Cassette Lid Opening Device

Abstract

To provide a cassette lid opening device for relatively quickly obtaining a desired cleaning gas concentration level in a wafer cassette by minimizing the amount of cleaning gas to be used.SOLUTION: In an assembly 10, a cassette lid opening device 12 comprises: a wall structure 14 having a separation wall 16 and a wall opening 26 for transferring wafers therethrough; a cassette docking port 28; and a lid handler 30 provided to the wall structure. The cassette docking port is arranged at a first side 18 of the wall structure for docking a wafer cassette 80. The lid handler is movable relative to the wall opening and configured to engage with a cassette lid 84 of the wafer cassette docked in the cassette docking port. The cassette lid opening device further comprises a blower 36 having an elongated slit-like nozzle 38 substantially spanning a height or width of the wall opening and configured to blow a curtain-shaped jet stream 40 of purge gas into a cassette interior 88 of the wafer cassette.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] SUMMARY The present disclosure relates generally to cassette lid opening devices for use in clean room equipment. [Background technology]

[0002] Wafer cassettes are used in cleanroom environments to transport wafers to and from cleanroom equipment such as vertical batch furnaces. An example of such a wafer cassette is a front opening integrated pod, or FOUP, which is used to transport 300 mm wafers. The wafer cassette can be placed against a lid opening device, which can be placed in an opening in a wall of the cleanroom equipment. The opening in the wall can be closed by a door. For example, the wall can separate a first environment, such as, for example, a cassette operation space, from a second environment, such as, for example, a wafer operation space. The lid opening device can be configured to open the lid and door of the wafer cassette, but also prevent particulates / contaminants from entering the wafer cassette and / or the second environment. Because the wafer cassette is not airtight, it can be filled with cleanroom air present in the cleanroom environment. When the second environment of the cleanroom apparatus uses a purge gas such as nitrogen (N2) to reduce the levels of O2 / H2O in the second environment, it is preferable that the cleanroom air within the wafer cassette is at least partially removed before the door is opened. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the Detailed Description of Exemplary Embodiments of the Disclosure below. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter or to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0004] The objective is to obtain the desired purge gas concentration level within the wafer cassette relatively quickly while minimizing the amount of purge gas used.

[0005] To that end, a cassette lid opening device may be provided. More particularly, a cassette lid opening device may be provided for use in a clean room apparatus configured to cooperate with a wafer cassette. The wafer cassette may comprise a cassette body defining a cassette interior for receiving wafers and may have a cassette opening that may be closed by a cassette lid. The cassette lid opening device may comprise a wall structure, a cassette docking port, and / or a lid handler provided on the wall structure. The wall structure may have a separation wall having a first side bounding a first space and an opposing second wall bounding a second space. The separation wall may have a wall opening for transferring wafers therethrough. The cassette docking port may be disposed on the first side of the wall structure for docking a wafer cassette contained in the first space. The lid handler may be movable relative to the wall opening and may be configured to engage a cassette lid of a wafer cassette coupled to the cassette docking port. The lid handler may have a closed position in which the engaged cassette lid closes the cassette body. The lid handler can have an opening position where the engaged cassette lid is separated from the cassette body. The cassette lid opening device can further comprise a pneumatic flow generator, e.g., a blower, having an elongated, slit-like nozzle spanning substantially the height or width of the wall opening, and can be configured to blow a curtain-shaped jet flow of purge gas into the cassette interior, away from the separation wall, in the direction of the first space.

[0006] An assembly for use in a cleanroom apparatus may also be provided. The assembly may include a wafer cassette, which may have a cassette body and a cassette lid. The cassette body may define a cassette interior for receiving the wafers and may have a cassette opening. The cassette lid may be configured to close the cassette opening. The assembly may further include a cassette lid opening device according to the present description.

[0007] The present disclosure may also provide a method for opening and purging a wafer cassette. The method may include providing a wafer cassette that may include a cassette body defining a cassette interior for receiving wafers and that may have a cassette opening. The wafer cassette may further include a cassette lid for closing the cassette opening. The method may further include moving the cassette lid to an open position relative to the cassette body to open the wafer cassette, and may include purging the cassette interior by blowing a curtain-shaped jet of purging gas into the cassette interior while moving the curtain-shaped jet along substantially the entire width or height of the cassette opening.

[0008] In order to summarize the invention and the advantages achieved over the prior art, some objects and advantages of the invention have been described hereinabove. Of course, it should be understood that not all such objects or advantages may necessarily be achieved by any particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, for example, a person skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be implemented or performed to achieve or optimize one advantage or a group of advantages taught or suggested herein, without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages taught or suggested herein.

