Semiconductor Wafer Container Gasket Deformation Margin
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Semiconductor wafers are contaminated with dust and gases when the covering body of the storage container is opened due to negative pressure causing ambient air to be sucked in, leading to potential defects in the semiconductor product.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor wafer storing container with a gasket that has a smaller deformation margin at the vertical edge portions compared to the horizontal edge portions, allowing the inside and outside to communicate earlier at the vertical edges when the covering body is opened, directing dust and air flow away from the wafer surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a gasket seals between the covering body and the opening for transferring semiconductor wafers, then semiconductor wafers are isolated from the outside environment and not contaminated, but when the covering body is opened, ambient air is sucked into the container main body through the gap, causing fine dust to penetrate and contaminate the semiconductor wafers
Solution Approach 1:
The gasket is designed with different deformation margins at different locations: a first deformation margin at vertical edge portions and a second deformation margin at horizontal edge portions. This local differentiation allows the sealing performance to be optimized at each location according to the specific contamination risks and airflow patterns, preventing dust contamination while maintaining reliable sealing.
2Reliability
If the gasket maintains uniform sealing around the opening, then the entire opening remains sealed, but when opened, all edges seal simultaneously causing dust to be sucked in across the entire gap
Solution Approach 1:
The gasket's deformation margin is segmented into different regions with different values. The first deformation margin is provided at vertical edge portions where dust contamination risk is highest, while the second deformation margin is provided at horizontal edge portions. This segmentation allows different parts of the gasket to release sealing at different rates, preventing uniform dust infiltration across the entire opening.
3Productivity
If the covering body is opened quickly to remove wafers, then productivity is improved, but the negative pressure causes faster air flow and more dust to be sucked into the container
Solution Approach 1:
The gasket is pre-designed with differentiated deformation margins that predictably control the sealing release pattern upon opening. This preliminary configuration ensures that when the covering body is opened quickly for high productivity, the vertical edges seal releases first due to the smaller first deformation margin, directing airflow away from the wafer surface even at high speeds.
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
Prevents contamination of semiconductor wafers by ensuring that dust and air-borne particles fall on the container bottom rather than the wafer surface, maintaining the integrity of the semiconductor product.
Implementation Method 1
a gasket that seals between an edge portion of the covering body and an edge portion of the opening for transferring a semiconductor wafer by being sandwiched between the covering body and the container main body and elastically deforming
Data Source
AI summary
A main body may have a cavity for storing a plurality of parallel semiconductor wafers and an opening for transferring one or more semiconductor wafer into or from the cavity. A covering body may be mounted detachably to the opening in order to close the opening. A gasket may seal between an edge portion of the covering body and an edge portion of the opening. The gasket may be configured such that, when the opening is closed by the covering body, a size of a deformation margin of the gasket is formed to be smaller in a region that seals a vertical edge portion of the opening orthogonal to the face of each semiconductor wafer than in a region that seals a horizontal edge portion of the opening parallel to the face of each the semiconductor wafer.