JP5864399B2 - Pellicle storage container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pellicle storage container used as a dust guard when manufacturing a semiconductor device, an IC package, a printed circuit board, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like.

  In the manufacture of semiconductors such as LSI and VLSI, or liquid crystal displays, patterns are created by irradiating semiconductor wafers or glass plates for liquid crystals with ultraviolet light. If dust is attached to the photomask used at this time, Since the dust blocks or reflects the ultraviolet light, there is a problem that the transferred pattern is deformed, short-circuited, and the quality is deteriorated.

  For this reason, these operations are usually performed in a clean room, but it is still difficult to keep the photomask clean, so exposure is performed after attaching a pellicle as a dust guard on the photomask surface. Currently. In this case, since the foreign matter does not adhere directly to the surface of the photomask but adheres to the pellicle, the foreign matter on the pellicle becomes irrelevant to the transfer if the focus is set on the photomask pattern during lithography.

  In general, a pellicle has a transparent pellicle film made of a material such as nitrocellulose, cellulose acetate, or fluororesin that transmits light well attached or adhered to the upper end surface of a pellicle frame made of a material such as aluminum, stainless steel, or polyethylene. ing. The bottom of the pellicle frame is provided with an adhesive layer made of polybutene resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, acrylic resin, silicone resin, etc. and a release layer (separator) for the purpose of protecting the adhesive layer for mounting on a photomask. It is done.

  Since the pellicle membrane is generally made of a thin resin, in order to support it with the pellicle frame without sag and wrinkles, it is adhered to the pellicle frame under an appropriate amount of tension. Yes. Therefore, the normally used rectangular pellicle is bent inward somewhat due to the tension of the pellicle film after the pellicle film is attached. This phenomenon appears, for example, in large pellicles with large side lengths of pellicle frames used for printed circuit boards and liquid crystal display manufacturing, and even in small pellicles for semiconductor manufacturing, a low-rigidity frame is used due to restrictions on the material and dimensions. Even in such a case, it appears prominently.

  On the other hand, for photomasks, there is a demand to secure as wide an exposure area as possible for cost reduction. If the pellicle frame bends inward, there will be a problem that the exposure area that can be used is reduced accordingly. Therefore, while developing the pellicle frame with a narrower width while reducing the amount of bending as much as possible, the inner exposure area is widened. If it can, it can be said that the effect of cost reduction is greater.

  In order to solve such problems, the present inventors have previously proposed an invention relating to a pellicle 10 including a pellicle frame 11 having a double structure as shown in FIGS. Application 2012-228582).

  The pellicle 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8. The pellicle frame 11 in the pellicle 10 is constituted by a double structure of an inner frame 11a and an outer frame 11b, and a pellicle film is bonded to the upper surface of the inner frame 11a. A layer 12 is provided and a pellicle film 13 is adhered. Moreover, the mask adhesive layer 14 for affixing on a photomask (not shown) is provided in the opposite surface.

  On the other hand, the outer frame 11b of the pellicle frame 11 is configured to be fitted to the outer surface of the inner frame 11a so that the inner surface can be smoothly attached and detached, and is handled integrally with the inner frame 11a during manufacture and transportation. It has sufficient rigidity so as not to cause problems such as deformation of the inner frame 11a and wrinkles of the pellicle film.

  Further, the inner frame 11a and the outer frame 11b are fixed by fastening means such as bolts 32. As shown in FIG. 8, the outer frame 11b is removed after being attached to the photomask 41, and the inner frame is placed on the photomask. Only the pellicle 10 'composed of 11a can be left.

  Since the previously proposed pellicle 10 has the above-described configuration, the rigidity of the pellicle frame 11 is maintained by the outer frame 11b of the pellicle frame 11 throughout the manufacturing process and the conveyance process. Therefore, the rigidity of the inner frame 11a is not particularly required, and it is sufficient that the inner frame 11a has a rigidity that can hold the pellicle film 13 on the photomask 41 after being attached to the photomask 41.

  Therefore, the width of the pellicle frame 11 can be set to a minimum design that can hold the pellicle film 13, and various materials such as metal and resin can be selected. Therefore, even in the case of the large pellicle 10, it is possible to use the pellicle frame 11 having a very narrow width, and the maximum exposure area is achieved.

