Wafer storage device and semiconductor process equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the utility model provides a wafer storage device and semiconductor process equipment, and the wafer storage device comprises a storage rack and an air injection device. An upper baffle and a lower baffle are arranged on the upper side and the lower side of the storage frame correspondingly. An open side face and a blocking side face are arranged on the circumferential side of the storage frame. The air spraying device is arranged on the upper baffle and used for spraying air from the upper baffle to the lower baffle so that an air curtain can be formed on the open side face. According to the wafer storage device, the air curtain can be used for preventing pollutants volatilized by the wafer from drifting away, so that the pollutants volatilized by the wafer can be prevented from drifting away to a cavity of semiconductor process equipment to pollute the cavity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor process technology, and in particular to a wafer storage device and semiconductor process equipment. Background Art

[0002] In the process of implementing semiconductor technology, the wafers in the semiconductor process equipment sometimes need to be carried in a wafer storage device. Sometimes the wafers carry some "contaminants". It should be noted that the "contaminants" described here are not the stains we conventionally understand. "Contaminants" can be understood as substances that interfere with the implementation of the current semiconductor process. For example, the wafer may carry process gases contaminated during the previous process. If the wafers carried in the wafer storage device are not protected, the contaminants volatilized from the surface of the wafer may drift into the chamber of the semiconductor process equipment, causing contamination to the chamber. Utility Model Content

[0003] The embodiments of the present application provide a wafer storage device and a semiconductor process equipment to solve the problem of how to improve the problem of "pollutants" volatilized from the surface of the wafer in the wafer storage device and possibly overflowing and contaminating the chamber of the semiconductor process equipment.

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wafer storage device.

[0005] The wafer storage device provided in the embodiment of the present application includes: a storage rack and an air jet device; an upper baffle and a lower baffle are respectively provided on the upper and lower sides of the storage rack, and an open side and a closed side are provided on the circumferential side of the storage rack; the air jet device is provided on the upper baffle, and the air jet device is used to spray air from the upper baffle toward the lower baffle to form an air curtain on the open side.

[0006] Optionally, the wafer storage device also includes a sealing plate and a cover body; the sealing plate is vertically arranged on the sealing side, and the sealing plate is provided with a plurality of through holes distributed from top to bottom, and the cover body is arranged on the side of the sealing plate away from the storage rack, and the cover body and the sealing plate form an exhaust cavity, and each of the through holes is connected to the exhaust cavity.

[0007] Optionally, the perforations are distributed on the sealing plate in a rectangular array.

[0008] Optionally, the jet device extends along the edge of the upper baffle, and the jet device is provided with a plurality of air outlet holes facing the lower baffle at intervals along its own extension direction.

[0009] Optionally, the orthographic projection of the open side on the upper baffle is a first projection, the orthographic projection of the blocking side on the upper baffle is a second projection, and the length of the first projection along the peripheral direction of the upper baffle is greater than or equal to the length of the second projection along the peripheral direction of the upper baffle.

[0010] Optionally, the wafer storage device further includes a wafer detection device, and the wafer detection device is used to detect whether there are wafers on the storage rack.

[0011] Optionally, the wafer detection device includes a laser transmitter and a laser receiver, one of the laser transmitter and the laser receiver is arranged on the upper baffle plate, and the other is arranged on the lower baffle plate, and the laser transmitter and the laser receiver are arranged opposite to each other.

[0012] Optionally, the gas injection device is used to be connected to a gas source via an electrically controlled switching valve.

[0013] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a semiconductor process equipment.

[0014] The semiconductor process equipment provided by the embodiment of the present application includes: a chamber and any one of the wafer storage devices provided by the embodiment of the present application, wherein the wafer storage device is arranged in the chamber.

[0015] Optionally, a blowing device is provided above the chamber, and the blowing device is used to blow air into the chamber to generate an airflow flowing from top to bottom in the chamber, and the pressure of the airflow ejected by the jet device is greater than the pressure of the airflow generated by the blowing device.

[0016] At least one of the above technical solutions adopted in the embodiments of the present application can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0017] In an embodiment of the present application, the wafer can be placed on the storage rack through the open side of the storage rack. After the wafer is placed on the storage rack, a gas jet device can be used to spray gas toward the open side to form an air curtain on the open side, so as to use the air curtain to "isolate" the inner area and the outer area of ​​the wafer storage device, so as to prevent "contaminants" in the wafer storage device from drifting through the open side into the chamber of the semiconductor process equipment accommodating the wafer storage device, thereby polluting the chamber. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the related technologies, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the related technical descriptions are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a wafer storage device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 2 An exploded schematic diagram of a wafer storage device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 3 A front view of a wafer storage device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a semiconductor process equipment provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a semiconductor process equipment provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] Description of reference numerals:

