clean room

Abstract

To provide a clean room capable of holding cleanliness in an article management warehouse without generating additional cost without reducing a storage capacity of the article management warehouse.SOLUTION: The present invention provides a clean room, comprising a stocker area in which an article management warehouse is provided. The article management warehouse comprises: an upper side open part; and a lower side exhaust port constructed so as to adjust an opening ratio. A ceiling part of the stocker area comprises: an eyelid; and an air blowoff port. The upper side open part and the air blowoff port of the article management warehouse are connected so as to be surround by the eyelid. Air supplied from the air blowoff port is directly supplied into the article management warehouse via the upper side open part, and is constructed so as to be ejected from the lower side exhaust port.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a clean room in a semiconductor manufacturing factory and to an article management storehouse (stocker) facility for storing (managing) wafer storage containers (FOUPs) or FOSBs, for example, in the clean room. [Background technology]

[0002] In semiconductor manufacturing factories, for example, the process of manufacturing semiconductor wafers is carried out in clean rooms where temperature and humidity are controlled and foreign matter (particles) of a few microns level are removed, because contamination from the clean room environment reduces product yield. In clean rooms, temperature- and humidity-controlled air taken in by an outside air conditioner is filtered out using ULPA (ULT R The air is supplied to the work area through a Low Penetration Air (LPA) filter. If stricter control of the cleanliness of the work area is required, an additional chemical filter can be used to remove chemical contaminants and supply even cleaner air to the work area.

[0003] Meanwhile, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, wafers are stored in a sealed container called a FOUP (Front Opening Package). ni ng Unifi e The wafers are transported and stored in a FOUP (FOUP d Pod). In clean rooms, many products come and go during the manufacturing process, and products before and after being placed in manufacturing or inspection equipment are stored on shelves in the inventory control warehouse (stocker) that stores these FOUPs. In the inventory control warehouse, the number that manages the wafers stored in the FOUP is linked to the FOUP management number, and is also linked to the shelf location information in the inventory control warehouse, and FOUPs to be processed by manufacturing or inspection equipment are taken in and out of the inventory control warehouse based on this management information.

[0004] Patent Document 1 describes a method for storing wafers in cassettes in a sealed container in a storage facility in a clean room to prevent the formation of natural oxide films on the wafers and the adsorption of chemical substances.

[0005] Patent Document 2 describes a clean room in which, as an air conditioning method for the clean room, a circulating air flow separate from the circulating air flow of the clean room is directly supplied to the vicinity of an interface box opener on which a wafer storage box is placed.

[0006] Patent document 3 describes how dirty airflow generated when an item transport vehicle moves in a clean room item storage facility is rectified by a straightening plate installed on the item transport vehicle to prevent it from flowing back toward the item storage section.

[0007] Patent Document 4 describes a clean room facility in which a high-cleanliness area and a low-cleanliness area are separated by an eyelid (hanging wall), and an underfloor area is further partitioned, with the pressure increasing in order of increasing cleanliness.

[0008] Patent Document 5 describes a clean room characterized by the addition of an eyelid (hanging wall) between the clean room and the return room. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 05-201506 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-093790 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-269489 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-005485 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-157474 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] When loading or unloading a FOUP, the transport vehicle moves to the front of the required FOUP, and the transfer robot moves up and down using supports attached to the transport vehicle, stopping at the height of the required FOUP shelf before transferring the FOUP from the shelf to the transfer robot.The transport vehicle and transfer robot then move to the FOUP entrance, where the FOUP can be removed.

[0011] Because the transport carts and transfer robots in the material management warehouse have mechanical drive parts, they become a source of dust every time these mechanical parts are operated, causing problems such as a decrease in the cleanliness of the material management warehouse and clean room.While it is possible to install additional filters and ventilation fans in the material management warehouse, these can increase equipment costs and reduce the storage volume of the material management warehouse.In addition, depending on the settings of the material management warehouse's ventilation fans, dirty air containing dust from the transport carts and transfer robots can leak out from the FOUP entrance and exit, making it difficult to match the ventilation and air pressure conditions of the clean room with those of the material management warehouse.

[0012] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide a clean room that makes it possible to keep the inside of an item management cabinet clean without incurring additional costs or reducing the storage volume of the item management cabinet. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a clean room, The clean room includes a stocker area in which an article management storehouse is installed, The article management cabinet includes an upper opening and a lower exhaust port configured so that the opening ratio can be adjusted, a ceiling portion of the storage area is provided with an eyelid and an air outlet, The upper opening of the article management cabinet and the air outlet are connected to be surrounded by the eyelid, A clean room is provided, characterized in that the air supplied from the air outlet is supplied directly into the material management storage room through the upper open part and exhausted from the lower exhaust port.

