JP3461140B2 - Clean box, clean transfer method and system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to transporting various objects to be processed such as semiconductor wafers in a manufacturing process of semiconductors, electronic component-related products, optical disks, etc. in a clean environment, and particularly The present invention relates to a clean box capable of transferring (transported object) between various processing devices in a clean state free of contaminants, a clean transfer method using such a clean box, and a clean transfer system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in manufacturing processes that require a highly clean environment such as semiconductor device manufacturing, a mini-environment (micro Environment) or local clean space is used. To put it simply, this is a container with a clean environment inside only the inside of each processing device in the manufacturing process, and the inside and outside of each processing device (clean device) are transported and stored between the processing devices (clean devices). It is called using a clean box or pod).

FIG. 1 which is also a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention
An example of such a local clean space system in semiconductor manufacturing will be described using. FIG. 1 shows a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 as a local clean space (clean apparatus).
The state where the clean box 40 is attached is shown in FIG.

The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 includes an apparatus body 30.
And a load port 20 for loading a semiconductor wafer which is an object to be processed by the apparatus main body 30 into the apparatus from outside the apparatus. In FIG. 1, the apparatus body 30 is on the left side of the straight line A, and the load port is on the right side. The space inside the apparatus 10 including the load port 20 and the apparatus main body 30 is a local clean space.

In such a local clean space system, a clean box (also called a pod), which is a container whose inside is kept clean, is used to transfer semiconductor wafers between different processing devices while keeping the clean state. FIG. 1 shows a state in which a clean box 40 of a bottom opening type is attached to the load port 20. The clean box 40 includes a box body 41 and an opening / closing lid 42. With the clean box 40 placed on the load port 20, the opening / closing lid 42 is removed downward, and the wafer inside is taken out and loaded into the processing apparatus.

In a conventionally used clean box, the opening / closing lid is fixed to the box body by a mechanical lock mechanism. As such a mechanism, for example, a movable pawl (claw) made of metal on the lid member, and a rotary cam for moving the movable pawl between a lock position protruding from the outer periphery of the lid by a predetermined amount and a release position retracted from the outer periphery of the lid. A locking mechanism composed of members is used. When fixing the open / close lid to the box body, the rotary cam member is rotated to set the movable pawl to the lock position, and the movable pawl engages with the hole provided in the box main body at this position so that the open / close lid is closed. Locked in. Such a lock mechanism of the clean box is attached to the load port,
It is operated by rotating the rotating cam member by an opening / closing device provided in the load port, and locks and releases the lid with respect to the main body.

[0007]

Since the clean box needs to be in a closed state in which it is shielded from the outside in order to keep the inside clean, a sealing means such as an O-ring for sealing between the opening / closing lid and the main body box is used. It is provided. However, the mechanical lock mechanism as described above used in the conventional clean box can only apply a pressing force of about several N (Newton) at the maximum, and cannot sufficiently crush the O-ring. Therefore, invasion of dust and other inorganic / organic substances cannot be sufficiently prevented, and a clean space cannot be maintained.

Further, in order to prevent natural oxidation during the waiting time for processing the semiconductor wafer, the air inside the box is filled with nitrogen N _2.
It is also possible to replace it with a non-oxidizing gas such as an inert gas. However, the conventional mechanical lid lock mechanism has a weak sealing force and cannot maintain such a non-oxidizing gas replacement state. .

The inventor of the present invention was previously disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-147.
No. 205 (JP-A-10-321696), the seal between the clean box and the lid that closes the opening is
It is proposed to exhaust and adsorb the annular groove formed around the opening formed between the two. However, in the mechanism disclosed in this patent application, since the annular groove is evacuated from a surface different from the opening surface of the box, that is, the surface to which the lid is attached, two rings are provided between the clean box and the load port of the semiconductor processing apparatus. Alignment must be done for the faces. That is, the mechanism for opening the lid of the clean box from the load port side and the box lid are aligned, and the suction and exhaust ports of the suction annular groove of the box and the corresponding intake and exhaust means on the load port side are aligned, There are two. Since alignment is required for multiple surfaces in this way, the alignment mechanism becomes complicated when automatically transporting a clean box,
In addition, when the box is manually transported, the alignment work becomes complicated.

The present invention provides a clean box which has a higher sealing performance than a mechanical lock mechanism and is easy to position when mounted on a load port, and a clean transfer method and system using such a clean box. The purpose is to

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, a clean box of the present invention is a box body having an opening on one surface, a lid member for closing the opening, and a box body or a lid member. An annular groove, which is formed so as to surround the opening on at least one side and defines a suction space sealed between the lid member and the box body in a state where the lid member is attached to the box body, and the box body. From
Has a box lid opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the lid member
Provided between the load port and the lid member,
Position for aligning the lid member with respect to the card port
The aligning means and the roll based on the aligning means.
The lid member is aligned with the card port.
The suction space defined by the annular groove.
Vacuum exhaust / vacuum release from the box lid opening / closing mechanism
And a suction / exhaust port means for the purpose .

As described above, the annular groove that defines the suction space sealed between the box body and the lid member is provided, and the annular groove is evacuated, so that the lid is opened due to the pressure difference between the annular groove and the outside. The member is strongly attracted to the box body. This makes it possible to hermetically seal the space between the lid member and the box body with a stronger and more uniform force than the mechanical lock mechanism. In addition, since the air intake and exhaust ports for vacuum exhaust and vacuum release of the annular groove are provided on the lid member side, when installing the clean box at the load port of the clean equipment such as semiconductor processing equipment, the lid side of the clean box Only the surface needs to be aligned with the load port.

