JP4728840B2 - Thin plate container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a thin plate holding container for storing, transporting, transporting and storing thin plates such as semiconductor wafers.

Some thin plates, such as semiconductor wafers, need to be securely supported and stored so as not to be shifted one by one for safety. As a thin plate storage container for storing and supporting such a thin plate, a container for storing semiconductor wafers one by one, such as a wafer carrier described in Patent Document 1, is known.
JP 2003-168731 A

  By the way, in the wafer carrier as described above, it is possible to store and manage a plurality of wafers in a single wafer, but it is not possible to store and manage each wafer in an airtight manner. For this reason, the above-described wafer carrier has a problem that the wafer cannot be stored and managed in a clean state at any place other than the clean room regardless of the surrounding environment.

  Further, in the above-described wafer carrier, the lower surface of the peripheral edge of the wafer contacts the container body side to support the wafer. In this structure, the front and back surfaces of the wafer carrier, such as an unprocessed semiconductor wafer, are supported. There is a problem in that it cannot be used for a wafer that cannot contact an object.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, and includes a plurality of mounting trays that are stacked and coupled to each other so that a thin plate is sandwiched between the mounting trays and the top of each mounting tray. A holding portion that is provided on one or both of the side surface and the lower side surface and holds the thin plate, and a thin plate that is in contact with a ridge portion provided on the periphery of each holding portion and positioned above and below the outer peripheral edge portion of the thin plate And a thin plate peripheral edge holding means having a contact surface that holds only the ridge portion, and the thin plate peripheral edge holding means has the contact surface that contacts the ridge portion positioned above and below the outer peripheral edge portion of the thin plate. It is characterized by comprising a thin plate receiving portion and a spring portion that elastically supports the thin plate receiving portion . Hereinafter, for the sake of simplicity, the ridges positioned above and below the outer peripheral edge are referred to as contact portions. The contact portion includes a chamfered portion in which the upper and lower sides of the outer peripheral edge of the thin plate are chamfered or spherically processed.

With this configuration, when the thin plate is placed on the holding portion of the placing tray, the thin plate peripheral edge holding means contacts the outer peripheral edge portion of the thin plate and holds the thin plate only by the contact portion. The abutting portion of the thin plate abuts on the thin plate receiving portion of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means and is elastically supported by the spring portion.

The thin plate receiving portion of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means is preferably formed to be inclined so as to contact and support only the contact portion of the thin plate.

  With this configuration, the contact surface of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means contacts and supports the contact portion of the thin plate. At this time, since the abutting surface is inclined, the abutting surface abuts only on the abutting portion of the thin plate, and is held in a minimum area without contacting the front and back surfaces of the thin plate.

  The holding portion is provided on each of the upper side surface and the lower side surface of the placement tray, and the holding portion formed on the upper side surface of the placement tray at an arbitrary position and the placement tray adjacent to the upper side of the placement tray. The holding part formed on the lower side surface, or the holding part formed on the lower side surface of the upper mounting tray at an arbitrary position, and the upper side surface of the mounting tray adjacent to the lower side of the mounting tray. A pair of holding parts is paired to hold the ridges located above and below the outer peripheral edge of the thin plate in a cooperative manner.

  It is desirable that the holding portion of the placing tray has a shape substantially similar to the thin plate.

  With this configuration, when the thin plate is placed on the holding portion of the placing tray, the contact portion of the thin plate is held in contact with the holding portion.

  It is desirable that a storage space for storing the thin plate is formed between the mounting trays when the thin plate is sandwiched between any pair of the upper mounting trays.

  With the above configuration, the thin plate is stored and sandwiched in a storage space formed by a pair of upper placing trays.

  It is desirable to provide a seal that is provided so as to surround the holding portion of each of the mounting trays and that airtightly isolates the storage space from the external environment when two adjacent mounting trays are coupled to each other.

  With this configuration, the seal provided surrounding the holding portions of the respective mounting trays is brought into contact with the two mounting trays in a state of surrounding the holding portion by coupling of two adjacent mounting trays. The storage space is hermetically isolated from the external environment.

  It is desirable that a plurality of stacked stacking trays be coupled to each other adjacent to each other and provided with a coupling release means that can be separated at an arbitrary position.

  With this configuration, the coupling release means separates the plurality of stacked stacking trays at an arbitrary position, and puts in and out the internal thin plate.

  The mounting tray at least at one end of each of the stacked stacking trays is provided with a base tray having the coupling release means that can be coupled to and released from the mounting tray, and the mounting tray above the base tray It is desirable to provide a coupling groove on the opposite surface to the mechanical interface of the machine processing device.

  With this configuration, the base tray is coupled to the end of each of the plurality of stacked trays by the coupling release means, and the coupling groove of the base tray is coupled to the mechanical interface of the machine processing device.

  It is desirable that a mounting groove at least one end of each of the stacked stacking trays be provided with a coupling groove that can be coupled with a mechanical interface of a machine processing device.

  With this configuration, the coupling groove at the end of each of the stacked trays is coupled to the mechanical interface of the machine processing device.

