TWM653548U - Wafer cassette inflation detection system - Google Patents

Abstract

A wafer box inflation detection system includes: an inert gas filling pipeline connecting an inert gas source and an air inlet end of a loading platform, the inert gas filling pipeline including a flow meter and a filling pressure gauge; a clean dry air filling pipeline connecting the clean dry air source and the inert gas filling pipeline; a gas recovery pipeline connecting an exhaust end of the loading platform and a gas recovery device, the gas recovery pipeline including a hygrometer, an exhaust pressure gauge and a vacuum generator; an exhaust pipeline connecting an exhaust end of the loading platform; and a control unit electrically connected to a position sensor, a flow meter, a filling pressure gauge, an exhaust pressure gauge and a hygrometer located on the loading platform and uploading the aforementioned sensed detection values to an access unit. Based on this, the filling nitrogen flow rate and pressure, as well as the wafer box exhaust gas pressure and humidity are monitored in real time.

Description

Wafer box inflation detection system

This invention is an inflation detection system, which is mainly used for performing gas detection when the load port is inflating and exhausting the wafer box.

During the wafer processing, manufacturing and storage process, wafers are very sensitive to moisture, oxygen and other molecular contamination in the air. For example, moisture and oxygen will form an oxide layer or corrosion on the surface of the wafer, causing the yield to decrease. In the general wafer manufacturing process, according to the manufacturing requirements, the wafer will be placed in a wafer box, and the wafer box will be filled with nitrogen to protect the wafer in the wafer box from contamination or corrosion.

During the wafer manufacturing process, the wafer box (FOUP) is placed in the loading port through the handling system. When the gate of the loading port and the wafer box are opened, the wafer box is connected to the outside world. At this time, the external gas rushes into the wafer box, changing the previously controlled humidity and oxygen concentration in the wafer box, and it is impossible to effectively control the relative humidity of the surface of the wafers that have not been removed from the wafer box within the range of the operating conditions. Although some manufacturers' loading ports are equipped with related kits for filling nitrogen into the wafer box when leaving the factory or in the form of future installation, these loading ports are difficult to integrate with the user's back-end system (software), so that users cannot accurately monitor the gas and humidity inside the wafer box when the wafer box is filled with nitrogen at the loading port. In addition, during routine inspections and maintenance of the loading port and wafer transfer equipment, the internal environment is filled with nitrogen, which makes it easy for relevant technical personnel to enter such equipment and suffer from oxygen deficiency. In order to solve the above problems, relevant companies must develop a system with system integration and safety mechanisms.

The invention is a wafer box inflation detection system, which includes an inert gas filling pipeline, a clean dry air filling pipeline, a gas recovery pipeline, an exhaust pipeline and a control unit, wherein: the inert gas filling pipeline is connected between the inert gas source and the air inlet end of the loading platform, and the inert gas filling pipeline includes a flow meter and a filling pressure gauge; one end of the clean dry air filling pipeline is connected to the clean dry air source, and the other end of the clean dry air filling pipeline is connected to the inert gas filling pipeline and is located between the filling pressure gauge and the loading platform; the gas recovery pipeline is connected to the exhaust end of the loading platform and the gas recovery device, and the The gas recovery pipeline includes a hygrometer, an exhaust pressure gauge and a vacuum generator; one end of the exhaust pipeline is connected to the exhaust end of the loading platform, and the other end is discharged to the environment; the control unit is electrically connected to the position sensor located on the loading platform; and the control unit is electrically connected to the flow meter, the filling pressure gauge, the exhaust pressure gauge and the hygrometer respectively and uploads the aforementioned sensed detection values to the access unit; this creation uses the original loading platform and provides the wafer box inflation detection system for installation, and uploads the aforementioned detection values, especially the humidity value of the recovered gas extracted from the wafer box on the loading platform and the flow value in the pipeline.

Through the above system architecture configuration, the nitrogen flow rate and pressure during the filling process, as well as the inter-tube pressure value of the gas discharged from the wafer box, can be monitored and obtained in real time. The humidity value of the gas discharged from the wafer box can also be obtained. Therefore, through the above installation and operation, for the equipment that has no gas filling in the past loading port or has continued to fill the gas without monitoring values as a judgment, users can accurately know the current gas filling and exchange status of the wafer box currently located on the loading platform.

