Front opening type conveying box for bearing ring piece

Abstract

The utility model provides a front opening type conveying box for bearing a ring piece, which comprises a shell, a front opening and a containing cavity, the first supporting frames are used for bearing a plurality of ring pieces, are arranged in the containing cavity and are symmetrically arranged on the side walls of the two sides of the front opening; the inner side face of the first supporting frame protrudes inwards in the radial direction to form a plurality of first supporting tables, and the first supporting tables are arranged at intervals in the height direction. Wherein the first supporting table is provided with a first step on the radial inner side, the first step is formed by sinking downwards from the upper surface of the first supporting table and provided with a first horizontal step face and a first side wall, the first horizontal step face is used for bearing the ring piece, and the first side wall is matched with the outer diameter face of the ring piece in the circumferential direction. The ring piece conveying box is used for solving the problem that ring pieces deviate in the conveying box.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductor equipment, and particularly relates to a front-opening transfer box for carrying ring parts. Background Art

[0002] Process equipment such as semiconductor etching includes a varying number of reaction chambers. The process environment inside the chambers is harsh and can cause damage to the hardware continuously exposed to this environment. These damaged hardware components need to be replaced regularly and quickly to ensure the stability of the process and the wafer products.

[0003] For example, in the reaction chamber of an ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) etching equipment, there is a circular part (hereinafter referred to as a ring part), such as an edge ring, surrounding the outside of the base. Due to being continuously impacted by plasma, it is damaged and needs to be replaced regularly. Replacing this ring part requires opening the chamber. The environment inside the reaction chamber changes from vacuum to atmosphere. After manually replacing the ring part, the reaction chamber is pumped back to vacuum. This process is time-consuming and laborious. Moreover, the ring part is damaged quickly and the maintenance period is short, making the time and economic costs of opening the chamber for replacement too high. Therefore, the prior art uses a front-opening transfer box to transfer multiple ring parts into the reaction chamber to avoid frequent opening of the chamber for replacement.

[0004] However, the existing front-opening transfer box can transfer wafers with a maximum diameter of 300 mm at most, cannot transfer ring parts with a diameter of 326 mm, and does not have a ring part alignment function. The ring parts may have offsets in the front, back, left, and right directions relative to the transfer box, resulting in poor centering with the base when the ring parts are subsequently introduced into the reaction chamber and reducing the process quality. Summary of the Utility Model

[0005] The purpose of the utility model is to provide a front-opening transfer box for carrying ring parts to solve the problem of offset of the ring parts in the transfer box.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the utility model is realized through the following technical solutions:

[0007] A front-opening transfer box for carrying ring parts, comprising:

[0008] A housing having a front opening and a receiving cavity;

[0009] A first support frame for carrying a plurality of ring parts, which is arranged in the receiving cavity and symmetrically disposed on the side walls on both sides of the front opening;

[0010] The inner side surface of the first support frame radially protrudes inward to form a plurality of first support platforms, and the plurality of first support platforms are spaced along the height direction;

[0011] Wherein, the first support platform has a first step on the radially inner side, the first step is formed by recessing downward from the upper surface of the first support platform and has a first horizontal step surface and a first side wall, the first horizontal step surface is used for carrying the ring, and the first side wall is adapted to the outer diameter surface of the ring in the circumferential direction.

[0012] Optionally, the first side wall extends in an arc shape in the circumferential direction, the arc diameter corresponding to the first side wall is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the ring, and a first chamfer is provided between the first side wall and the upper surface of the first support platform.

[0013] Optionally, the first support platforms on the first support frame are coaxially arranged.

[0014] Optionally, the first horizontal step surface extends in an arc shape in the circumferential direction, and its inner diameter is larger than the inner diameter of the ring.

[0015] Optionally, the radian range of the first horizontal step surface in the circumferential direction is 10° to 90°.

[0016] Optionally, a second support platform is further provided on the first support frame for supporting a disc member, the diameter of the disc member is larger than the inner diameter of the ring and smaller than the inner diameter of the first horizontal step surface;

[0017] When the disc member is located on the second support platform, it is coaxial with the first horizontal step surface.

[0018] Optionally, the second support platform has a second step in the radially inward direction, the second step is formed by recessing downward from the upper surface of the second support platform and has a second horizontal step surface and a second side wall, the second horizontal step surface is used for carrying the disc member, the second side wall extends in an arc shape in the circumferential direction, the arc diameter corresponding to the second side wall is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the disc member, and a second chamfer is provided between the second side wall and the upper surface of the second support platform.

[0019] Optionally, the first support frame includes a first area and a second area, the first area is used for carrying unused rings, and the second area is used for carrying replaced rings.

[0020] Optionally, the front-opening transfer box for carrying rings further includes: a second support frame, which is in the accommodation cavity and is arranged on the rear side wall opposite to the front opening, and is used to cooperate with the first support frame to support the plurality of rings.

