Front opening type wafer transfer box, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and semiconductor manufacturing system

Abstract

The invention relates to a front opening type wafer transfer box, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and a semiconductor manufacturing system. The front open type wafer transfer box is used for detecting a microenvironment in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and comprises a front open structure formed by a bottom plate, a first side wall, a second side wall, a top wall and a back wall, a plurality of slots for fixing wafers are formed in the first side wall and the second side wall, and the open type wafer transfer box further comprises a fixing plate, the fixing plate is placed on the slots in the first side wall and the second side wall, and the particle sensor is arranged on the fixing plate and used for sensing the particle amount of the microenvironment. According to the scheme comprising the front-open type wafer conveying box, the risk that parts of semiconductor manufacturing equipment are damaged does not exist when the microenvironment is detected, extra pollutants cannot be introduced into a microenvironment area of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, microenvironment data collection is more reliable, manual operation is not needed, and the detection efficiency is improved. And the labor and time cost for detecting the microenvironment is greatly saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a front-opening wafer transfer box, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and a semiconductor manufacturing system. Background Art

[0002] Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) is used to safely hold silicon wafers in a controlled environment and allows them to be transferred between machines for processing or measurement. FOUP can hold 25 300mm wafers, and its main components are a front-opening container that can hold 25 wafers and a front-opening door frame structure that is responsible for the opening and closing of the FOUP container. FOUP is an important carrier container for the automated transfer system in a 12-inch (300mm) wafer fab.

[0003] In a 300mm semiconductor wafer fab environment, each manufacturing equipment is completely enclosed and set up as a mini-environment (ME) room with an air filtration system. The ME room can be regarded as a buffer zone connecting the FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) and the main body of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Since the wafer is completely exposed to the ME, semiconductor equipment needs to be regularly certified for ME to ensure the health of the ME environment inside the semiconductor equipment.

[0004] Therefore, the prior art requires an effective solution that can effectively detect ME inside semiconductor devices.

[0005] The foregoing content is only intended to help understand the background of the embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to mean that the embodiments of the present invention fall within the scope of the relevant prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present invention relates to a front-opening wafer transfer box, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and semiconductor manufacturing system. The intelligent FOUP with microenvironment detection function of the present invention can effectively solve the problem of greatly consuming manpower and time costs in detecting semiconductor wafer factory microenvironment (ME) in the prior art.

[0007] A first aspect of the present invention provides a front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP for detecting a microenvironment in a semiconductor manufacturing device, wherein the FOUP is a front-opening structure including a bottom plate, a first side wall, a second side wall, a top wall and a back wall, and has a plurality of narrow slots for holding wafers on the first side wall and the second side wall, wherein the FOUP further includes: one or more pressure sensors, arranged in one or more narrow slots, for sensing the pressure in the microenvironment; a fixed plate, placed on the narrow slots on the first side wall and the second side wall, and a particle sensor, arranged on the fixed plate, for sensing the amount of particles in the microenvironment.

[0008] A second aspect of the present invention provides a semiconductor manufacturing equipment, comprising the above-mentioned FOUP.

[0009] The third aspect of the present invention provides a semiconductor manufacturing system, comprising the above-mentioned FOUP, a loading port for assembling the FOUP, a wafer processing device and a microenvironment chamber, wherein the FOUP enters the microenvironment chamber through the loading port, and the wafer processing device is connected to the microenvironment chamber.

[0010] According to the solution including the smart FOUP in the embodiment of the present invention, the ME test arrangement in the semiconductor manufacturing plant is more flexible, and there is no need to wait for the regular preventive maintenance (PM) of the equipment; in addition, the smart FOUP solution of the present invention can save the time of LOTO (calibration lock) preparation, wiping and process monitoring (PMON); in addition, the smart FOUP solution of the present invention can simplify the testing process of the semiconductor manufacturing plant without manual operation.

[0011] In addition, in the intelligent FOUP detection ME solution of the present invention, since there is no need to open the door of the ME chamber for manual testing, there is no risk of damage to semiconductor manufacturing tool components, and no additional contaminants will be introduced into the ME area of ​​the semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Therefore, ME data collection using the intelligent FOUP solution provided by the present invention is more reliable, does not require manual operation, and greatly saves labor and time costs when testing the microenvironment.

