Gas diffusion device and semiconductor container using the same

Abstract

This invention provides a gas diffusion device for semiconductor containers to solve the problem of poor purging effect inside semiconductor containers. [Solution] The gas diffusion device includes a diffuser body and a first part and a second part provided on the diffuser body. The first part has a first airflow rate, and the second part has a second airflow rate, with the first and second airflow rates being different. The present invention is used for cleaning and purging semiconductor containers, and can improve the cleanliness of semiconductor containers.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a gas diffusion device, and particularly to a gas diffusion device for improving the cleaning effect inside a semiconductor container and a semiconductor container to which the same is applied.

Background Art

[0002] In the process of manufacturing and transporting semiconductors, in order to protect semiconductor workpieces (such as wafers, glass substrates, sheet-like products, etc.), semiconductor containers are usually used to store, place, and transport the workpieces. Inside these containers, support members are usually provided to support and place the semiconductor workpieces. Also, by performing operations such as purging and ventilation inside the container, particles generated by vibration and friction of the semiconductor workpiece during transportation are removed, or moisture or undesired gases accumulated inside the container are removed. Therefore, a gas diffusion device is provided.

[0003] With the development of the semiconductor manufacturing process and the requirements for yield, the cleanliness of the semiconductor container, as well as the efficiency and reliability of the above gas diffusion device, have become important. Therefore, how to effectively reduce particles and moisture inside the semiconductor container and improve the efficiency of the gas diffusion device to reduce the influence of particles and moisture on the stored substrates and the yield of the manufacturing process is extremely important.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, conventional gas diffusion devices cannot effectively control the gas flow rate at different heights of a semiconductor container when purging the container space. This often results in excessive gas flow in the upper layers and insufficient gas flow in the lower layers, leading to an uneven purging effect. This can cause problems such as the accumulation of particles or moisture in the lower layers of the semiconductor container space. Furthermore, when nitrogen (N2) is used as a purging gas, for example, its low gas density tends to result in a greater gas flow rate to the upper layers of the container space than to the lower layers. This leads to uneven gas flow and poor purging between different layers, as mentioned above, causing particles or moisture to accumulate and not be smoothly removed, which affects the yield of the semiconductor manufacturing process.

[0005] In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide an improved gas diffusion device to solve the problem of poor purging effect in the prior art described above. The gas diffusion device provided by the present invention can provide different levels of airflow and control the gas purging effect by providing different levels of airflow at different heights within the containment space of a semiconductor container. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention provides a gas diffusion device for use in a semiconductor container, comprising a diffuser body, a first part provided on the diffuser body having a first airflow rate, and a second part provided on the diffuser body having a second airflow rate, wherein the first airflow rate and the second airflow rate are different.

[0007] In one embodiment, the density of the first portion is less than the density of the second portion, and the first airflow rate is greater than the second airflow rate.

[0008] In one embodiment, the first part is a hollow part, the second part is a solid part, the density of the hollow part is less than the density of the solid part, and the first airflow rate is greater than the second airflow rate.

[0009] In one embodiment, both the first and second parts are hollow, the density of the first part is lower than the density of the second part, and the first airflow rate is greater than the second airflow rate.

[0010] In one embodiment, the first part and the second part are made of different materials.

[0011] In one embodiment, the first part and the second part are made of the same material.

[0012] In one embodiment, the gas diffusion device further includes a third portion having a third airflow rate different from the second airflow rate.

[0013] In one embodiment, a first part, a second part, and a third part are provided in sequence, and the first airflow rate, the second airflow rate, and the third airflow rate increase or decrease in sequence.

[0014] In one embodiment, the first part constitutes the first proportion of the gas diffusion device, and the second part constitutes the second proportion of the gas diffusion device.

[0015] In one embodiment, the ratio of the first proportion to the second proportion is variable.

[0016] In one embodiment, the ratio of the first to the second proportion is 1:3.

