The present invention relates to electronic device manufacturing and more particularly to sealed substrate carriers and methods of using the same.
Manufacturing of electronic devices typically involves performing a sequence of procedures with respect to a substrate such as a silicon substrate, a glass plate, a polymer substrate, etc. (Such substrates may also be referred to as wafers, whether patterned or unpatterned.) These steps may include polishing, deposition, etching, photolithography, heat treatment, and so forth. Usually a number of different processing steps may be performed in a single processing system or “tool” which includes a plurality of processing chambers. However, it is generally the case that other processes may be required to be performed at other processing locations within a fabrication facility, and it is accordingly necessary that substrates be transported within the fabrication facility from one processing location to another. Depending upon the type of electronic device to be manufactured, there may be a relatively large number of processing steps required to be performed at many different processing locations within the fabrication facility.
It is conventional to transport substrates from one processing location to another within substrate carriers such as pods, cassettes, containers and so forth. It is also conventional to employ automated substrate carrier transport devices, such as automatic guided vehicles, overhead transport systems, substrate carrier handling robots, etc., to move substrate carriers from location to location within the fabrication facility or to transfer substrate carriers from or to a substrate carrier transport device.
In a first aspect, an electronic device manufacturing system is provided. The system includes a processing tool having one or more processing chambers each adapted to perform an electronic device manufacturing process on one or more substrates; a substrate carrier having a sealed environment, the substrate carrier adapted to couple to the system and carry one or more substrates; and a component adapted to dock with the substrate carrier, the component adapted to create a sealed environment relative to at least a portion of the substrate carrier and to substantially equalize the sealed environment at the component with the sealed environment within the substrate carrier.
In another aspect, an electronic device manufacturing system is provided. The electronic device manufacturing system includes a processing tool having a load lock chamber and one or more processing chambers each adapted to perform an electronic device manufacturing process on a substrate; a factory interface coupled to the processing tool; and a load port coupled to the factory interface wherein the load port is adapted to support a substrate carrier containing one or more substrates and the factory interface is adapted to transfer substrates from the substrate carrier to the load lock chamber of the processing tool wherein the load port is further adapted to create a sealed environment relative to at least a portion of the substrate carrier and to substantially equalize the sealed environment with an environment within the substrate carrier.
In yet another aspect, an electronic device manufacturing system is provided. The electronic device manufacturing system includes a processing tool having a load lock chamber and one or more processing chambers each adapted to perform an electronic device manufacturing process on a substrate; a factory interface coupled to the processing tool; and a load port coupled to the factory interface wherein the load port is adapted to support a substrate carrier containing one or more substrates and to transfer the substrate carrier to the load lock chamber of the processing tool through the factory interface wherein the load lock chamber is further adapted to create a sealed environment relative to at least a portion of the substrate carrier and to substantially equalize the sealed environment with an environment within the substrate carrier.
In another aspect, a method of transporting substrates within an electronic device manufacturing system is provided. The method includes providing a sealed environment in a substrate carrier; creating a sealed environment around at least a portion of the substrate carrier at a component of the electronic device manufacturing system; and substantially equalizing the sealed environment at the component with the sealed environment of the substrate carrier.
In another aspect, a method of transporting substrates within an electronic device manufacturing system is provided. The method includes providing a substrate carrier having a door and a sealed environment; docking the substrate carrier to a component of the electronic device manufacturing system; providing a sealed environment around at least a portion of the substrate carrier at the component; and substantially equalizing the sealed environments between the component and the substrate carrier before opening the door.
In another aspect, a substrate carrier adapted to couple to an electronic device processing system component and carry one or more substrates is provided. The substrate carrier includes a main body; a carrier door coupled to the main body thereby forming an internal cavity adapted to receive the one or more substrates; a resilient sealing member on at least one of the carrier door and main body forming the seal between the main body and the carrier door; one or more ports coupled to the internal cavity for evacuating and/or adapted to allow filling the substrate carrier with one of a an inert gas and a non-reactive gas; and a sealing surface provided on the main body and adapted to seal against a corresponding surface feature of the electronic device processing system component.
Numerous other aspects are provided in accordance with these and other aspects of the invention. Other features and aspects of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawings.
