Tdk Corporation

Jun Emoto

Tadamasa Iwamoto

Toshihiko Miyajima

Tsutomu Okabe

Hiroshi Igarashi

Mutsuo Sasaki

Tomoshi Abe

Hidenori Tsutsui

Takeshi Kagaya

Hidetoshi Horibe

Kazuo Yamazaki

A gas purge unit introduces a cleaning gas into a purge container with an opening therethrough. The gas purge unit includes a first blowout member second blowout member. The first blowout member is disposed along a lateral the opening and includes a first nozzle port. The first nozzle port blows the cleaning gas into the purge container. The second blowout member is disposed along the lateral side and includes a second nozzle port. The second nozzle port is disposed farther from the opening than the first nozzle port and blows the cleaning gas into the purge container. A load port apparatus includes the gas purge unit.

Gas purge unit and load port apparatus

A gas purge unitintroduces a cleaning gas into a purging containerwith an openingtherethrough. The gas purge unitincludes a first nozzle outletand a second nozzle outlet. The first nozzle outletblows out the cleaning gas from a lateral side line part of the openingtoward the inside of the purging container. The second nozzle outletblows out the cleaning gas from the lateral side line part of the openingtoward an opening surface of the opening

Gas purge unit and gas purge apparatus

In a gas purge apparatus, a load port apparatus, an installation stand for a purging container, and a gas purge method, the inside of the purging container can be filled with a cleaning gas without inclining the purging container. A control means drives a nozzle driving mechanism to move a purge nozzle toward a purge port based on a fixing detection signal detected by a fixing detection sensor showing that the purging container is fixed on a table.

Gas purge apparatus, load port apparatus, installation stand for purging container, and gas purge method

A gas purge unit includes an intake nozzle, a pivotable body, and an O-ring. The intake nozzlehas a nozzle openingflowing out a cleaning gas. The pivotable bodyis arranged in ring shape to surround a cylindrical projectionof the nozzle, and is provided with a contact partcapable of detachably contacting with an intake porton a tip portion of the pivotable body. The ring-shaped O-ringis held between a rear end of the pivotable bodyand a base portionof the nozzlein a compressively elastically deformable manner along a longitudinal direction of the cylindrical projection

Gas purge unit, load port apparatus, and installation stand for purging container

A gas purge unit includes an intake nozzlea pivotable bodyand an O-ringThe intake nozzlehas a nozzle openingflowing out a cleaning gas. The pivotable bodyis arranged in a ring shape to surround a cylindrical projectionof the nozzleand is provided with a contact partformed on a tip portion of the pivotable bodyto be able to detachably contact with the intake portThe ring-shaped O-ringis held to be compressively elastically deformable along a longitudinal direction of the cylindrical projectionbetween a rear end of the pivotable bodyand a base portionof the nozzle

An object is to prevent the partial pressure of oxidative gas over time in an FOUP mounted on an FIMS system and left open. A surface purge unit is provided on a side opposite to the opening of the FOUP in such a way that wafers supported in the FOUP is located between the opening and the surface purge unit. The surface purge unit ejects inert gas from a plurality of vent holes provided in its surface toward the opening. Uniform purging or replacement of the interior of the FOUP with inert gas can be achieved by creating inert gas flow from an inert gas supply part extending over a surface in the direction from the interior of the FOUP toward the opening along the wafer surface.

Pod and purge system using the same

A load port unit can prevent or control leakage of inert gas from an EFEM system to the outside. The load port unit used in the EFEM system is provided with an air inlet that opens on a side facing a mini-environment between the upper end of an opener driving unit and the lower end of the pod. The width of the air inlet opening is larger than the width of the opening of the pod. With this arrangement, surplus gas is sucked from the pod when gas purging is performed on the pod.

Load port unit and EFEM system

Adjacent to an opening portion in an FISM system is provided an enclosure that encloses the operation space of a door and has a second opening portion opposed to the opening portion. A curtain nozzle is provided above the upper edge of the opening portion in the upper portion in the enclosure. A purge gas is supplied from the curtain nozzle along a direction from the upper edge to the lower edge of the opening portion. In addition, a gas outlet through which the purge gas flows from the interior of the enclosure out into the exterior is provided on the wall of the enclosure to which the purge gas flowing in the above described direction is directed, whereby an increase in the partial pressure of oxidizing gases in the interior of the FOUP is prevented.

