Load Port Purge Apparatus for Substrate Carrier Contamination Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic device manufacturing systems face contamination issues due to air, moisture, and particle leakage during load port operations, which can lead to defective electronic devices, as existing methods fail to effectively purge trapped gases and particles around substrate carrier doors.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a load port system with a controller that purges a substrate carrier and its door area with a non-reactive gas before docking and clamping, ensuring a controlled environment by activating the purge before opening the substrate carrier door and maintaining the environment during the transfer process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the substrate carrier door is opened for substrate transfer, then substrate loading/unloading is enabled, but air and moisture leakage contaminates the substrates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary purging of the substrate carrier interior and the door area with non-reactive gas before opening the carrier door. This preliminary action replaces air and moisture with inert atmosphere in advance, preventing contamination when the door is subsequently opened for substrate transfer.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses non-reactive gas (inert atmosphere) to purge and maintain the substrate carrier interior and door area. This inert environment prevents oxidation and contamination of substrates during the door opening and substrate transfer operations.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If purging is performed continuously, then contamination is minimized, but gas consumption and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
Purging is performed as a preliminary action only when needed - specifically before substrate carrier door opening and before clamping operations. This targeted preliminary purging eliminates contamination risks at critical moments without requiring continuous purging, thus reducing gas consumption and processing time.
Solution Approach 2:
The purging operation is performed periodically at specific stages of the substrate transfer cycle (before door opening, before clamping) rather than continuously. This periodic action maintains contamination protection while optimizing gas usage and processing efficiency.
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 reduces contamination by ensuring a controlled atmosphere is maintained, preventing air and particle leakage, thus enhancing the quality of electronic device manufacturing by minimizing defects.
Implementation Method 1
purge apparatus configured to flow a non-reactive gas into and around a substrate carrier and a door area between the substrate carrier and the carrier door opener
Data Source
AI summary
A load port of a factory interface of an electronic device manufacturing system can include a purge apparats, a docking tray configured to receive a substrate carrier including a substrate carrier door and a substrate carrier housing, a backplane located adjacent to the docking tray, and a carrier door configured to seal an opening in the backplane when the carrier door opener is closed. The carrier door opener can include an inlet gas line therethrough that is coupled to one or more components of the purge apparatus. The load port can also include a controller that is configured to detect that the substrate carrier is placed in a docking position on the docking tray. The substrate carrier placed in the docking position on the docking tray can form a gap between the substrate carrier housing and the backplane. The controller can also purge a space between the carrier door and the carrier housing and/or an area between the carrier door and the carrier door opener via the inlet gas line and the gap between the substrate carrier housing and the backplane. The controller can cause the purge apparatus to stop the purge and close the gap between the substrate carrier housing and the backplane.