Standard smif pods for transporting photoresist between different pieces of equipment

Abstract

The application provides a standard SMIF device for transporting photoetching materials on different devices, comprising a back plate provided with a material taking opening, a lifting module arranged on the side of the back plate, a box cover supporting platform arranged on the side of the back plate and connected with the lifting module and arranged along the back plate, a middle part of the box cover supporting platform being provided with a material feeding opening, a box body supporting platform arranged in the material feeding opening and fixedly arranged with the back plate, and a plurality of cover opening mechanisms arranged on the box cover supporting platform, comprising a lever rod penetrating through the box cover supporting platform and a cover opening driving assembly with an output end connected with the lever rod and adapted to drive the lever rod to move in a first direction to realize unlocking of the box cover and the box body and drive the lever rod to move in a second direction to realize locking of the box cover and the box body. The application realizes lateral opening of the material box through the lever rod and the cover opening driving assembly, is suitable for transportation realized by taking the wafer mask carrier or the six-inch crystal box as a transportation container, and improves the transportation efficiency of the photoetching materials such as the wafer or the mask.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of photomask transport equipment technology, and more particularly to a standard SMIF device for transporting photolithographic materials on different devices. Background Technology

[0002] Wafers and photomasks are key photolithography materials in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Wafers are the substrates that carry circuit patterns and are usually made of silicon or other semiconductor materials. A photomask (or reticle) is a light-transmitting / light-blocking template with a precise pattern. It is usually made of high-purity quartz glass or other transparent substrates and has a chromium layer (or other light-absorbing material) plated on its surface to form an opaque patterned area. Its function is to accurately transfer the designed pattern onto the substrate material by blocking part of the light or particle beam. It is a core tool in semiconductor manufacturing, micro-nano fabrication, and photolithography technology.

[0003] SMIF (Standard Mechanical Interface) equipment is a critical system in semiconductor manufacturing for the transfer and storage of wafers or masks. Through isolation technology, it isolates semiconductors from external contamination and vibration during the transfer between different process stages in the manufacturing process, thereby protecting the wafers or masks during storage and transfer, and improving product yield. Traditional SMIF equipment uses a bottom-center opening mechanism, with the opening mechanism mounted on the box support platform. This is commonly used for 8-inch wafer cassettes (PODs). Applying it to 6-inch wafer cassettes or mask cassettes requires the installation of corresponding conversion equipment. Furthermore, the compact structure of the box support platform and cover support platform negatively impacts SMIF efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the technical problems existing in the prior art, the present invention aims to provide a standard SMIF device for transporting photolithography materials on different devices, applicable to the transfer of photolithography materials such as six-inch wafers or photomasks.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, this invention provides a standard SMIF device for transporting photolithographic materials on different devices, comprising:

[0006] Back plate, wherein a material inlet is provided on the back plate;

[0007] The lifting module is located on the side of the back plate;

[0008] A lid support platform is located on the side of the back plate and connected to the lifting module, and is raised and lowered along the back plate; a loading port is provided in the middle of the lid support platform;

[0009] A box support platform is set inside the feeding port and fixedly installed with the back plate;

[0010] Multiple sets of opening mechanisms are arranged on the outside of the feeding port, including:

[0011] A lever is provided, which passes through the lid support platform; the upper end of the lever is provided on the top surface of the lid support platform.

[0012] The lid opening drive assembly has its output end connected to the lever, which is adapted to drive the lever to move in a first direction to unlock the lid and the box body, and to drive the lever to move in a second direction to lock the lid and the box body.

[0013] According to one technical solution of the present invention, the cover opening drive assembly includes:

[0014] The motor is located on the bottom surface of the cover support platform;

[0015] The lead screw has one end connected to the output of the motor and the other end fixed to the bottom surface of the cover support platform by a bearing.

[0016] A lead screw nut is fitted onto the lead screw.

[0017] A connecting beam is provided, one end of which is fixedly connected to the lead screw nut, and the lower end of the lever is fixedly connected to the other end of the connecting beam; the direction of the connecting beam is perpendicular to the direction of the lead screw.

[0018] According to one technical solution of the present invention, the cover opening drive assembly further includes:

[0019] A guide rail and a slider are disposed on the bottom surface of the box cover support platform. The direction of the guide rail is parallel to the direction of movement of the lead screw. The slider is disposed on the bottom surface of the guide rail and is fixedly connected to the connecting beam.