[0021] Optionally, the housing is of a split structure.

[0022] Optionally, the first support frame is a rigid structural member.

[0023] Optionally, a flexible wear-resistant layer is coated on the first support frame.

[0024] Optionally, the front-opening transfer box for carrying the ring member further includes: a connecting portion provided on the top wall of the housing for connecting with a transfer mechanism.

[0025] Optionally, a flexible wear-resistant layer is coated on the second support frame.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the present utility model has the following technical effects:

[0027] For the front-opening transfer box for carrying the ring member provided by the present utility model, the first side wall of the first step of the first support platform can circumferentially limit the ring member, so that the ring member has no front-back, left-right offset, remains coaxial with the first side wall, improves the centering with the base in the reaction chamber when replacing the ring member subsequently, and thus improves the process quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the present utility model, the drawings required to be used in the description will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are an embodiment of the present utility model. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts:

[0029] Figure 1 The front view of a front-opening transfer box for carrying a ring member provided by an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0030] Figure 2 The axonometric view of a front-opening transfer box for carrying a ring member provided by an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0031] Figure 3 The structural diagram of the first support frame provided by an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0032] Figure 4 For Figure 3 The enlarged view at A in

[0033] REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0034] Ring member 10

[0035] Disk member 20

[0036] Housing 100

[0037] Front opening 110

[0038] Receiving cavity 120

[0039] First support frame 200

[0040] The first support platform 210

[0041] The first step 211

[0042] The first horizontal step surface 212

[0043] The first side wall 213

[0044] The first chamfer 214

[0045] The first area a

[0046] The second area b

[0047] The second support platform 220

[0048] The second support frame 300

[0049] The handle 130

[0050] The connecting part 400 Specific embodiments

[0051] The following further details the solution proposed by the present utility model in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. According to the following description, the advantages and features of the present utility model will be clearer. It should be noted that the accompanying drawings are in a very simplified form and all use non-precise scales, only for the purpose of facilitating and clearly assisting in explaining the embodiments of the present utility model. In order to make the purpose, features and advantages of the present utility model more obvious and understandable, please refer to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the structures, scales, sizes, etc. shown in the drawings of this specification are only used to cooperate with the content disclosed in the specification for those skilled in this technology to understand and read, and are not used to limit the limiting conditions for the implementation of the present utility model. Therefore, they do not have technical essence. Any modification of the structure, change of the proportional relationship or adjustment of the size, without affecting the effects that the present utility model can produce and the purposes that can be achieved, should still fall within the scope covered by the technical content disclosed by the present utility model.

[0052] This embodiment provides a front-opening transfer box for carrying ring parts. The front-opening transfer box accommodates a plurality of the ring parts and is placed in the wafer loading system (Load Port) of an EFEM (Equipment Front End Module). The ring parts are transferred into the reaction chamber by a manipulator to achieve the replacement of the ring parts without opening the chamber.

[0053] As Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the front-opening transfer cassette includes: a housing 100 having a front opening 110 and a receiving cavity 120; a first support frame 200 for carrying a plurality of ring members 10, which is disposed in the receiving cavity 120 and symmetrically arranged on the side walls on both sides of the front opening 110; an inner side surface of the first support frame 200 radially protrudes inward to form a plurality of first support platforms 210, and the plurality of first support platforms 210 are spaced apart in the height direction. Combining Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the first support platform 210 has a first step 211 on the radially inner side, and the first step 211 is recessed downward from the upper surface of the first support platform 210 and has a first horizontal step surface 212 and a first side wall 213. The first horizontal step surface 212 is used to carry the ring member 10, and the first side wall 213 is adapted to the outer diameter surface of the ring member 10 in the circumferential direction.

[0054] Thus, when the manipulator places the ring member 10 in the first step 211 of the first support platform 210, the first side wall 213 circumferentially limits the ring member 10, so that the ring member 10 is coaxial with the first side wall 213, improving the centering of the ring member 10 and the base in the reaction chamber during subsequent replacement of the ring member 10, thereby improving the process quality.

[0055] In this embodiment, the first side wall 213 extends in an arc shape in the circumferential direction, and the arc diameter corresponding to the first side wall 213 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the ring member 10 to ensure that the ring member 10 can be smoothly taken and placed in the first step 211. A first chamfer 214 is provided between the first side wall 213 and the upper surface of the first support platform 210. When the manipulator places the ring member 10 on the first step 211 of the first support platform 210, the ring member 10 may be offset forward / backward / left / right relative to the transfer cassette. Then, under the action of gravity, the ring member 10 will slide down along the inclined surface of the first chamfer 214 into the first step 211, so that the ring member 10 is automatically centered with the first support platform 210. Optionally, the first chamfer 214 is 60° to balance the frictional force and the limiting accuracy.

