A silicon carbide wafer purge basket apparatus

Abstract

The application discloses a silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device, which comprises a shell with a blowing cavity inside, wherein a cassette box loaded with silicon carbide wafers can be accommodated in the blowing cavity; the top of the shell is provided with a taking and placing opening through which the cassette box loaded with silicon carbide wafers passes, and the taking and placing opening is communicated with the upper part of the blowing cavity; and the sidewall of the shell is provided with a plurality of dust discharging holes which are communicated with the blowing cavity and the external environment, and the dust discharging holes are sequentially arranged along the circumference of the shell. The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device can effectively optimize the blowing cleaning treatment mode of the silicon carbide wafers, avoid damage or breakage of the silicon carbide wafers during the blowing treatment process, and avoid secondary pollution of the silicon carbide wafers during the blowing treatment process, so that the blowing treatment efficiency of the silicon carbide wafers is improved, and the cleaning effect is optimized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of equipment for processing silicon carbide wafers, and in particular to a silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device. Background Technology

[0002] Silicon carbide materials possess high thermal conductivity and strong photoelectric conversion capabilities, making them widely used in various fields such as communications, electronics, power, and new energy vehicles in current industrial production. Among these applications, silicon carbide wafers are crucial components in semiconductors and other related fields.

[0003] In actual production operations in fields such as semiconductors, the processing and shaping of silicon carbide wafers involves multiple steps, including polishing, mounting, and cleaning. Consequently, during process changes and station transfers, the surface of the silicon carbide wafer may become contaminated with dust or other impurities, leading to surface contamination. In such cases, the surface of the silicon carbide wafer needs to be cleaned before proceeding with subsequent processes.

[0004] Currently, the industry standard for cleaning silicon carbide wafers typically involves operators manually handling the cassette containing the wafers and then using an air gun to clean the wafer surface. However, this cleaning process relies entirely on the operator holding the cassette, which greatly increases the risk of breakage or other structural damage to the wafers during cleaning. This renders the wafers unusable for production and processing, leading to wafer scrap, material waste, reduced material utilization, and increased production costs.

[0005] Furthermore, existing technologies also involve placing a cartridge containing silicon carbide wafers inside a container, and then using an air gun to blow clean the interior of the container to achieve the purpose of cleaning the silicon carbide wafers. However, most of these existing containers are closed structures, with only an opening at the top for inserting and removing the cartridge. During the air gun cleaning operation, high-pressure airflow is also blown into the interior of the container through this opening. This results in some dust and impurity particles remaining inside the container during the cleaning process, causing secondary contamination of the silicon carbide wafers inside the cartridge, severely affecting the cleaning efficiency and effectiveness of the silicon carbide wafer cleaning process.

[0006] In view of this, how to optimize the purging and cleaning process of silicon carbide wafers, avoid damage or breakage of silicon carbide wafers during the purging process, and avoid secondary contamination of silicon carbide wafers during the purging process, so as to improve the purging efficiency of silicon carbide wafers and optimize their cleaning effect, is an important technical problem that needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of this invention is to provide a silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device, which can effectively optimize the blowing and cleaning process of silicon carbide wafers, avoid damage or breakage of silicon carbide wafers during the blowing process, and avoid secondary contamination of silicon carbide wafers during the blowing process, thereby improving the blowing efficiency of silicon carbide wafers and optimizing their cleaning effect.

[0008] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides a silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device, including a housing with a blowing chamber inside, the blowing chamber being able to accommodate a cassette containing silicon carbide wafers, the top of the housing having a pick-and-place port for the cassette containing silicon carbide wafers to pass through, the pick-and-place port being connected to the top of the blowing chamber, and the side wall of the housing having a plurality of dust discharge holes connecting the blowing chamber to the external environment, the dust discharge holes being arranged sequentially along the circumference of the housing.

[0009] Preferably, the bottom of the purging chamber is lined with a particle adsorption membrane.

[0010] Preferably, the bottom of the housing has several exhaust holes that connect the purge chamber to the external environment, the particle adsorption membrane is aligned and shielded at the top opening of the exhaust holes, and the bottom wall of the housing forms a support beam between two adjacent exhaust holes to support the particle adsorption membrane.

[0011] Preferably, the top surface of the supporting beam is recessed with a positioning groove that connects two adjacent exhaust holes.