The annular groove may be formed on either the box body side or the lid member side, or may be formed on both sides.
In any case, in carrying out the present invention, it is preferable to form a flange shape around the opening of the box body and form an annular groove on the flange or on a portion of the lid member that is in contact with the flange. is there. Sealing means such as an O-ring is provided along the groove to seal the annular groove.

In the present invention, the suction space of the annular groove thus formed is evacuated from the outside to realize the vacuum adsorption between the lid member and the box body. However, the annular groove is evacuated / vacuum released from the outside. The intake / exhaust port means for doing so can be constituted by a passage means penetrating the lid member and opening to the outside of the lid member (that is, a side facing the outside) and a valve mechanism for opening / closing the passage means. A means for opening and closing the valve mechanism is provided on the load port side.

In the above-mentioned clean box of the present invention, the lid member is fixed to the box body in an airtightly sealed state by exhausting the annular groove. However, it is more preferable to provide a mechanical latch for preventing the lid member from falling off from the box body in case the vacuum state of the annular groove is broken due to some accident.

As described above, when a semiconductor wafer is placed in the air, an oxide film naturally grows on the surface, which is inconvenient. In order to prevent this, the inside of the clean box is replaced with nitrogen or a non-oxidizing gas such as an inert gas.

In the clean box of one embodiment of the present invention,
In order to enable the lid member to replace the gas inside the box,
A valve means is provided to allow the entry and exit of gas.

The valve means for replacing the gas inside the box is composed of a gas input valve having a valve for introducing a non-oxidizing gas into the box and a valve for discharging the gas inside the box to the outside. And a gas output valve having

By providing this valve means also on the lid member, if only the alignment between the load port and the lid side of the clean box is performed, the alignment with the gas replacement means on the load port side that cooperates with the valve means is also performed. To be achieved. In this case, a mechanism for introducing and discharging gas from the load port side into the box can be provided integrally with the box lid opening / closing mechanism.

That is, when a clean transfer system is constructed using the clean box of the present invention, all the mechanisms of the load port are constructed so that the box having an opening on the lower surface can be accessed from below (that is, from the lid member side). it can. Therefore, the box lid opening / closing mechanism (vacuum exhaust of the annular groove
The structure can be simplified because it is sufficient to provide both the mechanism (including a mechanism for releasing the vacuum) and the mechanism for replacing the gas inside the single elevating mechanism.

In addition, in the clean transfer system using the clean box of the present invention, it is preferable to provide a means for aligning the lid member of the clean box and the load port. This positioning means can be configured as, for example, a combination of a lid member of the clean box, a plurality of positioning pins provided on the load port, and holes to be fitted into the pins.

The mechanism for introducing and discharging the gas on the load port side preferably comprises means for opening and closing the gas input valve as means for cooperating with the gas input valve and a gas supply line for introducing gas into the valve. As means for cooperating with the gas output valve, a means for opening and closing the gas output valve and a gas discharge pipe for discharging gas from the valve are provided. The inside of the box can be replaced with a non-oxidizing gas by gas purging in which gas is introduced from the gas supply pipeline while both valves are open and is exhausted from the gas exhaust pipeline at the same time.

When the clean box of the present invention is used for transporting semiconductor wafers in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, it is preferable to provide a wafer carrier on a shelf fixed to the lid member.

The clean transfer method of the present invention comprises the above-mentioned clean box of the present invention, namely, a box body having an opening on one surface, a lid member for closing the opening, and at least one of the box body and the lid member. An annular groove formed so as to surround the opening and defining a suction space sealed between the lid member and the box body when the lid member is attached to the box body;
A lock with a box lid opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the lid member.
Provided between the port port and the lid member,
Alignment for aligning the lid member with the port
The loading means and the load based on the alignment means
The lid member is shaped to align with the port.
The suction space defined by the annular groove.
For vacuum exhaust / vacuum release from the box lid opening / closing mechanism
A clean box having a suction / exhaust port means is used as a load port of a clean device in which the annular groove is vacuum-evacuated and adsorbed, and is a lid member of the clean box. On a load port having a box lid opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing, the lid member and the load port side box lid opening / closing mechanism are aligned and installed so as to face each other, and by the box lid opening / closing mechanism of the load port, The vacuum of the adsorption space is released through the intake / exhaust port means formed on the lid member of the clean box, the lid member is opened, and the object to be conveyed inside the clean box is taken out and transferred to a clean device. To do.

After returning the object to be transported, which has been processed by the clean device, into the clean box, the box lid opening / closing mechanism closes the lid member of the clean box and exhausts the adsorption space through the intake / exhaust mechanism. The lid member and the box body are attracted to each other.

In the clean transfer method of the present invention, when the clean box has a mechanical latch, the box lid opening / closing mechanism releases the mechanical latch before releasing the vacuum of the suction space. Further, after returning the transported object that has been processed by the clean device to the clean box, the suction space is exhausted to suck the lid member and the box body, and then the mechanical latch is applied.

