JPH0735396Y2 - Wafer cassette transport box - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a wafer cassette transfer box used for transferring wafers in a semiconductor device manufacturing factory or the like.

(Prior Art) Generally, semiconductor devices and the like are manufactured in a highly cleaned atmosphere, and between automated manufacturing devices, the entire working chamber including the inside of the manufacturing devices is highly cleaned,
Semiconductor wafers are transported by an air levitation method, a magnetic levitation method, or the like. However, the transportation between each manufacturing device is
There is still a lot of transportation by workers, and during such a process, the human body becomes a large source of dust generation, so in order to avoid adhesion of dust etc., for example, a wafer cassette containing a semiconductor wafer is placed in a wafer cassette transfer box. It is stored and transferred between the manufacturing apparatuses in this state.

In order to store the wafer cassette in the wafer cassette transfer box as described above, the wafer cassette transfer box is set at the unloading part of the manufacturing apparatus, and, for example, clean gas in the manufacturing apparatus is supplied from below the wafer cassette transfer box. After cleaning up the inside of the cassette carrying box, the wafer cassette is housed by an elevating mechanism and the like, and the inside is hermetically sealed by the rear lid, and the manufacturing apparatuses are carried.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) By using the wafer cassette transport box in this way, although dust and the like can be considerably prevented from adhering to the semiconductor wafer, as described above, the inside of the transport box by the clean gas from the manufacturing apparatus side. According to the cleaning method of No. 1, the inside of the transport box is not sufficiently cleaned, and dust or the like remains in the transport box, which causes a reduction in yield. Further, there is a risk that dust or the like existing in the transport box may flow into the manufacturing apparatus. For this reason, it is not possible to sufficiently reduce the cleanliness of the working chamber, and it is necessary to keep the working chamber clean so that dust and the like are not mixed in the transport box.

However, in order to highly clean the inside of the work room in this way, a considerably large amount of energy is required, and the workers who work inside need to wear dust-free clothing, etc. is there.

Therefore, there is a strong demand for a wafer cassette transport box that can almost completely clean the inside even if the cleanliness of the working chamber is reduced.

The present invention has been made in response to such a conventional situation, and it is possible to prevent dust and the like from entering even in a working room where the degree of cleanliness is lowered and to easily maintain a clean atmosphere. It is an object of the present invention to provide a wafer cassette transport box that enables the above.

[Means for Solving the Problem] (Means for Solving the Problems) That is, the wafer cassette transfer box of the present invention is a wafer cassette transfer box of the present invention, which is a transfer box main body for storing a wafer cassette therein, and a transfer box main body of the transfer box main body. An openable / closable lid provided in the lower part to hermetically close the transfer box main body in the closed state and to allow the wafer cassette to be loaded and unloaded in the open state, and a cleaning device detachably attached to the transfer box main body. It is characterized by comprising a gas storage part, a clean gas supply part for supplying a clean gas from the clean gas storage part into the carrier box body, and a carrying handle provided in the carrier box body. .

Further, the present invention provides the above-mentioned wafer cassette carrying box,
The clean gas supplied from the clean gas supply unit is supplied into the carrier box body through a nozzle, and a filter is provided on the ejection side of the nozzle, the carrier box body. Include those characterized by being subjected to antistatic processing and those characterized in that said clean gas is clean air or clean nitrogen.

(Operation) The wafer cassette carrying box of the present invention is provided with a clean gas container. By supplying the clean gas from the clean gas storage unit into the transfer box main body in which the wafer cassette is stored, the inside of the transfer box main body can be easily cleaned regardless of the external atmosphere, and the transfer box can be easily cleaned. By keeping the inside of the main body at positive pressure, it is possible to prevent dust from entering. By setting the wafer cassette in the manufacturing apparatus in this state, the wafer cassette can be easily stored in the cleaned transfer box, and the wafer cassette can be transferred between the steps while maintaining the sufficiently cleaned state. It is also possible to prevent dust and the like from flowing into the manufacturing apparatus.