[0012] Preferably, the exhaust holes are arranged in an array along the extension direction of the bottom wall of the housing.

[0013] Preferably, the dust discharge hole is an oblong hole with its long axis extending vertically, and the portion of the sidewall of the housing located between two adjacent dust discharge holes forms a side support column.

[0014] Preferably, a hook is provided protruding on the outer side wall of the housing.

[0015] Preferably, the hook protrudes from the top of the housing and is located on one side of the pick-up / drop-off port.

[0016] Preferably, all the apex corners of the outer shell are curved chamfered structures.

[0017] Preferably, a support base is provided protruding on the outer wall of the bottom of the housing.

[0018] Compared with the above-mentioned background technology, the silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device provided by the present invention, in the process of operation, places the cassette containing silicon carbide wafers into the blowing chamber through the pick-and-place port and places it stably, and then starts the air gun to blow the silicon carbide wafers located in the blowing chamber, so as to remove dust and impurity particles from the silicon carbide wafers. During the purging process, the high-pressure airflow from the air gun into the purging chamber flows over the surface of the silicon carbide wafer, carrying away the dust and impurities that were originally on the surface. The high-pressure airflow, carrying these particles, then flows smoothly out of the purging chamber through the dust exhaust holes, preventing the formation of dead zones within the chamber. This effectively avoids dust and impurities removed from the silicon carbide wafer surface remaining in the purging chamber or being re-sent to the wafer surface by the high-pressure airflow, thus preventing secondary contamination of the silicon carbide wafers. This results in a more thorough purging of the silicon carbide wafers in the cartridges, making the process convenient and efficient, and significantly optimizing the wafer cleaning effect. After the purging process is complete, the cartridge containing the cleaned silicon carbide wafers is removed through the loading / unloading port, and the cartridge containing the next batch of silicon carbide wafers to be cleaned is placed into the purging chamber for the next round of cleaning. The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device can provide stable structural support and appropriate structural protection for the cassette containing silicon carbide wafers during the silicon carbide wafer blowing and cleaning process. It avoids wear or damage to the silicon carbide wafers caused by operators holding the silicon carbide wafers during the blowing and cleaning process, effectively ensuring the processing quality of silicon carbide wafers, avoiding material waste, and reducing the process cost of silicon carbide wafer-related products accordingly.

[0019] In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a particle adsorption film is laid at the bottom of the purging chamber. When the silicon carbide wafer located in the purging chamber is purged and cleaned using a high-pressure airflow from an air gun, the dust and impurity particles blown away from the surface of the silicon carbide wafer by the high-pressure airflow are reliably adsorbed by the particle adsorption film located at the bottom of the purging chamber as the high-pressure airflow passes through it. This further prevents these dust and impurity particles from re-flowing through the silicon carbide wafer with the high-pressure airflow and causing secondary contamination to the surface of the silicon carbide wafer. As a result, the purging and cleaning process for the silicon carbide wafer is more efficient and thorough. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is an isometric view of the assembly structure of a silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device according to a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Top view;

[0023] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Side view.

[0024] in:

[0025] 11-Shell; 111-Purge chamber; 112-Pick-out port; 113-Dust discharge hole; 114-Exhaust hole; 115-Support beam; 116-Positioning groove; 117-Side support column;

[0026] 12-Hook. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The core of this invention is to provide a silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device, which can effectively optimize the blowing and cleaning process of silicon carbide wafers, avoid damage or breakage of silicon carbide wafers during the blowing process, and avoid secondary contamination of silicon carbide wafers during the blowing process, thereby improving the blowing efficiency of silicon carbide wafers and optimizing their cleaning effect.

[0028] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present invention, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0029] It should be noted in advance that, in this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0030] Furthermore, in this invention, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the first feature being "on" or "under" the second feature may include direct contact between the first and second features, or contact between the first and second features not being in direct contact but through another feature between them.

[0031] In addition, the terms "above," "over," and "on top" for the first feature and the second feature include the first feature being directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicating that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. Similarly, "below," "under," and "beneath" for the first feature and the second feature include the first feature being directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply indicating that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature. The terms "above," "below," "front," "back," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are used only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[0032] Please refer to the reference. Figures 1 to 3 .