  Formed when the base tray holds the thin plate in cooperation with the mounting tray and the base tray and the mounting tray are coupled to each other between the base tray and the mounting tray. It is desirable to provide a seal that hermetically isolates the storage space from the external environment.

  With this configuration, in the state where the thin plate is held by the base tray and the placement tray, the storage space of the base tray and the placement tray is hermetically isolated from the external environment by a seal, so that the thin plate is The inside of the thin plate container to be stored is airtightly isolated from the external environment.

The thin plate periphery holding means, by the placement tray and the base tray after being elastically supported by the seal provided to surround the holding portion of each loading tray, it is to support the thin plate elastically desirable.

This configuration elasticity the thin plate is placed on the holding portion, when the upper the placement tray and the base tray are stacked, they are elastically supported by the seal, the thin plate periphery holding means the thin plate Supportive.

The thin plate receiving unit preferably also is formed in an annular shape it is discontinuous divided at regular intervals on the continuous annular.

  With this configuration, the continuous annular thin plate receiving portion supports the thin plate from the entire circumference, and the annular thin plate receiving portion divided discontinuously at regular intervals supports the peripheral edge of the thin plate at regular intervals.

  The thin plate peripheral edge holding means is formed in an annular shape so as to surround the entire circumference of the thin plate, and the storage space is hermetically isolated by the thin plate abutted on the thin plate peripheral edge support means, the above-described placing tray, and the seal. It is desirable to do.

  With this configuration, the storage space can be airtightly held by the thin plate, the above-described placing tray, the seal, and the thin plate peripheral edge holding means that the thin plate contacts.

  The tray stack is formed by stacking the stacking trays and coupled to each other, and an external storage container that stores the tray stack inside. The external storage container includes a bag-like container body having an opening, and the container. It is desirable to comprise a lid that closes the opening of the main body, and a seal that is provided between the container main body and the lid and isolates the inside of the container main body from the outside atmosphere.

  With this configuration, the tray stack is stored in the external storage container in a state where the thin plate is stored and supported in the tray stack. Accordingly, the thin plate is supported by a double structure, and the inside of the external storage container is kept clean by a seal between the container main body and the lid of the external storage container. When the tray stack has a seal, the periphery of the thin plate is kept clean by double sealing in combination with the seal between the container body and the lid of the external storage container.

  As described above in detail, the thin plate container of the present invention has the following effects.

  When the thin plate is placed on the holding portion of the mounting tray, the thin plate comes into contact with the thin plate peripheral edge holding means and is held only by the contact portion. It can be safely supported without contact. Furthermore, a plurality of thin plates can be safely supported by stacking a plurality of mounting trays.

  Since the abutting surface of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means is formed to be inclined, abuts only on the abutting portion of the thin plate, and is held without contacting the front and back surfaces of the thin plate, the thin plate can be safely supported. .

  Since the holding parts of the opposing surfaces of the two adjacent loading trays form a pair and hold the abutting part of the thin plate in cooperation with each other, it is safely supported without contacting the front and back surfaces of the thin plate. In addition, it is possible to prevent the thin plate from being displaced and to support it reliably.

  Since the holding portion of the placing tray is substantially similar to the thin plate and the contact portion of the thin plate is held in contact with the holding portion, the entire circumference of the contact portion of the thin plate is held in the holding state. It is possible to contact the portion and support it stably and reliably.

  Since the thin plate is stored and sandwiched in a storage space formed by a pair of upper trays, the thin plate can be stably and reliably supported. Further, in order to store and sandwich the thin plate in a storage space formed by a pair of upper mounting trays, an information management means is formed on the mounting tray constituting the storage space, so that the storage space is stored in the storage space. The thin plate can be managed as a single sheet, and the high value-added substrate can be handled more safely.

  A seal provided to surround the holding portions of the respective mounting trays is brought into contact with the two mounting trays in a state of surrounding the holding portions by coupling of the two adjacent mounting trays, thereby reducing the storage space. In order to hermetically isolate from the external environment, the thin plate can be supported in a clean state.

  The coupling release means separates the plurality of stacked stacking trays at an arbitrary position and removes the internal thin plate, so that the efficiency of the thin plate loading / unloading operation can be improved.

  In order to couple the base tray to the end of each of the stacked trays by the coupling release means, and to couple the coupling groove of the base tray to the mechanical interface of the machine processing device, It can be securely coupled to the machine processing device.

  Since the coupling grooves at the ends of the stacked trays are coupled to the mechanical interface of the machine processing apparatus, the thin plate container can be securely coupled to the machine processing apparatus.

  A thin plate in which the thin plate is accommodated by airtightly isolating the storage space between the base tray and the mounting tray from the external environment with a seal in a state where the thin plate is held by the base tray and the placing tray. In order to airtightly isolate the inside of the storage container from the external environment, the thin plate can be supported in a clean state.

  The mounting tray or the mounting tray and the base tray are elastically supported by the seal, and the thin plate is held elastically by the thin plate peripheral edge holding means. The thin plate can be safely supported by being absorbed by the seal that elastically supports the mounting trays.