[0025] 10-semiconductor process equipment; 100-wafer storage device; 110-storage rack; 111-upper baffle; 112-lower baffle; 113-open side; 114-sealed side; 120-jet device; 130-sealed baffle; 131-perforation; 140-cover; 141-vent; 150-wafer detection device; 151-laser transmitter; 152-laser receiver; 200-wafer; 300-gas source; 310-electrically controlled switch valve; 400-chamber; 500-blowing device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solution of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in combination with the specific embodiments of the present application and the corresponding drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0027] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0028] In addition, although the terms used in this application are selected from well-known and commonly used terms, some terms mentioned in the specification of this application may be selected by the applicant at his or her discretion, and their detailed meanings are explained in the relevant parts of the description of this article.

[0029] Furthermore, it is required that the present application be understood not only by the actual terms used but also by the meanings connoted by each term.

[0030] The technical solutions provided by various embodiments of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0031] The present application embodiment provides a wafer storage device. Figures 1 to 3 The wafer storage device 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes: a storage rack 110 and an air injection device 120. The storage rack 110 is used to stack wafers 200. Those skilled in the art can flexibly set the shape and structure of the storage rack 110 according to actual needs. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific structure of the storage rack 110, and it is only necessary to enable the storage rack 110 to carry the wafer 200.

[0032] An upper baffle 111 and a lower baffle 112 are respectively provided on the upper and lower sides of the storage rack 110. An open side 113 and a closed side 114 are provided on the circumferential side of the storage rack 110. The open side 113 is used for allowing the wafer 200 to enter and exit the wafer storage device 100. The gas injection device 120 is provided on the upper baffle 111, and the gas injection device 120 is used to spray gas from the upper baffle 111 toward the lower baffle 112 to form an air curtain on the open side 113.

[0033] In this way, in the embodiment of the present application, the wafer 200 can be placed on the storage rack 110 through the open side 113 of the storage rack 110. After the wafer 200 is placed on the storage rack 110, the gas injection device 120 can be used to spray gas toward the open side 113 to form an air curtain at the open side 113, so as to use the air curtain to "isolate" the inner area and the outer area of ​​the wafer storage device 100, so as to prevent the "contaminants" in the wafer storage device 100 from drifting through the open side 113 into the chamber of the semiconductor process equipment accommodating the wafer storage device 100, thereby polluting the chamber.

[0034] In some embodiments, the wafer storage device 100 further includes a sealing plate 130 and a cover 140. The sealing plate 130 is vertically arranged on the sealing side 114. The sealing plate 130 is provided with a plurality of through holes 131 distributed from top to bottom. The cover 140 is arranged on a side of the sealing plate 130 away from the storage rack 110, and the cover 140 and the sealing plate 130 enclose an air extraction cavity. Each through hole 131 is connected to the air extraction cavity.

[0035] Combination Figure 3In this way, the vacuum source such as a vacuum generator can be used to evacuate the vacuum chamber, so that, under the suction effect at the perforations 131 of the baffle plate 130, the airflow on the side of the air curtain close to the wafer 200 will flow toward the perforations 131, so that the pollutants volatilized from the wafer 200 can be sucked into the vacuum chamber by the airflow, and then, the effect of preventing the pollutants from drifting out through the open side 113 can be further improved. Therefore, the chamber accommodating the wafer storage device 100 can be better prevented from being contaminated. Exemplarily, the bottom of the cover body 140 is provided with a vent 141, and the vent 141 is used to connect to a vacuum source such as a vacuum generator. Thus, the gas in the vacuum chamber can be evacuated by the vacuum source.

[0036] In some embodiments, the through holes 131 are distributed in a rectangular array on the sealing plate 130. In this way, the flow field in the wafer storage device 100 can be made more stable to prevent contaminants from being dispersed through the open side 113. Of course, in other embodiments, the through holes 131 can also be distributed more evenly on the sealing plate 130 in other arrangements, and the arrangement of the through holes 131 will not be listed here one by one.

[0037] refer to Figure 1 In some embodiments, the jet device 120 extends along the edge of the upper baffle 111, and the jet device 120 is provided with a plurality of air outlets facing the lower baffle 112 at intervals along its own extension direction. In other words, the air outlets are arranged at intervals along the edge of the upper baffle 111. It should be noted that, generally speaking, the air outlets need to be arranged at positions of the upper baffle 111 corresponding to the open side 113; in order to enhance the separation effect of the air curtain, air outlets may also be arranged in the area of ​​the open side 113 adjacent to the blocking side 114. It should also be noted that those skilled in the art can also flexibly set the number and setting positions of the air outlets according to the needs and the injection angle of the air flow ejected from the air outlets, and the embodiments of the present application will not further explain them.