In the clean transfer method of the present invention,
The clean box has a valve means to allow the gas inside the box to be replaced, and when replacing the inside of the box with a non-oxidizing gas, the transported object that has been processed by the clean device is placed inside the clean box. After returning, the lid member of the clean box is closed, the adsorption space is exhausted through the intake / exhaust mechanism to adsorb the lid member and the box body, and then the gas in the internal space of the box is replaced through the valve means.

The clean transfer system of the present invention has a box body having an opening on one surface, a lid member for closing the opening, and at least one of the box body and the lid member formed so as to surround the opening. an annular groove defining a sealed adsorption space between the cover member and the box body in a state where the lid member is attached to the box body, said box
Box lid opening for opening and closing the lid member from the box body
Provided between a load port having a closing mechanism and the lid member
Position of the lid member with respect to the load port
Positioning means for setting and the above-mentioned positioning means as a reference
Will be aligned with the load port
Formed on the lid member and defined by the annular groove
The suction space is evacuated / true from the box lid opening / closing mechanism.
A clean box having an intake / exhaust means for releasing the empty space.
And box, interior and a load port having a box lid closing mechanism for opening and closing the lid member of the clean box to a load port of the clean device has been made in clean environment, the clean box and the lid member The load port box lid opening / closing mechanism is installed so as to face the load port side box lid opening / closing mechanism, and the load port box lid opening / closing mechanism is installed through the intake / exhaust port means formed on the lid member of the clean box. Release the vacuum of
It is characterized in that the lid member is opened to take out the transported object inside the clean box and transfer it to the clean device.

[0029]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows a local clean space system of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including a clean box as an embodiment of a clean transfer system according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 comprises an apparatus body 30 and a load port 20 for loading a semiconductor wafer in a clean box 40 into the processing apparatus.
The boundary between the device body 30 and the load port 20 is indicated by the line A in FIG. The load port 20 is usually configured as a separate device that can be attached to and detached from the device body 30,
It may be integrated with the device body. The device body 30 and the load port 20 are communicated with each other by an opening provided in a portion indicated by a broken line on the line A in FIG. 1, and a semiconductor wafer is transferred between the load port and the device body through the opening 37. Is done.

The space inside the apparatus main body 30 and the load port 20
The inner space communicates with the above-mentioned opening 37, and the inside of the entire apparatus 10 including both of them forms a local clean space. In order to keep the space clean, a fan intake device 32 with a filter is provided on top of the device 10. This fan intake device 32 generates a descending air flow in the device to keep the space in the device 10 clean. The downward flow is exhausted from the lower surface of the device to the outside.

Further, in FIG. 1, a clean box (hereinafter referred to as a pod) 40 according to the present invention is a load port 2.
1 is placed on the table 21 on the upper surface. Pod 40
Is a hermetically sealed container including a box-shaped pod body 41 having an opening on the lower surface and an opening / closing lid 42 for closing the opening on the lower surface of the body. As will be described later in detail, when the pod 40 is placed on the table 21 of the load port 20 and the wafer W in the pod is taken in and out, an annular groove (provided between the pod main body 41 and the table 21 is provided in the table 21). Sealed by vacuum suction using reference numeral 26) in FIG. 2 to maintain a clean space to the outside world.

The pod 40 is a container used for transferring wafers between different processing apparatuses and temporarily storing the wafers. The pod 40 has a carrier 43 fixed on a lid 42. The carrier 43 is a rack-type structure that accommodates a plurality of wafers W in parallel and at equal intervals.

The load port 20 is an opening / closing lid 4 for the pod 40.
2 has an elevating pod opening / closing mechanism 23 that opens and closes 2 and moves the opening / closing lid 42 together with the carrier 43 downward so that the wafer in the carrier can be taken out. As will be described later in detail, the pod opening / closing mechanism 23 further has a mechanism for replacing the gas in the space inside the pod.

The pod 40 is carried by a transfer means such as an overhead transfer (OHT) system in a factory and placed on the table 21 of the load port 20. In some cases, the pods can be transferred directly by the worker (handheld)
You can go.

First, the details of the pod 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a side view showing a partial cross-section of the pod 40 attached to the load port 20 and an upper portion of the pod opening / closing mechanism 23 of the load port, and FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the pod 40.

The pod body 41 is a substantially rectangular container,
A flange portion of two stages, that is, a first flange portion 41a and a second flange portion 41b is provided on the peripheral portion thereof. A groove 46 is provided in a peripheral portion of the upper surface of the opening / closing lid 42 of the pod, in a portion facing the first flange portion 41a of the pod body. The groove 46 is an annular groove 46 formed so as to go around the peripheral portion of the opening / closing lid 42 that contacts the first flange portion of the pod once. On the inside and outside of the annular groove 46 on the opening / closing lid 42, O-rings for sealing the annular groove are attached by a well-known method so as to also make an annular round around the lid peripheral portion.

In the pod of the present invention, the annular groove 46 is evacuated to form an airtight seal between the pod body 41 and the opening / closing lid 42 by vacuum suction. That is, the sealing force is obtained by the pressure difference between the vacuum in the annular groove 46 and the external atmospheric pressure. Annular groove 4
The vacuum exhaust of 6 is performed through a vacuum port 57 (FIG. 3) which is an intake / exhaust port provided on the bottom surface (that is, the outer surface) of the opening / closing lid 42. Details of evacuation will be described later.

In the present specification, "evacuation",
Although the terms “vacuum adsorption” or simply “vacuum” are used for convenience, these do not mean perfect vacuum, of course, and states in which the pressure difference is relatively low with respect to atmospheric pressure. Is meant.

