Photomask conveying box

Abstract

The utility model relates to a photomask conveying box, which is used for storing a photomask and comprises a base and an upper cover. Wherein the base is provided with a base plate, and the base plate can be in gas connection with an external filling clean gas. The upper cover selectively covers the base and forms a storage space for storing the photomask, and the storage space gas is connected to the outside to be filled with clean gas. The substrate and the upper cover are made of a conductive metal material.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of photomask protection technology, specifically a photomask transmission box structure. Background Technology

[0002] The line diameter of circuit patterns in semiconductor devices has evolved from the micrometer level to the nanometer level. These circuit patterns are transferred to the wafer surface using a lithography process. However, due to the miniaturization of semiconductor devices, defects or contamination in the photomask used for transferring the circuit patterns can cause distortion or deformation of the circuit patterns on the wafer surface during manufacturing. One known cause of photomask defects is surface contamination, such as the accumulation or chemical changes of harmful pollutants like particles, chemicals, or gaseous molecules in the environment, leading to particle adhesion or haze-like defects on the photomask surface. To maintain the quality of the photomask during manufacturing, it is typically stored or transported in a photomask transport container, such as a photomask crystal box, photomask receiving box, or a ReticleSMIF Pod (RSP) for Standard Mechanical Interfaces (SMIFs).

[0003] For photomask transport boxes, they need to have good electrostatic dissipation (ESD) properties to prevent damage to the photomask from external static electricity. They also need to reduce the release of harmful gas ions and have low humidity characteristics to mitigate the risk of smog pollution. Early photomask transport boxes were mainly made of polypropylene (PP) plastic. However, PP photomask transport boxes are prone to smog on the photomask surface due to the release of harmful gas ions, and even dust particles can adhere due to friction or impact, which no longer meets the requirements of current semiconductor device manufacturing. Although some companies offer photomask transport boxes made primarily of materials such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK) or liquid crystal polymer (LCP), hoping to utilize their heat resistance, high rigidity, excellent mechanical strength, low coefficient of thermal expansion, low moisture absorption, low dielectric constant, and low dielectric loss to meet the aforementioned requirements for photomask protection, PEEK is extremely expensive. Furthermore, it suffers from poor impact resistance and is prone to breakage, causing difficulties in subsequent cleaning. To this end, the industry has subsequently developed photomask delivery boxes made of materials such as polyetheretherketone containing carbon nanotubes (Taiwan Patent Application No. 101143337), cyclic olefin copolymer (COP) containing carbon nanotubes (Taiwan Patent Application No. 104120501), and cyclic block copolymer (CBC) containing graphene (Taiwan Patent Application No. 109101184), in order to improve various properties by adding carbon nanotubes or graphene.

[0004] However, both carbon nanotubes and graphene are high-priced materials, failing to effectively overcome the manufacturing cost problem. Furthermore, the main material of the photomask transport box is still plastic, which is susceptible to material shrinkage during manufacturing, increasing the difficulty of molding and resulting in poor processing precision. Moreover, during subsequent use and cleaning, it is easily contaminated or has its material properties altered by high temperatures, strong acids, and strong alkalis, even deforming or becoming brittle, thus shortening its reflow cleaning time and service life. Insufficient airtightness also affects the photomask transport box's ability to protect against low emissions and low humidity. Therefore, how to solve the aforementioned problems is what manufacturers and users expect, and it is also the problem that this utility model aims to explore and solve.

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings, the inventor believed that it was necessary to make corrections. Therefore, based on years of experience in related technologies and product design and manufacturing, and adhering to the concept of excellent design, the inventor studied and improved the above-mentioned defects. After continuous efforts in trial and error, the inventor finally successfully developed a photomask transmission box structure to overcome the troubles and inconveniences caused by the inability of existing photomask transmission boxes to effectively protect the photomask. Utility Model Content

[0006] The main purpose of this utility model is to provide a photomask transport box, which can combine the characteristics of high strength, low emission, low moisture absorption and electrostatic protection, so that the photomask can obtain high-efficiency safety protection during transportation and storage.

[0007] The main purpose of this utility model is to provide a photomask conveyor box that can reduce material costs, is easy to process and manufacture, and is not easily affected by high temperature, strong acid, or strong alkali during use or cleaning, so that it will not deform or become brittle due to changes in material properties, and can effectively extend its reflow cleaning time and service life.