[0033] In a specific embodiment, the silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device provided by the present invention includes a housing 11 with a blowing chamber 111 inside. The blowing chamber 111 can accommodate a cassette containing a silicon carbide wafer. The top of the housing 11 has a pick-and-place port 112 for the cassette containing the silicon carbide wafer to pass through. The pick-and-place port 112 is connected to the top of the blowing chamber 111. The side wall of the housing 11 has a plurality of dust discharge holes 113 connecting the blowing chamber 111 with the external environment. Each of the dust discharge holes 113 is arranged sequentially along the circumference of the housing 11.

[0034] In the specific operation and use process, the cartridge containing silicon carbide wafers is placed into the blowing chamber 111 through the pick-and-place port 112 and placed stably. Then, the air gun is started to blow the silicon carbide wafers in the blowing chamber 111 to remove dust and impurity particles from the silicon carbide wafers.

[0035] During the purging and cleaning process, the high-pressure airflow delivered by the air gun into the purging chamber 111 flows over the surface of the silicon carbide wafer and carries away the dust and impurity particles that were originally located on the surface of the silicon carbide wafer. The high-pressure airflow carrying the dust and impurity particles can then smoothly flow out of the purging chamber 111 through each dust discharge hole 113, thus preventing the formation of airflow dead zones within the purging chamber 111. This effectively avoids the dust and impurity particles removed from the surface of the silicon carbide wafer from remaining in the purging chamber 111 or being sent back to the surface of the silicon carbide wafer by the high-pressure airflow, thereby preventing secondary contamination of the silicon carbide wafer by these dust and impurity particles. As a result, the purging process of each silicon carbide wafer in the cartridge is more thorough, the purging process is convenient and efficient, and the corresponding wafer cleaning effect is significantly optimized. After the purging and cleaning process is completed, the cassette containing the cleaned silicon carbide wafers is removed through the pick-and-place port 112. Then, the cassette containing the next batch of silicon carbide wafers to be cleaned is placed into the purging chamber 111 to carry out the next round of cleaning.

[0036] The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device can provide stable structural support and appropriate structural protection for the cassette containing silicon carbide wafers during the silicon carbide wafer blowing and cleaning process. It avoids wear or damage to the silicon carbide wafers caused by operators holding the silicon carbide wafers during the blowing and cleaning process, effectively ensuring the processing quality of silicon carbide wafers, avoiding material waste, and reducing the process cost of silicon carbide wafer-related products accordingly.

[0037] Generally, a hook 12 protrudes from the outer side wall of the housing 11. In actual operation, the silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device can be suspended on a reliable support structure through the hook 12, so that the relative position of each silicon carbide wafer remains constant when the air gun performs blowing treatment. This further avoids the damage or breakage of silicon carbide wafers caused by operators manually holding the silicon carbide wafers for blowing, as is the case in the prior art. This further optimizes the blowing and cleaning effect of silicon carbide wafers and avoids material waste.

[0038] Correspondingly, the hook 12 protrudes from the top of the housing 11 and is located on one side of the pick-up / placement port 112. This not only avoids interference between the hook 12 and the main structure of the housing 11, but also further optimizes the center of gravity distribution of the suspended silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device, preventing structural imbalance or overturning during the blowing process, thereby further ensuring the efficiency and cleaning effect of the silicon carbide wafer blowing process.

[0039] In practical operation, the hook 12 can be designed as a multi-segment bent structure with the opening facing downwards, and its horizontal extension dimension can be appropriately extended so that the operator can use the hook 12 to carry out the overall movement and arrangement of the silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device, so that the hook 12 can act as a certain operating handle, thereby further improving the operational convenience of the silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device.

[0040] In addition, a support base (not shown in the figure) protrudes from the bottom outer wall of the housing 11. When the silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device needs to be placed on a table or other location for blowing treatment, the support base can serve as a direct contact component between the silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device and the supporting surface below, thereby providing stable and reliable structural support for the main structure such as the housing 11. The support structure of the support base can also ensure that the bottom of the housing 11 maintains sufficient clearance with the supporting surface such as the table, so as to prevent the high-pressure airflow discharged through the dust discharge hole 113 and the air discharge hole 114 on the housing 11 from being blocked by the bottom structure of the housing 11. This further ensures that the high-pressure airflow can be blown smoothly during the blowing process, thus ensuring the efficiency of the blowing cleaning process.

