TWI364386B - Wafer container with sealable door - Google Patents

Description

1364386 IX. Description of the Invention: TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to containers, and more particularly to sealable containers for use in semiconductor wafers. [Prior Art]

Semiconductor wafers perform many steps during processing. This requires shipping a large number of wafers between workstations or devices for processing. Semiconductor wafers are very delicate and susceptible to physical contact or impact and damage by static electricity. Further, the semiconductor manufacturing process is extremely sensitive to contamination by particles or chemicals. As a result, in order to reduce the harmful effects of contamination on the wafer, special containers have been developed to minimize the occurrence of contamination and to isolate the crystal from external contamination of the container. Such containers typically include a removable door with a shim or other means to provide a tight seal of the door to the container body. As semiconductors become smaller, that is, the number of circuits per unit area increases, particle type contamination has become an important issue more than ever. The particle size that can destroy a circuit is now reduced and is close to the level of the molecular size. As a result, better particle control is required during all phases of manufacturing, processing, transporting, and storing semiconductor wafers. The wafer carrier is typically made of a thermoplastic material. The container of the prior art, such as that disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,248,346, is made of a highly moldable plastic such as polyethylene. Recent containers, such as those disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,273,159, have a rigid Η-shaped rod carrier and are typically made of polycarbonate, have molded notches and are softer and more Flexible 326\patent specification (supplement)\94-06\94] 12235 6

1364386 The outer cover, such as the container disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,5,8,6, 586. Such U.S. Patents 4, 2 4 8 , 3 4 6 ; 5, 2 7 3 , 1 5 9 ; and 5, 5 8 6 , 6 5 8 are all incorporated herein by reference.

Some prior art containers have a door to the sealed outer casing portion and also have the ability to sealingly engage the processing equipment. This type of container is called "S Μ IF (standard mechanical interface) pod", in which the door can close the open bottom of the container, or called FOUPs (front opening uniform pod) and FOSBs (front opening transport) Box), in which the door can be closed with an open front. These containers are subject to very stringent structural and performance requirements. For example, it must be mechanically latched by both mechanical and manual devices and must be easily tightly sealed by closing and latching the position of the door on the container. Conventional seals for use with both the S and I transport pods are typically relatively simple elastomeric seals that can be simply compressed in the axial direction between the door and outer casing portions to provide a seal. Such seals, particularly where the polycarbonate material is contacted by the elastomeric seal, tend to be excessively tightly bonded and create inconsistent openings, reduce the expected life of the seal, and cause inadequate sealing. More recently, the design features a sealed cross-section that extends radially outwardly to a vertical distal end position and provides a seal by the edge contact of the blade and the axial compression of the distal portion. An example of such a design can be found in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 0 9 / 9 9 8, 6 2 1 to the name of the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. reference. However, the problem with this method is the "diffusion column buckling" phenomenon at the distal end, wherein the free end of the distal portion is in the entire tangential region of the seal 7 326\patent specification (supplement)\94-06\94112235 1364386 The segments flex radially inward but flex radially outward at different tangential sections. This condition creates a leak at the point of transfer of the seal between inward and outward buckling. What is needed in this industry is a preferred and long lasting sealing structure for sealing a door to a housing portion of a wafer container. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention addresses the industrial need for a wafer container for better performance and a longer time-lasting sealing structure by providing an elastomeric seal that does not rely on direct compression during sealing. In accordance with the present invention, a wafer container includes a housing portion having a door frame defining an opening for inserting and removing the wafer, and a door attachable to the door frame to seal the outer casing portion. In one embodiment of the invention, a continuous resilient seal surrounds and extends toward the interior of the perimeter of the door. The seal is placed on the sealing surface proximate the periphery of the door and can be partially embedded in the radial slots in the door. In the cross-section, the resilient seal has an embedding portion, a scaffolding portion coupled thereto for extending radially outwardly relative to the axis of the door, and a sealing head coupled to the scaffolding portion. The sealing head includes a foot portion projecting from the mounting portion toward the sealing surface of the door, and a head portion extending in a direction opposite to the foot portion with respect to the frame portion. The door frame has a sealing engagement structure, such as a rib extending around the door frame, such that when the door is placed in the door frame, the frame portion of the resilient seal contacts the sealing engagement structure. The seal engagement structure axially displaces the frame portion toward the sealing surface and causes the head portion of the seal head to rotate radially and contact the seal engagement structure. This displacement action also positively contacts the foot of the sealing head with the sealing surface of the door. 8 326\Patent Specification (supplement)\94-〇6\941 ] 2235