  The abutting portion of the thin plate abuts on the thin plate receiving portion of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means and is elastically supported by the spring portion, so that the thin plate is stably and reliably supported, and vibration and impact from the outside are provided. Is absorbed by the spring portion, and the thin plate can be safely supported.

  Since the inclined contact surface of the thin plate receiving portion contacts only the contact portion of the thin plate and supports the thin plate, the thin plate can be safely supported.

  An annular thin plate receiving part supports the thin plate from the entire circumference, or an annular thin plate receiving part that is discontinuously divided at regular intervals supports the periphery of the thin plate at regular intervals. And can be reliably supported.

  The thin plate periphery holding means is formed in an annular shape so as to surround the entire periphery of the thin plate, and the storage space is hermetically isolated by the thin plate in contact with the thin plate periphery holding means, the placement tray, and the seal. Therefore, when a plurality of thin plates are stored, adjacent storage spaces can be isolated and airtight, and even if the cleanliness of some storage spaces is impaired, The cleanliness of the storage space can be maintained.

  In a state where the thin plate is stored and supported in the tray stack, the tray stack is stored in an external storage container, and the thin plate is supported in a double structure. Can be supported. Further, the inside of the external storage container can be kept clean by the seal between the container main body and the lid of the external storage container. When the tray stack is provided with a seal, the periphery of the thin plate can be kept clean by double sealing together with the seal between the container body and the lid of the external storage container. As a result, the thin plate can be safely, stably and reliably supported and transported.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The thin plate holding container of the present invention accommodates a thin plate for an electronic device such as a semiconductor wafer, a magnetic recording medium disk, an optical recording medium disk, a glass substrate for liquid crystal, a film substrate for a flexible display device, and other thin plates, and is transported. It is a container for use in storage and processing steps (production line, etc.). In particular, it is a container suitable for use on an unprocessed semiconductor wafer that cannot contact the front and back surfaces. In the present embodiment, a thin plate holding container for storing a semiconductor wafer will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the thin plate holding container 1 mainly includes a pair of base trays 2, a plurality of mounting trays 3 inserted between the base trays 2, and a space between the mounting trays 3. The base tray 2 and the loading tray 3 are coupled to each other and are composed of coupling release means 4 for releasing the coupling.

  The base tray 2 protects the upper end surface and the lower end surface of a plurality of stacked stacking trays 3 and performs a processing such as polishing of the semiconductor wafer W, or a transfer device for mounting and taking out the wafer W. It is a tray for engaging (both not shown). The base tray 2 is formed in a substantially disk shape. On the periphery of the base tray 2, grip portions 10 described later are provided at two positions facing each other. The base tray 2 includes an upper base tray 2A and a lower base tray 2B, and is provided at upper and lower ends of the stacking tray 3 in which one or a plurality of sheets are stacked.

  On the upper side surface of the upper base tray 2A, a coupling groove 6 that can be coupled with a mechanical interface of the machine processing device is integrally formed. The three coupling grooves 6 are grooves for positioning the thin plate holding container 1 by fitting with kinematic pins (not shown) on the machine processing apparatus side. Further, the above-described coupling release means 4 that can be coupled to and released from the mounting tray 3 is provided on the lower surface of the upper base tray 2A. The coupling groove 6 is similarly provided on the lower surface of the lower base tray 2B. The coupling release means 4 is similarly provided on the upper side surface of the lower base tray 2B.

  The lower side surface of the upper base tray 2 </ b> A is formed in a flat surface shape that comes into contact with the upper side surface of the loading tray 3. The lower side surface of the upper base tray 2A may form a holding portion similar to the second storage partition wall portion 9 on the lower side surface of the mounting tray 3 described later. The upper side surface of the lower base tray 2B is formed in a flat surface shape that comes into contact with the lower side surface of the loading tray 3. The upper side surface of the lower base tray 2B may form a holding portion similar to the first storage partition wall portion 8 on the upper side surface of the mounting tray 3 described later.

  Either one or both of the upper base tray 2A and the lower base tray 2B includes a bar code, a wireless tag, or an info pad (both not shown) that are information management means for managing information on the base tray 2. Or some or all of them are provided. Thereby, various information is managed by any one of the barcode, the wireless tag, and the info pad, or is distributed and managed. Further, by providing each of these information management means on each mounting tray 3, it becomes possible to manage wafers in correspondence with the mounting tray 3.

  When there is one base tray 2, the base tray 2 is attached to one side surface of the mounting tray 3 at the end, and supports each mounting tray 3 from one side surface.

  The mounting tray 3 is a tray that is inserted between the base trays 2 to hold and store the semiconductor wafers W. The mounting tray 3 is formed in a substantially disk shape in which a portion of a gripping portion 10 described later is linearly cut. Any number of mounting trays 3 are stacked. The number of mounting trays 3 corresponding to the number of semiconductor wafers W is stacked, and the thin plate holding container 1 is configured together with the base tray 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the loading tray 3 includes a first storage partition wall portion 8, a second storage partition wall portion 9, a coupling release unit 4, and a grip portion 10.