[0041] Correspondingly, all the external corners of the housing 11 are rounded chamfered structures, and the corners of the hook 12 and supporting base are also arranged with rounded chamfered structures. In this way, the sharp structures at the corners of the housing 11 and its supporting components can be effectively avoided from causing damage to operators and silicon carbide wafers, thereby further improving the operational safety of the silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device.

[0042] Specifically, a particle adsorption membrane (not shown in the figure) is laid at the bottom of the purge chamber 111. When the high-pressure airflow from the air gun is used to purge and clean the silicon carbide wafer located in the purge chamber 111, the dust and impurity particles blown away from the surface of the silicon carbide wafer by the high-pressure airflow are reliably adsorbed by the particle adsorption membrane at the bottom of the purge chamber 111 as the high-pressure airflow passes through it. This further prevents these dust and impurity particles from flowing back through the silicon carbide wafer with the high-pressure airflow and causing secondary contamination to the surface of the silicon carbide wafer. As a result, the purge and cleaning process for silicon carbide wafers is more efficient and thorough.

[0043] Generally, the main membrane structure of this particulate adsorption membrane is made of nanocomposite materials, while its framework is made of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Modified polymer membranes and other auxiliary materials can be used to improve its adsorption performance.

[0044] Specifically, this nanocomposite material integrates nanoparticles or nanostructures into the membrane material, enhancing particle adsorption performance and further optimizing the adsorption effect of the particle adsorption membrane on dust and impurity particles. This, in turn, improves the cleaning effect of the silicon carbide wafer purging basket device during silicon carbide wafer purging. Metal-organic frameworks, with their high porosity and good chemical stability, can be used for gas adsorption and separation. Modified polymer membranes, through chemical modification, introduce specific adsorption sites, such as the amide oxime-based modified polymer membrane adsorption materials with inherent micropores already disclosed in the industry. This enhances the adsorption capacity of the particle adsorption membrane for specific molecules, improving the operating condition adaptability of the silicon carbide wafer purging basket device and its purging and cleaning performance on silicon carbide wafers.

[0045] More specifically, the bottom of the housing 11 has several exhaust holes 114 connecting the purge chamber 111 to the external environment. The particle adsorption membrane is positioned to cover the top opening of the exhaust holes 114. The portion of the bottom wall of the housing 11 between two adjacent exhaust holes 114 forms a support beam 115 that can support the particle adsorption membrane. After the silicon carbide wafer surface is purged, the high-pressure airflow carrying dust and impurity particles can be discharged from the bottom of the housing 11 through the exhaust holes 114 into the purge chamber 111. During this process, the dust and impurity particles carried in the high-pressure airflow flowing through the exhaust holes 114 can be efficiently adsorbed by the particle adsorption membrane positioned to cover the exhaust holes 114, so as to prevent these dust and impurity particles from being discharged into the external environment through the exhaust holes 114, thereby preventing these dust and impurity particles from polluting the external environment.

[0046] Based on this, a positioning groove 116 is recessed on the top surface of the supporting beam 115, connecting the two adjacent exhaust holes 114. This positioning groove 116 can fully adapt to the particle adsorption membrane to provide a certain structural limit for the particle adsorption membrane, preventing the particle adsorption membrane from loosening, wrinkling, or misaligning when impacted by high-pressure airflow, thus ensuring that the particle adsorption membrane is always in a fully extended structural state, thereby ensuring that the adsorption performance of the particle adsorption membrane for dust and impurity particles is always in a relatively ideal state.

[0047] Furthermore, the exhaust holes 114 are arranged in an array along the extension direction of the bottom wall of the housing 11. Typically, the housing 11 and its internal purge chamber 111 are both rectangular, and correspondingly, the bottom wall of the housing 11 is also rectangular. Therefore, the exhaust holes 114 are generally arranged in an array along the length and width directions of the bottom wall of the housing 11. This further optimizes the airflow state discharged through each exhaust hole 114 and makes the adsorption and capture of particles by the breathable particle adsorption membrane covering each exhaust hole 114 more uniform and stable, resulting in better adsorption effect.