[0008] The main purpose of this utility model is to provide a photomask transport box that is not easily affected by material shrinkage and can improve processing accuracy. Furthermore, its airtightness can be improved through structural design to meet the requirement of protecting the photomask from contamination.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides a photomask transport box for storing a photomask. The photomask transport box includes a base and a top cover. The base has a substrate that is gas-connected to an externally filled clean gas. The top cover can selectively close the base to form a storage space for storing the photomask, and the storage space is gas-connected to the externally filled clean gas. The substrate and the top cover are made of a conductive metal material.

[0010] In one embodiment of the photomask transmission box of this utility model, the conductive metal material is selected from aluminum alloy or aluminum-magnesium alloy.

[0011] In one embodiment of the photomask transmission box of this utility model, the substrate and the top cover are die-cast.

[0012] In one embodiment of the photomask transmission box of the present invention, the surfaces of the substrate and the top cover have at least one surface treatment layer.

[0013] In one embodiment of the photomask transmission box of this utility model, the surface treatment layer is formed by anodizing surface treatment.

[0014] In one embodiment of the photomask transmission box of this utility model, the base has at least one support group disposed on the substrate. The support group is made of an electrostatic dissipation material with a surface resistivity of 106Ω to 1011Ω and is used to support the photomask from bottom to top in a contact manner.

[0015] In one embodiment of the photomask transmission box of this utility model, the upper cover has at least one pressure guiding group disposed on an inner surface of the upper cover. The pressure guiding group is made of an electrostatic dissipation material with a surface resistivity of 106Ω to 1011Ω and is used to press the photomask in a contact manner from top to bottom in conjunction with the support group.

[0016] In one embodiment of the photomask delivery box of this utility model, the at least one support group and the at least one pressure guiding group can work together to confine the photomask within the storage space when the upper cover is closed on the base.

[0017] In one embodiment of the photomask transmission box of this utility model, the substrate has a plurality of mounting holes that are connected at the top and bottom. An inflation head can be optionally installed in the mounting hole so that externally filled clean gas enters the storage space through the inflation head.

[0018] In one embodiment of the photomask transmission box of this utility model, the support assembly and the pressure guiding assembly are made of polyetherimide.

[0019] In one embodiment of the photomask transmission box of this utility model, the support assembly and the pressure guiding assembly are made of polyetheretherketone.

[0020] In one embodiment of the photomask delivery box of this utility model, the base further has a window group disposed on the other side of the substrate opposite to the top cover. The visible range of the window group is greater than or equal to that of the photomask, and the substrate is a hollow structure corresponding to the window group, so that external observers can observe the inside of the photomask delivery box through the window group.

[0021] Other objectives of this invention, as well as its technical means and embodiments, will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon referring to the accompanying drawings and the embodiments described below. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the photomask transmission box of this utility model;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of most of the preferred embodiment of the photomask transmission box of this utility model;

[0024] Figure 3 This is an exploded view of the base in a preferred embodiment of the photomask transmission box of this utility model, to illustrate the component states and their relative relationships;

[0025] Figure 4 This is an exploded view of the upper cover in a preferred embodiment of the photomask transmission box of this utility model, to illustrate the component states and their relative relationships;

[0026] Figure 5This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of Figure 1, 5-5, of a preferred embodiment of the photomask transmission box of this utility model, to illustrate the state of the protective photomask and their relative relationships;

[0027] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of 6-6 in Figure 1 of a preferred embodiment of the photomask transmission box of this utility model, used to illustrate the state of the protective photomask and its relative relationships.

