Cleaning unit and cleaning equipment

Abstract

The utility model provides a cleaning unit and cleaning equipment, and relates to the technical field of semiconductor equipment. The cleaning unit comprises a cleaning barrel, a supporting piece, a spraying piece, a heating piece and an unlocking assembly. The supporting piece, the spraying piece and the heating piece are all arranged in a cavity of the cleaning barrel, the unlocking assembly is used for unlocking a box body and a box cover of the semiconductor substrate storage container, so that the bearing piece is used for bearing the box body, and the spraying piece is used for spraying cleaning liquid or gas; the heating piece is located on one side of the supporting piece and used for conducting heat radiation heating on the outer wall of the semiconductor storage container. Cleaning liquid is sprayed to the semiconductor substrate storage container through the spraying piece so as to thoroughly clean the semiconductor substrate storage container, heat radiation heating is conducted on the semiconductor substrate storage container through the heating piece so as to enable the semiconductor substrate storage container to be rapidly dried, and high-pressure gas is sprayed to the semiconductor substrate storage container through the spraying piece so as to enable the semiconductor substrate storage container to be rapidly dried. And the semiconductor substrate storage container is further cleaned, so that the cleaning efficiency is effectively improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of semiconductor equipment technology, and more specifically, to a cleaning unit and cleaning equipment. Background Technology

[0002] In semiconductor manufacturing, the cleanliness of the wafer surface directly affects the quality and performance of devices. During transport between various devices / stations, wafers are placed inside wafer storage containers. Therefore, after each use, the containers holding the wafers must be thoroughly cleaned to prevent impurities such as particulate matter, organic matter, and metal ions present in the wafer storage containers from adhering to the wafers and affecting process quality. However, existing cleaning equipment has low cleaning efficiency, thus impacting semiconductor production efficiency. Utility Model Content

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a cleaning unit and cleaning equipment that can improve the cleaning efficiency of semiconductor substrate storage containers, thereby improving production efficiency.

[0004] The embodiments of this utility model are implemented as follows:

[0005] In a first aspect, this utility model provides a cleaning unit for cleaning a semiconductor substrate storage container, the semiconductor substrate storage container including a housing and a lid, the housing and the lid being locked together, and the cleaning unit comprising:

[0006] A cleaning bucket, comprising a cavity and a lid; a support member disposed within the cavity, the support member serving to support the bucket body;

[0007] A spray element is disposed within the cavity and is used to spray cleaning liquid or gas.

[0008] A heating element is disposed within the cavity and located on one side of the support member, and the heating element is used to heat the box body;

[0009] An unlocking component is disposed on the lid, and the unlocking component is used to unlock the lid from the box body and fix the lid.

[0010] In an optional embodiment, there are multiple heating elements, which are arranged around the outer periphery of the support member.

[0011] In an optional embodiment, the bottom wall of the cavity is provided with an exhaust port for discharging gas from the cavity; the cleaning unit further includes a waste discharge mechanism, which includes an exhaust pipe and a water vapor separator. One end of the exhaust pipe is connected to the exhaust port, and the other end is connected to the water vapor separator, which is used to classify the discharged gas and liquid.

[0012] In an optional embodiment, the cleaning unit further includes a driving member disposed in the cavity and connected to the support member, for driving the support member to rotate, and the heating member is located between the outer side of the rotation path of the support member and the inner wall of the cavity.

[0013] In an optional embodiment, the heating element is an infrared heating tube.

[0014] In an optional embodiment, the unlocking component is provided with a rotary rod for inserting into an unlocking hole on the lid to unlock the lid from the box body.

[0015] In an optional embodiment, the cleaning unit further includes a positioning component disposed on the inner side of the cover, the positioning component being used to position and fix the cover after the unlocking component unlocks the cover.

[0016] In an optional embodiment, the spraying component includes a plurality of first spray pipes and a third spray pipe. The plurality of first spray pipes are arranged around the outer periphery of the support member. The first spraying component is used to spray cleaning liquid or cleaning gas onto the outer wall of the box. The third spray pipe is horizontally arranged at the top of the cavity. The third spray pipe is used to spray cleaning liquid or gas onto the outer bottom wall of the box.

