer than the hard rubber of the sleeve.

The sleeve 23a and the gasket 23b are forcibly fitted and fixed to the upper part of the nozzle 22.

For example, a protruding portion 22a is formed on the outer periphery of the upper portion of the nozzle 22, and a groove portion 22b is formed on the outer periphery of the lower portion of the protruding portion 22a. The sleeve 23a has a concave portion formed along the inner periphery, and is forcibly fitted into the groove portion 22b of the nozzle 22; a groove portion is formed along the inner periphery of the gasket 23b, and the gasket 23b can be forcibly fitted into the protruding portion 22a of the nozzle 22.

On the other hand, the sleeve 23a and the gasket 23b may be fixed to the upper part of the nozzle 22 by another fixing member.

As described above, the sealing member is fixedly coupled to the gas inlet/outlet portion, thereby providing the following effects: when the wafer container is in contact with the gas inlet/outlet for a long time, the sealing member is prevented from being fixed or adsorbed due to the weight of the wafer container, and the nozzle or the sealing member is prevented from separating , Which in turn can increase the productivity of the wafer processing process.

The driving unit 30 is a driving tool that moves up and down while being connected to the nozzle 22 and provides an ascending driving force to raise the nozzle 22, and is composed of a cylinder 31, a piston 32, a connecting portion 33, and a fluid inlet/outlet portion 34.

The cylinder 31 is coupled to the housing 21 at the lower portion of the mounting table portion 10, and a hole is formed therein to raise and lower the piston 32, and the hole is opened to the lower portion of the cylinder 31. There may be a plurality of cylinders 31, which in the first embodiment are composed of a first cylinder, a second cylinder, a third cylinder 31a, 31b, 31c arranged in a row, the first cylinder, the second cylinder The body and the third cylinder 31a, 31b, 31c may be integrated.

The piston 32 can be inserted into the interior of the cylinder 31 up and down, and an internal space 35 is formed between the cylinder 31 and the piston 32 as the piston 32 moves up and down. The invention has a plurality of pistons 32, which are respectively inserted into a plurality of cylinders to form a plurality of internal spaces; in the first embodiment, the pistons 32 are respectively inserted into the first cylinder, the second cylinder, and the third cylinder The first, second, and third pistons 32a, 32b, and 32c of 31a, 31b, and 31c are formed, and the first, second, and third pistons 32a, 32b, and 32c can be integrated to simultaneously lift and lower. A first internal space, a second internal space, and a third internal space are formed between the first cylinder, the second cylinder, the third cylinder 31a, 31b, 31c and the first, second, and third pistons 32a, 32b, 32c. Three internal spaces 35a, 35b, 35c.

The connecting portion 33 connects the piston 32 and the nozzle 22 so that the piston 32 and the nozzle 22 simultaneously rise and fall, and further transmits a rising driving force from the piston 32 to the nozzle 22.

The fluid inlet/outlet portion 34 allows fluid to enter and exit the internal space 35 between the cylinder 31 and the piston 32, and the piston 32 rises due to the internal pressure of the cylinder 31.

When the wafer container 100 is placed on the nozzle 22 and the nozzle 22 is lowered, the driving unit 30 lowers the piston 32 connected by the connecting unit 33 together. After that, when the wafer container 100 is separated, the fluid inlet/outlet portion 34 flows out of the internal space 35 to narrow the internal space 35 to raise the piston 32, and the driving unit 30 provides an upward driving force to the nozzle 22 connected to the piston 32 to cause the nozzle 22 rose.

In addition, the driving unit 30 has a plurality of cylinders and a plurality of pistons, and further has a plurality of internal spaces. Therefore, the fluid pressure can increase the upward driving force provided to the nozzle.

The elastic portion 40 is a driving tool that elastically supports the driving portion 30 to provide elastic force in the direction in which the driving portion 30 rises, and is composed of a fixed member 41, a moving member 42, and an elastic member 43.

The fixing member 41 is fixed to the lower portion of the mounting table portion 10 and forms a groove with an upper opening so that the moving member 42 slides inside. The fixing member 41 is connected and fixed to the cylinder 31 by the support member 45. The support member 45 fixes and connects at least one of the mounting table portion 10, the housing 21, and the cylinder 31 to the fixing member 41.

The moving member 42 is inserted into the groove of the fixed member 41 to slide inside the fixed member 41 and transmits an elastic driving force from the elastic member 43 to the piston 32. The moving member 42 is formed with an expansion portion whose upper horizontal cross-sectional area is larger than that of the lower portion, and the upper end of the expansion portion pushes the lower end of the piston 32 or the connection portion 33 by an elastic force.