[0012] The advantages of the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above advantages. Through the following description, those skilled in the art can clearly understand other advantages not described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a semiconductor manufacturing system including a FOUP of the present invention according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 2a is a diagram showing the overall structure of a FOUP from the perspective of a particle sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2b is a diagram showing the overall structure of a FOUP from the perspective of a pressure sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2c is a diagram showing the overall structure of a FOUP from the perspective of a fixed plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 3 is a structural diagram showing a fixing plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 4 is a product diagram showing a smart FOUP according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 5 3 is a diagram showing a comparison between the ME detection process of the smart FOUP according to an embodiment of the present invention and the traditional ME detection process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Detailed descriptions of known technologies related to the embodiments disclosed in this specification may be omitted to avoid confusing the subject matter of the embodiments disclosed in this specification. In addition, the accompanying drawings are only for facilitating the understanding of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, but do not limit the technical spirit disclosed herein, and it should be understood that these embodiments include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0021] As used herein, terms including ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various components without limiting these components. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another.

[0022] It will be understood that when a component is referred to as being "connected to" or "coupled to" another component, it can be directly connected to or coupled to the other component, or intermediate components may exist. Conversely, when a component is referred to as being "directly connected to" or "directly coupled to" another component, there are no intermediate components.

[0023] As used herein, singular forms shall include plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0024] It should be further understood that the terms "including" or "having", when used in this specification, specify the existence of the stated features, numbers, steps, operations, components, elements, or a combination thereof, but they do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, elements, or a combination thereof.

[0025] Hereinafter, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals are given to refer to the same or similar components and redundant descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0026] In current semiconductor manufacturing plants, since the wafers are completely exposed in the ME chamber, it is necessary to manually perform ME certification on the manufacturing equipment in the semiconductor manufacturing plant on a regular basis to ensure the health of the ME environment. Currently, the entire process of testing each manufacturing device takes nearly 3.5 hours (preparation / testing / post-cleaning and monitoring), and the use of the smart FOUP of the present invention can greatly save time (saving about 3 hours). At the same time, the current ME testing method may introduce additional contaminants and tool component damage risks when the ME door is opened for manual testing. The smart FOUP solution of the present invention avoids manual operation and greatly reduces time and labor costs.

[0027] In the existing ME test, the ME test of semiconductor manufacturing equipment is combined with the regular preventive maintenance (PM) of the manufacturing equipment. During the test process, LOTO (calibration lock) is usually required before the test, and after the ME test is completed, it is necessary to erase and gate for PMON (process monitoring). Such manual testing greatly wastes test time. For example, the frequency of preventive maintenance (PM) of some manufacturing equipment is usually greater than or equal to one year, or PM is performed when the semiconductor equipment is not working (such as during the night shift). Therefore, it is difficult to combine the existing ME test with PM, which will trigger additional downtime for ME testing.

[0028] In addition, in the existing ME test, it takes a long time to prepare LOTO before the test (for example, it usually takes 0.5 to 1 hour), and it also takes a lot of time to wipe after the test, such as wiping (0.5 hours) / PMON (process monitoring) (1 hour). In addition, when performing ME environmental testing, manual testing will also cause the risk of damage to manufacturing tool components, such as the potential risk of the test instrument hitting the robot arm during manual testing. In addition, when performing ME environmental testing, if manual testing is performed, it will also cause the risk of cross contamination, that is, when the ME area is exposed to the external environment, additional contamination is introduced, which may cause PMON failure and cause the semiconductor manufacturing equipment to shut down for a long time. Therefore, the present invention proposes a ME testing tool for an intelligent FOUP, which integrates all test functions in the FOUP, and the FOUP can be directly loaded onto the manufacturing equipment without opening the door of the ME chamber in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Once the door of the FOUP is opened, the integrated sensor can start the test immediately.

[0029] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a semiconductor manufacturing system including a FOUP of the present invention according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] like Figure 1As shown, in a semiconductor manufacturing system 100, a FOUP 101 is designed to securely and safely hold wafers in a controlled environment and allow wafers to be transferred between machines for processing or measurement. The FOUP is transported through a load port 102 to enter or exit an ME chamber 103 of the semiconductor manufacturing system. The ME chamber 103 is connected to a wafer processing device 105 in the semiconductor system, which processes the wafers from the FOUP and sends the processed wafers through the ME chamber and into the load port.