[0017] In an optional embodiment, the spraying component includes a second spray pipe disposed in the middle of the support component, and the second spray pipe is used to spray cleaning liquid or gas onto the inner wall and the inner bottom wall of the box.

[0018] Secondly, the present invention provides a cleaning device, including a cleaning unit as described in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0019] The beneficial effects of the cleaning unit and cleaning equipment provided in this embodiment of the present invention include: unlocking the cover of the semiconductor substrate storage container from the box body by the unlocking component and fixing the cover can reduce the placement time; a heating element is provided in the cavity, and after the spray component completes the cleaning of the semiconductor substrate storage container, the surface of the semiconductor substrate storage container is heated by the heating element to accelerate the evaporation of liquid on the surface of the semiconductor substrate storage container and improve the drying efficiency of the semiconductor substrate storage container; and at the same time, high-pressure gas is sprayed onto the semiconductor substrate storage container by the spray component, which can not only further clean the semiconductor substrate storage container, but also improve the removal efficiency of cleaning liquid remaining on the surface of the semiconductor substrate storage container, thereby significantly shortening the cleaning time of the semiconductor substrate storage container and effectively improving the cleaning efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of this utility model and should not be regarded as a limitation on the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a first-view structural diagram of the cleaning unit provided in an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the cleaning unit from a second perspective provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a third-view structural diagram of the cleaning unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 This is a fourth-view structural diagram of the cleaning unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 This is a fifth-view structural diagram of the cleaning unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Icons: 10-Cleaning unit; 100-Cleaning bucket; 110-Discharge port; 120-Cavity; 130-Cover; 200-Support; 300-Sprayer; 310-First spray pipe; 320-Second spray pipe; 330-Third spray pipe; 400-Heating element; 500-Driver; 600-Discharge mechanism; 610-Exhaust pipe; 620-Gas-liquid separator; 700-Unlocking assembly; 710-Rotor; 720-Driver; 800-Positioning assembly; 810-Positioning disc; 811-Through hole; 820-Suction nozzle; 830-Limit block. Detailed Implementation

[0027] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this utility model clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this utility model, and not all embodiments. The components of the embodiments of this utility model described and shown in the accompanying drawings can generally be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0028] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but merely to illustrate selected embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] It should be noted that similar labels and letters in the following figures indicate similar items. Therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.

[0030] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, or the orientation or positional relationship commonly used when the product of this utility model is in use. They are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this utility model. In addition, the terms "first," "second," and "third," etc., are only used to distinguish descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0031] Furthermore, terms such as "horizontal" and "vertical" do not imply that components must be absolutely horizontal or suspended, but rather that they can be slightly tilted. For example, "horizontal" simply means that its direction is more horizontal than "vertical," and does not mean that the structure must be completely horizontal, but can be slightly tilted.

[0032] In the description of this utility model, it should also be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "set," "install," "connect," and "link" 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 mechanical connection or an electrical 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 utility model based on the specific circumstances.

[0033] In semiconductor manufacturing, the cleanliness of the wafer surface directly affects the quality and performance of the device. Therefore, between multiple process steps, the container holding the wafer needs to be thoroughly cleaned to prevent impurities such as particulate matter, organic matter, and metal ions from affecting process quality. However, existing cleaning equipment has low cleaning efficiency, thus affecting semiconductor production efficiency.

[0034] Based on the problems existing in the prior art, this utility model provides a cleaning device, including a cleaning unit, a robotic arm, a loading unit, a unloading unit, and a drying unit. The semiconductor substrate storage container is loaded by the loading unit and transferred to the cleaning unit by the robotic arm, so that the semiconductor substrate storage container is cleaned by the cleaning unit. After cleaning, the robotic arm picks up the semiconductor substrate storage container and places it to the unloading unit, where the drying unit dries the semiconductor substrate storage container.

[0035] First, it should be noted that the cleaning unit 10 is used to clean the semiconductor substrate storage container, which includes a housing and a cover.

[0036] For details, please refer to Figures 1 to 5 The cleaning unit 10 includes a cleaning tank 100, a support 200, a spray component 300, a heating component 400, and an unlocking component 700.