[0014] In the clean room of the present invention, the upper open part of the goods management cabinet and the air outlet in the ceiling of the stocker area are enclosed by an eyelid (hanging wall), and clean air from the part of the ceiling of the clean room enclosed by the eyelid flows directly into the goods management cabinet, causing the clean air to form a laminar flow, making it possible to exhaust dirty air generated by dust from, for example, transfer robots and transport carts inside the goods management cabinet from the lower exhaust port of the goods management cabinet.

[0015] Furthermore, the clean room of the present invention can utilize part of the air outlet in the ceiling of the clean room, eliminating the need to add an additional cleaning system to the stocker area.Furthermore, since the eyelid is installed to surround the upper open part of the article management cabinet, there is no need to reduce the storage volume of the article management cabinet.

[0016] Therefore, according to the clean room of the present invention, it is possible to keep the inside of the article management cabinet clean without incurring additional costs or reducing the storage volume of the article management cabinet.

[0017] The items managed by the article management warehouse may be, for example, FOUPs or FOSBs.

[0018] There is no particular limitation on what the goods management warehouse can manage, but it can be, for example, FOUPs or FOSBs. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] As described above, the clean room of the present invention makes it possible to keep the inside of the article management cabinet clean without incurring additional costs or reducing the storage volume of the article management cabinet. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a clean room of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the clean room shown in FIG. 1 as seen from another angle. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a clean room of a comparative example. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the clean room shown in FIG. 3 as seen from a different angle. [Figure 5] 1 is a graph showing the number of particles in the air in Examples and Comparative Examples. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] As mentioned above, it is desirable to be able to easily exhaust the polluted air generated by the transport vehicles and transfer robots in the material management warehouse that stores and houses FOUPs in the clean room, without leaking it into the work area.

[0022] As a result of extensive research into the above-mentioned problems, the inventors discovered that by enclosing the upper open section of the goods management cabinet and the air outlets in the ceiling of the clean room that are located in the stocker area with an eyelid (hanging wall), it is possible to easily exhaust dirty air generated by the transport carts and transfer robots in the goods management cabinet that stores and accommodates FOUPs in the clean room from the stocker area without leaking into the work area, and thus completed the present invention. The material of the eyelid can be, for example, a metal frame such as aluminum surrounded by a plate or sheet made of a resin such as vinyl chloride or polycarbonate, from the viewpoint of cost. Furthermore, to prevent particle adhesion, it is preferable to use a resin with antistatic properties.

[0023] That is, the present invention is a clean room, The clean room includes a stocker area in which an article management storehouse is installed, The article management cabinet includes an upper opening and a lower exhaust port configured so that the opening ratio can be adjusted, a ceiling portion of the storage area is provided with an eyelid and an air outlet, The upper opening of the article management cabinet and the air outlet are connected to be surrounded by the eyelid, This clean room is characterized in that the air supplied from the air outlet is supplied directly into the material management storage room through the upper open part and exhausted from the lower exhaust port.

[0024] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0025] (Embodiment) A clean room according to one embodiment of the present invention and an article management storehouse (stocker) for storing and housing FOUPs in the clean room will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0026] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a clean room of the present invention and an example of an item management cabinet for storing and housing FOUPs in the clean room. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the clean room and item management cabinet shown in Fig. 1, viewed from a perspective rotated 90° from that of Fig. 1.

[0027] 1 and 2 generally illustrate a method for easily discharging contaminated air generated by transport vehicles and transfer robots in an article management warehouse (stocker) that stores and houses FOUPs in an example of a clean room of the present invention, so that the air does not leak into the work area.

[0028] The clean room 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2 includes a stocker area 1. The clean room 10 further includes a work area 2 adjacent to the stocker area 1. 2 toIn the clean room 10 shown, the stocker area 1 and the work area 2 are clearly separated by the side of an article management storehouse 11 (described below) and an eyelid 13.

[0029] The lower part of the stocker area 1 and the work area 2 of the clean room 10 is separated from the other parts by a grating 6.

[0030] A plurality of ventilation fans 3 are installed on the ceiling 10a of the clean room 10. The ventilation fans 3 can supply air whose temperature and humidity are controlled, for example.

[0031] An ULPA filter 4 is provided at the air discharge port of each blower fan 3. The ULPA filter 4 removes foreign matter (particles) of a few microns from the air supplied from the blower fan 3, and clean air 8 can be supplied into the clean room 10 from the air outlet 5 on the opposite side of the blower fan 3.

[0032] In the stocker area 1, an article management storehouse (stocker) 11 is installed.