[0031] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the loading port 102 (Load Port) is applied to various links of semiconductor production, and its main function is to load wafer boxes, realize the docking between the wafer boxes and the production equipment, and play a connecting role; the wafers are loaded in the FOUP 101, which is often closed during the semiconductor manufacturing flow, and the internal wafers cannot be taken and placed; the automatic opening or closing action of the wafer box can be realized through the loading port, so that the robot inside the production equipment in the semiconductor manufacturing system 100 can take and place the wafers, and the loading port can also switch the wafer box type according to the different sizes of wafers accommodated in the FOUP 101 (for example, 8 inches and 12 inches).

[0032] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the ME chamber 103 is defined as: in a 300mm semiconductor manufacturing system environment, each manufacturing equipment is completely enclosed and configured as a microenvironment (ME) chamber with an air filtration system, which can protect the exposed wafers. The ME chamber 103 can be regarded as a buffer connecting the FOUP 101 (Front Opening Unified Pod) and the body of the semiconductor wafer processing equipment 104.

[0033] In the existing testing process of the micro-environment of the semiconductor manufacturing system, the robot that carries the wafers in the semiconductor manufacturing system is usually set to the home position, and then LOTO preparation is performed before the ME test. Most semiconductor manufacturing equipment requires a LOTO robot and a load port before testing, which will take about 1 hour to prepare. This test is a waste of time and human resources.

[0034] In addition, in the existing test process, it is usually necessary to measure the pressure difference and the number of particles in the microenvironment of the semiconductor manufacturing system. The sensor is inserted into the test port on the door of the ME room and fixed to the inner panel of the ME room with tape to ensure that the door of the ME room is closed when the test starts. The entire test process takes about 40 minutes, and because it is a manual operation, it is very easy to cause misoperation and damage to the equipment in the existing semiconductor manufacturing system.

[0035] In addition, after the ME test of the semiconductor manufacturing system, the entire ME room side needs to be super cleaned and PMON inspection is performed before the manufacturing equipment can be released. This process usually takes about 1.5 hours and consumes a lot of manpower and time, and is prone to misoperation.

[0036] In view of the above-mentioned defects of the existing detection tools and processes, the present invention provides an intelligent FOUP for detecting various parameters in the ME environment in the semiconductor manufacturing system.

[0037] Figure 2a , Figure 2b and Figure 2c The structural diagrams of the intelligent FOUP according to the embodiments of the present invention are respectively shown. Figure 2a is a diagram showing the overall structure of a FOUP from the perspective of a particle sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2b is a diagram showing the overall structure of a FOUP from the perspective of a pressure sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2c is a diagram showing the overall structure of a FOUP from the perspective of a fixed plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, Figure 2a , Figure 2b and Figure 2c As shown, the smart FOUP 101 includes a front-open structure of a bottom plate 201, a first side wall 202, a second side wall 203, a top wall 204 and a back wall 205, and a plurality of narrow slots 206 and 207 for holding wafers are provided on the first side wall 202 and the second side wall 203.

[0039] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, Figure 2a , Figure 2b and Figure 2c As shown, the smart FOUP 101 further includes a pressure sensor 208 . The pressure sensor 208 is disposed inside the plurality of slots 206 and 207 and fits tightly with the gaps between the slots 206 and 207 . Figure 2b Only one pressure sensor 208 is shown in the figure. According to the testing process of the smart FOUP, one or more pressure sensors 208 may be included, which are arranged inside the plurality of slots 206 and 207 to sense the pressure in the mini-environment chamber 103.

[0040] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, Figure 2a , Figure 2b and Figure 2cAs shown in FIG. 1 , the interior of the smart FOUP 101 further includes a fixing plate 209, which is placed on the slots 206 and 207, that is, placed between the gap of the slot 206 and the gap of the slot 207. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the fixing plate 209 can be placed horizontally on two symmetrical slots on the first side wall 202 and the second side wall 203, that is, placed on Figure 2a On the slots 210 and 211 .