[0037] The cleaning tank 100 includes a cavity 120 and a cover 130. A support member 200, a spray member 300, and a heating member 400 are all disposed in the cavity 120. The support member 200 is used to support the semiconductor substrate storage container (not shown in the figure), and the spray member 300 is used to spray cleaning liquid or gas. The heating member 400 is located on one side of the support member 200 and is used to perform thermal radiation heating on the outer wall of the semiconductor substrate storage container.

[0038] First, it should be noted that when the cover 130 is opened, the box and the cover can be unlocked and secured by the unlocking component 700. This allows the box to be placed in an inverted position on the support 200, and the cover 130 supporting the semiconductor substrate storage container is fixed to the cover 130 of the cleaning unit. After the cover 130 is closed, cleaning liquid is first sprayed onto the semiconductor substrate storage container by the spray component 300 to thoroughly clean it. Furthermore, after cleaning, the semiconductor substrate storage container is heated by thermal radiation by the heating component 400 to quickly dry it. Simultaneously, high-pressure gas is sprayed onto the semiconductor substrate storage container by the spray component 300, which not only further cleans the semiconductor substrate storage container but also improves the removal efficiency of cleaning liquid residue on the surface of the semiconductor substrate storage container. This significantly shortens the cleaning time and effectively improves the cleaning efficiency.

[0039] It should also be noted that the spray for the 300 spray system can be either CDA (Compressed Dry Air) or DIW, meaning DIW is sprayed during cleaning and CDA is sprayed during drying.

[0040] Furthermore, the unlocking component 700 includes a rotary rod 710 and an actuator 720. One end of the rotary rod 710 is connected to the actuator 720, which is connected to the cover 130. Under the driving force of the actuator 720, the rotary rod 710 can pass through the cover 130 and be inserted into the lock hole on the lid to rotate. The rotary rod 710 drives the lock body in the locking mechanism to rotate, thereby locking or unlocking the box and the lid.

[0041] Furthermore, the cleaning unit 10 also includes a positioning component 800, which is disposed on the inner side of the cover 130. The positioning component 800 is used to position and fix the cover after the unlocking component 700 unlocks the cover.

[0042] In this embodiment, when it is necessary to adsorb and fix the lid, the driver 720 drives the rotary rod 710 to move towards the lid of the semiconductor substrate storage container and inserts the rotary rod 710 into the through hole of the lid. The driver 720 drives the rotary rod 710 to rotate, thereby realizing the misalignment and engagement of the rotary rod 710 and the through hole, keeping the lid in a vertical state, and then it can be adsorbed and fixed by the positioning component 800.

[0043] Furthermore, the positioning component 800 includes a positioning disk 810, a suction nozzle 820, and a limiting block 830. The positioning disk 810 is disposed on the inner side of the cover 130. The suction nozzle 820 and the limiting block 830 are both disposed on the positioning disk 810. The suction nozzle 820 is used to suction the lid, and the limiting block 830 is used to limit the lid.

[0044] In this embodiment, the suction nozzle 820 can generate a vacuum suction force, thus the lid can be adsorbed through the suction nozzle 820, and the limiting block 830 can ensure that the lid is in the correct position after being adsorbed by the vacuum suction nozzle 820. Specifically, a pair of vacuum suction nozzles 820 are arranged opposite to each other, and after adsorbing the lid, they are supported and positioned by a pair of oppositely arranged limiting blocks 830 to ensure the adsorption stability of the lid.

[0045] It should be noted that the positioning disk 810 is provided with a through hole 811, and the rotating rod 710 is located in the area between the positioning disk 810 and the cover 130. Therefore, the rotating rod 710 can pass through the through hole 811 under the drive of the driver 720 to insert into the lock hole on the cover and rotate.

[0046] Furthermore, the cleaning unit 10 also includes a drive member 500, which is disposed in the cavity 120 and connected to the support member 200 for driving the support member 200 to rotate. The heating member 400 is located between the outer side of the rotation path of the support member 200 and the inner wall of the cavity 120.

[0047] In this embodiment, by setting a driving member 500, during the cleaning process of the semiconductor substrate storage container, the driving member 500 drives the support member 200 to rotate, thereby causing the semiconductor substrate storage container mounted on the support member 200 to rotate. This not only allows the cleaning liquid to be sprayed onto the semiconductor substrate storage container more evenly, but also allows the heating member 400 to uniformly heat the outer wall of the semiconductor substrate storage container, thus improving the cleaning and heating efficiency of the semiconductor cleaning container.