[0017] Another aspect of the present invention provides a semiconductor container comprising: a container body having a containment space; a support member provided within the containment space and used to support a substrate; and a gas diffusion device provided within the containment space, the gas diffusion device comprising: a diffuser body; a first portion provided in the diffuser body having a first airflow rate; and a second portion provided in the diffuser body having a second airflow rate, wherein the first and second airflow rates are different. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] Thus, different parts of the gas diffusion device of the present invention, which are made of different densities or different materials, can solve the problem that the purge effect becomes non-uniform due to the difference in the air volume of the gas between the upper layer and the lower layer of different support members by controlling the air volume of each part.

[0019] In addition, by setting different densities and different air volumes, the problem of poor gas purge effect can be improved, and the air volume of the lower layer in the accommodation space can be made larger than that of the upper layer. And the present invention can also adjust the air volume as needed by controlling the internal density of the gas diffusion device. For example, for a gas with a low density such as nitrogen, by greatly adjusting the internal density of the upper part of the gas diffusion device and slightly adjusting the internal density of the lower part, the air volumes of the upper and lower parts can be changed, and the gas replacement rate of the entire accommodation space can be improved. Increasing the gas purge efficiency can also reduce particles or moisture in the semiconductor container and improve the yield of the semiconductor manufacturing process.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] [Figure 1] A disassembled perspective schematic view of a semiconductor container according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. [Figure 2] A front schematic view of a semiconductor container according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. [Figure 3] A cross-sectional schematic view of a gas diffusion device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. [Figure 4] A cross-sectional schematic view of a gas diffusion device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. [Figure 5] A cross-sectional schematic view of a gas diffusion device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. [Figure 6] A schematic view of comparing the purge effects of different configurations of a gas diffusion device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0021] To describe the technical content of the present invention in detail, the following will further describe it in conjunction with the drawings while referring to the embodiments. It should be noted that in this specification, terms such as "first", "second", and "third" are for distinguishing components and do not limit the components themselves or indicate a specific order of the components. Also, in this specification, unless a specific number is particularly indicated, the article "a" means one component or a plurality of components.

[0022] To fully understand the object, features, and effects of the present invention, the present invention will be described in detail as follows with reference to the accompanying drawings according to the following specific embodiments.

[0023] Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective schematic view of a semiconductor container according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a front schematic view of a semiconductor container according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor container 1 includes a container body 10, a container door 20, a support member 30, and a gas diffusion device 100. The container body 10 has an accommodation space S capable of accommodating a semiconductor work (for example, a substrate, etc.), the container door 20 is used to selectively open and close the opening of the semiconductor container 1, and the support member 30 is provided in the accommodation space S of the semiconductor container 1 and is provided on both sides, for example, to support and place a substrate.

[0024] As shown in Figure 2, the gas diffusion device 100 is installed within the containment space S and is used to introduce gas into the containment space S. In one embodiment, if there are two gas diffusion devices 100, the two gas diffusion devices 100 are installed within the containment space S and away from the opening side, for example, on the inside of the rear wall of the container body 10 so that the clean gas from the gas diffusion devices 100 can be blown out toward the opening of the container. However, the number or installation position of the gas diffusion devices 100 is not limited to this. The support member 30 has multiple mounting sections (also called slots) for mounting multiple substrates (for example, it has 25 sections for mounting 25 substrates), and the gas diffusion device 100 may be installed perpendicular to the substrate mounting surface, thereby providing gas purging at each layer of the support member 30's mounting section. For example, the container body 10 can receive gas purging from the gas diffusion device 100 from the bottom layer (e.g., the first layer) to the top layer (e.g., the 25th layer) of its containment space S. The gas supply source is introduced into the gas diffusion device 100 from the bottom of the container body 10.

[0025] As described in the background technology section, in some application scenarios, when purging the containment space S of a semiconductor container 1 using a general gas diffusion device, the container door 10 may be in an open state. In this open environment, the substance to be removed by purging the container (e.g., moist air or particles) tends to flow downwards. When nitrogen is used as the gas for purging, the low gas density of nitrogen means that the amount of air blown to the upper mounting area of ​​the support member 30 is greater than that to the lower layer. As a result, the purging effect becomes uneven, and the substance to be removed by purging tends to accumulate in the area of ​​the lower mounting area of ​​the support member 30. In other words, moisture or fine particles tend to accumulate in the containment space S at the bottom of the container body 10. Accordingly, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gas diffusion device 100 includes a diffuser body 101, and a first part and a second part provided on the diffuser body 101, wherein the first part and the second part have different airflow rates, so that the diffuser body 101 can be adjusted to have different airflow rates at different heights in the containment space S, thereby improving the purging effect.