10: Loading platform

11: Intake end

12: Exhaust end

20: Wafer box

30: Wafer transfer equipment

40: Access unit

100: Inert gas filling pipeline

101: Inert gas source

102: Flow meter

103:Filling pressure gauge

104: First proportional valve

105: First stop valve

106: Cylinder valve

107:Filter

200: Clean and dry air filling pipeline

201: Clean and dry air source

202: Second stop valve

203: Normally open solenoid valve

300: Gas recovery pipeline

301: Gas recovery device

302: Humidity meter

303: Discharge pressure gauge

304: Vacuum generator

400: discharge pipe

500: Control unit

501: Position sensor

510: External screen

520: Emergency switch

600: Safety device

601: Oxygen sensor

602: Door opening sensor

603: Oxygen screen

604: Magnetic door lock

700: Branch pipeline

701: Second proportional valve

702: Normally closed solenoid valve

The first picture is a block diagram of this creative system.

The second picture is a schematic diagram of the creative system architecture.

Please refer to the first and second figures, which disclose a wafer box gas filling detection system, which is applied to a loading platform 10 and includes an inert gas filling pipeline 100, a clean dry air filling pipeline 200, a gas recovery pipeline 300, an exhaust pipeline 400 and a control unit 500, wherein: the inert gas filling pipeline 100 is connected between an inert gas source 101 (provided by the factory facilities) and an air inlet end 11 of the loading platform 10, and the inert gas filling pipeline 100 includes a flow meter 102 and a filling pressure gauge 103, which are connected to the inert gas source 101 (provided by the factory facilities) and the air inlet end 11 of the loading platform 10. The inert gas source 101 fills nitrogen into the wafer box 20 through the inert gas filling pipeline 100 and the loading platform 10. The filling pressure gauge 103 mainly detects the gas pressure in the pipeline, and the flow meter 102 detects the gas flow in the pipeline. One end of the clean dry air filling pipeline 200 is connected to the clean dry air source 201 (provided by the factory facilities), and the other end of the clean dry air filling pipeline 200 is connected to the inert gas filling pipeline 100 and is located between the filling pressure gauge 103 and the loading platform 10. The gas recovery pipeline 300 is connected to the exhaust end 12 of the loading platform 10 and the gas recovery device 301. The gas recovery pipeline 300 includes a hygrometer 302, an exhaust pressure gauge 303 and a vacuum generator 304. The gas in the wafer box 20 is discharged to the gas recovery device 301 through the loading platform 10. One end of the exhaust pipeline 400 is connected to the exhaust end 12 of the loading platform 10, and the other end is discharged to the environment (indoor or outdoor). The control unit 500 is electrically connected to the position sensor located on the loading platform 10. Detector 501; and the control unit 500 is electrically connected to the flow meter 102, the filling pressure gauge 103, the discharge pressure gauge 303 and the humidity gauge 302 respectively and uploads the aforementioned sensed detection values to the access unit 40, the aforementioned access unit 40 can be a monitoring computer; the present invention uses the original loading platform 10 and provides the wafer box inflation detection system installation to upload the aforementioned detection values, especially the humidity value of the recovered gas extracted from the wafer box 20 on the loading platform 10 and the nitrogen flow value in the pipeline.

Through the above system architecture configuration, the wafer box 20 can be monitored in real time and the nitrogen flow rate between the tubes during the filling process, the pressure during the filling process, and the pressure value between the tubes of the gas discharged from the wafer box 20 can be obtained, as well as the humidity value of the gas discharged from the wafer box 20. Therefore, through the above installation and operation, for the equipment that has no gas filling in the past loading port or has continuous gas filling without monitoring values as a judgment, the user can accurately know the current gas filling and exchange status of the wafer box 20 currently located on the loading platform 10. The above detection values can also be uploaded to the access unit 40 for the convenience of tracking and checking each batch number in the future.

It must be noted that the dashed lines in the first and second figures indicate that the control unit 500 is electrically connected to each component.

The detailed technical features of the invention wafer box inflation detection system and the operational effects produced by each other are further described in detail. It further includes a safety device 600 and is electrically connected to the control unit 500. The safety device 600 stops filling nitrogen to avoid the risk of hypoxia; the safety device 600 includes an oxygen sensor 601 installed on the wafer conveying device 30 and sensing the inside thereof. Through the above-mentioned system and structural configuration, the control unit 500 can monitor the oxygen content inside the wafer conveying device 30 through the oxygen sensor 601.