  Even in the case of the pellicle 10 constituted by the pellicle frame 11 having such a double structure, the pellicle storage container is transported while being stored in the pellicle storage container. It is required that there are no problems such as falling off inside or adhesion of foreign matter.

  Therefore, when looking at a conventional pellicle storage container, for example, a structure in which a frame holding pin is inserted into a hole provided on the outer surface of the pellicle frame and the pellicle is fixed to a positioning component provided on the container body. Is known (Patent Document 1). As another example, there is also known a pellicle storage method in which a part of a separator (liner) that protects a mask adhesive layer is projected outward, and this protruding part is adhered and fixed on a container with an adhesive tape (Patent Literature). 2).

Japanese Patent No. 4391435 Japanese Patent No. 4497845

  These conventional pellicle storage containers can also store and transport the pellicle 10 constituted by the pellicle frame 11 having a double structure. However, in the case of the storage container of Patent Document 1, a frame holding pin is used. When fixing the frame, the frame holding pin fixing mechanism must be placed on the outer side of the outer frame, so the overall size of the pellicle storage container is considerably large and the total number of parts including the container is extremely large. There is a problem of becoming.

  In addition, in the storage method of Patent Document 2, when the liner is fixed with the adhesive tape, the weight of the entire pellicle including the outer frame is considerably heavier than the weight of the normal pellicle. There is also a problem that the attaching force is not sufficient and the pellicle may move and drop out in the container due to vibration during transportation.

  As described above, there are several problems in transporting the pellicle 10 composed of the above-described pellicle frame 11 of the double structure proposed by the present inventors using a conventional storage container. The reality is that there is no optimal storage container.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems associated with the pellicle composed of the pellicle frame 11 having a double structure, and the structure of the storage container is simple and low in cost, and is being transported. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pellicle storage container that does not suffer from problems such as foreign matter adhering and falling off in a case.

That is, the pellicle storage container of the present invention has a double structure of an inner frame to which a pellicle film is adhered and a mask adhesive layer is provided, and an outer frame that is in close contact with the outer surface of the inner frame and is separable from the inner frame A pellicle storage container configured to be hermetically sealed with a container body on which a pellicle composed of a pellicle frame is placed and a lid body that covers the container body and is fitted and locked to the container body at a peripheral edge portion. On the container body, pellicle support means for placing the outer frame portion of the pellicle frame is disposed at at least three locations including two corners of the outer frame, and the lid body A buffer body made of a resin is provided on the inner portion, and only the outer frame portion of the dual-structure pellicle frame is pressed and fixed by the buffer body and the pellicle support means. Is characterized in that the supporting and spacing the inner frame of beam from the container body.

In the pellicle storage container of the present invention, the support means at the two corners of the outer frame has a substantially conical shape provided on the lower surface of the outer frame in order to limit the movement of the pellicle in the horizontal direction. It is preferable to have a convex part that fits into the concave part .

  Further, in the pellicle storage container of the present invention, the mask adhesive layer of the pellicle is not provided with a separator, and the mask adhesive layer is exposed and separated from the container main body without contacting the container main body. It is characterized by being supported.

  According to the present invention, even if a pellicle composed of a pellicle frame having a double structure consisting of an inner frame and an outer frame is housed and transported, the inner frame with a thin frame width having a pellicle film and a mask adhesive layer is damaged. The deformation does not occur, and there is no trouble such as adhesion of foreign matter or falling off in the case, and the structure is simple and can be manufactured at low cost. In addition, since the photomask adhesive layer is supported separately from the pellicle storage container body, the separator can be omitted, so that the cost can be further reduced.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a storage container of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE in FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a pellicle housed in the present invention. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion B in FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view after the pellicle is pasted.

  Hereinafter, although the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated, this invention is not limited to this. 5 to 8 show an embodiment of a pellicle stored in the pellicle storage container of the present invention. The configuration of the pellicle frame 11 in the pellicle 10 is as described above.