  The first storage partition wall 8 is a part for partitioning the lower side of the storage space 15 located below the semiconductor wafer W stored in the storage space 15 described later. The first storage partition wall portion 8 is formed on the upper side surface of the mounting tray 3 so as to be recessed into a substantially similar shape in accordance with the size and shape of the semiconductor wafer W. Since the semiconductor wafer W has a circular shape, the first storage partition wall portion 8 is formed in a circular shape in accordance with it.

  Thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 is provided on the peripheral edge of the first storage partition wall portion 8. The thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 is a means that comes into contact with the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W and holds the semiconductor wafer W only by the contact portion. The thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 has an abutting surface 11A that abuts the semiconductor wafer W only on the abutting portion thereof. The contact surface 11A is formed to be inclined so as to contact and support only the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W. The contact surface 11A may be formed of an elastic material different from other portions of the first storage partition wall portion 8 so as to elastically contact the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W. The thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 is formed in an annular shape so as to hold the semiconductor wafer W. Further, as described above, the contact portion is a ridge portion located above and below the outer peripheral edge portion of the semiconductor wafer W. The contact portion includes a chamfered portion in which the upper and lower portions of the outer peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer W are C-surface processed or spherically processed.

  A seal receiving groove 13 is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the first storage partition wall 8. The seal receiving groove 13 is a groove for holding the seal 14. The seal receiving groove 13 is formed in an annular shape on the outer peripheral edge of the first storage partition wall 8. Thereby, the storage space 15 is mainly constituted by the first storage partition wall portion 8, the second storage partition wall portion 9, the seal 14, and the contact surface 11 </ b> A of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11. The seal 14 is provided so as to surround a storage space 15 that is formed when the two placement trays 3 are stacked and the placement trays 3 are coupled to each other in a state of being fitted in the seal holding groove 16. This storage space 15 is isolated from the external environment and kept airtight. The storage space 15 is set to a size that can store one semiconductor wafer W. The storage space 15 is configured such that only the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W is in contact, and the other portions are not in contact with anything.

  In addition, as shown in FIG.4 and FIG.6, the 1st storage partition part 8 and the 2nd storage partition part 9 may not be provided. Since the semiconductor wafer W is supported only by the contact portion, the first storage partition wall 8 and the second storage partition wall 9 that partition the storage space 15 may be omitted. Here, the first storage partition wall portion 8 and the second storage partition wall portion 9 are provided only for configuring the storage space 15. For this reason, when the first storage partition wall portion 8 and the second storage partition wall portion 9 are excluded, the semiconductor wafer W serves as a partition plate instead of the first storage partition wall portion 8 and the second storage partition wall portion 9 and stores space. 15 is configured. When no semiconductor wafer W is stored, the storage space 15 is formed by the base tray 2, the seal 14, and the mounting tray 3.

  Two adjacent wafers are brought into contact with the contact surface 11A of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 formed in an annular shape so that at least a part of the entire circumference of the semiconductor wafer W arranged in the storage space 15 overlaps. The semiconductor wafer W forms a storage space 15 in place of the first storage partition wall portion 8 and the second storage partition wall portion 9. As a result, the semiconductor wafer W isolates each storage space 15 in an airtight manner, and the airtightness of any of the storage spaces 15 decreases due to damage to the upper and lower base trays 2 or a decrease in sealing performance between the respective mounting trays 3. Even in this case, the inner storage space 15 adjacent to the inner storage space 15 is kept airtight.

  The second storage partition wall 9 is a portion that is located above the semiconductor wafer W stored in the storage space 15 and partitions the lower side of the storage space 15. The second storage partition wall 9 is formed on the lower surface of the mounting tray 3 so as to be recessed into a substantially similar shape in accordance with the size and shape of the semiconductor wafer W. Since the semiconductor wafer W has a circular shape, the second storage partition wall 9 is formed in a circle in accordance with the semiconductor wafer W, like the first storage partition wall 8.

  A seal holding groove 16 is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the second storage partition wall 9. The seal holding groove 16 is a portion for improving the airtightness in the storage space 15 by closely contacting the seal 14 together with the seal receiving groove 13 on the first storage partition wall 8 side. The seal holding groove 16 is formed deeper than the seal receiving groove 13 so as to fit and support the seal 14. The seal 14 comes into contact with the seal receiving groove 13 while being fitted and supported in the seal holding groove 16.

  Further, the seal 14 is fitted into the seal receiving groove 13 and the seal holding groove 16 to elastically support the two adjacent loading trays 3, thereby the first storage partition wall portion 8 and the second storage partition portion 8. Each thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 of the partition wall 9 is elastically supported. As a result, each thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 elastically supports the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W.

  The coupling release unit 4 is a unit for coupling and decoupling the adjacent loading trays 3 to each other. By this uncoupling means 4, the stacking trays 3 stacked in a plurality of layers are decoupled and opened at an arbitrary position, the semiconductor wafer W inside is taken out, or the semiconductor wafer W is accommodated in that portion and coupled to each other. It is like that. A known mechanism can be used as the coupling release means 4. For example, various mechanisms such as a coupling release means including a hook and a hook locking mechanism can be used. That is, the coupling release unit 4 may be any unit that can couple and release the adjacent stacking trays 3 to each other, and any known coupling release unit having any structure can be used. .

