FOUP Cleaning with Wind-Knife Liquid Removal and Vacuum Drying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cleaning technologies for Front Opening Unified Pods (FOUPs) with complicated internal structures, such as those used for high-end IC carriers, are inefficient due to issues with wet washing and vacuum drying, as they often drag protruding support shafts, reducing cleaning effectiveness and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The cleaning process is divided into wet washing, liquid removing, and vacuum drying stages, with dedicated chambers for each, using multiple liquid nozzles, wind knives for liquid removal, and thermal components for vacuum drying, along with a humidity detection system to ensure thorough cleaning and quality control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If existing cleaning technologies are used for FOUPs with complicated internal structures, then the cleaning process can be performed, but the cleaning efficiency and effectiveness are reduced due to dragging protruding support shafts
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning process is segmented into three distinct stages performed in separate chambers: wet washing, liquid removing, and vacuum drying. This segmentation allows each stage to be optimized independently, preventing the support shafts from interfering with multiple cleaning operations simultaneously and improving both efficiency and effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid removing stage extracts and removes washing liquid from the FOUP container body using wind knives that generate linear wind flow. This extraction process specifically targets the removal of liquid without dragging the support shafts, thereby improving cleaning effectiveness while maintaining efficiency.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the FOUP internal structure is modified to accommodate high-end IC carriers with larger and softer areas, then stable placement of carriers is achieved, but the device complexity increases with additional suspended support shafts and comb-like ribs
Solution Approach 1:
Different internal structures are provided in different locations of the container body: comb-like protruding ribs on the inner walls for supporting carrier ends, and suspended support shafts protruding from the bottom for holding carrier middle portions. This local differentiation provides stable placement for soft, large-area carriers while maintaining a systematic and manageable structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The suspended support shafts are nested within the container body, protruding from the bottom into the contain chamber. This nested arrangement allows the support structures to be integrated within the existing FOUP framework, providing necessary stability without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.
3Reliability
If multiple cleaning chambers are used for sequential wet washing, liquid removing, and vacuum drying, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but the device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning system is divided into three functional chambers (wet washing, liquid removing, vacuum drying) that can be arranged in sequence. This segmentation enables thorough cleaning at each stage without interfering with other stages, improving overall effectiveness while allowing modular design that can adapt to space constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The FOUP container body is rotated in the liquid removing chamber to enable wind knives to blow washing liquid from multiple directions. This dynamic rotation enhances liquid removal effectiveness without requiring additional chambers, optimizing the balance between cleaning effectiveness and device complexity.
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
This approach significantly enhances the cleaning efficiency and effectiveness for FOUPs with complex internal structures, ensuring thorough removal of contaminants and improving the cleanliness of both chip and carrier FOUPs.
Implementation Method 1
multiple liquid nozzles are used to spray and wash the container body
Implementation Method 2
multiple wind knives are used to generate linear wind in different axial directions and in planar distributions
Implementation Method 3
multiple thermal components (such as electric heating tiles or infrared heaters) in a vacuum environment are used to carry out liquid removing
Implementation Method 4
multiple thermal components (such as electric heating tiles or infrared heaters)
Implementation Method 5
vacuum drying in vacuum environment
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a cleaning method and equipment thereof for object FOUP, comprising the following steps: firstly separating the object FOUP into a container lid and a container body, then conducting individual processes of wet washing, liquid removing and vacuum drying for the container lid and container body, and in the end combining the container lid and container body to complete the cleaning procedure of the object FOUP; specifically, during the liquid removing process, multiple wind knives are used to carry out liquid removing for the container body, and during the vacuum drying process after liquid removing, multiple thermal components are used to carry out vacuum drying for the container body under a vacuum environment; moreover, the present invention also includes the cleaning equipment to execute the above method, for the purpose of overcoming the problem that the wet cleaning process in the conventional automatic chip FOUP cleaning technique cannot effectively clean object FOUPs with relatively complicated internal structures.