[0033] The article management storehouse 11 has an upper open section 11a and a lower exhaust port 11b configured so that the opening ratio can be adjusted. The article management storehouse 11 also has a FOUP entrance / exit 11c, which is an opening, on the side.

[0034] The goods management warehouse 11 is equipped with a plurality of shelves 11d, and is configured so that the FOUPs 100 can be placed on the shelves 11d and managed and stored.

[0035] A transport device 7 is stored inside the article management warehouse 11. The transport device 7 includes a transport platform 7c, a transport support 7b supported by the transport platform 7c, and a transfer robot 7a that can move up and down along the transport support 7b. The transport device 7 is self-propelled by the transport platform 7c and is configured to be able to adjust the height of the transfer robot 7a to the height of a target shelf 11d and FOUP entrance / exit 11c. The transfer robot 7a is configured to be able to deliver and receive a FOUP 100 at the shelf 11d or the FOUP entrance / exit 11c.

[0036] The ceiling 1 a of the stocker area 1 is provided with an eyelid (hanging wall) 13 and an air outlet 12 .

[0037] The air outlet 12 is an air outlet for the ULPA filter 4a provided in the blower fan 3a installed in the ceiling 1a of the stocker area 1, among the ULPA filters 4 installed in the ceiling 10a of the clean room 10.

[0038] 1 and 2 show a cross section, but the eyelid 13 surrounds the upper open portion 11a of the goods management storage 11 and the air outlet 12. The upper open portion 11a of the goods management storage 11 and the air outlet 12 are connected so as to be surrounded by the eyelid 13.

[0039] 1 and 2, the upper open portion 11a of the article management storehouse 11 that stores and accommodates the FOUPs 100 in the clean room 10 is connected by an eyelid (hanging wall) 13 to an outlet (air outlet) 12 for clean air 8 in the ceiling 1a of the stocker area 1, and the clean air 8 supplied from the air outlet 12 in the ceiling 1a of the stocker area 1 located above the article management storehouse 11 is taken directly into the article management storehouse 11. This causes air to flow in a laminar flow from the upper open portion 11a of the article management storehouse 11 to the lower exhaust outlet 11b.

[0040] Even if the transport carts 7c and transfer robots 7a are driven inside the article management storehouse 11 and dust is generated from these drive parts, making the air contaminated, the air flows in a laminar manner from the upper open part 11a of the article management storehouse 11 to the lower exhaust port 11b, reducing the possibility of the contaminated air coming into contact with the FOUPs 100 stored on the shelves (storage section) 11d of the article management storehouse 11. In addition, the opening ratio of the lower exhaust port 11b of the article management storehouse 11 can be adjusted to exhaust the contaminated air from the lower exhaust port 11b at the bottom of the article management storehouse 11 so that contaminated air does not blow out into the work area 2 from the FOUP entrance / exit 11c, which is another opening. The opening ratio of the lower exhaust port 11b depends on the area of ​​the upper open portion 11a of the article management storehouse 11 and the area and air blowing volume of the air outlet 12 in the ceiling portion 1a of the stocker area 1 of the clean room 10, which is surrounded by the eyelid 13 above it, and can be adjusted as appropriate so that air does not blow out from the FOUP entrance / exit 11c. The exhaust balance between the lower exhaust port 11b and the FOUP entrance / exit 11c can be adjusted by adjusting the opening ratio of the lower exhaust port 11b of the article management storehouse 11 so that dirty air is not exhausted from the FOUP entrance / exit 11c, and this adjustment can be made without being affected by the air pressure or air volume conditions of the clean room.

[0041] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, air 9 that has passed through the item management storehouse 11 and is discharged from the lower exhaust port 11b of the item management storehouse 11 passes below the work area 2, then beside the work area 2, and is circulated to the blower fans 3 and 3a without entering the work area 2. Dust and other particles contained in the air 9 are removed by the ULPAs 4 and 4a.

[0042] In this way, one example of the clean room of the present invention is characterized in that air supplied from the clean air outlet in the ceiling located above the material management cabinet is taken directly into the material management cabinet by an eyelid (hanging wall), and dirty air is exhausted from the bottom of the material management cabinet by adjusting the opening rate of the exhaust port on the lower side of the material management cabinet so that air does not blow out from the opening, which is the FOUP entrance / exit.

[0043] In the above, an example has been described in which the item managed by the item management warehouse 11 is the FOUP 100, but the items managed by the item management warehouse 11 are not limited to FOUPs. For example, the item management warehouse 11 may be used for shipping and transporting semiconductor wafers, which are materials, from a semiconductor material manufacturer to a semiconductor device manufacturer. Opening It may also be used to manage the shipping box. [Example]

[0044] EXAMPLES The present invention will be specifically explained below using examples and comparative examples, but the present invention is not limited to these.

