Wafer Load Port Motion Limits for Dust-Reduced Container Opening
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Dust generation and contamination occur when the lid of a closed container for semiconductor wafers is opened and closed, and the load port door is raised and lowered, leading to defects in the wafers.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus where the latchkey for opening and closing the lid is rotationally driven at a rate of 60 deg/sec or less, and the load port door is raised and lowered at a rate of 100 mm/sec or less, reducing dust generation and adherence to the wafers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the lid of the closed container is opened and closed quickly to improve wafer carrying efficiency, then productivity is improved, but dust is generated and flows into the container contaminating the wafer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by controlling the rotation rate of the latchkey during lid opening/closing operations. Specifically, the latchkey rotation rate is limited to 60 degrees per second or less to reduce dust generation while maintaining the wafer carrying process. This parameter control resolves the contradiction by optimizing the operational speed to balance productivity and contamination prevention.
2Productivity
If the load port door is raised and lowered quickly to improve wafer carrying speed, then productivity is improved, but dust is generated and adheres to the wafer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by controlling the raising and lowering rates of the load port door. The door raising rate and lowering rate are both limited to 100 millimeters per second or less to minimize dust generation during door operations. This speed parameter optimization resolves the contradiction between fast wafer carrying and dust adhesion prevention.
3Productivity
If the latchkey is rotationally driven at high speed to improve container opening/closing efficiency, then productivity is improved, but the lid may not be properly fixed or unfixed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by establishing an optimal rotation rate range for the latchkey (60 degrees per second or less). This parameter optimization ensures that the lid is properly fixed and unfixed during container operations while maintaining efficient wafer carrying. The controlled rotation speed prevents both improper lid engagement and excessive dust generation.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is a method for carrying a wafer, wherein in taking out the wafer from a closed container and carrying the wafer by a carrier robot or in taking in the wafer carried by the carrier robot into the closed container, when a latchkey is rotationally driven for fixing and unfixing a lid relative to a container body of the closed container mounted on a load port frame by a latchkey-driving mechanism provided on a load port door that can fit with a wafer carrying-in/out port of a carrying room and that holds the lid of the closed container to enable removal from the wafer carrying-in/out port, the latchkey is rotationally driven at a rotation rate of 60 deg/sec or less. This provides a method for carrying a wafer and wafer-carrying apparatus that can reduce an amount of dust generated when the lid of the closed container is opened and closed or when the load port door is raised and lowered for carrying the wafer.