TWI779448B - Wafer container - Google Patents

Abstract

A wafer container includes a container body, a plurality of supporting structures, and a filter. The container has a sealed accommodating space. The supporting structures are vertically arranged in the accommodating space. The filter is located in the accommodating space for filtering airborne molecular contamination, and one of the supporting structures carries the filter.

Description

Wafer container

The present invention relates to a container, in particular to a container for accommodating wafers.

In the semiconductor manufacturing industry, a Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) is a portable container for storing semiconductor wafers. Between process steps, wafers may be stored in the FOUP for a period of time due to various factors such as production runs, number of cycles, etc. During this time, oxygen or moisture may seep into the FOUP. Unfortunately, oxygen and moisture can have detrimental effects on the surface of semiconductor wafers, so it is necessary to reduce the exposure of the wafer surface to these elements.

To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a wafer container, which includes a container body, a plurality of support structures and a filter. The container body has a closed accommodating space. Multiple support structures are arranged longitudinally in the accommodation space. The filter is used for filtering gas molecular pollutants, wherein the filter is arranged in the containing space, and one of the plurality of supporting structures carries the filter.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the wafer container further includes an airflow unit, wherein the airflow unit is disposed in the accommodating space and used to generate airflow passing through at least one filter.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the airflow unit is disposed above or below the supporting structures.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the wafer container further includes a first airflow unit and a second airflow unit, wherein the first airflow unit and the second airflow unit are laterally spaced in the accommodation space, and the first airflow unit and the second airflow unit are respectively used to generate longitudinal airflows in opposite directions.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, at least one filter includes a first filter and a second filter, and the uppermost and the lowermost of the supporting structures respectively carry the first filter and the second filter.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, at least one filter includes a filter element and a casing, wherein the casing covers the filter element and partially exposes the filter element in the longitudinal direction.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the filter element is an activated carbon filter element or other filter materials for filtering gas molecular pollutants.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the wafer container further includes a gas sensor for sensing gas molecule pollutants in the containing space.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the wafer container further includes a controller, an airflow unit, and a gas sensor. The controller is connected to the gas sensor and the airflow unit. When the gas sensor detects that the accommodating space When the gas molecular pollutants in the gas reach or exceed the concentration threshold, the controller drives the airflow unit to generate airflow through at least one filter.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the wafer container further includes a power supply module and an airflow unit, wherein the power supply module is connected to the airflow unit, the power supply module is used to supply power to the airflow unit and has a wireless charging function, and the airflow unit for generating air flow through at least one filter.

In summary, the wafer container of the present invention has an airtight accommodating space, and the wafer and the filter can be placed in the accommodating space of the wafer container, and the filter filters the gas molecular pollutants in the accommodating space, Furthermore, the concentration of the gas molecule pollutants is reduced, so that the quality of the wafers in the wafer container can be prevented from being affected by the gas molecule pollutants.

The above description is only used to illustrate the problem to be solved by the present invention, the technical means for solving the problem, and the effects thereof, etc. The specific details of the present invention will be described in detail in the following implementation methods and related drawings.