  The attachment / detachment operation hole 20 is a hole for inserting the operation key for attaching / detaching the hook locking mechanism 19. The attachment / detachment operation hole 20 is formed so as to face the outer surface of the loading tray 3. The operation key is inserted into the attachment / detachment operation hole 20 from the outer side surface of the loading tray 3, and the internal hook locking mechanism 19 and the hook 18 are separated to release the coupling release means 4.

  Thus, when the base tray 2 and the mounting tray 3 are stacked, the coupling release unit 4 fixes the thin plate holding container 1 between the mounting trays 3 or between the base tray 2 and the mounting tray 3. Configure. Furthermore, by inserting the operation key into the attachment / detachment operation hole 20 at an arbitrary position and releasing the coupling release means 4, the base tray 2 and the loading tray 3 can be separated at an arbitrary position and can be coupled again. ing.

  The gripping part 10 is a part for engaging and gripping a transfer arm on the external machine device side. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gripping portions 10 are respectively provided on opposite side surfaces (left and right side surfaces in FIG. 2) of the mounting tray 3. The holding part 10 is formed in a wedge shape in its longitudinal sectional shape. That is, the vertical cross-sectional shape of the grip portion 10 is configured to include two inclined surfaces that are inclined with respect to each other and are positioned in the vertical direction. The holding mechanism (not shown) for the transfer arm has a V-groove structure. The V-groove portion of the holding mechanism 42 comes into contact with the two inclined surfaces of the grip portion 10 and is fitted to each other, whereby the vertical direction of the loading tray 3 is positioned.

  The mounting tray 3 having the above configuration is formed of a non-chargeable or conductive polymer material. Further, the first storage partition wall portion 8 and the second storage partition wall portion 9 of the loading tray 3 are formed of a polymer material that becomes transparent.

  Specific materials for the loading tray 3 include thermoplastic polymer materials such as polycarbonate resins, polybutylene terephthalate resins, polymethyl methacrylate resins, cycloolefin resins, polypropylene resins, and fluorine resins. Can be used. Conductivity and non-chargeability can be imparted by mixing these polymers with a conductive material such as carbon fiber or metal powder, or by mixing a surfactant.

  Examples of the elastic material constituting the contact surface 11A of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 include polybutylene terephthalate resin, polyethylene elastomer, and polybutylene elastomer.

  Examples of the transparent material include polycarbonate resin, polymethyl methacrylate resin, and cycloolefin resin.

  Similar to the base tray 2, the mounting tray 3 is provided with a wireless tag or the like.

[Action]
The thin plate holding container 1 configured as described above is used as follows.

  First, the number of mounting trays 3 is stacked in accordance with the number of semiconductor wafers W to be held, and the base tray 2 is attached to the upper and lower ends to constitute the thin plate holding container 1. And each semiconductor wafer W is mounted in the 1st storage partition part 8 of each mounting tray 3, and the information of each mounting tray 3 and each semiconductor wafer W is suitably recorded on a wireless tag etc. as needed.

  At any position of the stacked stacking trays 3, the coupling release unit 4 is released to open the mounting tray 3, and the semiconductor wafer W is mounted on the thin plate peripheral edge holding unit 11. As a result, the semiconductor wafer W is stored in the storage space 15, and its contact portion comes into contact with the contact surface 11 </ b> A of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 formed on the peripheral edge of the first storage partition wall portion 8. Thereby, the semiconductor wafer W is held only by the contact portion. Furthermore, the contact surface 11A of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 formed on the second storage partition wall 9 provided on the upper mounting tray 3 contacts the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W from above. As a result, the semiconductor wafer W has the contact surfaces 11A of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 provided in the first storage partition wall portion 8 and the second storage partition wall portion 9 in cooperation with each other so that the top and bottom of the peripheral edge portion of the semiconductor wafer W It acts effectively on the abutting portion which is a ridge located at the position and is held in contact with only the upper and lower sides of the abutting portion. That is, the first storage partition wall portion 8 on the upper surface of the loading tray 3 and the second storage partition wall portion 9 on the lower surface are paired to hold and hold the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W in cooperation. The thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 elastically supports the semiconductor wafer W by each mounting tray 3 elastically supported by the seal 14.

  At this time, since the contact surface 11A of each thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 is inclined, the contact surface 11A contacts only the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W and holds it without contacting the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer W. . In addition, the seal 14 isolates the storage space 15 from the external environment in an airtight manner by coupling the two adjacent mounting trays 3, thereby keeping the semiconductor wafer W in a clean state.

  In this state, the thin plate holding container 1 is transported to a factory or the like. In a factory or the like, the coupling groove 6 of the base tray 2 is coupled to the mechanical interface of the mechanical processing apparatus, and the internal semiconductor wafer W is taken out.

[effect]
Thereby, the thin plate holding container 1 has the following effects.