[0045] (Example) In the embodiment, the FOUP 100 was stored and managed in the goods management storehouse 11 in the clean room 10 shown in FIGS.

[0046] (Comparative Example) In the comparative example, in the clean room 10′ shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the FO U The P100 was stored and managed.

[0047] 3 is a schematic diagram of a clean room of a comparative example and an example of an item management cabinet for storing and housing FOUPs in the clean room. 3 This is a schematic diagram from a viewpoint rotated 90° from the viewpoint of the image.

[0048] The clean room 10' shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is significantly different from the clean room 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in that the ceiling portion 10a is not provided with an eyelid.

[0049] In the clean room 10', there is no eyelid as shown in Figures 1 and 2, so there is no clear separation between the area where the article management cabinet 11 is installed and the work area 2. In other words, in the clean room 10', the article management cabinet 11 is installed in the work area 2. 11 has been installed.

[0050] (result) Goods management warehouse 11 The number of airborne particles of 0.1 μm or larger in size was measured 10 times for the air exhausted from the lower exhaust port 11b using an airborne particle counter KC-24 manufactured by Rion Co., Ltd., and the average value was calculated and then normalized for comparison between the example and the comparative example. Figure 5 shows the number of airborne particles for the example and the comparative example when the number of particles in the comparative example is set to 1.

[0051] 5, when the average number of particles in the air in the comparative example was set to 1, the average number of particles in the air in the example was 0.52. In other words, the example was able to keep the inside of the goods management storage 11 cleaner than the comparative example.

[0052] On the other hand, in the clean room 10' of the comparative example, dust accumulated inside the article management storehouse 11, and cleaning of the storehouse had to be carried out periodically (about every 1 to 2 years), at which time it was necessary to stop the operation of the article management storehouse 11. Furthermore, the accumulation of dust caused dust to adhere to the outside of the FOUP 100, for example, increasing the risk of dust contamination of the wafers inside when the lid was opened, and also increasing the risk of dust contamination of the entire clean room 10' from open parts such as the FOUP entrance / exit 11c from the article management storehouse 11.

[0053] Furthermore, the same management and storage as in the above example was carried out, except that the items managed in the item management storehouse 11 were changed from FOUPs to FOSBs. As a result, even when the items being managed were FOSBs, the inside of the item management storehouse 11 could be kept clean by using the clean room of the present invention.

[0054] In addition, the clean room 10 of the example does not have a blower fan or a ULPA filter added to the clean room 10' of the comparative example, and the storage volume of the goods management storehouse 11 is reduced. height Not yet.

[0055] These facts show that the clean room of the present invention makes it possible to keep the inside of the material management cabinet clean with almost no additional costs and without reducing the storage volume of the material management cabinet.

[0056] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The above-described embodiments are merely examples, and anything that has substantially the same configuration as the technical idea described in the claims of the present invention and that exhibits similar effects is included within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1...storage area, 1a and 10a...ceiling, 2...work area, 3 and 3a...blower fan, 4 and 4a...ULPA filter, 5 and 12...air outlet, 6...grating, 7...transportation device, 7a...transfer robot, 7b...transportation support, 7c...transport cart, 8...clean air, 9...air passed through the stocker area, 10 and 10'...clean room, 11...item control storehouse, 11a...upper open area, 11b...lower exhaust port, 11c...FOUP entrance / exit, 11d...shelf, 13...eyelid, 100...FOUP.

Claims

1. A clean room, The clean room includes a stocker area in which an article management storehouse is installed, The article management cabinet includes an upper opening, a lower exhaust port configured to allow adjustment of the opening ratio, a conveying device, and an article entrance / exit, the transport device includes a transporting platform and a transfer robot configured to be able to deliver and receive articles at the article entrance / exit, the transport device is self-propelled by the transporting platform and is configured to adjust the height of the transfer robot to a target height, a ceiling portion of the storage area is provided with an eyelid including a resin plate or sheet having an antistatic effect, and an air outlet; The upper opening of the article management cabinet and the air outlet are connected to be surrounded by the eyelid, A clean room characterized in that the air supplied from the air outlet is supplied directly into the goods management storage through the upper opening, the opening ratio of the lower exhaust port is adjusted so that it is not discharged from the goods entrance / exit, and the air flows as a laminar flow from the air outlet through the upper opening to the lower exhaust port and is discharged from the lower exhaust port.

2. 2. The clean room according to claim 1, wherein the items managed by the item management storehouse are FOUPs or FOSBs.

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