[0009] Various embodiments are claimed in the dependent claims, which will be further elucidated with reference to the examples shown in the figures. The embodiments can be combined or can also be applied separately from one another.

[0010] All of these embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the invention disclosed herein. These and other embodiments will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of several embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures. The invention is not limited to any particular embodiment disclosed.

[0011] While the specification concludes with claims which particularly point out and distinctly claim what are believed to be embodiments of the present disclosure, the advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be more readily ascertained from a description of several example embodiments of the present disclosure when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a top cross-sectional view of an example assembly according to the present description. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows the example of FIG. 1 with the lid handler in an open position in front of the wall opening and the left purge gas jet not yet blown into the cassette interior. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 shows the example of FIGS. 1 and 2 with the lid handler moving laterally to the right, parallel to the separation wall, and the jet stream blowing into the cassette interior on the left side of the cassette body. [Figure 4] A figure showing the example of Figures 1 to 3 with the lid handler moving further sideways to the right and the jet stream also blowing further to the right into the cassette interior, with the area of ​​purge gas to the left of the jet stream. [Diagram 5] A figure showing the example of Figures 1 to 4 in which the lid handler has moved further to the right, and the jet flow is blown into the interior of the cassette at the right side of the cassette body, and the area of ​​purified gas completely occupies the interior of the cassette. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] In the present application, similar or corresponding features are indicated by similar or corresponding reference symbols. The description of the various embodiments is not limited to the examples shown in the figures, and the reference numerals used in the detailed description and claims are not intended to limit the description of the embodiments, but are included to clarify the embodiments by reference to the examples shown in the figures.

[0014] Although several embodiments and examples are disclosed below, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments and / or applications of the present invention, as well as obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the scope of the disclosed invention should not be limited by the specific disclosed embodiments described below. The figures presented herein are not meant to be actual illustrations of any particular materials, structures, or devices, but merely idealized representations used to describe embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] As used herein, the term "wafer" can refer to any underlying material or materials that can be used upon which devices, circuits, or films can be formed.

[0016] In the most general terms, the present disclosure provides a cassette lid opening device 12 for use in a cleanroom apparatus configured to cooperate with a wafer cassette 80. The wafer cassette 80 may include a cassette body 82 defining a cassette interior 88 for receiving wafers and may have a cassette opening 86 that may be closed with a cassette lid 84. The cassette lid opening device 12 may include a wall structure 14, a cassette docking port 28, and a lid handler 30 disposed in the wall structure 14. The wall structure may include a separation wall 16 having a first side 18 that bounds a first space 22 and an opposing second side 20 that bounds a second space 24. The separation wall 16 may have a wall opening 26 for transporting wafers therethrough. A cassette docking port 28 may be disposed in the first side 18 of the wall structure 14 for docking a wafer cassette contained in the first space 22. The lid handler 30 can be movable relative to the wall opening 26 and can be configured to engage a cassette lid 84 of a wafer cassette 80 coupled to the cassette docking port 28. The lid handler 30 can have a closed position in which the engaged cassette lid 84 closes the cassette body 82. The lid handler 30 can have an open position in which the engaged cassette lid 84 moves away from the cassette body 82. The cassette lid opening device 12 can further comprise a pneumatic flow generator, such as, for example, a blower 36, having an elongated, slit-like nozzle 38 substantially spanning the height or width of the wall opening 26, and can be configured to blow a curtain-shaped jet flow 40 of purge gas away from the separation wall 16, in the direction of the first space 22, and into the cassette interior 88.

[0017] The pneumatic flow generator or blower 36 is configured to blow a curtain-shaped jet of purge gas 40 into the cassette interior 88, whereby the jet of purge gas 40 forms a purge gas front that blows away the cleanroom air. Because the jet is a curtain-shaped jet 40, it can divide the cassette interior into two areas 90, 92, one area to the left and one area to the right of the curtain-shaped jet. Because the nozzle 38 of the blower 36 is an elongated, slit-like nozzle 38 that is substantially the height or width of the wall opening 26, the jet 40 can also range from one end of the cassette interior 88 to the opposite end. Because the sides of the jet 40 thus flow past the sides of the cassette body 82, the cleanroom air in the cassette interior 88 cannot pass these sides of the jet 40, allowing a clear division between the areas 90, 92 on both sides of the curtain-shaped jet without air flow from one area to the other. The speed at which the jet stream 40 is blown into the cassette interior 88 can be adapted to the height or width of the dimensions of the wall opening 26 and to the depth of the cassette interior 88. In this way, the front of the jet stream can displace the cleanroom air and replace it with the purge gas. Since the wafers are usually oriented horizontally inside the cassette, it is advantageous for the nozzle 38 to be in the range of the height of the wall opening 26, i.e. in the range of the wall opening 26 in the vertical direction. Since the purge gas does not substantially mix with the cleanroom air, less purge gas is needed to replace the air in the wafer cassette 80 than with a method based on "mixing and diluting" the cleanroom air present in the wafer cassette 80 with the purge gas. Not only is less purge gas needed, but the purge time can also be reduced.