  When the semiconductor wafer W is stored in the first storage partition wall portion 8 of the mounting tray 3, only the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W comes into contact with the thin plate peripheral edge holding unit 11, so that the semiconductor wafer W is held only by the contact portion. be able to. As a result, the semiconductor wafer W can be safely supported without contacting the front and back surfaces. Furthermore, by stacking a plurality of mounting trays 3, a plurality of semiconductor wafers W can be safely supported.

  By forming the contact surface 11A of the thin plate periphery holding means 11 to be inclined, the contact surface 11A is held in contact with only the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W, so that the semiconductor wafer W can be safely supported. it can.

  The contact surfaces 11A of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 on the first storage partition wall 8 side and the second storage partition wall 9 side of the opposing surfaces of the two adjacent loading trays 3 are paired to contact the semiconductor wafer W. Since the contact portion is sandwiched and held in cooperation, the semiconductor wafer W can be safely supported, and the semiconductor wafer W can be prevented from being displaced and reliably supported.

  The first storage partition wall portion 8 and the second storage partition wall portion 9 of the placement tray 3 are formed in a shape substantially similar to the semiconductor wafer W, and the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W is on the first storage partition wall portion 8 side and the second storage partition wall. Since the abutting surface 11A of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 on the partition wall 9 side is held in contact with the abutting surface 11A, the entire circumference of the abutting portion of the semiconductor wafer W is on the abutting surface 11A of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 on the above side. The semiconductor wafer W is abutted and uniformly supported from the peripheral edge thereof. Thereby, the semiconductor wafer W can be supported stably and reliably.

  Since the semiconductor wafer W is stored and held in the storage space 15 formed by the pair of upper placing trays 3, the semiconductor wafer W can be supported stably and reliably.

  A seal 14 provided so as to surround the first storage partition wall 8 and the second storage partition wall 9 of each of the mounting trays 3 is coupled to the adjacent two mounting trays 3 to thereby combine the first storage partition wall 8. In addition, the semiconductor wafer W can be supported in a clean state because the storage space 15 is hermetically isolated from the external environment by abutting against the two placement trays 3 while surrounding the second storage partition wall 9.

  The coupling release means 4 separates the plurality of stacked stacking trays 3 at an arbitrary position and takes in / out the semiconductor wafers W, so that the semiconductor wafers W can be put in / out efficiently. .

  In order to couple the base tray 2 to the end portion of each of the stacked trays 3 by the coupling release means 4 and to couple the coupling groove 6 of the base tray 2 to a mechanical interface of a machine processing device, The thin plate holding container 1 can be reliably coupled to the machine processing device, and workability is improved.

  In a state where the semiconductor wafer W is held by the base tray 2 and the mounting tray 3 described above, the storage space 15 between the base tray 2 and the mounting tray 3 is hermetically isolated from the external environment by a seal 14, so that the semiconductor Since the inside of the thin plate holding container 1 in which the wafer W is stored is hermetically isolated from the external environment, the semiconductor wafer W can be supported in a clean state.

  The mounting tray 3 or the mounting tray 3 and the base tray 2 are elastically supported by the seal 14 and the semiconductor wafer W is elastically supported by the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11. Even if this vibration or impact is applied, the vibration or impact is absorbed by the seal 14 that elastically supports the mounting trays 3 or the like, so that the semiconductor wafer W can be safely supported.

  Even in the case where a plate portion for partitioning the first storage partition wall portion 8 and the second storage partition wall portion 9 is not provided, the storage space isolated by the semiconductor wafer W and the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 with which the semiconductor wafer W abuts is airtight. Therefore, when a plurality of upper semiconductor wafers W are stored, adjacent storage spaces can be isolated and kept airtight. Thereby, even when the cleanliness of a part of the storage space is impaired, the storage space adjacent to the storage space is hermetically partitioned by the semiconductor wafer W, so that the cleanliness of other adjacent storage spaces is maintained. be able to.

  Further, since the semiconductor wafer W is supported by the upper and lower mounting trays 3, the thin plate holding container 1 can be used as a reinforcing device.

[Modification]
In the above embodiment, the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 11 is configured by the contact surface 11A, but may be configured as shown in FIGS. That is, as shown in the drawing, the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 21 is supported on the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W from above and below, and the spring portion 23 that elastically supports the thin plate support portion 22. You may comprise.

  The thin plate receiving portion 22 is formed of an annular elastic plate material that forms an inclined surface similar to the contact surface 11A that contacts the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W. The thin plate receiving portion 22 has an abutting surface 22A formed so as to be in contact with only the abutting portion of the semiconductor wafer W and to support the semiconductor wafer W.

  The spring portion 23 is formed of an elastic member formed by bending the thin plate receiving portion 22 into a U-shaped cross section. The spring portion 23 is integrally attached to the substrate portion 25 embedded in the wall surface 24 </ b> A of the holding portion 24.

  Thereby, the thin plate receiving portion 22 holds the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W from the state shown in FIG. 8A with the contact surface 22A coming into contact with the upper and lower sides, and is elastic as shown in FIG. 8B. To support.