Embodiments of the present invention provide sealed substrate carriers and methods for using such sealed substrate carriers. For example, the sealed substrate carriers may be hermetically and/or vacuum sealed to reduce and/or prevent exposure of substrates stored within the substrate carriers to particulates or other contaminants, oxidants, other reactive species and/or the like. In some embodiments, a substrate carrier may be evacuated to a suitable vacuum level and/or filled with a suitable inert or otherwise non-reactive gas such nitrogen, argon, etc. prior to transport of the substrate carrier. In this manner, substrates stored within the substrate carrier may be transported without being exposed to particulates, contaminants, oxidants or other undesirable substances during transport and/or prior to or after processing.
In some embodiments, various apparatus may be provided for opening, closing, pumping, purging, loading and/or unloading such sealed substrate carriers. For example, a system component, such as a load port of a processing tool (e.g., of a factory interface) may be adapted to create a sealed environment around all or a portion of a sealed substrate carrier (such as a door of the sealed substrate carrier). The sealed environment at the component then may be substantially “equalized” with the environment in the sealed substrate carrier. For instance, in embodiments in which the substrate carrier is evacuated to a predetermined vacuum level after loading with substrates, the sealed environment at the component may be considered substantially equalized if evacuated to a substantially similar vacuum level before a door of the substrate carrier is opened. This may be accomplished by one or more pump-purge cycles. By substantially similar, it is meant that the vacuum level is substantially the same, but may vary from each other by about 10% or less.
Likewise, in embodiments in which the substrate carrier may contain an inert gas, the sealed environment at the component may be considered substantially equalized when the substrate carrier and the component are filled with a substantially similar gas, i.e., gases of the same type. The inert gases and/or nonreactive gases may also be provided at substantially the same temperature and pressure in the component and the substrate carrier before a door of the substrate carrier is opened. However, a temperature of the gases may be up to about 20% different, and the absolute pressure of the substrate carrier gas and the component gas may be as much as about 10% different.
In the case of an inert gas and non-reactive gas mixtures, the molar percent of each gas in the mixtures should be substantially the same. However, the molar percentages of the gases may be up to about 5% different.
In other embodiments, the system component may be a load lock chamber of a processing tool. The load lock chamber may be adapted to create a sealed environment around all or a portion of a sealed substrate carrier (such as a door of the sealed substrate carrier). The sealed environment at the load lock chamber then may be equalized with the environment in the sealed substrate carrier. For instance, in embodiments in which the substrate carrier is evacuated to a predetermined vacuum level after loading, the sealed environment at the load lock chamber may be evacuated to a similar vacuum level before a door of the substrate carrier is opened. Likewise, in embodiments in which the substrate carrier may contain an inert gas, the sealed environment at the load lock chamber may be filled with a similar inert gas (e.g., via one or more pump-purge cycle(s)) before a door of the substrate carrier is opened.
The present invention may be employed with both large lot and small lot size substrate carriers. As used herein, the term “small lot size” substrate carrier or “small lot” carrier may refer to a carrier that is adapted to hold fewer substrates than a conventional “large lot size” carrier which typically holds thirteen or twenty-five substrates. As an example, a small lot size carrier may be adapted to hold a maximum of twelve or fewer substrates. In other examples, a small lot size carrier may be adapted to hold a maximum of five or less substrates. In some embodiments, other small lot size carriers may be employed (e.g., small lot size carriers that hold a maximum of one, two, three, four or more than five substrates, but less than that of a large lot size carrier). In general, each small lot size carrier may hold too few substrates for human transport of carriers to be commercially viable within an electronic device or other manufacturing facility. Consequently, mechanized/automated transport of small lot size carriers is typically employed.
Further details of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to
The main body 104 may be sized to store one or more substrates therein. In some embodiments, substrate support features such as recessed shelves or slots may be employed to securely hold each substrate within the main body 104. Other supporting, clamping, retaining or similar features may be employed to secure each substrate within the main body 104.
As shown in
In yet other embodiments, the outer flange 110 may be entirely eliminated, and a surface feature of a system component to which the substrate carrier may dock with (e.g., a load port, load lock chamber or other location) may seal directly against a surface of the carrier 100 or 200, such as along a frontal sealing surface 108 of the main body 104 or at any other location along the main body 104 such as around a peripheral surface thereof.
Each substrate carrier 100, 200 may include one or more ports 116 for evacuating and/or filling the carrier with a gas such as an inert or non-reactive gas. The ports may be valves, such as poppet valves, gate valves, or ball valves, which may be selectively closed after evacuating and/or filling the substrate carrier 100, 200.