1364386 • Alternatively, the frame can be sized such that when the door is placed, the resilient seal portion can be compressed intermittently between the sealing surface of the door and the door sealing surface. An advantage of the present invention is that the elastomeric seal has a double sealing effect on each side. With regard to the door frame and the sealing interface, there is a sealing contact line between the projection on the frame and the mounting portion of the fastener, and a sealing line between the sealing head and the tangential periphery of the projection on the frame. Regarding the interface between the seal and the sealing surface on the door, there is a sealing contact line between the foot of the dense Φ head and the sealing surface of the door, and the outer corner of the embedded portion and the sealing surface of the door are also Has a sealed contact line. Another advantage is that the rotational action eliminates the possibility of buckling of the diffusion column because there is no axial compression of the seal head. Conversely, the sealing action of the sealing head can be accomplished via the rotation of the predictable and recoverable sealing head. And because the contact force between the seal and the surface is reduced, the seal without the seal tends to be less tight. A further advantage of a preferred embodiment of the invention is that the seal can be easily replaced when the seal is worn or when different sealing characteristics are required. [Embodiment] Referring to Figures 1 to 2, a wafer container 20 is generally known as a transport module including a housing portion 22 and a door 24. The outer casing portion 2 2 generally includes a casing 26 that defines an interior space 28 that covers a plurality of wafers 30. The housing 2 6 has a pair of opposite side walls 3 2, 3 4, a top 3 6 , a bottom 3 8 , and a back 40 open front 42 relative to the back 40 and defined by the door frame 44, the door frame 326 passes the instructions (complement Piece) W-06\941 ] 2235 9 The dense heavy head is sealed and connected to the weight of the weight.

The 1364386 receiving door 24 encloses the interior space 28 in a closed seal. It must be noted that when the term "door frame" is used herein, it is not limited to a structure that is separate from the outer casing portion, nor is it limited to the structure of the additional structural outer casing portion 22 on the outer casing portion 22. Further, the "door frame" is defined as a portion that receives the outer casing portion 22 of the door 24. The outer casing portion 22 can also have a mechanical pull-up flange 46 on the top 36, a handle 4 8 on the side walls 3 2, 3 4, and a movement joint with a groove 4 9 on the outer surface of the bottom portion 38. The door 24 generally includes a bottom plate portion 50 and an outer flat plate 52, and presents a surface portion 54 and an outer surface 56. The door 24 is shown in the drawing with the axis "." and the outer casing portion is shown in the figure as "A 2". In order to properly fit the door 24 into the door frame 4 4, the axes A1 and A 2 are axially aligned. When the door 24 is embedded in the door frame 44, the door 24 is in the axial direction. When the term "radial" is used herein, it refers to the direction or orientation of the axis A1 or A2. The door sealing surface 58 extends around a portion of the door interior surface 504 adjacent the perimeter 60 of the door 24. The door 24 generally has a plurality of latching mechanisms 62 in the bottom plate portion 50 that can be operated via the keyholes 63 to securely latch the door 24 to the position of the door frame 44. The latching mechanism is described in U.S. Patent No. 5,711, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The door 2 4 is accessible with a door guide 64 at each corner 16 6 for positioning the door 2 4 and placing it in the door frame 44. Moreover, a wafer liner 168 having an elastic pointer 70 for engaging one of the plurality of 030 can be disposed on the inner surface 54 of the I. 326\patent specification (supplement)\94-06\94112235 10, when bit 22 or with only contains manual device. The inner _ A1 j car should be moved vertically one or the same as the 427 step by step wafer η 24 1364386