  As a result, the semiconductor wafer W can be supported stably and reliably, and vibrations and shocks from the outside can be absorbed by the spring portion 23 to support the semiconductor wafer W safely.

  Further, since the inclined contact surface 22A of the thin plate receiving portion 22 contacts only the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W and supports the semiconductor wafer W, the semiconductor wafer W can be safely supported.

  At this time, the thin plate periphery holding means 21 may be formed in an annular shape as shown in FIG. 7, or may be formed in an annular shape discontinuously divided at regular intervals as shown in FIG. In this case, the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 21 is disposed symmetrically with respect to the center point. The thin plate peripheral edge holding means 21 need not be limited to point symmetry. You may arrange | position by changing the magnitude | size of the circular arc of the thin-plate periphery holding means 21. FIG.

  Further, an odd number of thin plate peripheral edge holding means 21 may be provided in addition to the case where the number of thin plate peripheral edge holding means 21 is an even number. By supporting the semiconductor wafer W at regular intervals, the force applied to the semiconductor wafer W can be made uniform and isotropic. As a result, the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W can be safely and reliably supported, and the holding of the semiconductor wafer W can be stabilized and damage to the wafer can be suppressed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the thin plate receiving portion 28 of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means 27 is composed of an annular elastic plate material that forms an inclined surface similar to the contact surface 11A that contacts the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W. The spring portion 29 may be formed in an L-shaped cross section that supports the central portion of the thin plate receiving portion 28 in an annular shape. The spring portion 29 is integrally attached to the substrate portion 31 fixed to the wall surface 30 </ b> A of the holding portion 30. The substrate part 31 may have an annular shape, or may have a shape in which a spring part and a holding part are formed on the discretely separated substrate part 31. Furthermore, the wall surface 30A is not necessarily inclined, and may be a vertical wall surface.

  Accordingly, when the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W is contacted from above and below from the state of FIG. 10A, the thin plate receiving portion 28 is supported by the spring portion 29 as shown in FIG. 10B. The thin plate receiving portion 28 is clamped and supported so as to sandwich the contact portion of the semiconductor wafer W.

  The thin plate peripheral edge holding means 27 is formed in a stepping stone shape with a predetermined interval as shown in FIG.

  Also in this case, the semiconductor wafer W can be stably and reliably supported, and the semiconductor wafer W can be safely supported by absorbing external vibration and impact.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although a pair of base tray 2 and the some mounting tray 3 were laminated | stacked and the thin plate holding container 1 was comprised, you may use a storage container. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the thin plate holding container includes a tray stack 35 in which a pair of base trays 2 and a plurality of mounting trays 3 are stacked, and external storage that stores the tray stack 35 therein. You may comprise from the container 36. FIG.

  The tray stack 35 is the same as the thin plate holding container 1 of the above embodiment. The external storage container 36 is provided between a bag-shaped container body 37 having an opening, a lid body 38 that closes the opening of the container body 37, and the container body 37 and the lid body 38. And a seal 39 that hermetically isolates the interior from the outside atmosphere.

  With this configuration, in a state where the semiconductor wafer W is stored and supported in the tray stack 35, the tray stack 35 is stored in the external storage container 36, and the lid 38 is attached and sealed inside. .

  Thereby, the semiconductor wafer W can be supported in a double structure. As a result, safety is improved.

  Furthermore, in order to keep the inside of the external storage container 36 clean by a seal 39 between the container main body 37 and the lid 38 of the external storage container 36, the periphery of the semiconductor wafer W is cleaned by double sealing. Can be kept in.

  As a result, the semiconductor wafer W can be safely and stably supported and transported.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the 1st storage partition part 8 and the 2nd storage partition part 9 were formed in the both sides | surfaces of the mounting tray 3, it seems that a holding part is formed only in one surface of the mounting tray 3. It may be. For example, in the case of the mounting tray 3 positioned at the end of the stacked stacking trays 3, the holding portion is formed only on one surface. On the other surface, a coupling groove 6 that can be coupled to the mechanical interface of the machine processing device or a coupling release means 4 is provided.

  The mounting tray 3 is supported without providing the holding portion in the base tray 2, but the first storage partition wall portion 8 and the second storage partition wall portion 9 may also be provided in the base tray 2. Good. Accordingly, the storage space 15 may be formed by the base tray 2 and the mounting tray 3 to store the semiconductor wafer W.

  In the above embodiment, the thin plate holding container 1 is configured by stacking three or more mounting trays 3. However, the two stacking trays 3 are stacked and used as a single wafer container for transporting one semiconductor wafer W. May be. In this case, the seal 14 is always provided.

  The “outer peripheral edge portion” used in the above embodiment is the edge portion of the circular outer peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer W. The “holding portion” is a space formed by the first storage partition wall portion 8 and the second storage partition wall portion 9 for storing and holding the semiconductor wafer W, and constitutes a part of the storage space 15. .