[0041] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, Figure 2a , Figure 2b and Figure 2c As shown, inside the smart FOUP 101, a particle sensor 212 is also included, and the particle sensor 212 is arranged on the fixing plate 209, and is used to sense the number of particles in the microenvironment chamber 103. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the particle sensor 212 may include a sensor probe 213 and a rod 214 connected to the probe. In addition, a through hole 215 is opened on the fixing plate 209, and the rod 214 of the particle sensor is vertically inserted into the through hole 215. A positioning rod 216 perpendicular to the fixing plate is arranged on one side of the through hole 215, and the positioning rod 216 is used to lock the rod 214 of the particle sensor connected to the probe.

[0042] Figure 3 is a structural diagram showing a fixing plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, Figure 3 As shown, the fixing plate 209 includes: a strip-shaped body 301, two side arms 302 and 303 extending from both ends of the strip-shaped body 301, and the two side arms 302 and 303 are respectively inserted into two symmetrical narrow grooves 210 and 211 on the first side wall 102 and the second side wall 103. In addition, the fixing plate 209 also includes: a middle extension arm 304 arranged in the middle of the strip-shaped body 301 in the opposite direction to the two side arms 301 and 302, and a through hole 215 is arranged on the extension arm 304, and the rod 214 of the particle sensor is vertically inserted into the through hole 215.

[0044] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, Figure 3 As shown, a positioning rod 216 perpendicular to the middle extension arm 304 is provided on one side of the through hole 215 of the middle extension arm 304, and the positioning rod 216 is used to lock the rod 214 of the particle sensor. The positioning rod 216 also includes a through hole 305, and the locking mechanism locks the rod 214 of the particle sensor with each other through the through hole 305.

[0045] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the fixing plate 209 of the present invention is an integrally formed structure, for example, Figure 3As shown, the strip-shaped body 301 in the fixing plate 209, the two side arms 302 and 303, the middle extension arm 304 and the positioning rod 216 are formed as one body.

[0046] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the smart FOUP 101 further includes one or more other sensors disposed therein, such as a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, etc., which may be located on the fixing plate 209 of the FOUP 101, or located inside the plurality of slots 206 and 207. According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, one or more other sensors may also be located in other parts of the FOUP 101 according to design requirements.

[0047] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the rod 214 of the particle sensor 212 connected to the probe includes a transmission mechanism, and the transmission mechanism is used to control the extension and rotation of the rod 214 of the particle sensor to further sense the number of particles in the microenvironment. According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the transmission mechanism can also be integrated on the fixed plate 209, and the particle sensor 212 and one or more other sensors (for example, temperature, humidity, pressure, etc.) are integrated on the transmission mechanism. The transmission mechanism controls the area and direction sensed in the FOUP 101 according to the detection requirements to further sense the number of particles in the microenvironment.

[0048] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the pressure sensor 208, one or more other sensors and the particle sensor 212 in the FOUP 101 are connected to an external testing instrument in a wired manner through the bottom plate 201, the back wall 205, the first side wall 202 or the second side wall 203 of the FOPU 101, or are connected to an external testing instrument in a wireless manner.

[0049] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the fixing plate 209 is a circular, U-shaped, or annular structure (e.g., various variations of annular structures, such as two circular bodies of different sizes, connected by a plurality of connecting arms). The fixing plate 209 may also be a plate-like structure that can be placed on the slots 206 and 207 on the first side wall 202 and the second side wall 203. By placing the fixing plate 209 on different slots of the plurality of slots 206 and 207 on the first side wall 202 and the second side wall 203, the height sensed by the particle sensor 212 can be adjusted.

[0050] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, a transmission mechanism may be integrated into the particle sensor 212, and the sensing height may also be adjusted through the transmission mechanism. The fixing plate 209 may be stably placed in the slots 206 and 207 of different FOUPs 101 to adjust the test height. The positioning rod 216 is used to keep the probe 213 of the particle sensor stable in the vertical direction. Therefore, in the present invention, the sensing space and direction may be adjusted by adjusting the direction in which the fixing plate 209 moves, and the sensing space and direction of the sensor in the FOUP 101 may also be adjusted by setting a transmission mechanism. The specific deformations and variants are not described one by one here.

