Curved Elastic Retainer for Semiconductor Substrate Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional substrate storage containers cause contamination and damage to semiconductor wafers due to excessive contact area and interference between elastic holding pieces, leading to wobbling and abrasion during storage and transportation.
Innovation Solution
A substrate storage container design featuring flexible, elastic pieces with curved holding grooves that reduce contact area and incorporate interference-avoiding facets to prevent adjacent piece interference, ensuring minimal contact and maintaining substrate cleanliness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If elastic holding pieces are extended linearly and horizontally to hold semiconductor wafers, then the holding force is sufficient to prevent wobbling, but the contact area between the holding groove and wafer rim is excessive causing abrasion and contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The holding groove piece is designed with a curved shape that gradually moves outward from the interior side toward the substrate, transforming the linear contact into a curved contact path. This curvature reduces the effective contact area between the holding groove and wafer rim, minimizing abrasion and particle generation while maintaining holding effectiveness
2Ease of manufacture
If the back side of elastic holding pieces is formed with right angles for simplicity, then manufacturing is easier, but the flexed pieces interfere with adjacent pieces causing wobbling and damage
Solution Approach 1:
The back side of the elastic holding piece is designed with an asymmetric shape featuring an interference-avoiding facet that slopes downward toward the interior side. This asymmetric geometry prevents the flexed holding piece from interfering with adjacent pieces during operation, eliminating the wobbling and damage problems while remaining manufacturable
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively reduces substrate contamination and damage by minimizing contact area and preventing elastic piece interference, maintaining cleanliness and stability during storage and transportation.
Implementation Method 1
elastic holding piece 38 touches the upper end of the rim of each semiconductor wafer W and gradually becomes flexed upward so as to hold each semiconductor wafer W by acting retaining force on it
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate storage container includes a container body capable of storing a plurality of substrates in array, a lidding body, and a retainer for retaining substrates therebetween. The retainer includes a plurality of flexible and elastic pieces that are extended from the interior side of the lidding body in the direction of substrates stored in the container body and arranged in the direction of the array of the plurality of substrates, and holding groove pieces each formed with the elastic piece for touching and holding the rim of the substrate. The elastic piece with holding groove piece is gradually curved outwardly with respect to the width direction of the substrate from the interior side of the lidding body toward the substrate, so as to reduce the contact-holding area of the holding groove piece with the rim of the substrate.