[0020] According to one technical solution of the present invention, the cover opening assembly further includes a lever positioning detection device, the lever positioning detection device comprising:

[0021] The lever position indicator is located on the end face of the lever on the connecting crossbeam.

[0022] A lever positioning sensor is installed on the bottom surface of the housing support platform; the lever positioning sensor is installed on the movement path of the lever positioning indicator and is positioned opposite to the lever positioning indicator.

[0023] According to one technical solution of the present invention, the lid support platform is provided with a first mapping sensor and a second mapping sensor disposed below the feeding port, and the detection beam directions of the first mapping sensor and the second mapping sensor are parallel.

[0024] According to one technical solution of the present invention, a protrusion detection device is provided on the bottom surface of the box cover support platform. The protrusion detection device is a through-beam sensor, and its detection beam is set below the feeding port.

[0025] According to one technical solution of the present invention, the detection beam direction of the convex sheet detection device is not parallel to the detection beam direction of the first mapping sensor.

[0026] According to one technical solution of the present invention, it further includes:

[0027] The material in-situ detection device has its transmitter and receiver respectively located below the back plate and the box cover support platform, and is used to detect the in-situ status of the material box after the equipment is restarted due to power failure.

[0028] According to one technical solution of the present invention, a material box limiting part and a pressure sensor disposed below the material box limiting part are provided on the top surface of the box support platform.

[0029] According to one technical solution of the present invention, a dust cover is provided on the bottom surface of the lid support platform, and the box support platform and the lid opening drive assembly are disposed inside the dust cover.

[0030] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0031] This invention proposes a standard SMIF device for transporting photolithography materials on different devices. The opening mechanism is located outside the loading port of the lid support platform. The opening drive component drives the lever to move, which in turn moves the locking tongue on the material box, thereby locking or unlocking the lid and the box body. This enables rapid opening and closing of photolithography boxes and is suitable for the transfer of photolithography materials such as 6-inch wafer PODs and photolithography boxes without the need for a conversion mechanism. This improves the opening and closing efficiency of the photolithography material boxes and thus improves the transfer efficiency of the equipment. Attached Figure Description

[0032] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0033] Figure 1A and Figure 1B This schematic diagram illustrates the structure of the photolithography material cartridge provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 2This schematic diagram shows a front view of a standard SMIF device for transporting photolithographic materials on different devices according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 3 This schematic diagram illustrates a side view of a standard SMIF device for transporting lithographic materials on different devices, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 4 This schematic diagram illustrates a top view of a standard SMIF device for transporting lithographic materials on different devices according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 5 This schematic diagram shows a front view of the internal structure of a standard SMIF device for transporting lithographic materials on different devices, provided according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 6 The schematic diagram shows a side view of the internal structure of a standard SMIF device for transporting photolithographic materials on different devices according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] The correspondence between component names and reference numerals in the accompanying drawings is as follows:

[0040] 1. Back panel; 2. Lifting module; 3. Lid support platform; 4. Box support platform; 5. Box opening mechanism; 6. Photolithography material box;

[0041] 31. Feed inlet; 32. Dust cover;

[0042] 41. Material box limiting part;

[0043] 51. Toggle lever; 52. Box opening drive assembly;

[0044] 521. Motor; 522. Lead screw; 523. Lead screw nut;

[0045] 61. Box lid; 62. Box body; 63. Locking tongue; 64. Connecting rod; 65. Lever hole;

[0046] 71. First mapping sensor; 72. Second mapping sensor; 73. Protrusion detection device; 74. Material in-situ detection device. Detailed Implementation

[0047] The description of the embodiments in this specification should be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which should form part of the complete specification. In the drawings, the shape or thickness of the embodiments may be exaggerated and may be indicated in a simplified or convenient manner. Furthermore, parts of the various structures in the drawings will be described separately; it is worth noting that elements not shown in the figures or not described in words are in a form known to those skilled in the art.

[0048] The descriptions of the embodiments herein, including any references to directions and orientations, are for ease of description only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. The following description of preferred embodiments involves combinations of features, which may exist independently or in combination; the invention is not particularly limited to the preferred embodiments. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims.

[0049] As shown in Figure 1, the photolithography material box 6 includes a box cover 61 and a box body 62 (tray). The box cover 61 is fastened to the tray and locked by a locking device. The locking device includes a connecting rod 64 and a locking tongue 63. The locking tongue 63 is rotatably mounted on the bottom surface of the tray through the connecting rod 64. The box cover 61 is provided with a locking hole that matches the locking tongue 63, and the locking tongue 63 is provided with a lever hole 65.

