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US 5,788,082 AGranted
Wafer carrier
AssigneeFluoroware, Inc.
InventorDavid L. Nyseth
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeFluoroware, Inc.
InventorDavid L. Nyseth
Estimating the term…
A wafer container for transporting or holding wafers in a horizontal axially aligned arrangement has minimal four point regions of wafer support at the edge portion of the wafers. A preferred embodiment has a first container portion and a closeable door. The first container portion has a first molded portion of a static dissipative material having an upright door frame with integral planar top portion. An integral bottom base portion with an equipment interface also extends from the door frame. A second molded portion has a transparent shell which connects to the door frame, to the planar top portion, and to the bottom base portion. Separately molded wafer support columns connect to the top planar portion and to the bottom base portion and include vertically arranged shelves with upwardly facing projection providing minimal point or point region contact with the wafers. The shelves include wafer stops to interfere with forward or rearward movement of the wafers when supported by the projections and to prevent insertion beyond a seating position. A side handle engaging both the first molded portion and the second molded portion operates to secure the molded portions together. A robotic handle connects to the planar top portion. The robotic handle, the wafer shelves, the side handles, and the door frame have a conductive path to ground through the machine interface.
A water container comprising a container portion comprising:
A wafer carrier for holding wafers in a horizontal and axially aligned array, the carrier having a front with a door, a closed top, a closed bottom, a closed backside, a closed left side, and a closed right side, the carrier comprising:
A wafer carrier for holding wafers in a substantially horizontal arrangement, the wafers having a lower surface the carrier having an open front, a backside, a top portion, a bottom portion, a left side and a right side, the carrier further comprising:
A composite wafer container adapted to engage a grounded interface on processing equipment, the container having an open interior, a front, a back, a left side, a right side, a top and a bottom, the container comprising
A composite container having a front, a top, a bottom, a left side, a right side and a backside, the container comprising a outer clear plastic shell extending around the left side, the back side, the right side, and the top, a pair of interior wafer support structures each facing the interior of said container, the wafer support structures formed of a static dissipative material, an equipment interface portion formed of a static dissipative material positioned at the bottom of said container for interfacing with processing equipment, the equipment interface portion joined to the clear plastic shell and formed of a static dissipative material, a pickup handle attached to said transparent plastic shell, said pickup handle formed of static dissipative material, the equipment interface, the wafer support structures, the pickup handle conductively connected together.
A wafer carrier for holding wafers substantially horizontally in a vertically stacked arrangement, the wafers having a lower surface, the carrier having an open front for insertion and removal of wafers, a backside, a top portion, a bottom portion, a left side and a right side, each of the left and right sides comprising a plurality of vertically arranged shelves, each shelf comprised of at least two upwardly extending beads for minimal contact with the lower surface of a wafer at each bead, each shelf further having an insertion level and a seating level for a wafer, whereby a wafer may be inserted into the carrier through the open front at an insertion level and lowered to sit on the upwardly extending beads at the seating level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.