FOUP Purgeable Supporting Module with Long Slot and Porous Filter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) designs face issues with insufficient wafer supporting force, large contact area between wafers and supporters leading to particle generation, and inadequate gas flow for effective purging, which can result in wafer damage and contamination.
Innovation Solution
A purgeable supporting module with a buffer gas chamber, long slot, and porous material is integrated into the FOUP, expelling gas to form a uniform flow field that carries away particles and filters impurities, while wear-resistant supporting ribs and restraint components prevent wafer displacement and friction-induced particle generation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If wear-resistant materials are used for supporters and restraint components to prevent particle generation, then particle generation is reduced, but friction between components and wafers increases leading to more particle generation
Solution Approach 1:
A resin layer is introduced as an intermediary between the wear-resistant supporters/restraint components and the wafers. This resin layer has low-friction properties that reduce friction force during wafer transfer, while the wear-resistant underlying structure prevents particle generation from the supporters themselves. The intermediary layer thus resolves the contradiction by providing both low friction and particle prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting structure uses composite materials combining wear-resistant materials with low-friction resin coatings. This composite approach allows the structure to simultaneously achieve wear resistance (preventing particle generation from the supporter) and low friction (reducing particle generation during contact), thereby resolving the technical contradiction.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If resin layer with low-friction property is used to prevent particle generation, then particle generation is reduced, but wafer support area is reduced leading to wafer drooping or sinking
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting structure is segmented into multiple components: wear-resistant supporters providing structural strength, restraint components for positioning, and low-friction resin layers for particle prevention. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in one function, resolving the contradiction between support capability and particle generation.
Solution Approach 2:
Composite materials structure combines the structural integrity of wear-resistant supporters with the low-friction properties of resin coatings. The supporters provide the necessary mechanical strength for wafer support, while the resin coating reduces friction and prevents particle generation, thus resolving the contradiction between support capability and particle prevention.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If gas flow is increased to improve purging effectiveness, then particle removal is enhanced, but gas consumption and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The gas flow system uses local quality by positioning gas outlets specifically near the wafer support areas where particles are most likely to accumulate. This localized gas flow approach concentrates the purging action where it is most needed, effectively removing particles without requiring high overall gas consumption, thus resolving the contradiction between particle removal effectiveness and gas consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas flow system is designed to leverage the natural movement of wafers and existing airflow patterns within the container to enhance particle removal. By strategically positioning gas outlets and utilizing the container's geometry, the system achieves effective purging with minimal gas input, reducing gas consumption while maintaining particle removal effectiveness.
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 enhances wafer support, reduces particle formation, and maintains a clean environment by ensuring a uniform gas flow and minimizing contact area, thereby increasing chip yield and preventing wafer damage during transfer.
Implementation Method 1
a porous material is disposed in the long slot, an airflow channel being further disposed between and thus connecting the outgassing channel and the buffer gas chamber
Implementation Method 2
gas being expelled from the long slot for controlling the conditions of the internal environment of the FOUP such as atmospheric pressure, moisture, and type(s) of gas in the interior
Data Source
AI summary
A Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) having a purgeable supporting module disposed at the junction of each sidewall and the backwall of the container, the characteristic of the FOUP being in that: the purgeable supporting module has a buffer gas chamber and a gas inlet is disposed at one end of the buffer gas chamber and connected to a gas valve on the bottom surface, an outgassing channel is disposed on the purgeable supporting module facing the opening of the FOUP, a long slot is disposed on one side of the outgassing channel and a kind of porous material is disposed in the long slot, an airflow channel being disposed between and thus connecting the outgassing channel and the buffer gas chamber, and a plurality of supporting ribs being vertically disposed on one side of the long slot at intervals.