Several embodiments of the present invention will be disclosed in the following figures. For the sake of clarity, many practical details will be described together in the following description. It should be understood, however, that these practical details should not be used to limit the invention. That is, in some embodiments of the present invention, these practical details are unnecessary. In addition, for the sake of simplifying the drawings, some commonly used structures and elements will be shown in a simple and schematic manner in the drawings.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a perspective view of a wafer container 100 in one or more embodiments of the present invention, wherein the wafer container 100 includes a container body 110 and a plurality of supporting structures 120 . The container body 110 includes a box body 111 , a door body 113 and an accommodating space 115 defined by the box body 111 . When the door body 113 is closed on the box body 111 , the accommodating space 115 of the container body 110 is airtight. Specifically, the wafer container 100 is a front opening unified fod, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Please refer to FIG. 2 at the same time. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the wafer container 100 in one or more embodiments of the present invention. A plurality of support structures 120 are arranged in the accommodation space 115, and the plurality of support structures 120 are arranged along the longitudinal direction. V is arranged on the inner wall of the box body 111 , so that the support structure 120 can be used to carry the wafer W. Specifically, the supporting structure 120 is a wafer tank, but the invention is not limited thereto. In the present disclosure, the longitudinal direction V and the up-down direction are the same axial direction, and the up-down direction may represent opposite directions in the longitudinal direction V, respectively. In addition, the horizontal direction H and the vertical direction V in the present disclosure are two axes substantially perpendicular to each other.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the wafer container 100 further includes a filter 130 for filtering airborne molecular contamination, wherein the filter 130 is disposed in the accommodating space 115, and the plurality of supporting structures One of the 120 carries the filter 130 , wherein the gaseous molecular pollutants are adsorbed by the filter 130 through diffusion, thereby reducing the concentration of the gaseous molecular pollutants in the wafer container 100 . Specifically, the filter 130 includes a filter element 131 and a casing 133 , wherein the casing 133 covers the filter element 131 and partially exposes the filter element 131 in the longitudinal direction V. As shown in FIG. For example, the filter 130 is disposed at the bottom of the plurality of support structures 120 , and the casing 133 has an opening 135 , and the opening 135 exposes at least part of the filter element 131 from above the casing 133 . In addition, a plurality of wafers W can be disposed above the filter 130 , and the filter element 131 is exposed to the upper plurality of wafers W through the opening 135 , so that the filter element 131 can effectively filter gaseous molecular pollutants around the wafer W. Specifically, the filter element 131 may be an activated carbon filter element or other filter materials used to filter out gas molecule pollutants, thereby filtering the gas molecule pollutants in the accommodating space 115 , but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Please refer to FIG. 3 , which is a top view of the filter 130 of the present invention. In some embodiments of the present invention, the housing 133 of the filter 130 is disc-shaped, and the opening 135 of the housing 133 is also circular, so that the housing 133 is separated from the upper top of the housing 133 through the opening 135 in a large area. The filter element 131 is exposed, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a schematic front view of the wafer container 100a in some embodiments of the present invention. The wafer container 100a further includes a first filter 130a and a second filter 130b. The first filter 130a and the second filter 130b are used to filter gaseous molecular pollutants and are substantially the same as the aforementioned filter 130, wherein the first filter The filter 130a and the second filter 130b are disposed in the accommodating space 115, and the two of the plurality of supporting structures 120 carry the first filter 130a and the second filter 130b respectively. Specifically, the first filter 130a includes a filter element 131a and a casing 133a, wherein the casing 133a covers the filter element 131a and partially exposes the filter element 131a in the longitudinal direction V. As shown in FIG. The second filter 130b also includes a filter element 131b and a casing 133b, wherein the casing 133b covers the filter element 131b and partially exposes the filter element 131b in the longitudinal direction V. As shown in FIG.

For example, the first filter 130a is arranged at the bottom of the plurality of supporting structures 120, and the second filter 130b is arranged at the uppermost of the plurality of supporting structures 120, and the remaining plurality of supporting structures 120 are used to carry a plurality of The wafer W, therefore, a plurality of wafers W is disposed between the first filter 130a and the second filter 130b, so as to effectively filter the gaseous molecular pollutants around the plurality of wafers W. In addition, the casings 133a, 133b of the first filter 130a and the second filter 130b have openings 135a, 135b, the opening 135a of the first filter 130a exposes at least part of the filter element 131a from the upper top of the casing 133a, and the second filter The opening 135b of the filter 130b exposes at least part of the filter element 131b from the lower bottom of the housing 133b. Therefore, the filter elements 131a, 131b are exposed to the shells 133a, 133b facing the plurality of wafers W through the openings 135a, 135b, respectively, so as to effectively filter the gas molecule pollutants around the wafer W.

Please refer to FIG. 5, which is a schematic front view of some embodiments of the wafer container 100b in FIG. and used to generate air flow through the first filter 130a and/or the second filter 130b. In addition, the airflow unit 140 is disposed on one of the plurality of supporting structures 120 , for example, the airflow unit 140 is disposed on the uppermost or the lowermost of the plurality of supporting structures 120 .