[0051] According to the design of the above-mentioned FOUP 101 of the present invention, since the pressure and particle sensors are integrated inside the FOUP 101, the test can be started directly by loading the FOUP 101 onto the manufacturing equipment, and the FOUP 101 of the present invention does not require LOTO preparation / opening the ME door / wiping and PMON testing, which can save about 2.5 hours / time in total; in addition, in the intelligent FOUP solution of the present invention, the entire ME testing process takes only about 10 minutes, which can save 0.5 hours / time compared with the previous method.

[0052] Figure 4 is a product diagram showing a smart FOUP according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] like Figure 4 As shown, the present invention Figure 2a , Figure 2b and Figure 2c The product picture of the intelligent FOUP is as follows: Figure 4 shown.

[0054] Figure 5 3 is a diagram showing a comparison between the ME detection process of the smart FOUP according to an embodiment of the present invention and the traditional ME detection process.

[0055] like Figure 5 As shown, the X-axis represents the ME detection method (DP SF) of the smart FOUP and the traditional ME detection method (DPPOR) represent two test methods, and the Y-axis represents the pressure difference value DP, the unit is inch water (inch water column), wherein the test data Number is 38 groups of data, wherein Mean represents the average value. It can be seen from the figure that the pressure difference in the test process of the smart FOUP of the present invention is basically the same as the pressure difference value detected in the traditional test process, but the detection scheme of the smart FOUP of the present invention greatly reduces the manpower and time, and does not cause any loss to the semiconductor manufacturing equipment. In addition, from the perspective of the number of particles detected, the number of particles in the test process of the smart FOUP of the present invention is exactly the same as the number of particles detected in the traditional test process.

[0056] Therefore, according to the scheme of the intelligent FOUP detection ME of the present invention, the scheme of the present invention is more flexible in arranging ME tests, and there is no need to wait for the tool to be PMed regularly. Moreover, the intelligent FOUP detection scheme of the present invention can save the time of LOTO preparation, wiping and PMON (a total of 2.5 hours), and can simplify the test process without manual operation (saving 0.5 hours). In addition, since there is no need to open the door of the ME room for manual testing, there is no risk of damage to manufacturing tool parts, and no additional contaminants will be introduced into the ME room area. Therefore, the data collection of the intelligent FOUP scheme of the present invention is more reliable and does not require manual operation.

[0057] The following are further examples of the present invention:

[0058] Example 1. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP is used to detect the microenvironment in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the FOUP comprising: a front-opening structure formed by a bottom plate, a first side wall, a second side wall, a top wall and a back wall, and a plurality of narrow slots for holding wafers on the first side wall and the second side wall, wherein the FOUP also comprises: a fixing plate placed on the narrow slots on the first side wall and the second side wall, and a particle sensor arranged on the fixing plate for sensing the amount of particles in the microenvironment.

[0059] Example 2. A front-opening wafer transport box FOUP according to Example 1, wherein the fixing plate is horizontally placed on two symmetrical narrow grooves on the first side wall and the second side wall.

[0060] Example 3. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to Example 1, wherein the particle sensor includes a sensor probe and a rod connecting the probe, a through hole is opened on the fixing plate, and the rod of the particle sensor is vertically inserted into the through hole.

[0061] Example 4. According to the front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP described in Example 1, a positioning rod perpendicular to the fixing plate is provided on one side of the through hole, and the positioning rod is used to lock the rod of the connecting probe of the particle sensor.

[0062] Example 5. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to Example 2, wherein the fixing plate comprises: a strip-shaped body, two side arms extending from both ends of the strip-shaped body, and the two side arms are respectively inserted into two symmetrical narrow grooves on the first side wall and the second side wall.

[0063] Example 6. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to Example 5, wherein the particle sensor includes a sensor probe and a rod connecting the probe, and the fixing plate also includes a middle extension arm arranged in the middle of the bar-shaped body in the opposite direction to the two side arms, a through hole is arranged on the extension arm, and the rod of the particle sensor is vertically inserted into the through hole.

[0064] Example 7. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to Example 6, wherein a positioning rod perpendicular to the middle extension arm is provided on one side of the through hole of the middle extension arm, and the positioning rod is used to lock the rod of the particle sensor.