[0018] In an embodiment, the blower 36 can be constructed and positioned to be moveable substantially along the entire width or height of the cassette opening 86 and can be configured to blow air into the cassette interior 88. The lid handler 30 can be configured to move the engaged cassette lid 84 laterally, parallel to the separation wall 16. The blower 36 can be connected to the lid handler 30 and configured to blow air past the engaged cassette lid 84 and into the cassette interior 88.

[0019] By connecting the blower 36 to the lid handler 30 which can move laterally, the jet stream can move laterally with the lid handler 30. This allows the front of the jet stream to move from one side of the cassette interior 88 to the other opposite side, thereby sweeping and pushing out the cleanroom air in the cassette interior 88. An example of how this works is shown in Figs. 2-5. For example, assume that the cassette interior 88 is bounded by a square or rectangular shape having a bottom wall, a top wall, and two side walls. The curtain-shaped jet stream 40 then spans the cassette interior 88 from the bottom wall to the top wall, thereby dividing the cassette interior 88 into a left area 90 and a right area 92. At the start of the cleaning, the entire cassette interior 88 is filled with cleanroom air, as can be seen in Fig. 2. The cleaning will then start with the jet stream 40 blowing along the left or right wall of the cassette interior 88. Assume that the jet stream initially blows past the left wall of the cassette interior 88, as can be seen in FIG. 3. The cleanroom air is then restricted to an area 92 to the right of the jet stream 40. The lid handler 30, and therefore the jet stream 40, can move substantially to the right. By doing so, the area 92 to the right of the jet stream 40 that is filled with cleanroom air becomes smaller and smaller, as can be seen in FIG. 4, while at the same time the area 90 to the left of the jet stream 40 becomes larger and larger. Eventually, as can be seen in FIG. 5, the jet stream 40 will reach the right wall of the cassette interior 88 and all of the cleanroom air will be expelled from the cassette interior.

[0020] In an embodiment, the blower 36 may include a convex surface 42. The elongated, slit-like nozzle 38 may be configured to blow a jet stream 40 over the convex surface 42. The cassette lid opening device 12 may further include a second purge gas source 44 that supplies a second purge gas around the convex surface 42 such that, as a result of the Coanda effect, at least a portion of the supplied second purge gas is entrained by the purge gas jet stream 40 and blown over the convex surface 42.

[0021] The Coanda effect is the tendency of the jet stream 40 to become attached to the convex surface 42. When blowing over the convex surface 42, the Coanda effect creates an underpressure on the side of the jet stream 40 opposite the convex surface 42. Surrounding gas is entrained along with the jet stream 40 due to this underpressure. Because of this entrainment, the effect of the blower 36 is amplified, creating a very uniform flow of the jet stream 40. The convex surface 42 over which the jet stream 40 is blown therefore creates an ideal injector with a uniform outlet flow.

[0022] In an embodiment, the blower 36 may be configured to blow a curtain-shaped jet 40 of purge gas substantially throughout the entire depth of the cassette body 82 .

[0023] By ensuring that the jet stream 40 blows through the entire depth of the cassette body 82, the jet stream 40 reaches the far end of the cassette body 82 opposite the cassette opening 86. This prevents cleanroom air from bypassing the jet stream 40 at this far end and reaching an area 90 of the cassette interior 88 that has already been cleaned.

[0024] In an embodiment, the wall structure 14 may include an exhaust port 46. The exhaust port 46 may be configured to remove gas from the cassette interior 88 when the lid handler 30 is moved from the closed position to the open position and when the lid handler 30 is in the open position. The exhaust port 46 may include a Venturi tube.

[0025] The exhaust port 46 prevents gas buildup within the cassette interior 88. The exhaust port 46 is preferably located in a position in the direction that the jet stream 40 drives the cleanroom air. In the example shown, this is near the right wall of the cassette body 82.