The opening / closing lid 42 is provided with gas ports 55 and 56 for replacing the inside of the container with a non-oxidizing gas (nitrogen gas, inert gas, etc.). One of them is a gas input port 55 for introducing gas, and the other is an output port 56 for discharging gas. The opening / closing lid 42 further cooperates with the tab 110 of the pod body 41 to prevent the mechanical latches 103 and 104 from falling off, and a latch driver 109 for driving the mechanical latches 103 and 104.
Have This will also be described later.

In the pod 40 as described above, an object to be conveyed such as a semiconductor wafer W is placed on the carrier 43, and a non-oxidizing clean gas such as nitrogen is adsorbed by the annular groove 46 into the pod. It can be transported and stored in a sealed state.

Next, the relationship between the pod 40 and the load port 20 will be described. When an object to be transferred such as a semiconductor wafer transferred by the pod is loaded into the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, the pod 40 is connected to the load port 20 as shown in FIG.
Placed on the table 21 of. By fitting the positioning holes 54a, 54b, 54c (FIG. 3) on the bottom surface of the pod and the positioning pin (not shown) provided on the upper surface of the lift table 22 above the pod opening / closing mechanism of the load port, the opening / closing lid 42 of the pod 42 And the lifting table 22 of the load port are aligned. The elevating table 22 is attached to the uppermost surface of the elevating pod opening / closing mechanism 23, and can be moved up and down together with the pod opening / closing mechanism 23 by a mechanism (not shown).

In the thus positioned state, the annular groove 26 surrounding the periphery of the lifting table 22 and the sealing groove 2 at a position facing the second flange portion 41b of the pod body 41 on the upper surface of the load port table 21 Two annular O-rings 25 are provided. The groove 26 is evacuated to form an airtight seal between the pod body 41 and the load port table. An O-ring 27 is also provided on the lift table 22 to seal the space between the table 21 and the lift table 22. This is the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 when the pod is not placed.
The inner clean space is sealed to the outer space.

The evacuation table 22 of the pod opening / closing mechanism 23 is provided with a vacuum exhaust / vacuum releasing mechanism (hereinafter referred to as a vacuum mechanism) 53 at a position aligned with the vacuum port 57 of the opening / closing lid 42 in the state of being positioned as described above. Similarly, a gas supply mechanism 51 is installed at a position aligned with the gas input port 55, and a gas exhaust mechanism 52 is installed at a position aligned with the gas output port 56.

The vacuum port 57 provided on the opening / closing lid 42 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a partial cross section of the vacuum port portion 57 of the opening / closing lid and the vacuum mechanism 53 on the side of the pod opening / closing mechanism 23 of the load port related thereto. As shown in FIG. 4, an annular groove 4 is provided inside the opening / closing lid 42.
A valve mechanism for evacuating No. 6 is provided. The valve mechanism is a valve body 6 movably installed in the vertical direction.
Including 1. The valve body 61 has a closing flange portion 61a that closes the passage 60 communicating with the annular groove 46, an engaging flange portion 61c on the opposite side, and a cylindrical shaft portion 61b that connects both flange portions.
Consists of. The lower surface of the closing flange portion 61a (the side opposite to the surface facing the passage 60) is biased upward by the coil spring 62. That is, normally, the valve body 61 is pressed in the direction of closing the passage 60, and the passage 60 is hermetically sealed by the closing flange portion 61a. An O-ring 63 is provided on the upper surface of the closing flange portion 61a to ensure airtightness.

Pod opening / closing mechanism 23 on the side of the load port 20
The vacuum mechanism 53 has an actuator (air cylinder) 66 for releasing the closing of the passage 60 by the valve body 61. The cylinder portion 66a of the actuator 66 can be moved linearly in the vertical direction and pivoted about the axis by air pressure. A hook arm 67 is provided on the upper portion of the cylinder portion 66a, and when the pod 40 is placed on the load port table 21, the hook arm 67, as shown by a solid line in FIG. Get in. The position of the hooking arm in this state is also indicated by a solid line in FIG. 5, which is an arrow view taken along the line VV in FIG. 4.

By actuating the actuator 66 to pivot the hook arm 67 to the position depicted by the chain double-dashed line in FIGS. 4 and 5, the tip end of the hook arm and the flange portion 61c of the valve body 61 for engagement. And overlap in the axial direction. In this state, when the actuator 66 is actuated in the linear movement direction and the hook arm 67 is pulled down, the hook arm 67 engages with the engagement flange 61c and the valve body 6
The entire 1 is pulled down against the extension force of the spring 62. As a result, the closing of the passage 60 by the closing flange 61a is released, and the annular groove 46 communicates with the space S1 via the passage 60. In this way, it becomes possible to evacuate the annular groove 46 by means of the conduit 65 communicating with the space S1 and, conversely, to introduce gas into the annular groove 46 that was in a vacuum state to release the vacuum.

An O-ring 68 is provided on the upper surface of the lift table 22 so as to surround the vacuum mechanism 53, thereby providing a seal with the opening / closing lid 42.

The structure of the vacuum port 57 and the vacuum exhaust means is as described above.
2 is installed in the load port in a state where the annular groove 46 and the passage 60 are evacuated. Therefore, the closing flange 61a of the valve body 61 is strongly pressed to the passage 60 side by the pressure difference between the inside and the outside, that is, the pressure difference between the space on the side of the passage 60 and the space S1.
Is difficult to pull down.

