Abstract: In a load port portion of a conventional clean device, it can happen that cleanliness is reduced by dust caused by wear of bellows and a lid is not separated by its weight from a main body. In order to solve such problems, a clean device is structured as follows: a lid of a clean box has a non-circular reception hole, a load port portion of the clean device has an opening/closing mechanism with a projection fittable in the receiving hole and has a buffer chamber, one end of bellows of the buffer chamber is connected to the bottom surface of the buffer chamber, and the other end of the bellows is fixed, on the outside of the buffer chamber, to raising/lowering means of a port door.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: A tunnel is provided between a portion on a support mechanism on which a pod is loaded and a mini environment that is in communication with a FIMS. The pod is located in the tunnel when a lid of the pod is detached from the pod after the lid is held by a door. The pod is also located in the tunnel when it is at a position that allows transfer of wafers and to which the pod is moved after detachment of the lid. The lid and the door that have been separated from the pod can also be housed in a housing space annexed to the tunnel. A light emitting portion and a light receiving portion of an optical sensor are provided respectively on opposed walls of the tunnel. A pod is provided with a detection window that can transmit detection light.

Abstract: A transfer chamber is partitioned into a second chamber in which a transfer robot moving through an opening portion which can be opened/closed by a door is arranged, and a minute first chamber which serves as a FIMS system and includes a door capable of retaining a lid of a pod. The second chamber maintains a state in which an inert gas constantly circulates owing to minute nitrogen while having a pressure higher than that inside the first chamber. The first chamber is normally sealed while an oxide gas is suppressed in advance. In addition, at a time of transferring wafers, a partial pressure of the oxide gas is lowered with use of a downflow which is caused by the inert gas. Further, the first chamber and the second chamber are communicated with each other after a level of the partial pressure is confirmed with use of an oxygen level meter.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: A plurality of detection marks that can be detected from outside are provided on a lid of a pod. Whether the lid is appropriately fixed on the pod main body is determined by detecting the presence of the marks at predetermined positions. Thus, whether the lid is appropriately fixed on the pod is detected in the operation of closing the pod opening with the lid in a FIMS system.

Abstract: A seal member has a configuration including a ring-shaped main body portion, an inner peripheral lip portion protruding from a ring inner peripheral portion of the main body portion and an outer peripheral lip portion protruding from a ring outer peripheral portion of the main body portion. The inner peripheral lip portion takes an O-ring shape deformable in a protruding direction. The outer peripheral lip portion takes a structure deformable in a direction different from an extending direction, corresponding to a pressure in a sealed area. The member preferably sealing, when communicating a plurality of spaces separated from an external space, these spaces from an external environment, is thereby provided.

Abstract: A so-called transfer chamber in a semiconductor processing apparatus in which an FIMS system is secured is separated into a second chamber in which a transfer robot is disposed and a first chamber that is minute and includes a door capable of holding a cap of a pod as the FIMS system. In the second chamber, higher pressure than in the first chamber is maintained by a minute amount of nitrogen. In the first chamber, usually, a down flow of clean air is used via the FFU. When the wafer is transferred, a down flow of nitrogen is used. Thus, oxidation gas in the transfer chamber and released substances caused the FFU can be decreased.

Abstract: Provided is an FIMS system in which loading is possible in a manner in which multiple thin pods are vertically stacked together, with an information pad being arranged on an abutment surface of the main body of each pod abutting a door and on the side surface of the door corresponding to the abutment surface. When there is detected a state in which the door is pushed in toward a mini-environment, information imparted to the information pad can be detected by the FIMS system.

Abstract: An FIMS system in which loading is possible in a manner in which multiple thin pods are vertically stacked together, in which attraction pads are arranged on plates on which the pods are loaded, the pods being retained by and fixed to the plates through attraction and retention by the pads. A tube for imparting an attraction force to the attraction pads is accommodated in an accommodation space inside box-like member of a minimum requisite space thickness, and the region where the tube can be reflected only exists within the accommodation space.