It is a perspective view which shows the thin plate holding | maintenance container which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the thin plate holding | maintenance container which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the state which laminated | stacked two mounting trays of the thin plate holding container which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which two mounting trays of a thin plate holding container that do not have a plate portion separating the first storage partition wall portion and the second storage partition wall portion in the mounting tray of FIG. 3 are stacked. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the state which laminated | stacked two mounting trays of the thin plate holding container which concerns on the modification of this invention. FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which two mounting trays of a thin plate holding container that are not provided with a plate portion that partitions the first storage partition wall portion and the second storage partition wall portion in the mounting tray of FIG. 5 are stacked. It is a principal part perspective view which shows the thin plate holding | maintenance container which concerns on the 1st modification of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the thin plate holding | maintenance container which concerns on the 1st modification of this invention. It is a principal part perspective view which shows the thin plate holding | maintenance container which concerns on the 2nd modification of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the thin plate holding | maintenance container which concerns on the 2nd modification of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the thin plate holding | maintenance container which concerns on the 3rd modification of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  1: thin plate holding container, 2: base tray, 2A: upper base tray, 2B: lower base tray, 3: loading tray, 4: coupling release means, 6: coupling groove, 8: first storage partition, 9: Second storage partition wall portion, 10: gripping portion, 11: thin plate peripheral edge holding means, 11A: contact surface, 13: seal holding groove, 14: seal, 15: storage space, 16: seal receiving groove, 18: hook, 19 : Hook locking mechanism, 20: Desorption operation hole, W: Semiconductor wafer.

Claims (14)

A plurality of mounting trays that are stacked and coupled to each other so as to hold and store a thin plate between them; and
A holding part that is provided on one or both of the upper side surface or the lower side surface of each loading tray and holds the thin plate;
A thin plate peripheral edge holding means provided on the peripheral edge of each of the holding portions and having a contact surface that contacts the ridge portion positioned above and below the outer peripheral edge portion of the thin plate and holds the thin plate only by the ridge portion;
The thin plate peripheral edge holding means is composed of a thin plate receiving portion having the contact surface that contacts the ridges located above and below the outer peripheral edge portion of the thin plate, and a spring portion that elastically supports the thin plate receiving portion. A thin plate container characterized by that.   2. The thin plate container according to claim 1, wherein the thin plate receiving portion of the thin plate peripheral edge holding means is formed so as to be inclined so as to contact and support only the ridge portion of the thin plate. The holding portions are respectively provided on the upper side surface and the lower side surface of the placing tray,
The holding unit formed on the upper side surface of the upper mounting tray at an arbitrary position and the holding unit formed on the lower side surface of the mounting tray adjacent to the upper side of the mounting tray, or the upper mounting unit at an arbitrary position A holding part formed on the lower side of the tray and a holding part formed on the upper side of the loading tray adjacent to the lower side of the loading tray are paired and positioned above and below the outer peripheral edge of the thin plate. The thin plate container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ridge portion to be held is held in cooperation.   The thin plate container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the holding portion of the placing tray has a shape substantially similar to the thin plate.   5. A storage space for storing the thin plate is formed between the mounting trays when the thin plate is sandwiched between any pair of upper mounting trays. The thin plate container according to item.   5. A seal provided to surround the holding portion of each of the mounting trays, and when the adjacent two mounting trays are coupled to each other, the storage space is hermetically isolated from the external environment. 5. The thin plate container according to 5.   The thin plate according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising coupling release means that couples the plurality of stacked trays adjacent to each other and can be separated at an arbitrary position. Storage container.   The mounting tray at least at one end of each of the stacked stacking trays is provided with a base tray having the coupling release means that can be coupled to and released from the mounting tray, and the mounting tray above the base tray The thin plate container according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a coupling groove that can be coupled to a mechanical interface of a mechanical processing device on a surface opposite to the surface.   9. A mounting groove capable of being connected to a mechanical interface of a machine processing device is provided on a mounting tray at least one end of each of the stacked stacking trays. The thin plate container according to any one of the above.   9. A seal is provided between the base tray and the mounting tray, wherein the base tray and the mounting tray are hermetically isolated from the external environment when the base tray and the mounting tray are coupled to each other. The thin plate storage container according to 1. The thin plate periphery holding means, by the placement tray and the base tray after being elastically supported by the seal provided to surround the holding portion of each loading tray, to support the thin plate elastically The thin plate container according to claim 10 , wherein the container is a thin plate container.   The thin plate container according to claim 1, wherein the thin plate receiving portion is formed in a continuous ring shape or a ring shape discontinuously divided at a constant interval.   The thin plate periphery holding means is formed in an annular shape so as to surround the entire periphery of the thin plate, and the storage space is hermetically isolated by the thin plate in contact with the thin plate periphery holding means, the placement tray, and the seal. The thin plate container according to claim 5. It consists of a tray laminate in which a plurality of placement trays are stacked and joined together, and an external storage container for storing the tray laminate inside,
The external storage container is provided between a bag-shaped container body having an opening, a lid for closing the opening of the container body, and the container body and the lid, and the inside of the container body is airtight from an external atmosphere. The thin plate container according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the thin plate container is composed of a seal isolated from each other.

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