[0048] Furthermore, there are multiple heating elements 400, which are arranged around the outer periphery of the support member 200.

[0049] In this embodiment, in order to further improve the drying speed of the semiconductor substrate storage container, multiple heating elements 400 can be provided and the multiple heating elements 400 are equally spaced on the outer periphery of the support member 200, so that the semiconductor substrate storage container can be heated by the multiple heating elements 400 together, thereby effectively improving the heating efficiency.

[0050] Furthermore, the heating element 400 is tubular and extends along the height direction of the cavity 120.

[0051] Optionally, the heating element 400 can be an IR (Infrared Radiation Heating) heating tube, that is, the heating element 400 transfers heat to the semiconductor substrate storage container by emitting infrared radiation, which can rapidly raise the temperature inside the object and make heating efficient and fast.

[0052] Therefore, in this embodiment, by extending the heating element 400 along the height direction of the cavity 120, the height direction of the semiconductor substrate storage container can be heated, thereby improving the heating efficiency.

[0053] Furthermore, the spray element 300 includes at least one of a first spray pipe 310, a second spray pipe 320, and a third spray pipe 330.

[0054] The first spray pipe 310 is multiple, and the multiple first spray pipes 310 are arranged around the outer periphery of the support member 200. The first spray member 300 is used to spray cleaning liquid or cleaning gas onto the outer wall of the semiconductor substrate storage container.

[0055] In this embodiment, by circumferentially arranging a plurality of first spray pipes 310 on the support member 200, cleaning liquid or gas is sprayed onto the outer wall of the semiconductor substrate storage container through the plurality of first spray pipes 310, thereby cleaning the outer wall of the semiconductor substrate storage container.

[0056] In detail, the rotation centers of the plurality of first spray pipes 310 and the heating element 400 relative to the support 200 are located on the same circumference.

[0057] Furthermore, the second spray pipe 320 is disposed in the middle of the support member 200, and the second spray pipe 320 is used to spray cleaning liquid or gas onto the inner wall and inner bottom wall of the semiconductor substrate storage container.

[0058] In this embodiment, there are also multiple second spray pipes 320, and at least a portion of the second spray pipes 320 are vertically arranged in the middle of the support member 200 along the height direction of the cavity 120 to spray cleaning liquid or gas onto the inner wall of the semiconductor substrate storage container; while at least another portion of the second spray pipes 320 are horizontally arranged at the top of the cavity 120 to spray cleaning liquid or gas onto the inner side of the bottom wall of the semiconductor substrate storage container, thereby cleaning the entire inner wall of the semiconductor substrate storage container.

[0059] Furthermore, the third spray pipe 330 is horizontally disposed at the top of the cavity 120, and the third spray pipe 330 is used to spray cleaning liquid or gas onto the outer bottom wall of the semiconductor substrate storage container.

[0060] In this embodiment, a third spray pipe 330 is provided at the top of the cavity 120 to spray cleaning liquid or gas onto the outer side of the bottom wall of the semiconductor substrate storage container, thereby cleaning the outer bottom wall of the semiconductor substrate storage container.

[0061] Furthermore, the third spray pipe 330 can rotate within the cavity 120, thereby cleaning the bottom of the semiconductor substrate storage container and the lower surface of the cover 130.

[0062] Furthermore, the bottom wall of the cavity 120 is provided with a discharge port 110, which is used to discharge the gas inside the cavity 120.

[0063] In this embodiment, by providing an outlet 110 on the bottom wall of the cavity 120, not only can the cleaning liquid be discharged in a timely manner, but also the water vapor inside the cavity 120 can be discharged, thereby reducing the humidity inside the cavity 120 and further improving the drying efficiency of the semiconductor substrate storage container.

[0064] It should be noted that during the drying process, IR heating is used to assist in the drying of CDA. By timely expelling the high-humidity gas in the cleaning unit 10, the internal humidity is reduced, thereby increasing the humidity difference on the surface area of ​​the semiconductor substrate storage container, promoting the evaporation of liquid on the surface of the semiconductor substrate storage container, and improving the drying efficiency.