In Fig. 5, the airflow unit 140 is arranged at the bottom of the plurality of support structures 120, and the first filter 130a is arranged on the airflow unit 140 (for example, the first filter 130a is arranged in the plurality of support structures 120 by the second one from the bottom to the top), and the second filter 130b is arranged above the first filter 130a (for example, the second filter 130b is the uppermost one arranged in the plurality of support structures 120), and the first filter The supporting structure 120 between the filter 130a and the second filter 130b is used to carry the wafer W. Accordingly, the airflow unit 140 generates airflow passing through the first filter 130a, the second filter 130b and the plurality of wafers W, so as to effectively filter the gas molecule pollutants in the accommodation space 115 . In addition, the airflow unit 140 may be equipped with components such as motors or fan blades to drive the airflow, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Please also refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic top view drawn through the line segment 5-5 in Figure 5. Wherein, the exhaust port 141 of the airflow unit 140 is located on the upper top of the airflow unit 140 and adjacent to the inner wall of the casing 111 . Thereby, the airflow generated by the airflow unit 140 through the exhaust port 141 will not be hindered by the wafer W carried by the support structure 120 above the airflow unit 140 , and the airflow unit 140 can effectively form a circulation in the accommodating space 115 gas flow so that the first filter 130a and/or the second filter 130b filters gaseous molecular pollutants. In some embodiments of the present invention, the exhaust port 141 of the airflow unit 140 is adjacent to the inner wall of the door body 111 , but the present invention is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the wafer container 100 further includes a power module 150, the power module 150 is arranged in the accommodating space 115 and connected to the air flow unit 140, the power module 150 is used to supply power to the air flow unit 140 and has Wireless charging function. In this way, when the door 113 is closed on the box body 111 , the power module 150 can still be charged without separating the door 113 from the box body 111 . Therefore, the charging process of the power module 150 will not affect the gas in the accommodating space 115 . For example, the power module 150 may include a wireless charging chip and/or a coil structure for wireless charging, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Please refer to FIG. 7 at the same time. FIG. 7 is a schematic top view shown by section line 5-5 in FIG. 5 . In other embodiments of the present invention, the wafer container 100 includes a first airflow unit 140a and a second airflow unit 140b, wherein the first airflow unit 140a and the second airflow unit 140b are substantially the same as the airflow unit 140 in FIG. 6 . As can be seen from FIG. 7 , the first airflow unit 140 a and the second airflow unit 140 b are aligned along the horizontal direction H and arranged at intervals in the accommodating space 115 . In addition, the first airflow unit 140a and the second airflow unit 140b are respectively used to generate airflows in opposite directions. That is to say, the air outlet 141 a at the top of the first air flow unit 140 a and the air outlet 141 b at the top of the second air flow unit 140 b generate air flow upward and downward along the longitudinal direction V, respectively. Thereby, the first airflow unit 140a and the second airflow unit 140b can effectively form a circulating airflow in the accommodating space 115, so that the first filter 130a and/or the second filter 130b can effectively filter gaseous molecular pollutants.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the first airflow unit 140a and the second airflow unit 140b are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the power module 150, and the exhaust port 141a and the exhaust port 141b are respectively adjacent to opposite sides of the box body 111. The inner wall, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the exhaust port 141a of the first airflow unit 140a is adjacent to the inner wall of the door body 113, and the exhaust port 141b of the second airflow unit 140b is adjacent to a wall of the box body 111, wherein The inner wall of the box body 111 is upright to the inner wall of the door body 113 .

Please refer to FIG. 8 , which shows a functional block diagram of the wafer container 100 . In some embodiments of the present invention, the wafer container 100 further includes a controller 160 and a gas sensor 170, the controller 160 and the gas sensor 170 are arranged in the accommodating space 115, and the controller 160 is connected to the gas sensor 170 and the airflow unit 140 , the gas sensor 170 is used for sensing gas molecular pollutants in the accommodating space 115 . When the gas sensor 170 detects that the gas molecular pollutants in the accommodating space 115 reach or exceed a preset concentration threshold, the controller 160 drives the airflow unit 140 to generate airflow through the filter 130 . Specifically, the power module 150 can supply power to the controller 160 and the gas sensor 170 . The controller 160 can be a central processing unit (CPU; Central Processing Unit), a microprocessor or other computing devices with computing functions. The controller 160 can be used with software, firmware or other hardware to drive the air flow unit 140 to run, and the gas The sensor 170 includes a wafer-type gas sensor, but the invention is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the wafer container 100 includes a humidity sensor 180, the humidity sensor 180 is connected to the power module 150 and the controller 160, and the humidity sensor 180 is arranged in the accommodating space 115 and used for Humidity in the accommodation space 115 is detected. When the humidity sensor 180 detects that the humidity in the accommodating space 115 reaches or exceeds a preset humidity threshold, the controller 160 drives the airflow unit 140 to generate airflow through the filter 130 .