[0065] Example 8. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to Example 7, wherein the strip-shaped body in the fixing plate, the two side arms, the middle extension arm and the positioning rod are formed as one body.

[0066] Example 9. The front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to Example 1, further comprising one or more temperature sensors arranged in the FOUP for sensing the temperature of the microenvironment.

[0067] Example 10. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to Example 3 or 6, wherein the rod of the connecting probe of the particle sensor includes a transmission mechanism, and the transmission mechanism is used to control the extension and rotation of the rod of the particle sensor to further sense the number of particles in the microenvironment.

[0068] Example 11. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to Example 7, wherein the pressure sensor, the temperature sensor and the particle sensor are connected to an external testing instrument in a wired manner through the bottom plate or back wall of the FOPU, or the pressure sensor, the temperature sensor and the particle sensor are connected to an external testing instrument in a wireless manner.

[0069] Example 12. According to the front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP described in Example 9, the fixing plate is a circular, U-shaped, ring-shaped or plate-like structure that can be placed on the narrow grooves on the first side wall and the second side wall.

[0070] Example 13. According to the front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP described in Example 4 or 7, the positioning rod is provided with a positioning hole, and the locking mechanism locks the positioning rod and the rod of the particle sensor through the positioning hole.

[0071] Example 14. A front opening FOUP according to Example 1 or 2, wherein the height sensed by the particle sensor is adjusted by placing the fixing plate on different slots on the first side wall and the second side wall.

[0072] Example 15. According to the front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP described in Example 1, the space and direction sensed by the particle sensor are adjusted by adjusting the direction in which the fixed plate moves on the multiple narrow slots of the first side wall and the second side wall, or, a transmission mechanism is provided on the fixed plate to adjust the space and direction sensed by the particle sensor in the FOUP through the transmission mechanism.

[0073] Example 16. According to the front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP described in Example 1, other sensors besides the pressure sensor and the particle sensor are also included on the fixing plate, such as a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor.

[0074] Example 17. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to Example 1, wherein the FOUP also includes one or more pressure sensors arranged in one or more narrow slots for sensing the pressure in the microenvironment.

[0075] Example 18. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to Example 1, wherein the FOUP further comprises one or more pressure sensors arranged on the fixed plate for sensing the pressure in the microenvironment.

[0076] Example 19. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP is used to detect the microenvironment in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the FOUP includes a front-opening structure formed by a bottom plate, a first side wall, a second side wall, a top wall and a back wall, and has a plurality of narrow slots for holding wafers on the first side wall and the second side wall, wherein the FOUP also includes: a fixed plate placed on the narrow slots on the first side wall and the second side wall, and a transmission mechanism arranged on the fixed plate, the transmission mechanism is integrated with a particle sensor for sensing the amount of particles in the microenvironment.

[0077] Example 20. According to Example 19, the front-opening wafer transport box FOUP further integrates other sensors besides the particle sensor, such as a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor, in the transmission mechanism or the fixing plate. The front-opening wafer transport box FOUP further includes one or more pressure sensors disposed in one or more slots for sensing the pressure in the microenvironment.

[0078] Example 21. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP is used to detect the microenvironment in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the FOUP includes a front-opening structure formed by a bottom plate, a first side wall, a second side wall, a top wall and a back wall, and has a plurality of narrow slots for holding wafers on the first side wall and the second side wall, wherein the FOUP also includes: a fixed plate placed on the narrow slots on the first side wall and the second side wall, and a plurality of sensors for sensing the corresponding microenvironment are placed on the fixed plate.

[0079] Example 22. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to Example 20, wherein the FOUP further comprises a particle sensor disposed on a fixed plate for sensing the amount of particles in the microenvironment.

[0080] Example 23. According to the front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP described in Example 20, the FOUP also includes: a transmission mechanism arranged on a fixed plate, and a particle sensor and one or more pressure sensors are provided on the transmission mechanism, which are used to sense the amount of particles in the microenvironment and sense the pressure in the microenvironment respectively.

[0081] Example 24. A front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to Example 23, wherein other sensors besides the pressure sensor and the particle sensor, such as a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor, are also integrated on the transmission mechanism.