[0028] 100: Light Mask

[0029] 10: Base

[0030] 11:Substrate

[0031] 110: Penetrating hole

[0032] 111: Class Trough

[0033] 12: Mounting holes

[0034] 13: Inflatable head

[0035] 15: Windows Group

[0036] 16: Transparent Quartz Plate

[0037] 17: Sealing ring gasket

[0038] 18: Annular pressure plate

[0039] 20: Top Cover

[0040] 30: Support group

[0041] 31: Support component

[0042] 32: Support block

[0043] 33: Side plate

[0044] 34: Air guide hole

[0045] 35: Supporting parts

[0046] 36: Backrest plate

[0047] 40: Pressure guiding assembly

[0048] 41: Pressure-operated component

[0049] 42: Push Department

[0050] 43: Pressing part

[0051] 45: Guide component

[0052] 46: Guiding arc plate

[0053] 48: Arc-shaped edge

[0054] 50: Storage space

[0055] 60: Handle

[0056] 65: Clamp Detailed Implementation

[0057] The following embodiments will explain the content of this utility model. These embodiments are not intended to limit the implementation of this utility model to any specific environment, application, or special method described in the embodiments. Therefore, the descriptions of the embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this utility model. It should be noted that in the following embodiments and drawings, elements not directly related to this utility model have been omitted and are not shown, and the dimensional relationships between the elements in the drawings are for ease of understanding only and are not intended to limit the actual scale.

[0058] For specific embodiments of the photomask transmission box of this utility model, please refer to... Figure 1 , 2 As shown, it is used to store and fix a photomask 100. The photomask transfer box includes a base 10 and a top cover 20 that can be closed relative to each other, and when the top cover 20 is closed on the base 10, it forms a storage space 50 for selectively storing the photomask 100 (e.g., Figure 5 and 6 [As shown]. The base 10 is provided with a support assembly 30 that supports the photomask 100 from bottom to top in a contact manner, and the inner surface of the upper cover 20 is provided with a pressure guiding assembly 40 that guides or presses the photomask 100 from top to bottom in a contact manner. When the upper cover 20 is closed on the base 10, the support assembly 30 and the pressure guiding assembly 40 work together to support, guide, and clamp the photomask 100 [as shown]. Figure 5 and 6 As shown, this allows the photomask 100 to be stored and confined within the storage space 50 of the photomask transfer box. Additionally, the top surface of the cover 20 can optionally be provided with a handle 60 for carrying or a chuck 65 for mechanical clamping, wherein the chuck 65 is an OHT chuck that conforms to the Automated Material Handling System (AMHS) specification and is suitable for Overhead Hoist Transfer (OHT) systems.

[0059] like Figure 2 and 3As shown, the base 10 has a substrate 11, which is a hollow structure with a through hole 110 corresponding to the photomask 100. A window assembly 15 with a visible range profile greater than or equal to that of the photomask 100 is provided on the base 10, and a stepped groove 111 with a larger diameter is formed on the surface of the substrate 11 opposite to the top cover 20 around the through hole 110. A transparent quartz plate 16 is housed within the stepped groove 111 of the window assembly 15, and a sealing ring gasket 17 for pressing and holding the transparent quartz plate 16 is provided within the stepped groove 111. Furthermore, an annular pressure plate 18 is provided within the stepped groove 111 of the substrate 11 to press and fix the sealing ring gasket 17 and the transparent quartz plate 16, for fixing the window assembly 15 to the base 10. External personnel can observe the internal state of the photomask transport box structure through the window assembly 15 and the through hole 110 of the substrate 11.

[0060] The support assembly 30 of the base 10 can be composed of a single piece or multiple pieces. In this invention, the support assembly 30 consists of two support members 31 located on both sides of the through hole 110 on the surface of the substrate 11 and abutment member 35 on the rear edge. The top surface of these support members 31 is provided with two support blocks 32 for supporting the bottom surface of the photomask 100 (e.g., ...). Figure 5 As shown, the two supporting members 31 on opposite sides each have a plurality of side pieces 33 formed on their outer sides for the photomask 100 to abut against, thereby limiting the sliding of the photomask 100 on both sides. The abutment member 35 has at least one upwardly protruding back piece 36, which allows the back edge of the photomask 100 to abut against and limits its front-to-back position (e.g., as shown). Figure 6 [As shown]. The substrate 11 has a plurality of vertically connected mounting holes 12 on the corresponding side support members 31. These mounting holes 12 can optionally be equipped with an inflation head 13. The support member 31 has at least one air guide hole 34 communicating with the storage space 50, allowing the photomask transport box to be connected to an externally filled clean gas via the inflation head 13, enabling the externally filled clean gas to enter the storage space 50. The support members 31 provide a guiding effect, preventing the gas from directly impacting the surface of the photomask 100 during inflation [e.g., ...]. Figure 5 As shown in the image.