Therefore, when the opening / closing lid 42 of the pod 40 is opened, the following process is performed. First, the space S1 is evacuated through the conduit 65 to eliminate or reduce the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the closing flange 61a. Accordingly, the valve body 61 (the closing flange 61
It is possible to release the closure of the passage 60 according to a). After releasing the closing of the passage 60, the atmosphere is released through the pipe 65 or the gas is introduced, and the space S1, the passage 6
0 and annular groove 46 equalize to atmospheric pressure. As a result, the vacuum suction seal between the opening / closing lid 42 and the pod body 41 is released, and the opening / closing lid 42 can be opened.

On the contrary, the opening / closing lid 42 is evacuated by evacuating the annular groove 46.
The process of adsorbing the pod body 41 with each other is as follows. First, with the closing flange 61a opened, the pipe line 65 is connected to a vacuum source, and the annular groove 46 is evacuated through the space S1 and the passage 60. Next, actuator 6
6 is operated to release the engagement between the hook arm and the engagement flange 61c in the reverse order of the above. As a result, the valve body 61 moves upward due to the force of the spring 62, and the closing flange 61a closes the passage 60. After that, the pipeline 65
Is opened to the atmosphere, the passage 60 side becomes a vacuum, the space S1 becomes atmospheric pressure, and the closing flange 61 firmly closes the passage 60 due to the pressure difference between the inside and the outside.

Next, a mechanism for replacing the gas inside the pod 40 will be described. As described above, the opening / closing lid 42 is further provided with the gas input port 55 and the gas output port 56 for introducing and discharging gas in the pod. Details of the gas ports 55 and 56 and the gas supply mechanism 51 and the gas exhaust mechanism 52 on the load port side related to the gas ports 55 and 56 will be described below. Gas input port 55
The gas output port 56, the gas supply mechanism 51, and the gas exhaust mechanism 52 have exactly the same structure, and differ only in the direction of gas flow. Here, the input side, that is, the gas input port 55 and the gas supply mechanism 51 will be described as an example.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing in partial cross section the gas input port 55 of the opening / closing lid and the gas supply mechanism 51 of the pod opening / closing mechanism 23 of the load port related thereto. The gas input port has a valve assembly 70 fixed to the opening / closing lid 42 with a screw 78. A valve body 71 is installed in the valve assembly 70 so as to be vertically movable. The valve body 71 is urged downward by two coil springs 72a and 72b installed around the valve body 71. Normally, in this biased state, the peripheral portion of the lower surface 71a of the valve body 71 contacts the inner surface 70a of the valve assembly, closing the lower opening 70b of the valve assembly. An O-ring 74 is provided in the peripheral portion of the valve body lower surface 71a to ensure the airtightness of the closing. A filter 73 is attached to the upper opening of the valve assembly to prevent contaminants from entering the pod from the outside.

With the pod 40 placed on the load port table 21, the gas input port 55 and the gas supply mechanism 5 are connected.
Face one. The gas supply mechanism 51 is the gas input port 5
Air cylinder 7 for opening the valve assembly 70 of No. 5
Have six. The air cylinder has a cylinder pin 77 that can be moved vertically by air pressure. The cylinder pin 77 is aligned with the valve body 71 of the valve assembly 70.

When introducing non-oxidizing nitrogen gas or the like into the pod, the air cylinder is operated to move the cylinder pin 77 upward so that the valve body 71 is moved to the coil springs 72a, 7a.
The lower opening 70b of the valve assembly 70 is opened by pushing upward against the biasing force of 2b. Then, the gas is supplied into the pod through the pipe 79 and the space S2 connected to the gas source.

The gas output port 56 and the gas exhaust mechanism 52 on the gas output side are configured such that gas flows in through the pipe 79 on the input side, while gas flows out (is exhausted) on the output side. Except for the points, it is the same as the gas input side, so description will be omitted.

The gas supply mechanism 51 and the gas exhaust mechanism 52 simultaneously open the valve assemblies of both the gas input port and the gas output port, and the gas supply mechanism 51 has a conduit 7
By supplying the non-oxidizing gas from 9, the inside of the pod 40 can be gas-purged and replaced with the non-oxidizing gas.

The opening / closing lid 42 of the pod is provided with a mechanical latch for preventing the opening / closing lid 42 from falling off the pod body 41. This mechanism is for opening and closing the lid 42 when vacuum suction between the pod body 41 and the opening and closing lid 42 due to the annular groove 46 fails for some reason during transportation of the pod.
Is to prevent the falling off. This latch mechanism will be described with reference to FIG.

The latch mechanism includes a circular rotary cam plate 101 rotatably installed at the center of the opening / closing lid 42. The rotating cam plate has two cam grooves 101a and 101a.
b is formed. The latch mechanism also includes sliding latch members 103 and 104. Latch member 10
3 and 104 are slidable in the vertical direction in the figure by being guided by guide members 106 and 107, respectively. Cam pins 105 and 106 are implanted in the latch members 103 and 104, respectively, and the cam pins 105 and 106 are respectively provided in the cam grooves 101a and 101b of the rotary cam plate 101.
Cam engaged.