The elastic member 43 has a groove provided in the fixing member 41 to support the moving member 42 with elastic force. The elastic driving force is generated by the elastic member 42 and transmitted to the piston 32 through the moving member 42 so that the piston 32 can easily rise, and the elastic member 43 can be constituted by a coil spring.

Specifically, there is a gap between the inner circumferential surface of the groove of the fixed member 41 and the outer circumferential surface of the lower part of the moving member 42, and the elastic member 43 is provided in the gap space. The elastic member 43 elastically supports the groove bottom surface of the fixing member 41 and the lower surface of the expansion portion of the moving member 42 and provides elastic force in a direction of ascending from the fixing member 41 to the moving member 42.

Therefore, the elastic portion 40 provides elastic force to the piston 32, thereby increasing the ascending force of the piston 32, and finally the ascending force of the nozzle 22 can be increased.

Hereinafter, the driving process of the gas supply device of the wafer container of the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

3 and 4 show the state where the nozzle 22 is raised before the wafer container is mounted on the mounting table portion 10.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, if the wafer container is mounted on the mounting table portion 10, the nozzle 22 is lowered by the load of the wafer container, and the nozzle 22 and the piston 32 connected by the connection portion 33 are lowered together. The internal space 35 between the 31 and the piston 32 becomes larger and fluid flows in, and the moving member 42 provided under the piston 32 also descends. At this time, the elastic member 43 is compressed.

Referring back to FIGS. 3 and 4, if the wafer container is separated from the mounting table 10, the load on the wafer container is eliminated, and the nozzle 22 is raised again. At this time, the fluid flows out from the internal space 35, and as the internal space 35 becomes narrower, the piston 32 is raised, thereby increasing the rising force of the nozzle 22. In addition, the compressed elastic member 43 applies an elastic force to the rising force of the piston 32, and thus the rising force of the nozzle 22 can be further increased.

Therefore, the gas supply device of the wafer container of the present invention includes a driving portion and an elastic portion. When the nozzle is raised, the nozzle is provided with an ascending driving force generated by the fluid pressure and an elastic driving force generated by the elastic member. When separating the wafer container, the nozzle can be raised smoothly to prevent wasting purge gas.

In addition, the nozzle of the present invention can be smoothly moved up and down, thereby improving the productivity of the wafer processing process.

In addition, the nozzle is fixed to the mounting table portion or receives the rising force provided by the driving portion and the elastic portion. Therefore, the airtightness can be improved while increasing the contact support force between the wafer container and the nozzle.

On the other hand, the gas supply device of the wafer container of the present invention may further include a mounting sensing portion 50 that is provided on the mounting table portion 10 to sense whether the wafer container 100 is mounted.

The mounting sensing portion 50 serves as a mounting sensing tool provided on the lower portion of the mounting table portion 10 to sense whether or not to mount the wafer container 100, and senses the contact of the wafer container 100 by contact or non-contact through elements such as an inductive sensor. Whether the mounting load installs the wafer container 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting sensing unit 50 is composed of a pusher 51, a bracket 52 and a sensing tool 53 to sense the mounting load when mounting the wafer container 100 on the upper surface of the mounting table unit 10.

The pusher 51 is installed up and down on the upper surface of the mounting table 10, and when the wafer container 100 is mounted, the wafer container 100 mounting load is moved downward to provide a basis for determining whether or not to mount.

A support 52 is provided at the lower portion of the mounting table portion 10 where the wafer container 100 is installed to support the pusher 51 to move the pusher 51 up and down, and at the lower end of the holder 52 is provided a sensing tool 53 that senses the move of the pusher 51 up and down.

The sensing tool 53 provides a judgment basis, and then senses the lifting thruster 51 passing the installation load during the installation and removal of the wafer container 100 to determine the installation and removal of the wafer container 100.

For the sensing tool 53, various sensors such as limit sensors or various sensors such as proximity sensors, position sensors, pressure sensors, etc. can be used. Of course, various sensors can also be used The tool senses the lift of the thruster 51.

The mounting sensor portion 50 for sensing whether the wafer container 100 is mounted on the mounting table portion 10 is supplied with purge gas only when the wafer container 100 is mounted on the mounting table portion 10, which can prevent the loss of the purge gas and increase the purge gas pressure Processing efficiency.

In addition, as the mounting sensing portion, whether or not to mount the wafer container is sensed in a contact or non-contact manner, and then the mounting sensing portion can easily sense whether or not to mount the wafer container.

Compared with the first embodiment, the second embodiment of the present invention has differences in the structure of the driving portion and the elastic portion. Hereinafter, the description of the same constituent elements as those of the first embodiment will be omitted, and the description will focus on the constituent elements different from those of the first embodiment with reference to FIGS. 7 to 13.