[0026] In an embodiment, the cassette lid opening device 12 may further comprise a door 48 and a door handler 50. The door 48 may be configured to close the wall opening 26 in the separation wall 16 and may be movable relative to the wall opening 26. The door handler 50 may be connected to the door 48. The door handler 50 may be configured to move the door 48 to a closed position, in which the door 48 closes the wall opening 26, and to an open position, in which the door is moved laterally away from the wall opening 26.

[0027] In an embodiment, the door handler 50 may be connected to the lid handler 30 for lateral movement together.

[0028] The jet stream 40 blows, expels or blows away the cleanroom air in the cassette interior 88, preventing this cleanroom air from reaching the second space 24 on the other side of the separation wall 16 and the door 48. The door 48 therefore does not have to remain closed until all of the cleanroom air has been expelled from the cassette interior 88. The door 48 can already be open during purging, and the door 48 can move together with the lid handler 30. The opening of the door 48 is not done after the movement of the lid handler 30, but at the same time, saving time. Doing so can have a positive effect on the throughput of the cleanroom equipment of which the cassette lid opening device can be a part.

[0029] In an embodiment, the second space 24 may be a miniature environment of a clean room apparatus.

[0030] The present disclosure also provides an assembly 10 for use in a clean room apparatus, examples of which are shown in Figures 1-5. The assembly 10 may include a wafer cassette 80. The wafer cassette 80 may include a cassette body 82 and a cassette lid 84. The cassette body 82 may define a cassette interior 88 for receiving wafers and may have a cassette opening 86. The cassette lid 84 may be configured to close the cassette opening 86. The assembly 10 may further include a cassette lid opening device 12 according to the present description.

[0031] The effects and advantages of the assembly 10 are similar to those discussed above with respect to the cassette lid opening device, and these effects and advantages are hereby incorporated by reference.

[0032] In an embodiment, the wafer cassette 80 may comprise a front opening integrated pod (FOUP). The FOUP is standard sized and used for 300 mm wafers. This may increase the interchangeability of the cassette lid opening device used with wafer cassettes from different manufacturers. It may also increase the interchangeability of the cassette lid opening device used in clean room equipment of different manufacturers.

[0033] The present disclosure may also disclose a method for opening and purging a wafer cassette 80. The method may include providing a wafer cassette 80 having a cassette body 82 defining a cassette interior 88 for receiving wafers, the wafer cassette 80 having a cassette opening 86. The wafer cassette 80 may further include a cassette lid 84 for closing the cassette opening 86. The method may further include moving the cassette lid 84 relative to the cassette body 82 to an open position for opening the wafer cassette 80, and may include purging the cassette interior 88 by blowing a curtain-shaped jet of purge gas 40 into the cassette interior 88 while moving the curtain-shaped jet 40 along substantially the entire width or height of the cassette opening 86.

[0034] The effects and advantages of this method are similar to those described with reference to the lid opening device, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0035] In an embodiment, purging can occur during at least the movement of the cassette lid 84. The movement of the curtain-shaped jet 40 substantially along the entire width or height of the cassette opening 86 and the movement of the cassette lid 84 can be coupled movements.

[0036] Cleaning can be accomplished by the cassette lid opening device 12 according to the present description. The advantages of cleaning the cassette interior 88 during movement of the cassette lid 84 have been described with respect to the device 12 having the feature that the lid handler 30 can be configured to move an engaged cassette lid 84 laterally, parallel to the separation wall 16. The same advantages and benefits described therein also apply to this embodiment of the method.

[0037] Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described above, in part with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. From a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims, those skilled in the art will be able to understand and effect variations to the disclosed embodiments in practicing the claimed invention.

[0038] Throughout this specification, a reference to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described with respect to that embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this description do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment.

[0039] Furthermore, it should be noted that one or more specific features, structures, or characteristics of the various embodiments described above may be implemented independently of one another or may be combined in any suitable manner to form new, not expressly described, embodiments. The reference numbers used in the detailed description and claims do not limit the description of the embodiments, and do not limit the scope of the claims. The reference numbers are used for clarity only. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 10 assembly 12 Cassette lid opening device 14 Wall structure 16 Separation wall 18 First aspect 20 The second aspect 22 The First Space 24 The Second Space 26 Wall Opening 28 Cassette connection port 30 Lid Handler 36 Blower 38 Nozzles 40 Jet Stream 42 Convex Surface 44 Secondary Purification Gas Source 46 Exhaust port 48 Doors 50 Door Handler 80 Wafer Cassette 82 Cassette body 84 Cassette Lid 86 Cassette opening 88 Inside the cassette 90 Area filled with purifying gas 92 Clean room air filled area

