Modular SMIF pod breather, adsorbent, and purge cartridges

Abstract

Modular cartridges which may be inserted into and removed from a well or receptacle on the bottom of a pod. The cartridges may be configured to include various types and combinations of valves, filters, and/or conditioning agents. A standalone cartridge replacement station may be provided for inserting and removing various cartridges from one or more of the receptacles on the bottom of a pod while wafers are seated within the pod. The standalone replacement unit may decouple an existing cartridge from the pod by rotating the cartridge from a locked to an unlocked position and then lowering the cartridge out of the pod. Thereafter, the replacement station may insert a new cartridge up into the appropriate receptacle and rotate the cartridge into a locked position in the pod.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application is related to the following United States Patent Applications, which applications are owned by the assignee of the present invention and which applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety:[0002]U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,554 entitled “Kinematic Coupling Compatible, Passive Interface Seal”, filed Mar. 27, 1998, which application is currently pending; and[0003]U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,233, entitled “Evacuation-Driven SMIF Pod Purge System”, filed Mar. 27, 1998, which application is currently pending.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0004]1. Field of the Invention[0005]The present invention relates to SMIF pods, and more particularly to a system including modular cartridges having breather filters, adsorbent media, and / or check valves, which cartridges may be removably inserted into a well in a bottom surface of a SMIF pod.[0006]2. Description of Related Art[0007]A SMIF system proposed by the Hewlett-Packard Comp...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018]It is therefore an advantage of the present invention to provide a system of modular cartridges comprising various combinations of valves, filters, and / or conditioning agents which may be easily and quickly inserted into and removed from a pod.

[0019]It is another advantage of the present invention to allow a cartridge with a particular valve, filter, and / or conditioning agent configuration to be removed from and loaded into a pod without having to remove the wafers from the pod.

[0020]It is a still further advantage of the present invention to provide the ability to include any combination of valve, filter, and / or conditioning agent within a pod in an economical, time and space efficient system.

[0021]It is another advantage of the present invention to be able to replace a used filter with a fresh filter in an economical, time and space efficient system.

[0022]These and other advantages are provided by the present invention which in preferred embodiments relates to modular cartridges which may be inserted into and removed from a well or receptacle on the bottom of a pod. The cartridges may be configured to include various types and combinations of valves, filters, and / or conditioning agents. For example, in one such embodiment, a cartridge may include a breather filter in a lower portion of a cartridge for filtering gas received from an inlet source, a check valve in a central portion of the cartridge for allowing one way flow of gas into the pod, and an adsorbent filter in a top portion of the cartridge for absorbing molecular particulates and / or contaminants floating around within the pod. Such a cartridge may or may not additionally include conditioning agents adjacent a top portion of the cartridge for conditioning the environment within the pod.

[0023]In preferred embodiments of the invention, a standalone cartridge replacement station may be provided for inserting and removing various cartridges to and from one or more of the receptacles on the bottom of a pod while wafers are seated within the pod. The standalone replacement station may decouple an existing cartridge from the pod by rotating the cartridge from a locked to an unlocked position and then lowering the cartridge out of the pod. Thereafter, the replacement station may insert a new cartridge up into the appropriate receptacle and rotate the cartridge into a locked position in the pod.

Problems solved by technology

Particles with these sizes can be very damaging in semiconductor processing because of the small geometries employed in fabricating semiconductor devices.

Unwanted contamination particles which have geometries measuring greater than 0.1 μm substantially interfere with 1 μm geometry semiconductor devices.

Further complicating the problem is that it may be necessary to utilize a particular type of valve with a particular type of filter, and / or with a particular type of conditioning agent.

Aside from the vast expense of providing the necessary number of pods having each such combination, the majority of such pods would sit idle and would take up valuable storage space in a cleanroom environment.

Moreover, filters used in pods become ineffective when clogged with particulates and / or contaminants.

At present, such processes for removing and replacing components are time consuming, labor intensive, and require hardware for transferring and storing the wafers while the components are being changed.

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