The driving unit 30 includes a cylinder 31, a piston 32, a connection unit 33, and a fluid inlet/outlet unit 34 as a driving tool that moves up and down while being connected to the nozzle 22 and provides an ascending driving force to raise the nozzle 22.

The cylinder 31 is fixed to the lower portion of the mounting table portion 10, and a hole for raising and lowering the piston 32 is formed therein, and the hole opens to the upper portion of the cylinder 31. There may be a plurality of cylinders 31, in the second embodiment it is composed of a first cylinder, a second cylinder, a third cylinder 31a, 31b, 31c arranged in a row, and the first cylinder, the second cylinder 3. The third cylinders 31a, 31b, and 31c can be integrated.

The piston 32 is inserted into the interior of the cylinder 31 up and down, and an internal space 35 is formed between the cylinder 31 and the piston 32 as the piston 32 moves up and down. A plurality of pistons 32 are inserted into the plurality of cylinders to form a plurality of internal spaces. In the second embodiment, they are inserted into the first, second, and third cylinders 31a, 31b, and 31c, respectively. The first, second, and third pistons 32a, 32b, and 32c are formed, and the first, second, and third pistons 32a, 32b, and 32c can be integrated to simultaneously lift and lower. In the first cylinder, A first internal space, a second internal space, and a third internal space 35a are formed between the second and third cylinders 31a, 31b, 31c and the first, second, and third pistons 32a, 32b, and 32c. 35b, 35c.

Here, the heights of the first and third internal spaces 35a and 35c are higher than the height of the second internal space 35b.

The connecting portion 33 connects the piston 32 and the nozzle 22 so that the piston 32 and the nozzle 22 simultaneously rise and fall, and further transmits a rising driving force from the piston 32 to the nozzle 22.

The fluid inlet/outlet portion 34 allows fluid to enter and exit the internal space 35 between the cylinder 31 and the piston 32, and the piston 32 rises due to the internal pressure of the cylinder 31.

As for the drive unit 30, if the wafer container 100 is mounted on the nozzle 22 and the nozzle 22 is lowered, the piston 32 connected by the connection unit 33 is also lowered together. After that, when the wafer container 100 is removed, the fluid inlet/outlet portion 34 flows into the internal space 35 to expand the internal space 35 to raise the piston 32, thereby providing an upward driving force to the nozzle 22 connected to the piston 32, so that the nozzle 22 rise.

In addition, the driving section 30 has a plurality of cylinders and a plurality of pistons, and further has a plurality of internal workpieces, so that the upward driving force provided to the nozzle can be increased by the fluid pressure.

As for the drive unit 30, if the wafer container 100 is mounted on the nozzle 22 and the nozzle 22 is lowered, the piston 32 connected by the connection unit 33 is also lowered together. Thereafter, when the wafer container 100 is removed, the fluid inlet/outlet portion 34 flows into the internal space 35 to raise the piston 32, and further provides the nozzle 22 connected to the piston 32 with an ascending driving force to raise the nozzle 22.

As described above, having a plurality of cylinders and a plurality of pistons can further increase the upward driving force provided to the nozzle.

The elastic portion 40 serves as a driving tool that elastically supports the driving portion 30 to provide elastic force in the direction in which the driving portion 30 rises, and includes an elastic member 44.

The elastic member 44 is arranged in the internal space 35 between the cylinder 31 and the piston 32 to elastically support the piston 32 to provide elastic force to the piston 32. The elastic driving force generated from the elastic member 44 is transmitted to the piston 32, the piston 32 can be easily raised, and the elastic member 44 can be constituted by a coil spring.

Specifically, the elastic member 44 is arranged in the first internal space and the third internal space 35a, 35c, and the first internal space and the third internal space 35a, 35c are higher in height than the second internal space 35b. Therefore, even if the piston 32 descends so that the lower end of the second piston 32b contacts the second cylinder 31b, since the first internal space and the third internal space 35a, 35c have a fixed height, the space where the elastic member 44 is arranged can be maintained, and The piston 32 is restricted from descending by the second piston 32b.

Conversely, the elastic member 44 is provided in the second internal space 35b, and the height of the second internal space 35b may be higher than the first internal space and the third internal space 35a, 35c.

Whether the elastic member 44 is provided or not and the height of the internal space may be different from each other, and it is preferably symmetrical to the center axis of the force of the piston 32 generating the upward driving force. In the second embodiment, the center axis of the force of the piston 32 is the second piston 32b The central axis.

The elastic portion 40 provides elastic force to the piston 32, thereby increasing the ascending force of the piston 32, and finally can increase the ascending force of the nozzle 22.

Hereinafter, the driving process of the gas supply device of the wafer container of the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 8 to 13.

8 to 10 show a state where the nozzle 22 is raised before the wafer container is mounted on the mounting table portion 10.