In this embodiment, the safety device 600 includes a door opening sensor 602 for sensing whether the door panel of the wafer conveying device 30 is opened. Through the aforementioned system and structural configuration, the control unit 500 can determine whether the door panel of the wafer conveying device 30 is currently closed or opened through the door opening sensor 602.

In this embodiment, the safety device 600 includes an oxygen screen 603, which is used to display the oxygen content inside the wafer conveying device 30 detected by the oxygen sensor 601, and to display whether the door panel of the wafer conveying device 30 is open or closed. The oxygen screen 603 of this embodiment is installed near the door panel of the wafer conveying device 30, and can be visually seen when the relevant personnel want to open the door panel. Through the above configuration, the user (maintenance personnel) can judge the oxygen content inside the wafer conveying device 30 in advance before opening the door panel, so as to avoid accidental industrial safety accidents caused by lack of oxygen after entering. The oxygen content can also be set through the oxygen screen 603. For example, when the oxygen content is detected to be lower than the set value, an alarm is issued, and the alarm is issued by the built-in or external light or buzzer of the oxygen screen 603.

In this embodiment, the safety device 600 includes an electromagnetic door lock 604 fixed to the ground, and the electromagnetic door lock 604 forms a restriction corresponding to the outer position of the door panel of the wafer conveying device 30. Through the above configuration, the electromagnetic door lock 604 normally restricts the door panel from being opened outward. If there is a need to open the door panel, the control unit 500 can unlock the door panel and temporarily not restrict the door panel when the oxygen content inside the wafer conveying device 30 reaches the allowable level, so that the user can enter the interior of the wafer conveying device 30 to avoid industrial accidents.

In this embodiment, the control unit 500 is electrically connected to an external screen 510, and the external screen 510 displays the filling inert gas flow sensed and detected by the aforementioned flow meter 102, the filling inert gas pressure value sensed and detected by the filling pressure gauge 103, the exhaust gas pressure value sensed and detected by the exhaust pressure gauge 303, the exhaust gas humidity value sensed and detected by the hygrometer 302, and displays the code of the wafer box 20 located on the loading platform 10. The scanner (not shown) on the loading platform 10 can scan or sense the barcode of the wafer box 20, and transmit the barcode information to the control unit 500, so that the wafer box 20 can correspond to the aforementioned sensing detection values when filling gas on the loading platform 10, so as to achieve real-time display and acquisition of the sensing detection values of the filling gas and exhaust gas of the wafer box 20 on the loading platform 10. Through the above operation, the user can instantly know the various parameters of the current filling gas and exhaust gas, such as whether the real-time flow rate, pressure, humidity, etc. of each wafer box 20 meet the appropriate parameter requirements.

In this embodiment, the inert gas filling pipeline 100 includes a first proportional valve 104, a first stop valve 105, a cylinder valve 106 and a filter 107; the first proportional valve 104 is located between the flow meter 102 and the first stop valve 105; the filling pressure gauge 103 is located between the first proportional valve 104 and the first stop valve 105; the cylinder valve 106 is located between the first stop valve 105 and the filter 107. The first proportional valve 104 can be manually controlled or controlled by the control unit 500 to adjust the flow rate of nitrogen delivered by the pipeline. The first stop valve 105 can be manually controlled or controlled by the control unit 500 to control whether the clean dry air source 201 flows into the inert gas filling pipeline 100. The aforementioned filter 107 is used to filter the gas passing through the pipeline.

In this embodiment, the clean dry air filling pipeline 200 includes a second stop valve 202 and a normally open solenoid valve 203; the second stop valve 202 is located between the clean dry air source 201 and the normally open solenoid valve 203, and the normally open solenoid valve 203 is connected to the first stop valve 105. The second stop valve 202 can be manually controlled or controlled by the control unit 500 to determine whether the clean dry air source 201 flows into the clean dry air filling pipeline 200.

In this embodiment, an emergency switch 520 is further provided on the outer periphery of the wafer transfer device 30 near the door panel and electrically connected to the control unit 500 to stop the nitrogen gas from being delivered to the loading platform 10 through the inert gas filling pipeline 100.

