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US 10,871,722 B2Granted
Photomask purging system and method
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsChung-Yi Yen, Mei-Tsu Lai, Chen-Hung Lin, Chien-Chou Ke, You-Cheng Yeh, Tai-Hsiang Lin
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Abstract
A photomask purging method includes opening a pod having a photomask therein, gripping the photomask by an end effector, moving the end effector from the opened pod to a destination where a gas exit is toward, exhausting a gas from the gas exit toward the gripped photomask, and rotating the end effector with respect to a horizontal plane when the end effector is at the destination where the gas exit is toward.
Claims20
A photomask purging method, comprising:
- opening a pod having a photomask therein;
- gripping the photomask by an end effector;
- moving the end effector from the opened pod to a destination where a gas exit is toward;
- exhausting a gas from the gas exit toward the gripped photomask;
- rotating the end effector with respect to a horizontal plane when the end effector is at the destination where the gas exit is toward;
- and
- rotating the gas exit with respect to the horizontal plane before exhausting the gas from the gas exit is stopped.
4 more elements
A photomask purging method, comprising:
- opening a pod having a photomask therein;
- moving the photomask from the opened pod to a destination where a gas exit is toward;
- providing a gas from a gas source to the gas exit;
- and
- switching an on/off valve connected between the gas source and the gas exit at a switch frequency, wherein the switch frequency of the on/off valve changes in a sine function.
2 more elements
A photomask purging system, comprising:
- an automated pod opener;
- a robot arm having a range of motion sufficient to transfer a photomask from the automated pod opener to a destination;
- and
- a purging device comprising:
- a gas exit toward the destination;
- a gas source;
- a gas line connecting the gas source and the gas exit;
- and
- a flow rate control valve in the gas line, wherein the flow rate control valve is configured to control a gas to flow from the gas source to the gas exit at a periodically variable flow rate, wherein the periodically variable flow rate changes in a sine function.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.