  1 to 4 show an embodiment of the pellicle storage container of the present invention for storing the pellicle 10 shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the container main body 51 on which the pellicle 10 is placed has a dish shape with a lowered central part, and the lid 52 covers and seals the container main body. It has a dome shape that protrudes in the vicinity, and is configured to be fitted to the container body 51 at its peripheral edge. The container body 51 and the lid body 52 are preferably fixed with an adhesive tape or a clip (not shown) when sealed.

  The container body 51 and the lid body 52 can be made of a light metal such as an aluminum alloy, but in particular, can also be made using a resin such as PET, PC, PMMA, or ABS. In the case of a small container, it is preferable to manufacture by injection molding, and in the case of a large container, it is preferably manufactured by vacuum molding. The container body 51 is black for improving the visibility of foreign matters, while the lid 52 is preferably transparent or semi-transparent from the viewpoint of ensuring the internal visibility, and further prevents foreign matter adhesion. Therefore, an antistatic function may be added.

At least three pellicle support means 53 and 54 are provided on the container body 51, and the outer frame 11b of the pellicle frame is placed thereon. Of these support means 53 and 54, at least two locations, as shown in FIG. 1, is arranged to support the corners of the outer frame 11b. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the corner support means 53 is preferably provided with a structure for restricting the movement of the outer frame 11b of the pellicle in the horizontal direction.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, as a structure thereof, a substantially conical concave portion 81 is provided on the lower surface of the outer frame 11 b, and a convex portion 82 that fits the concave portion 81 is provided on the support means 53. The lateral displacement of 11b is prevented.
Here, the convex portion 82 may be formed integrally with the support means 53 or may be configured by attaching another component. The example shown in FIG. 4 is merely an example of a structure that restricts the movement of the pellicle, and other forms may be used.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the other supporting means 54 may be arranged at the center of the side, and the shape may be just a flat plate shape, but more preferably a step as shown in FIG. And a shape that restricts the movement of the pellicle frame.

  These supporting means 53 and 54 are preferably engineering plastics such as PA, PI, POM, and PEEK, more preferably rubbers such as urethane rubber, nitrile rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, silicone rubber, and fluoro rubber from the viewpoint of preventing dust generation. A system material is preferable. When using a rubber material, it is more preferable that the hardness is in the range of Shore A 30 to 70.

  The support means 53 and 54 are preferably attached to the container main body 51 by bonding or screwing from the back surface, and the number of arrangement is appropriately selected according to the size of the pellicle. It is desirable to arrange | position at the space | interval which considered 11 dead weight bending.

  A buffer body 55 is attached to the inside of the lid body 52 by means such as adhesion or screwing. When the lid 52 is put on the container body 51 and sealed, the outer frame 11b is pressed and fixed between the buffer body 55 and the support means 53 and 54. When the pellicle storage container is large, a dimensional molding error may be increased. However, since the error is absorbed by the buffer body 55, the outer frame 11b is surely pressed against the support means 53, 54. It will be fixed. Moreover, even if the container is deformed during transportation, dust generation is extremely reduced.

  As the material of the buffer 55, a resin is preferable, and rubber materials such as nitrile rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, silicone rubber, and fluorine rubber are particularly preferable. It is also preferable to impart antistatic performance, and the hardness of these rubber-based materials is more preferably in the range of Shore A20-50.

In the above embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the mask adhesive layer 14 is supported separately from the container body 51, and therefore a separator for protecting the mask adhesive layer 14 is used. It can be omitted.
Accordingly, there is an advantage that the manufacturing cost of the separator, the operation cost for cleaning and sticking are eliminated, and the occurrence of defects related to the separator is eliminated, so that the cost can be further reduced.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. First, a pellicle composed of a pellicle frame with a double structure was prepared. This pellicle has the configuration shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, and details thereof are as follows.

The inner frame 11a of the pellicle frame 11 is a black anodized aluminum alloy, has an outer dimension of 474x782mm, an inner dimension of 466x774mm, and a height of 4.9mm. 15 is provided, and the ventilation hole 15 is covered with a filter 16.
The outer frame 11b of the pellicle frame 11 is made of an aluminum alloy, has an outer dimension of 514 × 822 mm, an inner dimension of 474 × 782 mm, and a height of 4.0 mm, and has a black anodized surface.