[0048] In fact, each supporting beam 115 is divided into a grid-like cross arrangement structure extending along the length or width of the bottom wall of the housing 11, so as to provide stable and reliable structural support for the cassette located in the purge chamber 111, and avoid problems such as shaking or overturning of the cassette located in the purge chamber 111 due to the fact that the length of each supporting beam 115 and each exhaust hole 114 extends in the same direction. This further ensures the efficiency of the purge treatment and the cleaning effect of the silicon carbide wafer in the purge chamber 111.

[0049] On the other hand, the dust discharge hole 113 is an oblong hole with its long axis extending vertically, and the portion of the side wall of the housing 11 located between two adjacent dust discharge holes 113 forms a side support column 117. Each side support column 117 can ensure the structural strength of the main body of the housing 11, avoiding the adverse effects on the structural strength of the main body of the housing 11 caused by the large number of dust discharge holes 113, making the overall structure of the silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device more robust and reliable.

[0050] In addition, the housing 11 and its matching hooks 12 and support base are preferably made of stainless steel to ensure the structural strength of the main body of the silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device and improve the working condition resistance of the housing 11 and other components, thereby making the overall components of the silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device more durable.

[0051] In summary, the silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device provided in this invention, during operation, involves placing a cassette containing silicon carbide wafers into the blowing chamber through the pick-and-place port and placing it stably. Then, the air gun is activated to blow the silicon carbide wafers located in the blowing chamber, so as to remove dust and impurity particles from the silicon carbide wafers. During the purging process, the high-pressure airflow from the air gun into the purging chamber flows over the surface of the silicon carbide wafer, carrying away the dust and impurities that were originally on the surface. The high-pressure airflow, carrying these particles, then flows smoothly out of the purging chamber through the dust exhaust holes, preventing the formation of dead zones within the chamber. This effectively avoids dust and impurities removed from the silicon carbide wafer surface remaining in the purging chamber or being re-sent to the wafer surface by the high-pressure airflow, thus preventing secondary contamination of the silicon carbide wafers. This results in a more thorough purging of the silicon carbide wafers in the cartridges, making the process convenient and efficient, and significantly optimizing the wafer cleaning effect. After the purging process is complete, the cartridge containing the cleaned silicon carbide wafers is removed through the loading / unloading port, and the cartridge containing the next batch of silicon carbide wafers to be cleaned is placed into the purging chamber for the next round of cleaning. The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device can provide stable structural support and appropriate structural protection for the cassette containing silicon carbide wafers during the silicon carbide wafer blowing and cleaning process. It avoids wear or damage to the silicon carbide wafers caused by operators holding the silicon carbide wafers during the blowing and cleaning process, effectively ensuring the processing quality of silicon carbide wafers, avoiding material waste, and reducing the process cost of silicon carbide wafer-related products accordingly.

[0052] The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device provided by the present invention has been described in detail above. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The descriptions of the above embodiments are only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several improvements and modifications to the present invention without departing from the principles of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device, characterized in that, The device includes a housing with an internal purge chamber capable of accommodating a cartridge containing a silicon carbide wafer. The top of the housing has an access port for the cartridge containing the silicon carbide wafer to pass through, and the access port is connected to the top of the purge chamber. The side wall of the housing has several dust discharge holes that connect the purge chamber to the external environment, and the dust discharge holes are arranged sequentially along the circumference of the housing.

2. The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom of the purging chamber is lined with a particle adsorption membrane.

3. The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The bottom of the housing has several exhaust holes that connect the purge chamber to the external environment. The particle adsorption membrane is positioned to cover the top opening of the exhaust holes. The portion of the bottom wall of the housing between two adjacent exhaust holes forms a support beam that can support the particle adsorption membrane.

4. The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket apparatus as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The top surface of the supporting beam is recessed with a positioning groove that connects the two adjacent exhaust holes.

5. The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket apparatus as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The exhaust vents are arranged in an array along the extension direction of the bottom wall of the housing.

6. The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The dust discharge hole is an oblong hole with its long axis extending vertically, and the portion of the side wall of the housing located between two adjacent dust discharge holes forms a side support column.

7. The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The outer side wall of the housing is provided with a protruding hook.

8. The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket apparatus as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The hook protrudes from the top of the housing and is located on one side of the pick-and-place port.

9. The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, All the apex corners of the outer shell are curved chamfered structures.

10. The silicon carbide wafer blowing basket apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, A support base is provided protruding on the bottom outer wall of the housing.

Images