Lid opening/closing system for closed container and substrate processing method using same

To prevent an inert gas from stagnating in an internal space of a mount base of a load port apparatus, the load port apparatus includes: an outside air supply device for introducing an air from an external space, in which an operator works, into the internal space of the mount base; a casing surrounding a space in which a drive mechanism for a door is arranged; and a duct through which a gas inside the internal space of the casing is dischargeable.

Load port apparatus

To generate a gas-curtain for a load-port-apparatus and to supply a purge-gas into a pod by a single gas source, provided is a gas purge device including: purge nozzles extending along an outer side of side edges of the opening portion; a curtain nozzle arranged above an upper edge of the opening portion; a gas supply pipe arranged in parallel to each purge nozzle, for supplying an inert gas to the purge nozzle and the curtain nozzle, the gas being supplied from the gas supply pipe to the purge nozzle in a direction orthogonal to an extending direction of the gas supply pipe; and a conductance adjusting unit arranged at an end portion of the gas supply pipe, for generating a pressure loss in a gas flow in a configuration in which the gas is supplied to the curtain nozzle at the end portion of the gas supply pipe.

Purge device and load port apparatus including the same

A partial pressure of oxidizing gas in an opened state FOUP fixed in a FIMS system is reduced when the FOUP is closed. Purge gas supply nozzles are placed outside of two vertical sides of an opening portion () within the FIMS. A curtain nozzle is additionally installed which can form a gas curtain from purge gas above the top side of the opening portion (). When a pod () is closed with a lid (), a door opening/closing mechanism keeps the lid () at a given angle with respect to the flowing direction of curtain gas for a given period of time, and hence purge gas supplied to the gas curtain is additionally put into use for the purging of the interior of the pod by the lid

Method of processing an object in a container and lid opening/closing system used in the method

A closed container in which a reticle etc. is stored and kept is provided with a pressure sensor, transmission means for transmitting data on the pressure, a controller that controls the operation of them, and a battery serving as a power source of the above elements. The controller has a sleep mode in which it causes the transmission means to transmit the data on the pressure at regular intervals and an active mode in which it causes the transmission means to transmit the data on the pressure when necessary in response to an externally supplied command. By the above described configuration, the pressure in the interior of the container can be checked appropriately.

Closed container and control system for closed container

The invention is directed to a pod clamping unit for fixing a pod to a support table in a load port, the pod including a pod body capable of storing a wafer in the interior thereof and a lid, the load port having a pod opener that opens/closes the lid. The pod clamping unit includes a clamp portion that is provided on the support table and adapted to engage with a first engagement portion provided on a lower surface of the pod body to restrict upward movement of the pod relative to the support table, a restriction pin that is movable upwardly and downwardly relative to the support table and adapted to engage with a second engagement portion provided on the lower surface of the pod body to restrict movement of the pod in a disengaging direction that causes disengagement between the first engagement portion and the clamp portion, and a vertically driving portion that moves the restriction pin up to/down from the second engagement portion.

Pod clamping unit load port equipped with pod clamping unit and mini environment system including pod and load port

Adjacent to an opening portionin an FIMS system is provided an enclosure that encloses the operation space of a door and has a second opening portionopposed to the opening portion. A curtain nozzle is provided above the upper edge of the opening portionin the upper portion in the enclosure. A purge gas is supplied from the curtain nozzle along a direction from the upper edge to the lower edge of the opening portion. In addition, a gas outlet through which the purge gas flows from the interior of the enclosure out into the exterior is provided on the wall of the enclosure to which the purge gas flowing in the above described direction is directed, whereby an increase in the partial pressure of oxidizing gases in the interior of the FOUP is prevented.

An object of the present invention is to provide a clamping mechanism and the like, which have no likelihood of contacting the under surface of a pod when the pod is mounted on a mounting board at a loading port. To achieve the object, as an unit for clamping the pod, it is configured to comprise a clamp arm capable of nipping a clamped portion of the pod in its top end portion, a clamp member drive mechanism for performing the nipping and releasing operations of the clamp arm, and a lifting mechanism for moving up and down each clamp arm together the clamp member drive mechanism for the mounting board surface. At that time, an inclined surface having a predetermined angle for up and down directions is formed in the lower part end portion of the top end in at least one from among the clamp arms.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Jun Emoto