In summary, the wafer container of the present invention has an airtight accommodating space, and the wafer and the filter can be placed in the accommodating space of the wafer container, and the filter filters the gas molecular pollutants in the accommodating space, Furthermore, the concentration of the gas molecule pollutants is reduced, so that the quality of the wafers in the wafer container can be prevented from being affected by the gas molecule pollutants.

In the context of the present invention, terms in the specification have their ordinary meanings in the technical field in the specific contexts used. Specific terms are used to explain the specific content of this specification, so as to guide those with ordinary knowledge of the present invention to read this specification. For ease of description, certain terms are highlighted, eg, in italics and/or in quotation marks. Such special marking does not affect the meaning or scope of the terms, that is to say, whether some terms are specially marked or not does not affect the meaning or scope of these terms. It should be understood that the same elements may be described in different ways. Accordingly, any terms discussed herein may be replaced by alternative terms or synonyms, nor is it stated or discussed herein whether the terms have any special meaning. The exemplification of one or more terms does not exclude other synonyms. The illustrative terms in this specification are used for illustration only and do not limit the meaning or scope of the present invention. Likewise, the present invention is not limited by the embodiments described in the specification.

100, 100a, 100b: wafer container 110: container body 111: box body 113: door body 115:Accommodating space 120:Support structure 130: filter 130a: first filter 130b: second filter 131: filter element 133: Shell 135: opening 140: Airflow unit 140a: first air flow unit 140b: Second Airflow Unit 141, 141a, 141b: Exhaust ports 150: Power module 160: controller 170: gas sensor 180: humidity sensor V: Vertical W: Wafer H: Horizontal

In order to achieve the above advantages and features, the principles of the above brief description will be more specifically explained with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. These drawings illustrate the invention only, and therefore do not limit the scope of the invention. The principles of the invention will be clearly explained and additional features and details will be fully described by means of the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a wafer container in one or more embodiments of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic front view of a wafer container in one or more embodiments of the present invention Figure 3 is a top view of a filter according to one or more embodiments of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of a wafer container in one or more embodiments of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a schematic front view of some embodiments of the wafer container in FIG. 4; Figure 6 is a schematic top view drawn by line segment 5-5 in Figure 5; Figure 7 is a schematic top view drawn by line segment 5-5 in Figure 5; and Figure 8 illustrates a functional block diagram of a wafer container in one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Domestic deposit information (please note in order of depositor, date, and number) none Overseas storage information (please note in order of storage country, institution, date, and number) none

100: wafer container 110: container body 111: box body 115:Accommodating space 120:Support structure 130: filter 131: filter element 133: shell 135: opening V: Vertical W: Wafer H: Horizontal

Claims (9)

A wafer container, comprising: a container body with an airtight accommodating space; a plurality of support structures arranged longitudinally in the accommodating space; and at least one filter for filtering gaseous molecular pollutants, wherein the at least one filter Set in the accommodating space, at least one of the supporting structures carries the at least one filter, wherein the at least one filter includes a first filter and a second filter, the uppermost and the uppermost of the supporting structures The lower one carries the first filter and the second filter respectively. The wafer container as claimed in claim 1 further comprises an air flow unit, wherein the air flow unit is disposed in the containing space and used for generating air flow through the at least one filter. The wafer container as claimed in claim 2, wherein the airflow unit is disposed on one of the supporting structures. The wafer container as described in Claim 1 further includes a first airflow unit and a second airflow unit, wherein the first airflow unit and the second airflow unit are laterally spaced apart in the accommodating space, and the first airflow unit and the second airflow unit are respectively used to generate longitudinal airflows in opposite directions. The wafer container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one filter includes a filter element and a housing, wherein the housing covers the filter element and is vertically The upper part exposes the filter element. The wafer container according to claim 5, wherein the filter element is an activated carbon filter element. The wafer container as claimed in claim 1 further includes a gas sensor, wherein the gas sensor is used for sensing gas molecular pollutants in the containing space. The wafer container as described in claim 1 further includes a controller, a gas flow unit and a gas sensor, the controller is connected to the gas sensor and the gas flow unit, when the gas sensor detects that the container When the gas molecular pollutants in the space reach or exceed the concentration threshold, the controller drives the airflow unit to generate airflow through the at least one filter. The wafer container as described in claim 1 further includes a power supply module and an airflow unit, wherein the power supply module is connected to the airflow unit, the power supply module is used to supply power to the airflow unit and has a wireless charging function, and the airflow unit A unit is used to generate air flow through the at least one filter.

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