[0050] like Figures 2 to 6 As shown, the standard SMIF equipment for transporting photolithography materials on different devices provided by the present invention includes a back plate 1, a lifting module 2, a lid support platform 3, a box body support platform 4, and multiple sets of box opening mechanisms 5. The back plate 1 has a material loading port. The lifting module 2 is disposed on the side of the back plate 1, and the lid support platform 3 is disposed on the side of the back plate 1 and fixedly connected to the lifting module 2, moving up and down along the back plate 1. A loading port 31 is provided in the middle of the lid support platform 3, penetrating the lid support platform 3. The box body support platform 4 is disposed inside the loading port 31 and fixedly disposed to the back plate 1. Multiple sets of lid opening mechanisms are disposed outside the loading port 31, including a lever 51 and a lid opening drive assembly. The lever 51 penetrates the lid support platform 61, and the upper end of the lever 51 is disposed on the top surface of the lid support platform 61. The output end of the lid opening drive assembly is connected to the lever 51, which is suitable for driving the lever 51 to move in the first direction to unlock the lid 61 and the box body 62, and driving the lever 51 to move in the second direction to lock the lid 61 and the box body 62.

[0051] In this invention, when the material box is set on a standard SMIF device, the box body 62 is supported on the box body support platform 4, the box cover 61 is set on the box cover support platform 3, and the lever 51 cooperates with the lever hole 65 on the locking tongue 63. The lever 51 is driven by the opening drive assembly to drive the locking tongue 63 to move, thereby realizing the unlocking and locking of the box cover 61 and the box body 62.

[0052] In one embodiment of the present invention, such as Figure 6 As shown, the lid opening drive assembly includes a motor 521, a lead screw 522, a lead screw nut 523, and a connecting beam. The motor 521 is mounted on the bottom surface of the lid support platform 3. One end of the lead screw 522 is connected to the output of the motor 521, and the other end is fixed to the bottom surface of the lid support platform 3 via a bearing. The lead screw nut 523 is fitted onto the lead screw 522. One end of the connecting beam is fixedly connected to the lead screw nut 523, and the lower end of the lever 51 is fixedly connected to the other end of the connecting beam. The direction of the connecting beam is perpendicular to the direction of the lead screw 522. By actuating the motor 521, the lead screw nut 523 moves along the lead screw 522, and the connecting beam drives the lever 51 to move linearly, thus achieving efficient use of the space below the lid support platform 3 and improving the integration of the equipment. In other embodiments of the present invention, the lid opening drive assembly can be a combination of a motor and a gear transmission mechanism. The input end of the motor and the gear transmission mechanism are connected, and the output end of the gear transmission mechanism is connected to the lower end of the lever 51. The motor drives the gear to rotate, thereby moving the lever 51 along an arc to unlock or lock the lid of the material box and the box body.

[0053] In an embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the cover support platform 3 is provided with a lever guide hole, and the lever 51 is arranged in the lever guide hole along its length direction, which improves the stability of the movement of the lever 51.

[0054] In one embodiment of the present invention, the lid-opening drive assembly further includes a guide rail and a slider 526, which are disposed on the bottom surface of the lid support platform 3. The guide rail is arranged parallel to the moving direction of the lead screw 522. The slider 526 is disposed on the bottom surface of the guide rail and is fixedly connected to the connecting beam. The guide rail and slider 526 further improve the operational stability of the box-opening mechanism 5. At the same time, the connecting beam is connected to the bottom surface of the box support platform 4 through the slider 526 and the guide rail, which improves the stability and service life of the box-opening drive assembly 52.

[0055] In an embodiment of the present invention, the lid opening assembly further includes a lever positioning detection device, which includes a lever positioning indicator and a lever positioning sensor. The lever positioning indicator is disposed on the end face of the lever 51 on the connecting crossbeam, and the lever positioning sensor is disposed on the bottom surface of the box support platform 4. The lever positioning sensor is disposed on the movement path of the lever positioning indicator and is disposed opposite to the lever positioning indicator. Preferably, in one embodiment of the present invention, the lever positioning indicator and the lever positioning sensor are a magnetic sheet and a Hall sensor, respectively; in another embodiment of the present invention, the lever positioning indicator and the lever positioning sensor are a baffle and a through-beam sensor, respectively, and the detection beam of the through-beam sensor is perpendicular to the movement path of the baffle. Based on the lever 51 moving into position, the lever 51 positioning detection signal obtained by the lever positioning indicator and the lever positioning sensor can be used to obtain the movement status of the lever 51 of the box opening mechanism 5, thereby improving the accuracy of the box opening operation.

