It is an object of the present invention to easily and securely perform the removal operation of contaminant or the like from a wafer housed in a FOUP. To achieve the object, a purging apparatus of the present invention removes contaminant or the like from a wafer by moving a gas supply nozzle along
It is an object of the present invention to easily and securely perform the removal operation of contaminant or the like from a wafer housed in a FOUP. To achieve the object, a purging apparatus of the present invention removes contaminant or the like from a wafer by moving a gas supply nozzle along a direction in which wafers are superimposed at the front of an opening while a lid of the FOUP is separated from a body and spraying clean gas on each wafer from the gas supply nozzle.
대표청구항▼
The invention claimed is: 1. A purging apparatus for purging objects housed in a pod including, a body including an opening and a plurality of shelves arranged in a predetermined direction on which the objects to be housed are mounted, and a lid configured to be removed from the body and to close t
The invention claimed is: 1. A purging apparatus for purging objects housed in a pod including, a body including an opening and a plurality of shelves arranged in a predetermined direction on which the objects to be housed are mounted, and a lid configured to be removed from the body and to close the opening, the purging apparatus purging the objects by spraying a predetermined gas on the objects to be housed, comprising: a frame configured to move relative to the front of the opening in the predetermined direction while the lid is separated from the body; a door configured to hold the lid, to separate the lid from the body, and to couple the lid to the body by moving independently from and relative to the movement of the frame; and a gas supply nozzle movable in the predetermined direction by keeping a predetermined positional relation with the frame, wherein the frame holds a sensor for mapping the object housed in the pod, and the frame inserts the gas supply nozzle into the body of the pod when the door separates the lid from the body. 2. The purging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas supply nozzle is set in parallel with the sensor. 3. The purging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the timing at which the predetermined gas is spouted from the gas supply nozzle synchronizes with the timing at which the gas supply nozzle passes through a plane on which the object to be housed extends when moving in the predetermined direction. 4. The purging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas supply nozzle spouts the predetermined gas in a direction parallel with the plane on which the objects to be housed extend or a direction facing downward by a predetermined angle from the plane. 5. The purging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the objects to be housed are wafers used for semiconductor fabrication and the state in which the lid is separated from the body is the state in which the pod is mounted on a load port and the wafers housed in the pod are transferred to a wafer treating apparatus through the load port. 6. A purging apparatus for purging an object housed in a pod including, a body including an opening and a plurality of shelves arranged in a predetermined direction on which objects to be housed are arranged, and a lid configured to be separated from the body and to close the opening, the purging apparatus purging the objects by spraying a predetermined gas on the objects to be housed, comprising: a gas supply nozzle separated from ends of the objects to be housed by a predetermined distance and configured to spray the predetermined gas on an area of a face extending vertically to the predetermined direction of the objects to be housed; and a support member that supports the gas supply nozzle and is configured to drive the gas supply nozzle in the predetermined direction; a sensor movable in the predetermined direction with the support member, the sensor detecting a timing at which the support member passes through a plane on which each of the objects to be housed extends when the support member moves in the predetermined direction, wherein the support member is a member for setting or removing the lid to or from the body portion of the pod, and the gas supply nozzle sprays the predetermined gas on the object while the support member holds the lid, and the gas supply nozzle sprays the predetermined gas onto the plane in synchronization with the timing. 7. The purging apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the gas supply nozzle spouts the predetermined gas to an area surrounded by a face parallel with a plane on which the objects to be housed extend and a face extended by facing downward by a predetermined angle from the plane. 8. The purging apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the objects to be housed are wafers used for semiconductor fabrication and the state in which the lid is separated from the body is the state in which the pod is mounted on a load port and the wafers housed in the pod are transferred to a wafer treating apparatus through the load port. 9. A purging method for purging objects housed in a pod including, a body including an opening and a plurality of shelves arranged in a predetermined direction on which the objects to be housed are mounted, and a lid removable from the body and configured to close the opening, the purging method purging the objects by spraying a predetermined gas to the objects to be housed, comprising: a step of separating the lid from the body via a door which is configured to hold the lid, to separate the lid from the body, and to set the lid to the body; a step of moving a gas supply nozzle along the predetermined direction at the front of the opening independently from and relative to movement of the door, after the door removes the lid from the body; and a step of purging the objects to be housed by spraying the predetermined gas on the objects to be housed from the gas supply nozzle, wherein the gas supply nozzle is set in parallel with the sensor, and after removing a lid, a step of mapping the object by the sensor is performed simultaneously with the step of performing purging in a state in which the gas nozzle is inserted into the body. 10. The purging method according to claim 9, wherein the step of performing the purging is performed synchronously with the timing at which the gas supply nozzle passes through the plane on which the objects to be housed extend when moving in the predetermined direction. 11. The purging method according to claim 9, wherein in the step of performing the purging, the gas supply nozzle spouts the predetermined gas in a direction parallel with the plane on which the objects to be housed extend or a direction facing downward by a predetermined angle from the plane. 12. The purging method according to claim 9, wherein the objects to be housed are wafers used for semiconductor fabrication and the state in which the lid is separated from the body is the state in which the pod is mounted on a load port and the wafers housed in the pod are transferred to a wafer treating apparatus through the load port. 13. A purging method for purging objects housed in a pod including, a body including an opening and a plurality of shelves arranged in a predetermined direction on which the objects to be housed are mounted, and a lid removable from the body and configured to close the opening, the purging method purging the objects by spraying a predetermined gas to the objects to be housed, comprising: a step of separating the lid from the body; a step of holding a state in which the front of the opening is separated from ends of the objects to be housed by a predetermined distance and moving a gas supply nozzle in the predetermined direction; and a step of purging the object to be housed by spraying the predetermined gas on an area of a face extending in a direction vertical to the predetermined direction of the objects to be housed, wherein the gas supply nozzle is fixed to a door used to set or remove the lid to or from the body of the pod, and after separating the lid from the body by the door, the gas is sprayed onto each of objects subsequently in accordance with the movement of the door, and the step of purging includes a step of detecting, via a sensor, a timing at which the gas supply nozzle passes through a plane on which each of the objects to be housed extends when the gas supply nozzle moves in the predetermined direction, and a step of spraying the predetermined gas from the gas supply nozzle onto the plane respectively in synchronization with the detected timing. 14. The purging method according to claim 13, wherein in the step of purging, the gas supply nozzle spouts the predetermined gas between a face parallel with a plane on which the objects to be housed extend and face extended by facing downward by a predetermined angle from the plane. 15. The purging method according to claim 13, wherein the objects to be housed are wafers used for semiconductor fabrication and the state in which the lid is separated from the body is the state in which the pod is mounted on a load port and the wafers housed in the pod are transferred to a wafer treating apparatus through the load port.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (19)
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