An alternative to a wafer container 20 known as a SM IF (standard mechanical interface) pod is shown, for example, in Figures 3 and 8. In this embodiment, the wafer container 20 also generally includes a housing portion 22 and a door 24. The outer casing portion 2 2 generally includes side walls 72, 74, 76, 78 and a top portion 80 opposite the open bottom portion 82. As with the open front portion 42 of the specific example of Fig. 2, the open bottom portion 8 2 is defined by the door frame 44 of the receiving door 24 for sealingly enclosing the inner space 28. The door 24 in the specific example of Figs. 3 and 8 includes a bottom plate portion 50 and presents an inner surface 54 and an outer surface 56. Again, the door sealing surface 58 extends around a portion of the door inner surface 5 4 adjacent the periphery 60 of the door 24. The door 24 generally has one or more latching mechanisms 62 in the floor portion 50 for latching the door 24 in the position of the door frame 44. The door 24 may further have a door guide 64 at each corner 66 for accurately positioning the door 24 and placing it in the door frame 44. A wafer support structure 84 having a plurality of wafer receiving blocks 86 is engaged on the structure 88 on the inner surface 5 4 of the door 24. Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the door 24 near the periphery 60. The door sealing surface 5 8 is embedded in the radial groove 9 2 and the periphery 90 of the door 2 4 is limited. The elastomeric seal 9 4 extends around the interior of the perimeter 90 and extends over the sealing engagement surface 58 and presents a pair of opposing edges 9 5, 9 5 a. The elastomeric seal 9 4 generally includes an attachment portion 96 extending along the inner edge 915 and a sealing head portion 7 extending along the outer edge 905a. The elastic seal 94 has a larger dimension AR in the radial direction and a smaller dimension ΔZ in the axial direction. The frame portion 98 extends between the attachment portion 96 and the sealing head portion 97, and generally includes a proximal portion 10 0 and a dense 11 326\patent specification (supplement)\94-06 connected to the attachment portion 96. \94112235 1364386 ' The head of the 7-phase connection is 1 Ο 2. The sealing head 9 7 generally includes a head portion 106 that extends axially away from the door sealing surface 58 and extends toward the door sealing surface 58 and faces the foot portion 108. The frame portion 98 and the sealing head 97 in this specific example have a substantially t-shaped cross section. The attachment portion 96 of the elastomeric seal 94 is received in the embedded radial groove 92 of the door 24. Referring now to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6, door 24 is incorporated in door frame 44. In the illustrated embodiment, the door frame 44 is integrally formed with the outer casing portion 22 and substantially includes a support structure 110, and a continuous rib extending around the periphery of the door frame and extending into the outer flange wall 1 1 6 The seal within the recess 114 defines a locking engagement projection 112. The sealing engagement projection 112 presents a frame sealing surface 1 18 . The abutment structure 110 engages the door inner surface 504, thereby axially positioning the frame sealing surface 1 18 relative to the door 24 and establishing the depth of engagement for the door 24 in the door frame 44. It must be noted that the support structure 1 1 0 can be combined

Suitably size or fill the gap to control the contact between the elastomeric seal 94 and the seal engagement protrusion 1 : 12. Significantly, when the door 24 is closed in the door frame 44, the 'seal seal 94 is not substantially compressed; and the seal engagement projection 1 1 2 flexes the elastic seal 94 white 丨 the frame portion 9 8 . This engagement results in a tight seal: the four separate contact seal lines between the seal 94, the outer casing portion 22 and the door 24 are dense: the head portion 106 of the seal 97 flexes radially inwardly and contacts the seal: The tangential circumference of the sealing jaw projection 1 12 is 1 2 0 形成 forming the first contact line 122 0. The second contact line 1 24 is formed between the intermediate portion 102 of the frame portion 98 and the frame sealing surface 1 18 The contact line 1 26 is formed at the foot portion of the sealing head 97. 1 228. The instruction manual (supplement)\94-06W] 12235 12 1364386