Further, by providing a filter on the ejection side of the nozzle that supplies the clean gas, it is possible to achieve further cleaning. Furthermore, by making the carrier box body antistatic, it is possible to prevent dust from adhering due to static electricity. By using clean air or clean nitrogen as the clean gas, it is possible to secure safety and reduce costs.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the wafer cassette carrying box of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The carrier box main body 1 in which one or a plurality of wafer cassettes (not shown) are housed is formed in a housing shape from, for example, polypropylene, polyethylene, styrene, Teflon or the like. If necessary, antistatic processing, for example, antistatic processing is performed. A slide-type lid 2 is provided at the bottom of the carrier box body 1.
Is provided, and the lid 2 can be hermetically sealed in the closed state. An opening / closing lid may be used when dust may be generated. Further, a carrying handle 3 is installed on the upper part of the carrying box body 1.

A clean gas storage cylinder 4 filled with a sufficiently cleaned gas, for example, clean air or clean nitrogen, is removably attached to a side portion of the transport box body 1 by a mounting portion 5. Further, a plurality of nozzles 6 are installed above the inside of the carrier box body 1 so as to uniformly supply the clean gas toward the inside of the carrier box body. These nozzles 6 are connected to the coupler 8 by a clean gas supply pipe 7. Is connected to a pipe 4a on the clean gas storage cylinder 4 side. It is more preferable to provide an air filter on the ejection side of the nozzle 6.

Further, the supply of the clean gas to the inside of the carrier box main body 1 is performed by the opening / closing switch 9 inserted in the clean gas supply pipe 7, and similarly by the flow rate control valve 10 inserted in the clean gas supply pipe 8. , The supply is adjusted. The lid 2
Alternatively, a plurality of through holes may be provided in the side wall to form a flow path for the clean fluid. In this case, it is more preferable to provide an air filter in this through hole.

The wafer cassette carrying box of this embodiment having the above configuration is used, for example, as follows.

First, the clean gas storage cylinder 4 is set on the mounting portion 5, and the pipe 4a on the clean gas storage cylinder 4 side and the clean gas supply pipe 7 are connected by the coupler 8. Then, the valve 4b on the clean gas storage cylinder 4 side is opened, and the inside of the transport box main body 1 is cleaned by supplying the clean gas into the transport box main body 1 while keeping the lid 2 open. 2 is closed and the preparation is completed.

Next, the wafer cassette transfer box whose inside is cleaned is set on the unloading side of a manufacturing apparatus or the like for transferring the wafer cassette, and clean gas is supplied from the clean gas storage cylinder 4 into the transfer box main body 1. Then, the lid 2 is opened while the wafer cassette is prepared for storage.

Thereafter, while supplying the clean gas from the clean gas storage cylinder 4 to the inside of the transfer box main body 1, the wafer cassette is stored in the inside of the transfer box main body 1 from below under the elevating mechanism on the manufacturing apparatus side. Lid 2 to maintain positive pressure inside
And the supply of clean gas is stopped, and the storage of the wafer cassette is completed.

As described above, by providing the wafer cassette carrying box itself with the clean gas storage portion and the supply portion, the inside of the wafer cassette can be easily and highly cleaned regardless of the degree of cleanliness of the outside atmosphere. Further, even when the wafer cassette is stored, this cleaned state can be easily maintained, and the wafer cassette can be transported in a highly cleaned state.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described above, according to the wafer cassette transport box of the present invention, the wafer cassette can be housed while preventing dust and the like from entering even in a working room or the like where the cleanliness is lowered. It is possible to carry the sheet while maintaining this state.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a wafer cassette carrying box according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 ... Transport box body, 2 ... Lid, 4 ... Clean gas storage cylinder, 6 ... Nozzle, 7 ... Clean gas supply pipe.

Claims (4)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A transfer box main body for accommodating a wafer cassette therein, and a transfer box main body provided in a lower portion of the transfer box main body, airtightly closing the transfer box main body in a closed state, and loading and unloading the wafer cassette in an open state. An openable and closable lid for enabling the above, a clean gas storage part detachably attached to the transfer box body, and a clean gas supply part for supplying a clean gas from the clean gas storage part into the transfer box body, A wafer cassette transfer box, comprising: a transfer handle provided on the transfer box body. 2. The clean gas supplied from the clean gas supply unit is supplied into the main body of the carrying box through a nozzle, and a filter is provided on the ejection side of the nozzle. The wafer cassette carrying box according to claim 1 of the new model registration claim. 3. The wafer cassette carrying box according to claim 1, wherein the carrying box body is antistatic processed. 4. The wafer cassette carrying box according to claim 1, wherein the clean gas is clean air or clean nitrogen.