[0026] Please refer to Figure 3, a schematic cross-sectional view of a gas diffusion device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention, in conjunction with Figure 2. The gas diffusion device 100 includes at least one diffuser body 101, and a first part 110 and a second part 120 provided on the diffuser body 101. Here, the first part 110 and the second part 120 may be provided connected to each other or provided spaced apart. The first part 110 has a first airflow rate, and the second part 120 has a second airflow rate, and the first and second airflow rates are different. As a result, when gas enters the diffuser body 101 (for example, from below), it passes through the first part 110 and the second part 120 of the diffuser body 101 and is blown out to the outside, and the airflow AF flowing out from the first part 110 and the second part 120 each have different airflow rates.

[0027] The design, which features different airflow rates for the first section 110 and the second section 120, allows for adjustment of airflow rates to different areas within the semiconductor container 1's containment space as needed, thereby achieving purging effects in different areas. For example, if the substance to be purged is accumulated in the bottom layer of the containment space S, increasing the airflow rate to the bottom layer can improve the purging effect there. If the first section 110 is located at the bottom of the diffuser body 101 (corresponding to the bottom layer of the containment space S) and the second section 120 is located in the upper-middle section of the diffuser body 101 (corresponding to the middle and upper layers of the containment space S), setting the first airflow rate of the first section 110 to be greater than the second airflow rate of the second section 120 can improve the purging effect at the bottom layer of the containment space S. Furthermore, for example, as mentioned above, if the clean gas is nitrogen, the upper portion of the containment space S of the diffuser body 101, such as the second portion 120, can be set to have a low airflow rate, and the lower portion of the containment space S, such as the first portion 110, can be set to have a high airflow rate. This reduces the amount of airflow to the upper layer of the mounting portion of the support member 30 and increases the amount of airflow to the lower layer of the mounting portion of the support member 30, thereby achieving the effect of uniform purging.

[0028] In one embodiment, the density of the first part 110 is lower than that of the second part 120, resulting in a first airflow rate greater than a second airflow rate. For example, when a gas supply source is introduced into the gas diffusion device 100 from the bottom of the container body 10, the clean gas passes through the first part 110 of the diffuser body, which has a lower density, and the second part 120 of the diffuser body, which has a higher density, and is blown into the containment space S. At this time, because the first part 110 has a lower density, the gas tends to accumulate in the first part 110 and be blown out to the outside, and because the density of the second part 120 is higher, the amount of gas accumulated in the second part 120 that is blown out is small, thereby achieving the effect that the first airflow rate is greater than the second airflow rate. As shown in Figure 3, the difference in airflow rate is represented by the fact that the width of the airflow AF blown out from the first part 110 is greater than the width of the airflow AF blown out from the second part 120. Furthermore, by changing and adjusting the density of the first section 110 and the second section 120, the airflow rate of each section can be further controlled, thereby improving the airflow distribution and airflow conditions, and enhancing the desired gas purging effect.

[0029] As mentioned above, the density difference between the first part 110 and the second part 120 includes, but is not limited to, the density difference of the materials themselves that constitute the first part 110 and the second part 120, such as pore size, particle size, material density, and void size. It also includes the density difference when considering the first part 110 or the second part 120 of the diffuser body 101 as a whole. For example, if the appearance, volume, and material of the first part 110 and the second part 120 are exactly the same, but a part of the first part 110 is hollow, then the density of the first part 110 can be said to be smaller than the density of the second part 120. Therefore, the density difference between the first part 110 and the second part 120 is sufficient as long as there is a difference in density as a whole that can cause differences in gas flow, pressure, accumulation, flow velocity, flow rate, flow direction, etc., but is not limited to the situations exemplified above.