Between the door sealing surface 58. Finally, a fourth contact line 1 28 is formed between the corner 1 3 0 of the attachment portion 96 and the door sealing surface 58. An alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. In this particular embodiment, the door frame 44 is substantially identical except that the engagement projection 1 1 2 has a circular knife engagement portion 1 3 2 . The second contact line 1 2 4 is thus formed between the projection 1 3 4 of the blade edge engagement portion 1 3 2 and the intermediate portion 1 0 2 of the frame portion 98, and the positions of the other contact wires are the same as described above. In one embodiment, as shown in the cross-sectional view of Figure 5, the elastomeric seal can have a plurality of projections 134. The projections 1 3 4 protrude from the attaching portion 96 at predetermined intervals. The protrusion 1 3 4 is nested in the through slot 136, and the slot 136 is defined in the radially extending lip 138 that is embedded in the radial slot 92, with the sturdy seal 94 being The positioning in the radial groove 92 is embedded. As shown in Figure 3, the number and spacing of the slotted apertures 136 and projections 134 can be asymmetric with respect to adjacent zones to affect the indicia mounting of the elastomeric seal 94. Most other preferred embodiments of the elastic sealing member 94 of the present invention are shown in Figs. 9 to 14 showing the free standing state of the engaging projections 134 and the engagement with a plurality of shapes, and the flexed state indicated by a broken line. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a specific example of a front loading wafer container. Fig. 2 is an internal view of the wafer container door of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a bottom loading wafer carrier of the present invention. In the specific example, the top vertical shape of the circular position 94 is defined by a plurality of figures; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a specific example of the elastic seal of the present invention placed on a wafer container door; Patent specification (supplement)\94-06\94112235 13 1364386

Fig. 5 Fig. 6 is a door of the container. Fig. 7 is shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 9 is shown in the flexure diagram, showing the part; Fig. 11 is the display part; Fig. 12 is the view, the merging part; Fig. 13 , the visible part; Figure 14 surface view, the visible part. [Mainly, the invention relates to the elastic dense frame and the dense between the door of the present invention. The bottom of the present invention is replaced by the bottom of the door frame 3 of the present invention. The wafer loading and undeflecting position of the present invention is the present invention. The wafer is in a towed and undeflected system. The wafer of the present invention is in a curved and non-deflected system. The wafer of the present invention is shown in a flexible and non-flexible wafer. The wafer of the present invention is shown in flexing and non-flexible. The wafer of the present invention is shown in the description of the flexure and the non-flexible symbol. The seal of the seal replaces the cross-sectional seal of the specific seal; the elastic seal of the system and the sealed wafer capacity between the doors? </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> In another alternative position, the transverse section of the elastic example in the other flexing position of the elastic carrier, ^ is shown in a cross-sectional view of the wafer member, the meshing of the pieces; the cross-section of the perspective view; Fig. shows the sealing engagement portion; the cross-sectional seal of the specific example and the sealing engagement of the cross-sectional seal and the sealing engagement of the specific example, the cross-sectional seal of the specific example and the cross-sectional seal and sealing of the sealing example Cross-section seals and seals of a specific example 14 326\Patent specification (supplement)\94-06\94丨] 2235 1364386 • 2 0 22 24 26 28 3 0 32 34 Φ 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 49

5 0 5 2 54 5 6 58 6 0 6 2 63 Wafer valley is the outer casing part door housing inner space wafer side wall side top bottom back open front department frame pull up flange manual handle slot bottom part outer flat inner surface outer surface Door sealing surface peripheral latching mechanism keyhole 326\patent specification (supplement)\94-06\94112235 15 1364386 64 door guide 66 corner 68 70 72 74 76 78 Φ 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94