[0038] In some embodiments, the orthographic projection of the open side 113 on the upper baffle 111 is a first projection, and the orthographic projection of the blocking side 114 on the upper baffle 111 is a second projection, and the length of the first projection along the peripheral direction of the upper baffle 111 is greater than or equal to the length of the second projection along the peripheral direction of the upper baffle 111. Exemplarily, the orthographic projection of the open side 113 on the upper baffle 111 is a first fold line, and the orthographic projection of the blocking side 114 on the upper baffle 111 is a second fold line, wherein the perimeter of the first fold line may be greater than or equal to the perimeter of the second fold line. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can flexibly set the shape of the upper baffle 111 according to needs. For example, the shape of the upper baffle 111 may be a triangle, a quadrilateral, a pentagon, a circle, etc., which are not listed here one by one.

[0039] It should also be noted that the area of ​​the blocking side 114 can be made smaller by making the length of the first projection along the peripheral direction of the upper baffle 111 greater than or equal to the length of the second projection along the peripheral direction of the upper baffle 111. Sometimes, the pollutants volatilized from the surface of the wafer 200 may be corrosive, so the area of ​​the corroded part of the wafer storage device 100 can be reduced by reducing the area of ​​the blocking side 114 to reduce the damage of the corrosive pollutants to the wafer storage device 100. Of course, in other embodiments, if the wafer storage device 100 is made of a material with strong corrosion resistance, or if the corrosion resistance of the wafer storage device 100 is not required to be high, no special requirements are made on the lengths of the first projection and the second projection.

[0040] In some embodiments, the wafer storage device 100 further includes a wafer detection device 150, which is used to detect whether the storage rack 110 carries a wafer 200. In this way, the wafer detection device 150 can be used to detect whether the storage rack 110 carries a wafer 200. When the storage rack 110 does not carry a wafer 200, the gas injection device 120 can stop injecting gas, thereby reducing the gas consumed by the gas injection device 120.

[0041] In some embodiments, the wafer detection device 150 includes a laser transmitter 151 and a laser receiver 152, one of which is disposed on the upper baffle 111 and the other is disposed on the lower baffle 112, and the laser transmitter 151 is disposed opposite to the laser receiver 152. It can be understood that, when the storage rack 110 carries the wafer 200, the laser emitted by the laser transmitter 151 to the laser receiver 152 will be blocked by the wafer 200, so that the laser receiver 152 will not receive the laser emitted by the laser transmitter 151. When the storage rack 110 does not carry the wafer 200, the laser emitted by the laser transmitter 151 to the laser receiver 152 will be received by the laser receiver 152. In this way, whether the storage rack 110 carries the wafer 200 can be determined by whether the laser receiver 152 detects the laser emitted by the laser transmitter 151. Of course, technicians in this field can also combine other sensors in the prior art for detecting whether an object is located at a specified position to detect whether the wafer 200 is carried on the storage rack 110. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the sensor for detecting whether the wafer 200 is carried on the storage rack 110.

[0042] In some embodiments, the gas injection device 120 is used to connect to the gas source 300 via the electric control switch valve 310. Exemplarily, the electric control switch valve 310 is a solenoid valve. Exemplarily, the electric control switch valve 310 is electrically connected to the wafer detection device 150. When the wafer detection device 150 detects that the storage rack 110 does not carry the wafer 200, the wafer detection device 150 sends a first control signal, so that the electric control switch valve 310 switches to the cut-off state, thereby stopping the gas supply to the gas injection device 120. When the wafer detection device 150 detects that the storage rack 110 carries the wafer 200, the wafer detection device 150 sends a second control signal, so that the electric control switch valve 310 switches to the conduction state, thereby enabling the gas source 300 to supply gas to the gas injection device 120. In some embodiments, the connection pipeline between the gas source 300 and the gas injection device 120 may also be provided with devices such as a flow meter and a pressure sensor.

[0043] It should be noted that the switch control signal issued based on the detection result of the sensor can be implemented in combination with the common knowledge in the field of electric control. Therefore, the working principle of the wafer detection device 150 adjusting the electric control switch valve 310 is not introduced in detail in the embodiment of the present application. Of course, in some embodiments, when the wafer detection device 150 detects that the storage rack 110 does not carry the wafer 200, the indicator light can be made to issue an indication message. Thus, after the on-site operator observes the indication message issued by the indicator light, the electric control switch valve 310 is manually closed. In addition, those skilled in the art can also directly purchase the technical solution for adjusting the working state of the electric control switch valve 310 based on the wafer detection device 150 from the corresponding technical service provider.