[0082] Example 25. A semiconductor manufacturing device comprising a FOUP according to any one of Examples 1-24.

[0083] Example 26. A semiconductor manufacturing system, comprising a FOUP according to any one of Examples 1-24, a loading port for arranging the FOUP, a wafer processing device and a microenvironment chamber, wherein the FOUP enters the microenvironment chamber through the loading port, and the wafer processing device is connected to the microenvironment chamber.

[0084] While specific embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations may be made thereto without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention as provided by the claims hereinafter appended.

Claims

1. A front-opening wafer transport box FOUP, used for detecting a microenvironment in a semiconductor manufacturing device, the FOUP comprising a front-opening structure formed by a bottom plate, a first side wall, a second side wall, a top wall and a back wall, a plurality of slots for holding wafers are provided on the first side wall and the second side wall, wherein the FOUP further comprises: a fixing plate placed on the slots in the first side wall and the second side wall, and The particle sensor is arranged on the fixed plate and is used for sensing the particle quantity in the microenvironment.

2. The front-opening wafer transport box FOUP according to claim 1, wherein the fixing plate is horizontally placed on two symmetrical narrow grooves on the first side wall and the second side wall.

3. The front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to claim 1, wherein: The particle sensor comprises a sensor probe and a rod connected to the probe, a through hole is opened on the fixing plate, and the rod of the particle sensor is vertically inserted into the through hole.

4. The front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to claim 1, wherein a positioning rod perpendicular to the fixing plate is provided on one side of the through hole, and the positioning rod is used to lock the rod connecting the probe of the particle sensor.

5. The front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to claim 2, wherein: The fixing plate comprises: a strip-shaped body, two side arms extending from both ends of the strip-shaped body, and the two side arms are respectively inserted into two symmetrical narrow grooves on the first side wall and the second side wall.

6. The front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to claim 5, wherein: The particle sensor includes a sensor probe and a rod connecting the probe, and The fixing plate further comprises a middle extension arm arranged in the middle of the strip-shaped body in the opposite direction to the two side arms, a through hole is arranged on the middle extension arm, and the rod of the particle sensor is vertically inserted into the through hole.

7. The front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to claim 6, wherein: A positioning rod perpendicular to the middle extension arm is arranged on one side of the through hole of the middle extension arm, and the positioning rod is used to lock the rod of the particle sensor.

8. The front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to claim 7, wherein: The strip-shaped body, two side arms, a middle extension arm and a positioning rod in the fixing plate are formed as one body.

9. The front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to claim 1, wherein: Also included is one or more temperature sensors or humidity sensors disposed in the FOUP for sensing the temperature or humidity of the microenvironment.

10. The front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to claim 3 or 6, wherein the rod of the connecting probe of the particle sensor includes a transmission mechanism, and the transmission mechanism is used to control the extension and rotation of the rod of the particle sensor to further sense the number of particles in the microenvironment.

11. The front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to claim 9, wherein the fixing plate is a circular, U-shaped, ring-shaped or plate-like structure that can be placed on the narrow grooves on the first side wall and the second side wall.

12. The front-opening wafer transfer box FOUP according to claim 4 or 7, wherein the positioning rod is provided with a positioning hole, and a locking mechanism locks the positioning rod and the rod of the particle sensor through the positioning hole.

13. The front opening box FOUP according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the height sensed by the particle sensor is adjusted by placing the fixing plate on different slots on the first side wall and the second side wall.

14. The front-opening wafer transport box FOUP according to claim 1, wherein: The FOUP further comprises one or more pressure sensors disposed in one or more slots or on the fixing plate for sensing the pressure in the microenvironment.

15. The front opening box FOUP according to claim 7, wherein the pressure sensor and / or the particle sensor is connected to an external testing instrument in a wired manner and / or in a wireless manner.

16. A semiconductor manufacturing equipment, comprising the FOUP according to any one of claims 1-15.

17. A semiconductor manufacturing system, comprising: a FOUP according to any one of claims 1 to 15, a loading port for assembling the FOUP, a wafer processing device, and a mini-environment chamber, wherein: The FOUP enters the mini-environment chamber through a loading port, and a wafer processing device is connected to the mini-environment chamber.

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