95 95a 96 97 98 10 0 102 1 0 6 Wafer 槪塾 Elastic pointer side wall side wall side wall top open bottom wafer support structure wafer receiving frame, structural periphery embedded radial groove elastic seal inner edge · external edge attachment Part seal part part of the joint part near part of the middle part head part 326\patent specification (supplement) W-06\941 ] 2235 16 1364386 • 108 foot 110 support 112 seal -114 recess 1 1 6 exterior 118 frame dense 12 0 Tangent 1 22 First • 1 24 Second 126 Third 1 28 Fourth 1 30 Corner 1 32 Engagement 1 34 Protrusion 1 36 Through 1 38 Lip part structure Engagement protrusion Flange Wall seal surface Peripheral contact line contact line contact line Contact line slot

A1 axis A 2 axis △ R larger △ Z smaller size size 326\patent specification (supplement) W-06\94112235 17

Claims (1)

1364386 • X. Patent application scope: 1. A sealable container for holding a plurality of wafers, the capacitor I / a housing portion, the portion defining a space for receiving the wafer; the housing portion having a frame a defined open side; presenting a frame perimeter and having a sealing engagement member surrounding the frame perimeter and projecting outwardly from the door frame; the sealing engagement being constructed to have a tip, an inwardly facing surface, and a continuous orientation a door that can be mated to the door frame to sealingly close the outer open side; the door has an inner side and presents a resilient seal around the door, the seal surrounding the door perimeter, and Toward the inside of the side, and mounted on the inner side of the door; the inner edge of the elastic seal and an outer edge; the inner edge extends along the attachment structure for one of the slots in the door Extending along the outer edge and engaging the sealing head structure with a frame portion; the frame portion and the sealing head structure have a shape, and the T-shaped One of the arms is in contact with the door and extends outwardly from the opposite inner side surface of the door; the sealing engagement member is interfitted with the elastic system such that the tip of the engaging member is sealed when the door is engaged in the door frame The frame portion that first contacts the elastic seal defines a first sealing contact line along the periphery of the door; it engages with the frame portion and pulls the T-shape in a direction inward toward the attachment structure so as to be opposite Positioned on the door, whereby the one arm of the T-shaped portion engages the outer surface of the engaging member and defines a second 2 1 2 along the periphery of the door (m replaces the g including: the inner space is installed , the outer surface of the component is a part of the shell; and the periphery of the door has a fixed-to-head joint attached to the T-shaped arm by a seal, the dense position, and the position of the arm is 0 ^ an arm and the tight seal is 94112235 18 1364386 1 printed year 'β ^ £J repair (more) is for the pj —&quot;——— i touch line; moreover, the seal head structure is in contact with the door, and defines ·; ΓΤ7Γ^-- 3. Seal the contact wire. 2. For a sealable container according to item 1 of the patent application, The affixing structure contacts the door to define a fourth sealing contact line along the periphery of the door. 3. The sealable container of claim 1, wherein the package further comprises: a support on the outer casing portion The structure is used to establish a depth of engagement for the door when the door is mated to the door frame. 4. The sealable container of claim 1, wherein the attachment structure has a plurality of protrusions, And wherein the door has a plurality of structures that can be used to receive the elastic seals on the door. 5. The sealable container of claim 1, further comprising: at least one latching mechanism, The mechanism is operatively coupled to the door to latch the door in position in the door frame. 6. The sealable container of claim 1, wherein the seal engagement member has a knife edge engagement portion. 94112235 19 Schema ! f Θ訇日修 (more) is replacing Portugal 20 94112235 1364386 1/13 1364386 2/13 1364386 3/13 Extreme I Hj 1364386 4/13 1364386 3 5/1 φ 1364386 6/13 1364386 7/13 8 1364386 8/13 1364386 9/13 1364386 10/13 1364386 11/13 1364386 12/13 1364386 13/13