[0061] like Figure 2 and 4 As shown, the pressure guiding assembly 40 of the upper cover 20 includes two pressure members 41 corresponding to the two side edges of the photomask 100 and a guiding member 45 corresponding to the front edge of the photomask 100. The pressure members 41 have a pushing portion 42 corresponding to the side surface of the photomask 100 and a pressing portion 43 corresponding to the top surface of the photomask 100 (e.g., ...). Figure 5 [As shown]. The guide member 45 is composed of an arc-shaped guide plate 46, and the guide plate 46 corresponds to the side of the photomask 100 and forms an arc-shaped flange 48, which is used to push the photomask 100 towards the back plate 36 of the abutment member 35 for positioning [as shown]. Figure 6As shown, this is to prevent the photomask 100 from sliding arbitrarily within the photomask transport box.

[0062] Furthermore, one of the substrate 11 and the top cover 20 of the base 10 is made of a conductive metal material. In a preferred embodiment of this invention, both the substrate 11 and the top cover 20 are made of a conductive metal material, such as aluminum alloy or aluminum-magnesium alloy, but not limited to these. The substrate 11 and the top cover 20 can be formed by machining or die casting, which provides good conductivity and effectively prevents the release of static electricity and harmful gases. The substrate 11 and the top cover 20 made of conductive metal material further have advantages such as high temperature resistance, acid and alkali resistance, easy cleaning and drying, and no deformation or sulfide generation. In addition, the surfaces of the substrate 11 and the top cover 20 can be formed with at least one surface treatment layer using physical, mechanical, and chemical processing techniques. These surface treatment layers can be selected from anodizing or mirror polishing, making the substrate 11 and the top cover 20 of the base 10 more corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant, heat-resistant, and extending the material life, while also improving mechanical properties, increasing their strength and impact resistance. Furthermore, the base plate 11 and the top cover 20 of the base 10 can utilize the characteristics of low shrinkage and expansion coefficient of the aluminum alloy die-cast structure to further improve the dimensional accuracy of their secondary processing. The structural design also enhances the airtightness of the storage space 50 in the photomask transport box, meeting the requirement that the photomask transport box protects the photomask from contamination.

[0063] The support group 30 and pressure-conducting group 40 that contact the photomask 100 inside the photomask transfer box are made of electrostatic dissipation (ESD) materials with a surface resistivity of 10⁶ Ω to 10¹¹ Ω. This prevents electrostatic surges from the base 10 and the top cover 20 from directly damaging the photomask 100. Furthermore, the static electricity on the photomask 100 can be quickly discharged to the base 10 and the top cover 20 after being dissipated through the support group 30 and the pressure-conducting group 40. The support group 30 and the pressure-conducting group 40 can be polyetherimide (PEI), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), or materials containing carbon nanotubes (Carbon). The polyetherimide (PEI) and polyetheretherketone (PEEK) in nanotubes give the support group 30 and the pressure-conducting group 40 good toughness and mechanical properties, as well as impact resistance. They also meet the requirements for antistatic protection. In addition, their low exudation, high hardness, good wear resistance and high temperature resistance further meet the requirements of the photomask transmission box to protect the photomask 100 with low gas release.

[0064] Through the above design, the photomask transport box of this utility model mainly consists of a base 10 and a top cover 20 made of aluminum alloy, and a support group 30 and a pressure guiding group 40 made of polyetherimide (PEI). According to experimental results, the base 10 and top cover 20 of this utility model photomask transport box have high strength, low release, and low moisture absorption. Furthermore, the support group 30 and pressure guiding group 40 further enhance its electrostatic dissipation characteristics, significantly improving its wear resistance and scratch resistance, thereby greatly reducing the shedding of material dust or particles from the photomask transport box and minimizing the chance of damaging the wafer or photomask surface. Table 1 shows the harmful gas release test conducted on the photomask transport box of this utility model to prevent haze formation on the surface of the photomask 100.