[0056] In embodiments of the present invention, such as Figure 5 As shown, the lid support platform 3 is equipped with a first mapping sensor 71 and a second mapping sensor 72 located below the feed port 31. Both the first mapping sensor 71 and the second mapping sensor 72 are through-beam sensors, and their detection beams are parallel. The first mapping sensor 71 and the second mapping sensor 72 can be respectively set at different positions on the mask. By utilizing the different sensor signals obtained from the obstruction at different positions, the orientation of the mask is determined, thereby effectively realizing mapping while simultaneously detecting the orientation of the mask.

[0057] In an embodiment of the present invention, a tab detection device 73 is provided on the bottom surface of the lid support platform 3. The tab detection device 73 is a through-beam sensor, and its detection beam is set below the feed port 31.

[0058] In an embodiment of the present invention, the detection beam direction of the tab detection device 73 is not parallel to the detection beam direction of the first mapping sensor 71, which effectively avoids interference between the tab detection device 73 and the mapping sensor.

[0059] In embodiments of the present invention, such as Figure 6 As shown, the standard SMIF equipment also includes a material presence detection device 74, which is a through-beam sensor. Its transmitter and receiver are respectively located below the back plate 1 and the box cover support platform 3, and are used to detect the presence of the material box after the equipment is powered off and restarted.

[0060] According to one technical solution of the present invention, a material box limiting part 41 and a pressure sensor disposed below the material box limiting part are provided on the top surface of the box support platform 4. Preferably, in one embodiment of the present invention, the material box limiting part 41 is a positioning post, a positioning hole is provided on the bottom surface of the box 62, a positioning post hole is provided on the box support platform 4, the upper end of the positioning post is disposed through the positioning post hole, a spring is disposed below the positioning post, and a pressure sensor is disposed below the spring. When the box 62 is disposed on the box support platform 4 and is accurately positioned, the upper end of the positioning post is disposed in the positioning post hole of the box 62, and the spring compression causes the pressure sensor to detect a first pressure signal; when the box 62 is disposed on the box support platform 4 and is not accurately positioned, the spring compression causes the pressure sensor to detect a second pressure signal; when there is no box 62 on the box support platform 4, the upper end of the positioning post is fully extended under the action of the spring, and the pressure sensor is not under pressure. Thus, the pressure signal obtained by the pressure sensor can realize the on-site detection of the box 62. Preferably, the number of positioning pin holes and pressure sensors is no less than two, forming a redundant backup of multiple detection channels to avoid accidental touches that could lead to misalignment, and to determine whether the material box is placed stably based on the comparison of the detection values ​​of the two pressure sensors.

[0061] In an embodiment of the present invention, a dust cover 32 is provided on the bottom surface of the lid support platform 3, and the box support platform 4 and the lid opening drive assembly are disposed inside the dust cover 32. By placing the components of the standard SMIF equipment in the dust cover 32, the pollution of the working environment by dust and debris during equipment operation is effectively avoided, and the service life of the equipment is improved.

[0062] The working process of this invention is as follows:

[0063] The pressure sensor detects the presence of the cassette placed on the cassette support platform 4 and obtains the presence detection signal of the cassette 62.

[0064] The opening drive assembly 52 drives the lever 51 to unlock the box body 62 from the lid 61.

[0065] The lifting module 2 drives the box support platform 4 to rise, and the first mapping sensor 71 and the second mapping sensor 72 perform mapping detection on the mask, and the protrusion detection device 73 performs protrusion detection. During the mapping detection process, since the first mapping sensor 71 and the second mapping sensor 72 are set in different positions, the mapping detection signals of the mask are different. By comparing and judging the first mapping detection signal and the second mapping detection signal obtained by the first mapping sensor 71 and the second mapping sensor 72, if both detection signal results pass, the mask orientation is correct.

[0066] Based on the mapping detection results, the robot arm is driven to pick up the mask from the material inlet, realizing the transfer of the mask.

[0067] When the SMIF equipment restarts after a shutdown, it will drive the robot arm to transfer the mask after obtaining the mask presence signal from the material presence detection device 74, thus avoiding errors in the material transfer process.