[0030] It should be noted that the distribution method of the first part 110 and the second part 120 is not limited to the drawings. The distribution method of the first part 110 and the second part 120 may be continuous connection or connected with a gap in between. For example, a spacer area without other airflow may be provided between the first part 110 and the second part 120. Furthermore, the differences in the distribution of the first part 110 and the second part 120 are not limited to the height direction, but may be distributed in different forms in other directions or parts, such as the lateral direction, axial direction, radial direction, inside / outside, or irregularly.

[0031] In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, the first portion 110 is hollow and the second portion 120 is solid, and the first airflow rate of the first portion 110 (thick line indicating airflow AF) is greater than the second airflow rate of the second portion 120 (thin line indicating airflow AF). In this case, it can also be said that the density of the first portion 110 is less than the density of the second portion 120. As a result, when gas enters the gas diffusion device 100 (for example, from below), it passes through the hollow first portion 110 and the solid second portion 120 of the gas diffusion device 100 and flows out from the first portion 110 and the second portion 120, respectively, and the airflow AF flowing out from the hollow first portion 110 and the solid second portion 120 have different airflow rates.

[0032] It is worth noting that the solidity described here does not mean a solidity that prevents gas from passing through, but rather a structure in which a gas-permeable material is filled into a hollow, material-free portion. For example, this is a solid sintered particle structure, and this solid sintered structure can be further divided into structures with different densities of solid sintered coarse particles and solid sintered fine particles. That is, even the solid portion may have different material densities. In one embodiment, the hollow portion is formed by hollow sintering of the entire tube, and the solid portion is formed by solid sintered coarse particles or solid sintered fine particles with different particle sizes. In one embodiment, all of the aforementioned materials are porous materials.

[0033] In one embodiment, the first part 110 and the second part 120 may be made of the same material, that is, the first part 110 and the second part 120 are made of the same material as a whole. However, the first part 110 and the second part 120 may have different arrangement densities, different structures such as being solid or hollow inside, thereby providing different airflow rates. For example, the first part 110 and the second part 120 can achieve different overall densities and different airflow rates by different structural designs, such as porosity and solid / hollow ratio.

[0034] In one embodiment, the first part 110 and the second part 120 may be made of different materials, thereby achieving different densities. Examples include sintered structures with different particle sizes, or filter meshes and filter materials with different pore sizes. It should be noted that the same or different materials in the first part 110 and the second part 120 may, but are not limited to, the same or different materials in each part of the first part 110 and the second part 120, such as the interior or the surface.

[0035] In one embodiment, the first part 110 and the second part 120 have different proportions in the gas diffusion device 100, namely different distribution proportions in the length direction and different distribution proportions in the height direction, thereby allowing for adjustment of different airflow rates and specific airflow locations corresponding to those different airflow rates.

[0036] In one embodiment, the first portion 110 accounts for the first proportion of the gas diffusion device 100, and the second portion 120 accounts for the second proportion of the gas diffusion device 100. For example, as shown in the schematic diagrams on the left and right of Figure 3, the first portion 110 and the second portion 120 have different distribution ratios within the entire diffuser body 101.

[0037] In one embodiment, the ratio of the first proportion to the second proportion is variable, meaning that different airflow distributions can be obtained by further adjusting the ratio of the first proportion to the second proportion according to the amount of air blown to each desired region (for example, corresponding to the support members of each layer in the height direction). In one embodiment, the ratio of the first proportion to the second proportion is approximately 1:3, meaning that the first proportion accounts for approximately 1 / 4 of the entire diffuser body 101. This allows the bottom layer region, where the purged material is likely to accumulate, to have a large airflow, thus achieving uniform purging throughout the entire containment space. Furthermore, when the ratio of the first proportion to the second proportion is approximately 1:3, and the first part 110 is made of a hollow sintered low-density material and the second part 120 is made of a solid sintered low-density material, the purging effect at the bottom layer of the containment area, which roughly corresponds to the substrate of the lower layer (for example, the first layer) of the support member mounting section, is good, and the moisture recovery rate can be reduced by approximately 50%. Details of this will be described later.