The system 300 may also includes a factory interface 310 coupled to the processing tool 302 and one or more load ports 312 coupled to the factory interface 310. Each load port 312 may be adapted to support a substrate carrier 100, 200, or another suitable substrate carrier, containing one or more substrates. The factory interface 310 may be adapted to transfer substrates from a substrate carrier 100, 200 to a load lock chamber 304 of the processing tool 302 via a conventional substrate handler or other robot (not shown).
In some embodiments, each component (e.g., load port 312) may be adapted to create a sealed environment 314 relative to at least a portion of a substrate carrier 100, 200 and to equalize the sealed environment 314 with an environment within the substrate carrier. For example, flange 110 of a substrate carrier 100, 200 may provide the sealing surface 112 against which a corresponding surface feature 316 of the load port 312 may seal. In some embodiments, the sealing surface 112 of a carrier 100, 200 may include a resilient sealing member 114, while in other embodiments the surface feature 316 of a load port 312 may include a resilient sealing member (sealing member not explicitly shown).
In embodiments in which a substrate carrier 100, 200 is evacuated to a predetermined vacuum level after loading of the substrates, the sealed environment 314 at a load port 312 may be substantially equalized by being evacuated to a similar vacuum level before a door of the substrate carrier is opened. Likewise, in embodiments in which a substrate carrier 100, 200 contains an inert gas, the sealed environment 314 at a load port 312 may be substantially equalized by being filled with a similar inert gas (e.g., via one or more pump-purge cycle(s)) before a carrier door 102 (
The system 400 may also include a factory interface 410 coupled to the processing tool 402 and one or more load ports 412 coupled to the factory interface 410. Each load port 412 is adapted to support a substrate carrier 100, 200, or another suitable substrate carrier, containing one or more substrates. Each load port 412 and/or the factory interface 410 may be configured and adapted to transfer a substrate carrier 100, 200 to a system component such as a load lock chamber 404 of the processing tool 402 via a docking mechanism, substrate carrier handler or other mechanism (not shown).
In some embodiments, each component such as a load lock chamber 404 is adapted to create a sealed environment 414 relative to at least a portion of a substrate carrier 100, 200 and to substantially equalize the sealed environment 414 with an environment within the substrate carrier 100, 200. For example, flange 110 of a substrate carrier 100, 200 may provide the sealing surface 112 against which a corresponding surface feature 416 of the load lock chamber 404 may seal. In some embodiments, the sealing surface 112 of a carrier 100, 200 may include a resilient sealing member 114, while in other embodiments the surface feature 416 of a load lock chamber 404 may include a resilient sealing member.
In embodiments in which an environment of a substrate carrier 100, 200 is evacuated to a predetermined vacuum level after loading, the sealed environment 414 at a load lock chamber 404 may be evacuated to a substantially similar vacuum level before a door of the substrate carrier is opened. Optionally, the vacuum level of the carrier may be changed to be substantially equal to a vacuum level of the sealed environment. Likewise, in embodiments in which a substrate carrier 100, 200 contains an inert gas, the sealed environment 414 at a load lock chamber 404 may be filled with a substantially similar inert gas (e.g., via one or more pump-purge cycle(s)) before a door of the substrate carrier is opened.
The foregoing description discloses only exemplary embodiments of the invention. Modifications of the above disclosed apparatus and methods which fall within the scope of the invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Accordingly, while the present invention has been disclosed in connection with exemplary embodiments thereof, it should be understood that other embodiments may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the following claims.
This is a divisional of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/503,859, filed Oct. 1, 2014 and entitled “SEALED SUBSTRATE CARRIERS AND SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRANSPORTING SUBSTRATES” which is a divisional of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/257,376, filed Oct. 23, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,870,512 entitled “SEALED SUBSTRATE CARRIERS AND SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRANSPORTING SUBSTRATES”, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/983,186, filed Oct. 27, 2007, and entitled “SEALED SUBSTRATE CARRIERS AND METHODS OF USING SAME”; all of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety for all purposes.
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20180138068 A1 | May 2018 | US |
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60983186 | Oct 2007 | US |
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Parent | 14503859 | Oct 2014 | US |
Child | 15871855 | US | |
Parent | 12257376 | Oct 2008 | US |
Child | 14503859 | US |