[0065] Table 1

[0066]

[0067] As shown in Table 1 above, the test method involves immersing the sample in 100 mL of ultrapure water at 80 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, followed by detection using an ion chromatography analyzer. The detection limit of this ion chromatography analyzer is 0.0001. Values ​​below the method detection limit are indicated as "ND". It can be seen that the release test result for harmful substances from the base 10 and top cover 20 of the photomask delivery box of this invention is "not detected," while the release amount from the support group 30 and the pressure guiding group 40 is far lower than that of existing technologies. This prevents the synthesis of these harmful gases during the storage process of the photomask delivery box of this invention, thus avoiding contamination of the surface of the photomask 100.

[0068] As described above, the photomask delivery box of this invention utilizes a base 10 and a top cover 20 made of conductive metal, while the support assembly 30 and the pressure-conducting assembly 40 are made of electrostatic dissipative materials with a surface resistivity of 10⁶ Ω to 10¹¹ Ω. Encasing the photomask 100 with conductive metal effectively blocks the electric field, preventing electrostatic damage. Using electrostatic dissipative materials to support the photomask 100 enhances its wear resistance and low gas release, enabling the photomask delivery box of this invention to possess high strength, low gas release, low moisture absorption, and electrostatic protection characteristics.

[0069] In addition to the advantages mentioned above, the photomask transfer box of this utility model can also reduce the material cost of the base 10 and the top cover 20, is easy to process and manufacture, and is not easily affected by high temperature, strong acid and strong alkali during use or cleaning, so that it will not deform or become brittle due to changes in material properties, and can effectively extend its return cleaning time and service life.

[0070] Furthermore, the base 10 and the top cover 20 are not easily affected by the shrinkage rate and expansion coefficient of the material, and the processing accuracy can be improved. In turn, the airtightness can be improved through structural design, so as to meet the requirements of the photomask transfer box to protect the photomask 100 during transportation and storage, and avoid the adhesion of harmful substances to form pollution.

[0071] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the implementation of this utility model and to explain its technical features, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this utility model. Any changes or equivalent arrangements that can be easily made by those skilled in the art are within the scope of this utility model, and the scope of protection of this utility model shall be determined by the scope of the patent application.

Claims

1. A photomask transport box for storing a photomask, characterized in that, The photomask delivery box contains: A base having a substrate that is gaseously connected to an externally filled clean gas; and A top cover can selectively cover the base to form a storage space for storing the photomask, and connect the gas in the storage space to the externally filled clean gas. The substrate and the top cover are made of a conductive metal material.

2. The photomask transport box according to claim 1, characterized in that, The conductive metal material is selected from aluminum alloy or aluminum-magnesium alloy.

3. The photomask transport box according to claim 2, characterized in that, The substrate and the top cover are die-cast from a mold.

4. The photomask transport box according to claim 1, characterized in that, The substrate and the top cover have at least one surface treatment layer.

5. The photomask transport box according to claim 4, characterized in that, The surface treatment layer is formed by an anodizing surface treatment.

6. The photomask transport box according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base has at least one support assembly disposed on the substrate. The support assembly is made of an electrostatic dissipative material with a surface resistivity of 106Ω to 1011Ω and is used to support the photomask from bottom to top in a contact manner.

7. The photomask transport box according to claim 6, characterized in that, The top cover has at least one pressure-conducting assembly disposed on an inner surface of the top cover. The pressure-conducting assembly is made of an electrostatic dissipative material with a surface resistivity of 106Ω to 1011Ω and is used to press the photomask in a contact manner from top to bottom in conjunction with the at least one support assembly.

8. The photomask transport box according to claim 7, characterized in that, The at least one support group and the at least one pressure guiding group can work together to confine the photomask within the storage space when the top cover is closed on the base.

9. The photomask transport box according to claim 8, characterized in that, The substrate has a plurality of mounting holes that are connected at the top and bottom. An inflation head can be optionally installed in the mounting holes so that the externally filled clean gas enters the storage space through the inflation head.

10. The photomask transport box according to claim 7, characterized in that, The at least one support assembly and the at least one pressure-conducting assembly are made of polyetherimide.

11. The photomask transport box according to claim 7, characterized in that, The at least one support assembly and the at least one pressure-conducting assembly are made of polyetheretherketone.

12. The photomask transport box according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base has a window assembly disposed on the other side of the substrate opposite to the top cover. The visible range of the window assembly is greater than or equal to that of the photomask. The substrate is a hollow structure and corresponds to the window assembly, allowing external observers to view the interior of the photomask delivery box through the window assembly.

Images