Claims

1. 1. A cassette lid opening device (12) for use in a clean room apparatus configured to cooperate with a wafer cassette (80), the wafer cassette (80) comprising a cassette body (82) defining a cassette interior (88) for receiving wafers and having a cassette opening (86) that can be closed with a cassette lid (84), the cassette lid opening device (12) comprising: a wall structure (14) having a separation wall (16) with a first side (18) bounding a first space (22) and with an opposite second side (20) bounding a second space (24), said separation wall (16) having a wall opening (26) for transporting wafers therethrough; a cassette connection port (28) arranged on said first side (18) of said wall structure (14) for connection of a wafer cassette housed in said first space (22); a lid handler (30) provided on said wall structure (14), movable relative to said wall opening (26) and configured to engage said cassette lid (84) of said wafer cassette (80) coupled at said cassette coupling port (28), said lid handler (30) having a closed position in which said engaged cassette lid (84) closes said cassette body (82) and an open position in which said engaged cassette lid (84) is separated from said cassette body (82); Equipped with the cassette lid opening device (12) further comprises a blower (36) having an elongated, slit-like nozzle (38) spanning substantially the height or width of the wall opening (26), the blower (36) being configured to blow a curtain-shaped jet flow (40) of purge gas away from the separating wall (16) and towards the first space (22) and into the cassette interior (88); The cassette lid opening device (12), wherein the blower (36) is constructed and arranged to be movable along substantially the entire width of the cassette opening (86) and configured to blow air into the cassette interior (88).

2. 2. The cassette lid opening device of claim 1, wherein the lid handler (30) is configured to move the engaged cassette lid (84) laterally parallel to the separation wall (16), and the blower (36) is connected to the lid handler (30) and configured to blow a curtain-shaped jet flow (40) of purge gas past the engaged cassette lid (84) and into the cassette interior (88).

3. 3. A cassette lid opening device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the blower (36) comprises a convex surface (42) disposed beneath the nozzle, and the elongated, slit-like nozzle (38) is configured to blow the jet stream (40) over the convex surface (42).

4. 4. A cassette lid opening device as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a second purge gas source (44) supplying a second purge gas around said convex surface (42), and wherein as a result of the Coanda effect, at least a portion of said supplied second purge gas is entrained by said jet (40) of purge gas blown over said convex surface (42).

5. 5. A cassette lid opening device according to claim 1, wherein the blower (36) is configured to blow the curtain-shaped jet (40) of purge gas substantially throughout the entire depth of the cassette body (82).

6. 6. A cassette lid opening device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the wall structure (14) comprises an exhaust port (46) configured to remove gas from the cassette interior (88) when the lid handler (30) is moving from the closed position to the open position and when in the open position.

7. The cassette lid opening device of claim 6, wherein said exhaust port (46) comprises a Venturi tube.

8. a door (48) configured to close said wall opening (26) in said separating wall (16) and movable relative to said wall opening (26); a door handler (50) connected to said door (48), said door (48) being a closed position in which the door (48) closes the wall opening (26); and an open position in which the door is moved laterally away from the wall opening (26); a door handler (50) configured to move to 8. A cassette lid opening device according to claim 1, further comprising:

9. 9. A cassette lid opening device according to claim 8, wherein said door handler (50) is connected to said lid handler (30) for lateral movement therewith.

10. A cassette lid opening device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said second space (24) is a mini-environment of said clean room apparatus.

11. An assembly (10) for use in a cleanroom apparatus, comprising: a wafer cassette (80), a cassette body (82) defining a cassette interior (88) for receiving wafers and having a cassette opening (86); and A cassette lid (84) configured to close said cassette opening (86); A wafer cassette (80) comprising: - the cassette lid opening device (12) according to any one of claims 1 to 10; An assembly (10) comprising:

12. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the wafer cassette (80) comprises a FOUP.

13. A method for opening and cleaning a wafer cassette (80) with a cassette lid opening device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising: providing a wafer cassette (80) comprising a cassette body (82) defining a cassette interior (88) for receiving wafers and having a cassette opening (86), said wafer cassette (80) further comprising a cassette lid (84) for closing said cassette opening (86); - moving the cassette lid (84) relative to the cassette body (82) to an open position for opening the wafer cassette (80); - purifying the cassette interior (88) by blowing a curtain-shaped jet (40) of purge gas into the cassette interior (88) while moving the curtain-shaped jet (40) along substantially the entire width or height of the cassette opening (86); Including, The cleaning step occurs at least during the moving step of the cassette lid (84), and the moving of the curtain-shaped jet stream (40) substantially along the entire width of the cassette opening (86) and the moving of the cassette lid (84) are coupled movements.

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