[0038] In one embodiment, the ratio of the first to the second is 3:4, which also results in a large airflow rate throughout the lower region where the purged substance is likely to accumulate, thereby improving the purging effect of the entire containment space. In one embodiment, the depth of the hollow hole in the first part 110 is 54 mm. In one embodiment, the depth of the hollow hole in the first part 110 is 94 mm. In one embodiment, the shape of the gas diffusion device 100 is an elliptical tube.

[0039] Referring to Figure 4, a schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the gas diffusion device 100 of the present invention, the first part 110 and the second part 120 of the diffuser body 101 are both hollow, and the density of the first part 110 is lower than the density of the second part 120, so the first airflow rate is greater than the second airflow rate. Here, the outer layer of the first part 110 may also be called the housing of the gas diffusion device 100, and the densities of the outer layers of the first part 110 and the second part 120 are different. If the fact that the density of the outer layer of the first part 110 is lower than the density of the outer layer of the second part 120 is represented by dotted lines of different densities, then the first airflow rate of the first part 110 will be greater than the second airflow rate of the second part 120. However, it should be noted that the housing described herein is not limited in thickness, and is not limited to merely a "housing" or "outer layer," but anything that is partially hollow inside and has a difference in overall density falls within the scope of this disclosure. This makes it possible to achieve differences in the magnitude of the airflow AF even if the first part 110 and the second part 120 are both hollow but have different densities and / or materials.

[0040] Referring to Figure 5, a schematic cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of the gas diffusion device 100 of the present invention, the gas diffusion device 100 further comprises a third part 130, which is provided on the diffuser body 101 and has a third airflow rate, and the third airflow rate is different from the second airflow rate. Naturally, depending on the different cleanliness requirements of the gas purge, the third airflow rate, the second airflow rate, and the first airflow rate may be the same, partially the same, different, or sequentially increased or decreased. As described in each of the embodiments above, in order to adjust the configuration according to actual requirements and to flexibly adjust the magnitude of the airflow rates of the different parts, the third part 130 may be made of the same or different material as the first part 110 and / or the second part 120, the third part 130 may have the same or different density as the first part 110 and / or the second part 120, and the third part 130 may be hollow or solid.

[0041] In one embodiment, the gas diffusion device 100 may further have a fourth section 140, which is provided on the diffuser body 101 and has a fourth airflow rate. It should be noted that the number, material, hollow or solid, density, etc., of each section do not necessarily have to be completely different, and can be combined in various ways based on the parameters according to the actual requirements to obtain different airflow rates in each section.

[0042] In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 5, the gas diffusion device 100 includes a diffuser body 101 and a first part 110, a second part 120, a third part 130, and a fourth part 140 located on the diffuser body 101. The first part 110, the second part 120, the third part 130, and the fourth part 140 are connected sequentially from bottom to top, and the density of each part increases sequentially. This multi-stage design allows for more precise adjustment of the airflow ratio of each part of the diffuser body 101, and further allows for precise adjustment of the effect of the gas diffusion device 100 in purging the containment space S of the semiconductor container 1.

[0043] By employing the same or different densities and / or materials, etc., as disclosed in each of the above embodiments, the gas diffusion device 100 of the embodiments of the present invention can provide different airflow volumes in different parts according to different design requirements, and further improve the problem of particles or moisture accumulating in different locations or areas within the containment space of the semiconductor container, thereby achieving a more effective purging and cleaning effect. In addition, by setting each part of the gas diffusion device 100 to the same or different densities and / or materials, etc., it is possible to solve problems such as the air pressure being too high or the airflow being too fast in some areas, or the airflow being too weak in some areas, and it is also possible to differentially adjust the airflow volume in desired parts according to actual requirements and scenes, achieving the effect that the airflow volume in each part can be controlled simply by adjusting the structure and materials of the gas diffusion device 100 itself.