[0056] In this embodiment, all the first support platforms 210 on the first support frame 200 are coaxially arranged. It can be understood that after the front-opening transfer cassette is transferred to the EFEM, the EFEM will perform a scanning (mapping) operation, scanning the front-opening transfer cassette up and down to obtain the position information of the ring member 10 carried in the front-opening transfer cassette. Setting all the first support platforms 210 on the first support frame 200 to be coaxial avoids the situation where the ring diameter is too large to be compensated for centering by the calibrator in the EFEM, thus facilitating the normal operation of the scanning function of the EFEM.

[0057] In this embodiment, the first horizontal step surface 212 extends in an arc shape in the circumferential direction, providing sufficient support area for the ring member 10 to ensure the stability of the ring member 10. Optionally, the radian range of the first horizontal step surface 212 in the circumferential direction is from 10° to 90°. The inner diameter of the first horizontal step surface 212 is greater than the inner diameter of the ring member 10 to facilitate the picking and placing of the ring member 10.

[0058] In this embodiment, the first support frame 200 includes a first area a and a second area b. A plurality of first support platforms 210 in the first area a are used to carry unused ring members 10, and a plurality of first support platforms 210 in the second area b are used to carry the replaced ring members 10. As Figure 2 shown, the 6 first support platforms 210 located in the upper part of the first support frame 200 serve as the first area a, and the 6 first support platforms 210 located in the lower part serve as the second area b. Figure 2 In the figure, 6 ring members 10 are placed in the first area a, and no ring member is placed in the second area b. Thus, by placing the ring members 10 before and after replacement on the first support platforms 210 in different areas of the first support frame 200, only one transfer box is needed to meet the requirement of picking and placing the ring members 10, and it is beneficial to distinguish between the used ring members 10 and the unused ring members 10. In other embodiments, the odd-numbered first support platforms 210 from top to bottom in the first support frame 200 can also be used as the first area a, and the even-numbered first support platforms 210 can be used as the second area b.

[0059] In this embodiment, a second support platform 220 is further provided on the first support frame 200 for supporting a disc member 20. The diameter of the disc member 20 is greater than the inner diameter of the ring member 10 and less than the inner diameter of the first horizontal step surface 212. When the disc member 20 is located on the second support platform 220, it is coaxial with the first horizontal step surface 212. The function of the disc member 20 is to assist the manipulator in picking and placing the ring member 10 and assist the ring member 10 in performing deviation correction detection, specifically as follows: The manipulator first takes out the disc member 20 from the second support platform 220, then moves to the first support platform 210, and uses the disc member 20 to lift the ring member 10 to take out the ring member 10. At this time, the disc member 20 and the ring member 10 are concentric. During the process of sending the ring member 10 to the reaction chamber, the AWC (Active Wafer Centering) sensor in the transfer chamber (Transfer Module, TM) will perform deviation correction detection on the ring member 10. Since the AWC sensor can only correct the deviation of a whole-round part, and the disc member 20 just fills the central vacancy of the ring member 10 (the diameter of the disc member 20 is less than the outer diameter of the ring member 10 and greater than the inner diameter of the ring member 10), the ring member 10 can be corrected by the AWC sensor. Thus, when the ring member 10 is transferred to the reaction chamber, its position accuracy is high and its centering with the base is good.

[0060] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, the second support platform 220 is located at the lowermost position of the first support frame 200. In other embodiments, the second support platform 220 may also be located at the uppermost position of the first support frame 200, or between two adjacent first support platforms 210.

[0061] In this embodiment, similar to the first step 211 provided on the first support platform 210, the second support platform 220 has a second step in the radially inward direction. The second step is recessed downward from the upper surface of the second support platform 220 and has a second horizontal step surface and a second side wall. The second horizontal step surface is used to carry the disc member 20. The second side wall extends in an arc shape in the circumferential direction. The arc diameter corresponding to the second side wall is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the disc member 20. A second chamfer is provided between the second side wall and the upper surface of the second support platform 220. Similarly, the second chamfer is used to automatically center the disc member 20 with the second support platform 220.

[0062] The first support frame 200 is a rigid structural member, so it has sufficient mechanical strength to carry a plurality of ring members 10. In addition, to prevent the ring members 10 from contacting and wearing the first support frame 200, a flexible wear-resistant layer is coated on the first support frame 220.

[0063] In this embodiment, the front-opening transfer box further includes: a second support frame 300, which is in the accommodation cavity 120 and is disposed on the rear side wall opposite to the front opening 110, and is used to cooperate with the first support frame 200 to support the plurality of ring members 10. The second support frame 300 can limit the ring members 10 in the direction towards the rear side wall to further improve the stability of the ring members 10. It can be understood that the structure of the second support frame 300 is similar to that of the first support frame 200, and will not be elaborated here. In addition, a flexible wear-resistant layer is also coated on the second support frame 300.