As shown in FIG. 7, each cam groove 10
1a and 101b are rotary cam plates 101 depending on their circumferential positions.
The shape is formed so that the distance from the center of the changes. Due to this cam shape, when the rotary cam plate 101 is fully rotated counterclockwise to the position shown in FIG. 7, the respective latch members 103, 104 slide to the outermost positions, and the respective tip portions 103a, 104a is an opening / closing lid 4
2 project from the periphery. When the opening / closing lid is attached to the pod body 41, the protruding tip portions 103a, 1
04a overlaps with the tab 110 provided on the pod body 41 to latch the opening / closing lid 41 on the pod body 42. On the contrary, when the rotary cam plate 101 is fully rotated clockwise, the latch members 103 and 104 slide to the innermost position, and
It is the position of the dashed line. At this time, the tip 10 of the latch member
3a and 104a are retracted from around the opening / closing lid and are in a state where they do not cooperate with the tab 110 of the pod body.

The latch mechanism is only for preventing the opening / closing lid from falling off in an emergency. That is, in practice, the opening / closing lid 42 and the box body are normally strongly attracted to each other by the exhaust of the annular groove 46, and the lid is not locked by this latch mechanism. Therefore, here, the cooperation between the latch members 103, 104 and the tab 110 may be a non-contact cooperation. That is, it suffices that the tip portions 103a and 104a of the latches overlap with each other when viewed from below with the opening / closing lid 42 sucked. With such non-contact, the latch members 103, 104 when the latch mechanism is actuated
There is no friction between the tab 110 and the tab 110, and particles are not generated, which is preferable.

At the center of the rotating cam plate 101, the cam plate 10
A latch drive unit 109 for rotationally driving 1 is provided. A peripheral hole 101c is formed in the latch driving unit 109.

On the lift table 22 of the load port 20, there is provided a latch opening / closing mechanism 120 which is aligned with the latch drive unit 109 when the pod 40 is placed at a predetermined position on the load port table 21. This is shown in FIG. The latch opening / closing mechanism 120 includes a rotating member 122 that is rotatable about an axis A.
And an air actuator 121 that rotationally drives the rotating member 122 by air pressure. Two pins 123 project from the upper part of the rotary member, and when the pod 40 is placed at a predetermined position, these pins 123 fit into the peripheral holes 101c of the latch drive unit 109 on the pod side. By operating the air actuator and rotating the rotating member 122 in this state, the rotary cam plate 101 is rotated via the latch drive section, and the opening / closing lid 42 can be latched and removed.

Next, how the semiconductor wafer is transferred by the pod 40 and transferred to the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 in the clean transfer system of this embodiment will be described below. In this embodiment, the opening / closing lid of the transported pod 40 is adsorbed to the pod body by vacuum exhaust of the annular groove 46 and hermetically sealed,
The inside of the pod is assumed to be in a state of being filled with a non-oxidizing substitution gas that is almost at atmospheric pressure.

A pod 4 that has been transported from another place or another processing device by a transport system such as an OHT or manually.
0 is placed on the load port 20 so that the positioning holes 54a, 54b, 54c formed in the opening / closing lid 42 on the bottom surface of the pod and the positioning pins provided on the lift table of the load port fit together.

The subsequent processes are the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1.
It is done automatically by computer control of zero. Details about each of the following processes have already been given.

When the pod is placed at a predetermined position, the annular groove 26 on the upper surface of the load port table 21 that is in contact with the second flange portion 41b of the pod body 41 is evacuated by means (not shown) to evacuate the pod body 41 and the load port. Airtightly seal the table. This allows the pod 40 and the device 10
The system consisting of the inside of the is hermetically sealed against the outside world, and this system is secured as a clean space.

At the same time, the opening / closing lid 42 of the pod is sucked by the upper surface of the lift table 22 of the load port using a means (not shown). This suction may be a vacuum suction, or a mechanical means may be provided to catch.

Next, the load port is the pod opening / closing mechanism 23.
The latch opening / closing mechanism 120 releases the mechanical latch of the opening / closing lid 42 of the pod.

Next, the vacuum mechanism 53 of the pod opening / closing mechanism 23 releases the vacuum suction between the opening / closing lid 42 and the pod body 41 by opening the annular groove 46 of the opening / closing lid 42 to the atmosphere or introducing gas. .

The opening / closing lid 42 can be detached from the pod body by the above two processes. Then, the lift table 22 is lowered, and the open / close lid 42 of the pod adsorbed to the lift table 22 is moved downward together with the wafer carrier 43 fixed thereon to the position shown in FIG.

Then, the transfer robot 31 of the apparatus body 30 takes out the wafers W one by one from the carrier 43 through the opening 37 between the apparatus body 30 and the load port 20 by the swing arm 31b. The transfer robot is an elevator 31
It can be lifted and lowered by a, and the wafers in the carrier 43 can be sequentially taken out by changing the height.

Vertical movement of the lifting platform 31a and swing arm 3
By the swing movement of 1b, the transfer robot 31 transfers the wafer W taken out from the carrier to the stage 3 of the processing apparatus 10.
Place on 5.

The processed wafer W processed by the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus on the stage 35 is transferred by the transfer robot 31.
As a result, they are placed back on the carrier 43 in the reverse order of the above.

When all wafers in the carrier 43 or a desired number of wafers W have been processed, the load port 2
0 lift table 22 to the uppermost predetermined position, that is, the opening / closing lid 4
2 is raised again until it reaches a predetermined position for closing the pod body 41 again.