[0068] The above description represents the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be noted that although preferred embodiments have been described, those skilled in the art, once they understand the basic inventive concept of the present invention, can make various improvements and modifications without departing from the principles described herein. These improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to include both the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications falling within the scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A standard SMIF pod for transporting photoresist between different pieces of equipment, characterized in that, The utility model relates to a photolithography material box automatic unsealing device, including: Backboard, be equipped with the material taking mouth on the backboard; Lifting module, set up on the side of backplate; Box cover support platform, set up on the side of backplate, with lifting module connection, along backplate lifting arrangement;The middle part of box cover support platform is equipped with the feeding port; Box body support platform, set up in the feeding port, with backplate fixed arrangement; Multiple sets of unsealing mechanism, set up in the outside of feeding port;The photolithography material box includes box cover and box body, the box cover is buckled on the box body, locks through locking device, locking device includes connecting rod and lock tongue, the lock tongue is rotatably arranged on the bottom surface of box body through connecting rod, the box cover is equipped with the locking hole that adapts with the lock tongue, the lock tongue is equipped with the lever hole; The box body is supported and arranged on the box body support platform, and the box cover is arranged on the box cover support platform; Multiple sets of unsealing mechanism include: The lever is arranged through the box cover support platform;The upper end of lever is arranged on the top surface of box cover support platform; Unsealing drive assembly, its output is connected with the lever, is suitable for driving the lever and moves along the first direction and realizes the unsealing of box cover and box body, drives the lever and moves along the second direction and realizes the locking of box cover and box body; The lever cooperates with the lever hole on the lock tongue, drives the lever through the unsealing drive assembly and drives the lock tongue to act, realizes the unsealing and locking of box cover and box body.

2. A standard SMIF pod for transporting photoresist between pieces of equipment according to claim 1, wherein, The unsealing drive assembly includes: Motor, set up in the bottom surface of box cover support platform; Lead screw, one end is connected with the output of motor, and the other end is fixed on the bottom surface of box cover support platform through bearing; Lead screw nut, is sleeved on the lead screw; One end of connecting beam is fixedly arranged with the lead screw nut, and the lower end of the lever is fixedly connected with the other end of the connecting beam;The setting direction of connecting beam is perpendicular to the setting direction of lead screw.

3. A standard SMIF pod for transporting photoresist between pieces of equipment according to claim 2, wherein, The unsealing drive assembly further includes: Guide rail and sliding block, set up on the bottom surface of box cover support platform, the setting direction of guide rail is parallelly arranged with the moving direction of lead screw;The sliding block is arranged on the bottom surface of guide rail and is fixedly connected with the connecting beam.

4. The standard SMIF pod for transporting photoresist between pieces of equipment according to claim 3, wherein, The unsealing drive assembly further includes lever in place detection device, and the lever in place detection device includes: Lever in place indicating part, set up on the end face of the end where the lever is located on the connecting beam Lever in place sensor, set up on the bottom surface of box body support platform;The lever in place sensor is arranged on the moving path of lever in place indicating part and is oppositely arranged with the lever in place indicating part.

5. The standard SMIF pod for transporting photoresist between pieces of equipment according to claim 1 wherein, The box cover support platform is equipped with the first Mapping sensor and the second Mapping sensor arranged below the feeding port, and the detection beam directions of the first Mapping sensor and the second Mapping sensor are parallel.

6. A standard SMIF pod for transporting photoresist between pieces of equipment according to claim 5, wherein, The bottom surface of the box cover support platform is provided with a tab detection device, and the tab detection device is a pair of sensors, and the detection beam of the tab detection device is arranged below the feeding port.

7. A standard SMIF pod for transporting photoresist between pieces of equipment according to claim 6, wherein, The detection beam direction of the tab detection device is not parallel to the detection beam direction of the first Mapping sensor.

8. The standard SMIF pod for transporting photoresist between pieces of equipment according to claim 1 wherein, Further include: The material in place detection device, the transmitter and the receiver are arranged below the back plate and the box cover support platform respectively, and are used for carrying out in place detection of the material box after the equipment power-off restart.

9. The standard SMIF pod for transporting photoresist between pieces of equipment according to claim 1 wherein, The top surface of the box body support platform is provided with a material box limiting part and a pressure sensor arranged below the material box limiting part.

10. The standard SMIF pod for transporting photoresist between pieces of equipment according to claim 1 wherein, The bottom surface of the box cover support platform is provided with a dust cover, and the box body support platform and the cover opening driving assembly are arranged in the dust cover.

Images