[0064] In this embodiment, the housing 100 has a split structure. For example, the housing 100 includes a left side wall, a right side wall, a rear side wall, a top wall, and a bottom wall. These walls are all plate-shaped and are detachably connected by screws and assembled into a whole to obtain the housing 100. Compared with obtaining an integral housing by using an integral molding technique (such as an injection molding process, which requires mold opening for the integral housing in advance and has a high mold opening cost), this embodiment does not require mold opening and only needs to be assembled with screws, so the installation is convenient. Therefore, the split housing in this embodiment has the advantage of low cost. Further, each wall of the housing 100 can be made of a transparent material to facilitate observing the state of the ring 10 in the transfer box. Handles 130 are also provided on the left and right side walls of the housing 100 to facilitate manual handling of the transfer box.

[0065] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, the front-opening transfer box further includes: a connecting portion 400 provided on the top wall of the housing 100 for connecting to a transfer mechanism. By providing the connecting portion 400, it is convenient for a transfer mechanism (such as an automatic overhead crane system) in the factory to carry the front-opening transfer box and send it to the EFEM. To meet the load requirements of the automatic overhead crane system, lightweight design can be carried out on the split housing 100, the first support frame 200, the second support frame 300, etc., including material selection and shape design, etc., to reduce the weight of the entire transfer box.

[0066] It should be noted that in this article, relational terms such as first and second are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the term "comprising", "including" or any other variant thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not expressly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "including a..." does not exclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element.

[0067] Although the content of the present utility model has been introduced in detail through the above preferred embodiments, it should be recognized that the above description should not be considered as a limitation of the present utility model. After those skilled in the art have read the above content, various modifications and substitutions to the present utility model will be obvious. Therefore, the protection scope of the present utility model should be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A front-opening conveyor box for carrying rings, characterized in that: include: A housing having a front opening and a receiving cavity; A first support frame for carrying a plurality of rings, which is in the accommodating cavity and symmetrically arranged on the side walls on both sides of the front opening; The inner side surface of the first support frame protrudes radially inward to form a plurality of first support platforms, and the plurality of first support platforms are arranged at intervals along the height direction; Among them, the first support platform has a first step on the radial inner side, the first step is formed by being recessed downward from the upper surface of the first support platform and has a first horizontal step surface and a first side wall, the first horizontal step surface is used to support the ring, and the first side wall is circumferentially adapted to the outer diameter surface of the ring.

2. The front-opening conveyor box for carrying rings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first side wall extends in an arc shape in the circumferential direction, the arc diameter corresponding to the first side wall is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the ring, and a first chamfer is arranged between the first side wall and the upper surface of the first support platform.

3. The front-opening conveyor box for carrying rings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first support platforms on the first support frame are coaxially arranged.

4. The front-opening conveyor box for carrying rings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first horizontal step surface extends in an arc shape in the circumferential direction, and the inner diameter of the first horizontal step surface is larger than the inner diameter of the ring.

5. The front-opening conveyor box for carrying rings according to claim 4, characterized in that: The arc angle of the first horizontal step surface in the circumferential direction ranges from 10° to 90°.

6. The front-opening transport box for carrying rings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first support frame is also provided with a second support platform for supporting a disc member, wherein the diameter of the disc member is larger than the inner diameter of the ring member and smaller than the inner diameter of the first horizontal step surface; When the circular disk is located on the second supporting platform, it is coaxial with the first horizontal step surface.

7. The front-opening transport box for carrying rings according to claim 6, characterized in that: The second support platform has a second step in the radial inward direction, the second step is formed by being recessed downward from the upper surface of the second support platform and has a second horizontal step surface and a second side wall, the second horizontal step surface is used to support the disc member, the second side wall extends in an arc shape in the circumferential direction, the arc diameter corresponding to the second side wall is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the disc member, and a second chamfer is set between the second side wall and the upper surface of the second support platform.

8. The front-opening conveyor box for carrying rings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first support frame includes a first area and a second area, the first area is used to carry unused rings, and the second area is used to carry replaced rings.

9. The front-opening conveyor box for carrying rings according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: A second support frame is inside the accommodating cavity and is arranged on a rear side wall opposite to the front opening, and is used for cooperating with the first support frame to support the plurality of rings.

10. The front-opening transport box for carrying rings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shell is a split structure.

11. The front-opening transport box for carrying rings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first support frame is a rigid structural member.

12. The front-opening transport box for carrying rings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first support frame is coated with a flexible wear-resistant layer.

13. The front-opening transport box for carrying rings according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: The connecting portion arranged on the top wall of the shell is used to connect with the transfer mechanism.

14. The front-opening transport box for carrying rings according to claim 9, characterized in that: The second support frame is coated with a flexible wear-resistant layer.

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