As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, if the wafer container is mounted on the mounting table portion 10, the load of the nozzle 22 through the wafer container decreases, and the nozzle 22 and the piston 32 connected by the connecting portion 33 descend together, and as the cylinder 31 and The internal space 35 between the pistons 32 narrows to flow out fluid, and compresses the elastic member 44 disposed in the first internal space and the third internal space 35a, 35c.

Referring back to FIGS. 8 to 10, if the wafer container is removed from the mounting table 10, the load on the wafer container is eliminated, and the nozzle 22 is raised again. At this time, the fluid flows into the internal space 35 to expand the internal space 35, so that the piston 32 is raised, and the lifting force of the nozzle 22 is increased. In addition, the compressed elastic member 44 applies an elastic force to the rising force of the piston 32, and the rising force of the nozzle 22 can be further increased.

The present invention described above can be implemented in other specific forms without exceeding its technical idea or main features. Therefore, the described embodiment is merely a pure example in all aspects, and the embodiment should not be interpreted in a limited manner.

10: Mounting table

11: binding hole

20: Gas access section

21: Shell

22: Nozzle

22a: protrusion

22b: groove part

23: Sealing parts

23a: casing

23b: Seal

24: Elbow

30: Drive Department

31: missing body

32: Piston

33: Connection

34: Fluid access section

35: interior space

40: Elastic part

41: fixed parts

42: Moving parts

43: Elastic parts

45: Support parts

Claims (6)

A gas supply device for a wafer container, as a gas supply device for a wafer container (100) in which a wafer container (100) containing and transporting wafers is filled with purge gas, includes: a mounting table portion (10), installed There is the wafer container (100); a gas inlet and outlet portion (20) corresponding to the positions of the gas inlet and gas outlet formed in the wafer container (100), and includes a housing (21) and a nozzle ( 22), wherein the housing (21) is combined with the mounting table portion (10), the nozzle (22) is inserted into the housing (21) up and down and a flow path for purge gas in and out is formed inside A driving part (30), which is provided on one side of the nozzle (22) and provides a driving force for raising the nozzle (22); and an elastic part (40), which elastically supports the driving part (30) ), and further provide elastic force to the direction in which the driving portion (30) rises; wherein, when the wafer container (100) is placed on the mounting table portion (10), the nozzle (22) passes through the crystal The load of the round container (100) drops to supply the purge gas, and when the wafer container (100) is removed from the mounting table portion (10), the nozzle (22) is driven by the The upward driving force of the portion (30) and the elastic force of the elastic portion (40) increase to stop the purge gas supply. The gas supply device for a wafer container as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the driving part (30) includes: a cylinder (31) fixed to the lower part of the mounting table part (10); A piston (32) that moves up and down inside the cylinder (31); a connecting portion (33) that connects the piston (32) and the nozzle (22) so that the piston (32) and The nozzle (22) moves up and down at the same time; and a fluid inlet and outlet (34) allows fluid to enter and exit an internal space (35) between the cylinder (31) and the piston (32), so that the The internal pressure of the piston (32) rises through the cylinder (31). The gas supply device for a wafer container as described in item 2 of the patent application scope, wherein the elastic part (40) includes: a fixing member (41) fixed to the lower part of the mounting table part (10); A moving part (42) is slidably inserted into the fixed part (41) and transmits elastic force to make the The piston (32) rises; and an elastic member (43) is provided in the fixed member (41) and elastically supports the moving member (42) to provide elastic force to the piston (32). The gas supply device for a wafer container as described in item 2 of the patent application scope, wherein the elastic portion (40) includes: an elastic member (44), which is disposed on the cylinder (31) and the The piston (32) is in the internal space (35) and elastically supports the piston (32) to provide elastic force to the piston (32). The gas supply device for a wafer container as described in item 4 of the patent application range, wherein the driving part (30) includes: a plurality of the cylinders (31); a plurality of the pistons (32), They are inserted into the plurality of cylinders (31) respectively to form a plurality of the internal spaces (35) and move up and down simultaneously. A gas supply device for a wafer container as described in item 5 of the patent application range, wherein the plurality of cylinders (31) are composed of a first cylinder, a second cylinder, a first cylinder arranged in a row Three cylinders (31a, 31b, 31c); the plurality of pistons (32) is composed of a first piston, a second piston, a third piston (32a, 32b, 32c), the first piston, The second piston and the third piston (32a, 32b, 32c) are inserted into the first cylinder, the second cylinder, and the third cylinder (31a, 31b, 31c) to form a first internal space, a first Two internal spaces and a third internal space (35a, 35b, 35c); the first internal space, the third internal space (35a, 35c) or the second internal space (35b) have the elastic member (44 ), and the height is higher than other internal spaces.

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