Miraial Co., Ltd.

Koichi Yanagihara

Chiaki Matsutori

The present invention supports a reticlein a safe and secure manner. A reticle-carrying containerincludes a podfor storing the reticlea doorand a sealfor blocking and sealing hermetically the podA pair of reticle retainersandis provided on the insides of the podand doorEach of the reticle retainersandincludes an inclined planethat contacts an upper cornerA or a lower cornerB of peripheral edge of the reticleand supports the reticleelastically. The inside of the inclined planeis provided with concave portionsandthat enables a shock-absorbing function of allowing the deformation of the inclined planeand supporting the reticle elastically, at the time of contact with the upper cornerA or the lower cornerB of peripheral edge of the reticle

Reticle-carrying container

The present invention allows a reticle-carrying containerto be fastened in a reticle stockereven if the reticle-carrying containeris wrongly oriented. The reticle-carrying containerincludes an interior with an opening at one end for storing a reticle, a doorfor covering and blocking the opening, and a seal materialfor sealing the interior hermetically when the doorcloses the pod. The reticle-carrying containeris provided with two sets of kinematic pin groovesfor positioning and fastening the reticle-carrying container, which are turneddegrees from each other on the outer surface of the door. Receiving partsfor receiving and holding the kinematic pin groovesare arranged in the positions corresponding to the kinematic pin grooveson the outer surface of the podso that the two sets of kinematic pin groovescan be engaged with the pins in both orientations.

A reticle-processing system includes a reticle-carrying container, a transfer rail for transferring the reticle-carrying container, a light exposure apparatus for printing a circuit pattern, and a reticle stocker for keeping a plurality of reticles. Orientation changer detects the orientation of the reticle-carrying container and changes it appropriately and is located in a path from the reticle stocker to a printing position in the light exposure apparatus. The orientation changer includes a rotary drive for rotating the reticle-carrying container, an orientation detectorfor detecting the orientation of the reticle-carrying container, which is provided in the path from the reticle stocker to the printing position in the light exposure apparatus, and a controller for, when the orientation detected by the orientation detector is shifted by 180 degrees, controlling the rotary drive so as to correct the orientation.

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Kikuchi, Japan

Koichi Yanagihara