[0044] Please refer to Figure 6, which shows a schematic diagram comparing the purging effect of different configurations of a gas diffusion device according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 shows the changes in humid air measured in each part of the lowest layer of the containment space S, for example, the lower layer (e.g., the first layer) below the support member mounting section. Each data line represents the time-to-humidity ratio relationship at different locations within the containment space S, where HT1 is the center of the bottom of the container, HT2 is near the opening at the bottom of the container, HT4 is near the rear wall at the bottom of the container, and HT3 and HT5 are on either side of HT1. Here, Figure 6(A) shows that the average value of the hollow tubular fine particle configuration is 28.924, Figure 6(B) shows that the average value of the 1 / 2 solid coarse particle configuration is 25.832, and Figure 6(C) shows that the average value of the 3 / 4 solid fine particle configuration is 16.492. These results show that the gas diffusion device 100 of the embodiment of the present invention can effectively reduce the recovery of moisture and other substances in the lowest layer of the container and improve the purging effect in the lowest layer. Furthermore, according to the porous gas diffusion device of the embodiment of the present invention having parts with different proportions, the amount of air supplied for purging can be controlled by the porous material of the hollow and solid parts with different proportions. According to the experimental results in Figure 6, in a configuration where the first and second proportions are approximately 1:3 (low-density 3 / 4 solid sintered), favorable results were obtained in the lowest layer (first layer) of the containment space S, reducing the moisture recovery rate by approximately 50% and effectively reducing the rate of humid air recovery in the lower layers of the containment space. The recovery reduction effect in the lowest layer (first layer) of the containment space S is as follows: 3 / 4 solid sintered coarse particles > 1 / 2 tube solid sintered fine particles > whole tube hollow sintered.

[0045] Although the present invention has been disclosed using preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that these embodiments are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. In particular, all equivalent modifications and substitutions to those in these embodiments are included within the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the claims, and the scope of the appended claims should be interpreted most broadly to include all modifications, similar configurations, and processes. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0046] 1. Semiconductor container 10 Container body 20 container doors 30 Support member 100 Gas Diffusion Device 101 Diffuser body 110 Part 1 120 Part 2 130 Part 3 140 Part 4 AF airflow S Containment space

Claims

1. A gas diffusion device used in semiconductor containers, At least one diffuser body, The diffuser body is provided with a first portion having a first airflow rate, The diffuser body is provided with a second part having a second airflow rate, The first airflow rate and the second airflow rate are different. Gas diffusion device.

2. The density of the first portion is less than the density of the second portion, and the first airflow rate is greater than the second airflow rate. The gas diffusion apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The first portion is hollow, the second portion is solid, the density of the hollow portion is less than the density of the solid portion, and the first airflow rate is greater than the second airflow rate. The gas diffusion apparatus according to claim 1.

4. The first and second parts are both hollow, the density of the first part is less than the density of the second part, and the first airflow rate is greater than the second airflow rate. The gas diffusion apparatus according to claim 1.

5. The first part and the second part are made of different materials. The gas diffusion apparatus according to claim 1.

6. The first part and the second part are made of the same material. The gas diffusion apparatus according to claim 1.

7. The third portion further includes having a third airflow rate different from the second airflow rate, The gas diffusion apparatus according to claim 1.

8. The first part, the second part, and the third part are provided in sequence, and the first airflow rate, the second airflow rate, and the third airflow rate increase or decrease in sequence. The gas diffusion apparatus according to claim 7.

9. The first portion constitutes a first proportion of the diffuser body, and the second portion constitutes a second proportion of the diffuser body. The gas diffusion apparatus according to claim 1.

10. The ratio between the first proportion and the second proportion is variable. The gas diffusion apparatus according to claim 9.

11. The ratio of the first to the second proportion is 1:

3. The gas diffusion apparatus according to claim 9.

12. A container body having a storage space, A support member provided within the aforementioned storage space and used to support the substrate, A gas diffusion device provided within the aforementioned containment space, The diffuser body and The diffuser body is provided with a first portion having a first airflow rate, The diffuser body is provided with a second part having a second airflow rate, A gas diffusion device having different first and second airflow rates, Semiconductor container.

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