[0065] Furthermore, the cleaning unit 10 also includes a discharge mechanism 600, which includes an exhaust pipe 610 and a gas-liquid separator 620. One end of the exhaust pipe 610 is connected to the discharge port 110, and the other end is connected to the gas-liquid separator 620, which is used to classify the discharged gas and liquid.

[0066] In this embodiment, the cleaning liquid and water vapor in the cavity 120 can be discharged simultaneously through the discharge mechanism 600, and the discharged water vapor can be effectively separated through the gas-liquid separator 620 to avoid environmental pollution. In summary, this utility model provides a cleaning unit 10, in which a barrel-shaped semiconductor substrate storage container can be placed inverted on the support member 200 when the cover 130 is opened. After the cover 130 is closed, cleaning liquid is first sprayed onto the semiconductor substrate storage container through the spray element 300 to thoroughly clean the semiconductor substrate storage container. Furthermore, after cleaning, the semiconductor substrate storage container is heated by thermal radiation through the heating element 400 to rapidly dry it. Simultaneously, high-pressure gas is sprayed onto the semiconductor substrate storage container through the spray element 300, which not only further cleans the semiconductor substrate storage container but also improves the removal efficiency of cleaning liquid residue on the surface of the semiconductor substrate storage container, thus significantly shortening the cleaning time and effectively improving cleaning efficiency. During the drying process, the cleaning liquid is promptly discharged through the exhaust port 110, and water vapor in the cavity 120 is also discharged to reduce the humidity within the cavity 120, further improving the drying efficiency of the semiconductor substrate storage container. The discharged water vapor is effectively separated by the gas-liquid separator 620 to avoid environmental pollution.

[0067] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this utility model and is not intended to limit the utility model. Various modifications and variations can be made to this utility model by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this utility model should be included within the protection scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. A cleaning unit for cleaning a semiconductor substrate storage container, the semiconductor substrate storage container comprising a housing and a lid, the housing and the lid being locked together, characterized in that, The cleaning unit includes: A cleaning bucket, comprising a cavity and a lid; a support member disposed within the cavity, the support member serving to support the bucket body; A spray element is disposed within the cavity and is used to spray cleaning liquid or gas. A heating element is disposed within the cavity and located on one side of the support member, and the heating element is used to heat the box body; An unlocking component is disposed on the lid, and the unlocking component is used to unlock the lid from the box body and fix the lid.

2. The cleaning unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of heating elements is multiple, and the multiple heating elements are arranged around the outer periphery of the support.

3. The cleaning unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom wall of the cavity is provided with an exhaust port for discharging gas from the cavity; the cleaning unit also includes a waste discharge mechanism, which includes an exhaust pipe and a water vapor separator. One end of the exhaust pipe is connected to the exhaust port, and the other end is connected to the water vapor separator, which is used to classify the discharged gas and liquid.

4. The cleaning unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cleaning unit further includes a driving component, which is disposed in the cavity and connected to the support component, for driving the support component to rotate. The heating component is located between the outer side of the rotation path of the support component and the inner wall of the cavity.

5. The cleaning unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heating element is an infrared heating tube.

6. The cleaning unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The unlocking component is provided with a rotary rod, which is used to insert into the unlocking hole on the lid to unlock the lid from the box body.

7. The cleaning unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cleaning unit further includes a positioning component, which is disposed on the inner side of the cover and is used to position and fix the cover after the unlocking component unlocks the cover.

8. The cleaning unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spraying component includes a plurality of first spray pipes and a third spray pipe. The plurality of first spray pipes are arranged around the outer periphery of the support member. The first spray pipes are used to spray cleaning liquid or cleaning gas onto the outer wall of the box. The third spray pipe is horizontally arranged at the top of the cavity. The third spray pipe is used to spray cleaning liquid or gas onto the outer bottom wall of the box.

9. The cleaning unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spraying component includes a second spray pipe, which is disposed in the middle of the support component. The second spray pipe is used to spray cleaning liquid or gas onto the inner wall and bottom wall of the box.

10. A cleaning device, characterized in that, Includes the cleaning unit as described in any one of claims 1-9.

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