Further, a branch pipeline 700 is included, and its two ends are respectively connected to the inert gas filling pipeline 100 and the vacuum generator 304 of the gas recovery pipeline 300; the branch pipeline 700 includes a second proportional valve 701 and a normally closed solenoid valve 702, and the normally closed solenoid valve 702 is located between the second proportional valve 701 and the vacuum generator 304. The aforementioned second proportional valve 701 can be manually or controlled by the control unit 500 to adjust the flow rate of nitrogen transported by the pipeline. The branch pipeline 700 provides the vacuum generator 304 with a vacuum, so that the gas can be recovered. The aforementioned normally closed solenoid valve 702 can be switched to a conducting state under the command of the control unit 500.

10: Loading platform

30: Wafer transfer equipment

100: Inert gas filling pipeline

200: Clean and dry air filling pipeline

300: Gas recovery pipeline

400: discharge pipe

500: Control unit

600: Safety device

Claims (10)

A wafer box inflation detection system includes an inert gas filling pipeline, a clean dry air filling pipeline, a gas recovery pipeline, an exhaust pipeline and a control unit, wherein: the inert gas filling pipeline is connected between an inert gas source and an air inlet end of a loading platform, and the inert gas filling pipeline includes a flow meter and a filling pressure gauge; one end of the clean dry air filling pipeline is connected to the clean dry air source, and the other end of the clean dry air filling pipeline is connected to the inert gas filling pipeline and is located between the filling pressure gauge and the loading platform; the gas recovery pipeline is connected to the exhaust end of the loading platform and the gas recovery device, and the gas The recovery pipeline includes a hygrometer, a discharge pressure gauge and a vacuum generator; one end of the discharge pipeline is connected to the exhaust end of the loading platform, and the other end is discharged to the environment; the control unit is electrically connected to the position sensor located on the loading platform; and the control unit is electrically connected to the flow meter, the filling pressure gauge, the discharge pressure gauge and the hygrometer respectively and uploads the aforementioned sensed detection values to the access unit; this creation uses the original loading platform and provides the wafer box inflation detection system for installation, and uploads the aforementioned detection values, especially the humidity value of the recovered gas extracted from the wafer box on the loading platform and the flow value in the pipeline. The wafer box inflation detection system as described in claim 1 further includes a safety device electrically connected to the control unit; the safety device stops filling nitrogen to avoid the risk of hypoxia; the safety device includes an oxygen sensor installed in the wafer transfer equipment and sensing the inside thereof. The wafer box inflation detection system as described in claim 2, wherein the safety device includes a door opening sensor for sensing whether the door panel of the wafer transfer device is opened. The wafer box inflation detection system as described in claim 3, wherein the safety device includes an oxygen screen for displaying the oxygen content inside the wafer conveying device detected by the oxygen sensor, and for displaying whether the door panel of the wafer conveying device is open or closed. The wafer box inflation detection system as described in claim 2, wherein the safety device includes an electromagnetic door lock fixed to the ground, and the electromagnetic door lock forms a restriction on the outer position of the door panel of the wafer transfer device. The wafer box inflation detection system as described in claim 1, wherein the control unit is electrically connected to an external screen, and the external screen displays the filling inert gas flow sensed and detected by the aforementioned flow meter, the filling inert gas pressure value sensed and detected by the filling pressure gauge, the exhaust gas pressure value sensed and detected by the exhaust pressure gauge, and the exhaust gas humidity value sensed and detected by the humidity meter. The wafer box inflation detection system as described in claim 1, wherein the inert gas filling pipeline includes a first proportional valve, a first stop valve, a cylinder valve and a filter; the first proportional valve is located between the flow meter and the first stop valve; the filling pressure gauge is located between the first proportional valve and the first stop valve; and the cylinder valve is located between the first stop valve and the filter. The wafer box inflation detection system as described in claim 7, wherein the clean dry air filling pipeline includes a second stop valve and a normally open solenoid valve; the second stop valve is located between the clean dry air source and the normally open solenoid valve, and the normally open solenoid valve is connected to the first stop valve. The wafer box inflation detection system as described in claim 2 further includes an emergency switch disposed on the periphery of the wafer transfer device near the door panel and electrically connected to the control unit. The wafer box inflation detection system as described in claim 1 further includes a branch pipeline whose two ends are respectively connected to the vacuum generator of the inert gas filling pipeline and the gas recovery pipeline; the branch pipeline includes a second proportional valve and a normally closed solenoid valve, and the normally closed solenoid valve is located between the second proportional valve and the vacuum generator.

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