Abstract: In order to easily and surely remove contaminants or the like from wafers stored in a pod (FOUP), a gas supply pipe is located above an opening portion in a FIMS system. A clean gas is blown to the upper surfaces of the wafers stored in the inner portion of the pod through the gas supply pipe to remove the contaminants or the like from wafers.

Abstract: An object is to provide a FIMS system that can be loaded with a plurality of low profile pods that are arranged vertically one above another. A tunnel is provided between a position on a support mechanism on which a pod is to be set and a mini environment that is in communication with the FISM. The position of the pod at which a lid of the pod is detached from the pod after the lid is held by a FIMS door and a position of the pod to which the pod is brought after the detachment of the lid and at which a wafer can be brought into/out of the pod are designed to be inside the tunnel. In addition, the lid detached from the pod and the door can be located in a housing space provided in the tunnel.

Abstract: Provided is a detecting device for an FIMS system, for easily and simply detecting a slip-out of a glass wafer from an FOUP or detective storage thereof. The detecting device includes a light transmission sensor and a light reflection sensor. A light emitting portion of the light reflection sensor, a light receiving portion thereof, and one of a light emitting portion of the light transmission sensor and a light receiving portion thereof are disposed on one surface side of a substrate to be detected in a position in which the substrate is located. The other of the light emitting portion of the light transmission sensor and the light receiving portion thereof is disposed on the other surface side of the substrate to be detected in the position in which the substrate is located.

Abstract: The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus includes a clean box having an opening, a lid for closing the opening, a door to be in contact with the lid and to detach the lid from the clean box, a first stopper adapted to move in conjunction with movement of the clean box without a change in its relative positional relationship with the clean box, and an unmoved second stopper. With this structure, it is possible to prevent the clean box moved on the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus from colliding with the apparatus, even if the clean box manufactured by molding using a reinforced plastic in accordance with a prescribed standard includes a manufacturing error in its size.

Abstract: A fine pressure fluctuation at short time intervals occurring when a portable type hermetically sealed container is purged is reduced to thereby prevent the deterioration or the like of a seal member due to the pressure fluctuation. In order to achieve this object, a gas flow rate regulating apparatus is disposed in a gas supplying system in a purging system, and pressure in the portable type hermetically sealed container during purge is measured and the result thereof is fed back to thereby control the flow rate of a supplied gas.

Abstract: In a load port apparatus, a slit is formed between an inner circumferential surface of an opening on a wall of the chamber of the apparatus and an outer circumferential surface of a door. In a predetermined section of the slit, the slit width at the chamber side opening of the slit is made larger than the slit width at other positions with respect to the depth direction of the slit. By this feature, gas flow from the interior of the load port apparatus to the exterior through a clearance formed between the inner surface of the opening that allows to bring wafers out of/into a pod and the door that substantially closes the opening can be made stable.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a pod cramping 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 having an opening through which the wafer is to be taken out of/brought into the interior and a lid attached to the pod body to close/open the opening, the load port having a pod opener that opens/closes the lid to allow to bring the wafer out of/into the interior of the pod.

Abstract: A seal member has a configuration including a ring-shaped main body portion, an inner peripheral lip portion protruding from a ring inner peripheral portion of the main body portion and an outer peripheral lip portion protruding from a ring outer peripheral portion of the main body portion. The inner peripheral lip portion takes an O-ring shape deformable in a protruding direction. The outer peripheral lip portion takes a structure deformable in a direction different from an extending direction, corresponding to a pressure in a sealed area. The member preferably sealing, when communicating a plurality of spaces separated from an external space, these spaces from an external environment, is thereby provided.

Abstract: In a load port portion of a conventional clean device, it can happen that cleanliness is reduced by dust caused by wear of bellows and a lid is not separated by its weight from a main body. In order to solve such problems, a clean device is structured as follows: a lid of a clean box has a non-circular reception hole, a load port portion of the clean device has an opening/closing mechanism with a projection fittable in the receiving hole and has a buffer chamber, one end of bellows of the buffer chamber is connected to the bottom surface of the buffer chamber, and the other end of the bellows is fixed, on the outside of the buffer chamber, to raising/lowering means of a port door.

Abstract: 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.