[0044] The embodiment of the present application provides a semiconductor process equipment. The semiconductor process equipment 10 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes: a chamber 400 and any one of the wafer storage devices 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application. The wafer storage device 100 is disposed in the chamber 400 .

[0045] In some embodiments, a blowing device 500 is provided above the chamber 400, and the blowing device 500 is used to blow air into the chamber 400 to generate an airflow flowing from top to bottom in the chamber 400. For example, the airflow generated by the blowing device 500 can be used to discharge pollutants in the chamber 400. In some embodiments, the pressure of the airflow ejected by the jet device 120 is greater than the pressure of the airflow generated by the blowing device 500. In this way, the airflow generated by the blowing device 500 can be prevented from interfering with the air curtain generated by the jet device 120 by increasing the pressure of the airflow ejected by the jet device 120. Moreover, it can be avoided to block the residual gas or particles raised in the wafer storage device 100 from escaping to the outside of the wafer storage device 100; in addition, the airflow ejected by the jet device 120 can drive or accelerate the residual gas and particles to flow downward under the action of the blowing device 500, dilute the residual gas, and avoid corrosion.

[0046] For example, the airflow ejected by the air jet device 120 may be nitrogen or clean dry air (CDA). The air blowing device 500 may blow clean dry air into the chamber 400 .

[0047] It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the semiconductor process equipment 10 may be a device for wafer transfer. It should also be noted that those skilled in the art generally refer to "equipment for wafer transfer" as an "atmospheric transfer module". For example, the atmospheric transfer module is an equipment front end module (EFEM). The atmospheric transfer module is usually provided with a wafer storage device 100, which is usually used for regular storage of wafers that have been processed by semiconductor processes, so as to cool and volatilize process residues on the surface of the wafers. This avoids directly transferring the wafers that have been processed by the semiconductor process back to the wafer transfer box, thereby contaminating and corroding the wafer transfer box and other wafers that have not been processed by the semiconductor process.

[0048] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device.

[0049] Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the embodiments of the present application, and the scope of the embodiments of the present application is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A wafer storage device (100), characterized in that: include: A storage rack (110) and an air jet device (120); An upper baffle (111) and a lower baffle (112) are respectively provided on the upper and lower sides of the storage rack (110), and an open side surface (113) and a closed side surface (114) are provided on the circumferential side of the storage rack (110); The jet device (120) is disposed on the upper baffle (111), and is used to jet air from the upper baffle (111) toward the lower baffle (112) to form an air curtain on the open side (113).

2. The wafer storage device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wafer storage device (100) further comprises a sealing plate (130) and a cover body (140); The sealing plate (130) is vertically arranged on the sealing side surface (114), and a plurality of through holes (131) distributed from top to bottom are provided on the sealing plate (130). The cover body (140) is arranged on a side of the sealing plate (130) away from the storage rack (110), and the cover body (140) and the sealing plate (130) form an exhaust cavity, and each of the through holes (131) is connected to the exhaust cavity.

3. The wafer storage device (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that: The through holes (131) are distributed on the sealing plate (130) in a rectangular array.

4. The wafer storage device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air injection device (120) extends along the edge of the upper baffle plate (111), and the air injection device (120) is provided with a plurality of air outlet holes spaced apart along its own extension direction and facing the lower baffle plate (112).

5. The wafer storage device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The orthographic projection of the open side (113) on the upper baffle (111) is a first projection, and the orthographic projection of the blocking side (114) on the upper baffle (111) is a second projection, and the length of the first projection along the peripheral direction of the upper baffle (111) is greater than or equal to the length of the second projection along the peripheral direction of the upper baffle (111).

6. The wafer storage device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wafer storage device (100) further comprises a wafer detection device (150), wherein the wafer detection device (150) is used to detect whether a wafer is carried on the storage rack (110).

7. The wafer storage device (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that: The wafer detection device (150) comprises a laser transmitter (151) and a laser receiver (152), one of the laser transmitter (151) and the laser receiver (152) is arranged on the upper baffle plate (111), and the other is arranged on the lower baffle plate (112), and the laser transmitter (151) and the laser receiver (152) are arranged opposite to each other.

8. The wafer storage device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The gas injection device (120) is used to be connected to the gas source (300) via an electrically controlled switch valve (310).

9. A semiconductor process equipment, characterized in that: It comprises a chamber (400) and the wafer storage device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the wafer storage device (100) is arranged in the chamber (400).

10. The semiconductor process equipment according to claim 9, characterized in that: An air blowing device (500) is arranged above the chamber (400), and the air blowing device (500) is used to blow air into the chamber (400) to generate an airflow flowing from top to bottom in the chamber (400), and the pressure of the airflow ejected by the air jet device (120) is greater than the pressure of the airflow generated by the air blowing device (500).

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