Here, the vacuum mechanism 53 of the load port evacuates the annular groove 46 of the opening / closing lid 42 to evacuate the opening / closing lid 42.
The pod main body 41 is hermetically sealed.

Subsequently, the latch opening / closing mechanism 120 drives the latch driving section 109 of the opening / closing lid 42 to engage the latches 103, 104 of the opening / closing lid. Since the pod is latched after it is hermetically sealed, particles will not enter the box, even if the friction of the mechanisms associated with latching creates particles.

Next, the gas supply mechanism 51 and the gas exhaust mechanism 52 of the load port are operated to replace the inside of the pod with a non-oxidizing gas such as nitrogen. If the inside of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus is in a non-oxidizing gas atmosphere, this gas replacement process is unnecessary.

Next, the opening / closing lid 42 is sucked by the lift table 22,
Also, the vacuum suction between the load port table 21 and the second flange 41b of the pod is released. This allows the pod 40 to be transferred to the next processing device or storage location.

In the embodiment described above, the annular groove 46 for providing an airtight seal between the pod body 41 and the opening / closing lid 42 is provided on the opening / closing lid 41 side. It may be provided on the first flange 41a side, which is the facing surface. In this case, only the passage 60 communicating with the annular groove on the pod body side needs to be provided on the opening / closing lid side with the lid attached to the pod.

In this pod of the present invention, the sealing force of several tens of times that of the mechanical lock can be obtained by vacuum-sucking the open / close lid. We conducted an experiment using a pod prepared according to the present invention and found that the oxygen concentration after 168 hours was 1 in a box whose interior was replaced with nitrogen gas.
It could be maintained at 000 ppm, and the increase of the oxide film on the wafer could be completely suppressed.

It has also been found that the intrusion of particles in the box can be effectively suppressed.

Although the clean box and the clean transfer method of the present invention have been described above in relation to the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus in the semiconductor manufacturing process, the present invention is not limited to this and the transfer is performed in other clean environments. It can be applied to the transportation of various articles to be processed.

[0084]

According to the clean box of the present invention, an annular groove is formed in one of the lid member and the box body so as to surround the box opening, and a closed space defined between the box body and the lid member is evacuated. Adsorption makes it possible to obtain a sealing force several tens of times that of a conventional mechanical lid lock. As a result, even when the inside of the box is replaced with a non-oxidizing gas or the like, there is no gas leakage, and an effective seal is provided for a long time. Moreover, the invasion of particles can be effectively prevented.

Further, in the present invention, since the lid member is provided with the suction / exhaust port of the annular groove for suction, when the lid member of the box is opened / closed by the load port of the clean device,
That is, it is convenient in terms of system configuration, since it is only necessary to access from the direction of the lid. Further, when the clean box is installed in the load port, it is convenient because only one surface of the box needs to be aligned.

Further, in the clean box according to one aspect of the present invention, the lid member is provided with the valve means for permitting the inflow and outflow of the gas for enabling the replacement of the gas inside the box. By providing the valve means also on the lid member, access to this valve from the load port side can be made only on the lid side, and the position of the clean box need only be aligned on one side as in the above.

Further, since the clean box of the present invention is provided with the intake / exhaust port or the valve means on the lid member side, the structure on the box body side is simple. That is, since the box body side can be integrally molded, the box can be made hard to break.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus as an embodiment of a local clean system using a clean box (pod) of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the details of the clean box in FIG.

FIG. 3 is also a bottom view of the clean box.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a partial cross-section of the vacuum port of the opening / closing lid of the clean box and the vacuum mechanism related thereto.

FIG. 5 is a view taken along the line VV of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a partial cross-sectional view of a gas input port of the opening / closing lid of the clean box and a gas supply mechanism related thereto.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view showing the latch mechanism of the opening / closing lid of the clean box.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a latch opening / closing mechanism of the load port.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Semiconductor Wafer Processing Equipment 20 load port 21 load port table 22 Lifting platform 23 Pod opening / closing mechanism 25 O-ring 26 groove 27 O-ring 30 Device body 31 Transfer Robot 32 fan intake system 35 stages 37 opening 40 pods (clean box) 41 pod body 42 Open / close lid 43 career 45 O-ring 46 annular groove 51 gas supply mechanism 52 Gas exhaust system 53 Vacuum mechanism 54a, 54b, 54c Positioning holes 55 gas input port 56 Gas output port 57 Vacuum port 60 passage 61 valve 62 coil spring 63 O-ring 65 pipelines 66 actuator 67 Hook arm 70 Valve assembly 71 Disc 72a, 72b Coil spring 73 Filter 76 air cylinder 77 Cylinder Pin 79 pipelines 101 rotating cam plate 101a, 101b Cam groove 103, 104 Latch member 106, 107 guide member 109 Latch drive 110 tabs 120 Latch opening / closing mechanism 121 Air actuator 122 rotating member

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-11-111805 (JP, A) JP-A-10-56050 (JP, A) JP-A-5-95041 (JP, A) Special Table 4- 505234 (JP, A) (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/68 B65D 53/00 B65D 85/86

Claims (14)