  A counterbore hole 33 for a bolt is provided at a position corresponding to the female screw of the inner frame 11 a, and a digging portion 17 is provided near the vent hole 15 in order to avoid interference with the filter 16. The inner frame 11a and the outer frame 11b are fastened by a bolt 32 shown in FIG. A pellicle film 13 made of a fluororesin is bonded to one end face of the inner frame 11a via a pellicle film adhesive layer 12, and a mask adhesive layer 14 is provided on the opposite face. ing.

  Next, a pellicle storage container 50 of the present invention for storing the pellicle 10 was prepared. The pellicle storage container 50 has the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 and the details thereof are as follows.

  The container main body 51 is manufactured by vacuum forming using an antistatic black ABS resin, and has a size of 690 × 890 mm, a height of 35 mm, and a thickness of 5 mm. Similarly, the lid body 52 is also manufactured by vacuum forming using a transparent ABS resin, and has a size of 690 × 890 mm, a height of 48 mm, and a thickness of 3 mm.

  Next, the support means 53 has a size of 40 × 30 mm and a height of 8 mm, and the support means 54 has a size of 30 × 20 mm and a height of 8 mm, both of which are made of silicone rubber (hardness: Shore A50). The adhesive was fixed on the container body 51 with an epoxy adhesive.

  The buffer body 55 is made of silicone rubber having a size of 15 × 15 mm and a height of 6 mm (hardness: Shore A20), and is bonded and fixed to the lid body 52 with an epoxy adhesive. Further, the buffer body 55 was set so as to be crushed by about 1 mm and press the outer frame 11b when the lid body 52 was sealed.

  The pellicle storage container 50 of the present invention as described above was then carried into a clean room, washed with a surfactant and pure water, and completely dried. Next, the pellicle 10 was stored in the pellicle storage container 50, and the periphery of the pellicle 10 was adhered and sealed with an adhesive tape, double-packed with a polyethylene bag, and stored in a cardboard packaging box via a cushioning material.

  Then, when the pellicle storage container 50 stored in this cardboard packaging box was subjected to a land transportation test of about 1000 km by a truck and the pellicle 10 after the transportation was inspected, there was no adhesion of foreign matter, damage to the pellicle film and the inner frame 11a. No abnormality was found in the fastening condition between the outer frame 11b and the outer frame 11b. Further, when the place where the outer frame 11b was pressed was carefully observed while irradiating it with a condenser lamp, no foreign matter or rubbing traces were confirmed.

10 Pellicle 10 'pellicle (after removal of outer frame 11b)
11 Pellicle frame 11a Inner frame 11b Outer frame 12 Pellicle film adhesive layer 13 Pellicle film 14 Mask adhesive layer 15 Vent hole 16 Filter 17 Excavation part 31 Female screw 32 Bolt 33 Counterbore 41 Photomask 50 Pellicle storage container 51 Container body 52 Lid Body 53 Support means (corner part)
54 Support means 55 Buffer body 81 Concave portion 82 Convex portion

Claims (3)

A pellicle composed of a pellicle frame having a double structure of an inner frame to which a pellicle film is adhered and a mask adhesive layer is provided and an outer frame that is in close contact with the inner frame and is separable from the inner frame is placed. A pellicle storage container that is hermetically sealed with a container body that covers the container body and a lid that engages and locks with the container body at a peripheral edge, and the pellicle frame is disposed on the container body The pellicle support means for mounting the outer frame portion of the outer frame is disposed in at least three places including the two corners of the outer frame, and a buffer made of resin is provided in the inner portion of the lid body. The buffer frame and the pellicle support means support the inner frame of the pellicle frame away from the container body by pressing and fixing only the outer frame portion of the double-structured pellicle frame. make Pellicle container characterized and. The support means at the two corners of the outer frame has a convex part that fits into a substantially conical concave part provided on the lower surface of the outer frame in order to limit the movement of the pellicle in the horizontal direction. The pellicle storage container according to claim 1.   The mask adhesive layer of the pellicle is not provided with a separator, and the mask adhesive layer is exposed and supported away from the container body without contacting the container body. Item 3. A pellicle storage container according to Item 1 or 2.

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