JPH0697271A - Wafer carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] When performing batch processing such as chemical processing on semiconductor wafers, regarding the wafer carrier used to store a plurality of wafers arranged vertically, It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved wafer carrier that can be made smaller and use less processing liquid. In a wafer carrier for storing a plurality of wafers 2 arranged in a vertical direction, the length W of a carrier moving handle 3 provided along the upper ends of front and rear side walls 4 parallel to the surface of the stored wafer 2 is a wafer. The diameter is smaller than 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer carrier used for storing a plurality of wafers in a vertical direction when performing batch processing such as chemical processing on semiconductor wafers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 3 and 4 show perspective views of a conventional wafer carrier. In both figures, reference numeral 4 denotes front and rear side walls parallel to the surface of the wafer 2 to be stored, and in the example of FIG. Reference numeral 1 denotes a connecting member that connects the front and rear side walls 4 to each other, and has grooves in which the wafers 2 are vertically inserted at regular intervals.
In the example, the connecting member 1 is a plate-shaped body. Three
Is a handle for moving the carrier, which is provided along the upper ends of the front and rear side walls 4, and holds the handle by the claws of the robot to move the wafer carrier. Usually, the top and bottom surfaces of the wafer carrier are open, and quartz is used as the material.

[0003]

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in the conventional wafer carrier, the end of the handle 3 for moving the carrier is provided so as to protrude from the front and rear side walls 4 or the connecting member 1. Therefore, the width of the wafer carrier is considerably larger than the diameter of the wafer 2. Therefore, the size of the processing tank must be such that the carrier can be completely accommodated and, as shown in FIG. 5, the claw 5 of the robot for moving the carrier can be opened and closed. It is considerably larger than the diameter of. Therefore, the amount of the chemical solution used in the wet treatment is increased, and naturally the size of the entire apparatus is increased.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate this drawback, and to provide an improved wafer carrier that can reduce the width of the wet processing bath to reduce the amount of processing liquid used. is there.

[0005]

In the wafer carrier for storing a plurality of wafers (2) arranged in a vertical direction, the front and rear side walls (4) parallel to the surface of the wafer (2) to be stored are provided. The length (W) of the carrier moving handle (3) provided along the upper end of (1) is achieved by a wafer carrier smaller than the diameter of the wafer (2). The front and rear side walls (4) may have a frame structure, and the carrier moving handle (3) may be fixed to the frame structure.

[0006]

As shown in FIG. 2, the width W of the wafer carrier moving handle 3 provided at the upper ends of the front and rear side walls 4 parallel to the surface of the wafer 2 to be stored is smaller than the diameter of the wafer 2. Therefore, the maximum width W2 occupied by the wafer carrier in consideration of opening / closing of the claws 5 of the robot can be made as small as the diameter of the wafer 2. As a result,
The width of the wet processing bath in which the wafer carrier is dipped can be made smaller than ever.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A wafer carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

See FIG. 1. A perspective view of a wafer carrier is shown in FIG. In the figure,
4 is a front and rear side wall parallel to the surface of the wafer 2 to be stored, 3 is a carrier moving handle provided at the upper end of the front and rear side wall 4, and the length W of the carrier moving handle is the length of the wafer 2. It is formed smaller than the diameter. Reference numeral 1 is a connecting member in which a groove into which the wafer 2 is inserted is formed, and both ends thereof are fixed to the front and rear side walls 4. The front and rear side walls 4
Need not necessarily be a plate-shaped member, and may have a frame structure as shown in FIG. 3, and the connecting member 1 may be made of a plate-shaped member as shown in FIG. The point is that the width of the front and rear side walls 4 is formed to be approximately the same as the diameter of the wafer 2, and the length W of the carrier moving handle 3 is formed to be smaller than the diameter of the wafer 2.

See FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a case where the claw 5 of the robot is put on the handle 3 for moving the carrier and when it is removed. The claws 5 of the robot can be opened and closed within the width W2 of the front and rear side walls 4, and the width of the wet processing tank can be reduced. Specifically, when processing 8-inch wafers, it has been
The width of the processing tank, which was required to be 0 mm, can be reduced to about 245 mm, and as a result, the capacity of the processing tank can be reduced by about 6 liters per tank.

[0010]

As described above, in the wafer carrier according to the present invention, the size of the front and rear side walls parallel to the surface of the stored wafer 2 is about the same as the size of the wafer, and the upper and lower ends of the front and rear side walls are the same. Since the length of the handle for moving the carrier provided in is smaller than the diameter of the wafer, the size of the processing bath can be made smaller than ever, and therefore the amount of the processing liquid can be reduced. Further, the size of the entire wet processing apparatus can be reduced corresponding to the width of the processing bath.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wafer carrier according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a required width of a processing tank.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a conventional wafer carrier.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a wafer carrier according to the related art.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a required width of a processing tank (prior art).

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Connection Member 2 Wafer 3 Carrier Moving Handle 4 Front and Back Side Walls 5 Robot Claw

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A wafer carrier for storing a plurality of wafers (2) arranged side by side in a vertical direction, the carrier movement being provided along upper ends of front and rear side walls (4) parallel to a surface of the stored wafer (2). Wafer carrier characterized in that the length (W) of the handle (3) is smaller than the diameter of the wafer (2).