(57) [Claims] 1. A box body having an opening on one surface, a lid member for closing the opening, and a lid member formed on at least one of the box body and the lid member so as to surround the opening in the box body. An annular groove that defines a suction space that is sealed between the lid member and the box body in the mounted state, and a box for opening and closing the lid member from the box body.
Load port having a box lid opening / closing mechanism and the lid member
Is provided between the load port and the lid member
Positioning means for positioning and pairing the load port with the positioning means as a reference.
Is formed on the lid member so that the
The box space is defined by the suction space defined by the annular groove.
Intake / exhaust port for vacuum exhaust / vacuum release from the opening / closing mechanism
A clean box characterized by having steps. 2. The clean box according to claim 1, further comprising valve means for allowing the gas to flow in and out for replacing the gas in the box in the lid member. 3. A mechanical latch for preventing the lid member from falling off from the box body.
Clean box as described. 4. The clean box according to claim 3, wherein the mechanical latch has a mechanism for opening and closing the latch from the outside on the lid member side. 5. A box body having an opening on one surface, a lid member for closing the opening, and a lid member formed on at least one of the box body and the lid member so as to surround the opening in the box body. An annular groove that defines a suction space that is sealed between the lid member and the box body in the mounted state, and a box for opening and closing the lid member from the box body.
Load port having a box lid opening / closing mechanism and the lid member
Is provided between the load port and the lid member
Positioning means for positioning and pairing the load port with the positioning means as a reference.
Is formed on the lid member so that the
The adsorption space defined by the serial annular groove the box lid
Intake / exhaust port for vacuum exhaust / vacuum release from the opening / closing mechanism
A clean box having a step is used, and the clean box in which the annular groove is vacuum-evacuated and adsorbed is a load port of a clean device in which the inside is in a clean environment, and a lid member of the clean box is opened and closed. A load port having a box lid opening / closing mechanism for aligning the lid member and the box lid opening / closing mechanism on the load port side so as to face each other, and installing the clean lid of the clean box by the box lid opening / closing mechanism of the load port. A clean transfer method in which the vacuum of the suction space is released through the intake / exhaust port means formed on the cover member, the cover member is opened, the transferred object inside the clean box is taken out, and transferred to a clean device. 6. The object to be transported, which has been processed by a clean device, is returned to the inside of the clean box, the lid member of the clean box is closed by the box lid opening / closing mechanism, and the adsorption space is exhausted through the intake / exhaust mechanism. 6. The clean transfer method according to claim 5, wherein the cover member and the box body are attracted to each other. 7. The clean box has valve means for permitting replacement of gas inside the box, and returns the transported object that has been processed by the clean device into the clean box and closes the lid member of the clean box. 6. The gas in the internal space of the box is replaced through a valve means after the adsorption space is exhausted through the intake / exhaust mechanism to adsorb the lid member and the box body.
Clean transfer method described. 8. The clean box has a mechanical latch that prevents the lid member from falling out of the box body, and the box lid opening / closing mechanism releases the mechanical latch before releasing the vacuum of the suction space. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein
8. The clean transport method according to any one of 7 to 7. 9. The mechanical latch is applied after exhausting the adsorbing space to adsorb the lid member and the box body after returning the transferred object that has been processed by the clean device to the clean box. 9. The clean transfer method according to claim 8. 10. A box body having an opening on one surface, a lid member for closing the opening, and a lid member formed on at least one of the box body and the lid member so as to surround the opening in the box body. An annular groove that defines a suction space that is sealed between the lid member and the box body in the mounted state, and a box for opening and closing the lid member from the box body.
Load port having a box lid opening / closing mechanism and the lid member
Is provided between the load port and the lid member
Positioning means for positioning and pairing the load port with the positioning means as a reference.
Is formed on the lid member so that the
The box space is defined by the suction space defined by the annular groove.
Intake / exhaust port for vacuum exhaust / vacuum release from the opening / closing mechanism
A clean box having a step, and a load port of a clean device having a clean environment inside and a load port having a box lid opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing a lid member of the clean box, The box is installed so that the lid member and the box lid opening / closing mechanism on the load port side face each other, and the box lid opening / closing mechanism of the load port is the intake / exhaust port formed on the lid member of the clean box. A clean transfer system, characterized in that the vacuum in the suction space is released through means, the lid member is opened, and the object to be transferred inside the clean box is taken out. 11. After returning the transported object that has been processed by the clean device into the clean box, the box lid opening / closing mechanism closes the lid member of the clean box and exhausts the adsorption space through the intake / exhaust mechanism. The clean transfer system according to claim 10, wherein the lid member and the box body are adsorbed to each other. 12. The clean box has valve means for allowing replacement of gas inside the box, and the load port further has gas replacement means for replacing gas inside the clean box through the valve means, The gas replacement means returns the transported object that has been processed by the box lid opening / closing mechanism to the clean box, closes the lid member of the clean box, and exhausts the adsorption space through the intake / exhaust mechanism. 11. The clean transfer system according to claim 10, wherein after adsorbing the lid member and the box body, the gas in the internal space of the box is replaced through the valve means. 13. The clean box has a mechanical latch for preventing the lid member from falling off from the box body, and the box lid opening / closing mechanism further has a latch opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the latch from the lid member side, 13. The clean transfer system according to claim 10, wherein the mechanical latch is released before the vacuum of the suction space is released by the latch opening / closing mechanism. 14. The latch opening / closing mechanism is provided with the mechanical latch after the transported object that has been processed by the clean device is returned to the clean box, and then the suction space is exhausted to suck the lid member and the box body. 14. The clean transport system according to claim 13, wherein the clean transport system is applied .