Measuring and testing – Gas analysis – Ambient air
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-16
2003-12-09
Williams, Hezron (Department: 2856)
Measuring and testing
Gas analysis
Ambient air
C073S023200, C073S031020, C156S345320
Reexamination Certificate
active
06658917
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air-sampling carrier and an apparatus and a method for analyzing air of semiconductor fabricating facilities. More particularly the present invention relates to an air-sampling carrier having an exterior shape similar to that of a wafer carrier, and an apparatus and method for efficiently performing a cleanness inspection of respective unit process tools having a plurality of high immaculacy clean rooms and disposed in semiconductor fabricating lines.
2. Description of the Related Art
As semiconductor fabricating facilities are adapted to fabricate wafers having a diameter of 300 mm, an automatic material handling system (AMHS) and a computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) system have been adopted in the semiconductor fabricating facilities to provide 300 mm wafer lots to an inter-bay (BAT TO BAY) or an intra-bay (TOOL TO TOOL).
The unmanned automatic facilities mentioned above include a wafer carrier, a front opening unified pod (hereinafter referred to as a “FOUP”), and an unmanned carrying apparatus such as an OHT (overhead transfer) system, an OHC (overhead conveyor) system or an AGV (automatic guided vehicle).
Each unit process tool includes a load port for installing the FOUP at a front portion thereof, and a door opener for opening and closing a front door of the FOUP. Accordingly, a wafer is loaded onto the respective unit process tool or unloaded from the respective unit process tool after opening the door of the FOUP.
Therefore, an independently controlled Mini-environment system is usually installed to each unit process tool to simulate a high immaculacy clean room. Product quality is improved due to a partially high immaculacy space provided by the Mini-environment system.
The Mini-environment system is required to be controlled independently of an exterior environment, and therefore almost all outer walls of the Mini-environment system are fully sealed from the exterior environment. Therefore, in order to monitor an inner state of the Mini-environment system, the Mini-environment system must be equipped with various sensors for comparing actual data with a managerial criteria in order to detect an unstable or unusual inner state of the Mini-environment system.
However, three hundred or more Mini-environment systems are commonly required to fabricate a semiconductor device. When a management item is added, each Mini-environment system requires a sensor for detecting the management item. Consequently, as the number of management items is increased, the number of sensors to be installed to all of the Mini-environment systems is dramatically increased, which may make operation of the Mini-environment systems impossible.
Furthermore, when atmospheric pollution in the semiconductor fabricating facilities is estimated, either many analyzers are used individually for estimating a specific pollution matter, or alternatively, many operators are required to analyze various pollution matters using only one analyzer. Also, more time and many more operators are necessary when a system is required to perform periodic estimations of the pollution level.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made to solve the aforementioned problems. Accordingly, it is a feature of an embodiment of the present invention to provide an air-sampling carrier for effectively sampling air in a high immaculacy clean room of a respective unit process tool by means of carrying a container having a similar exterior shape as a wafer carrier to the respective unit process tool by using an unmanned carrying apparatus.
It is another feature of an embodiment of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for analyzing air sampled by the air-sampling carrier.
In order to provide these and other features of the present invention, according to one embodiment of the present invention, an air-sampling carrier is provided including: a container having an inner space; a door mounted at a front wall of the container; a discharging pipe, which is formed on an outer surface of the container and is connected to an inner space of the container, for discharging sampled air out of the container; and at least one inlet tube, which is formed on the outer surface of the container and connected to the inner space of the container, for introducing purge gas into the inner space of the container from outside the container.
Preferably, the air-sampling carrier has an external appearance according to a FOUP (front opening unified pod) standard.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for analyzing air for use in semiconductor fabricating facilities is provided, having a closed type wafer carrier, a plurality of respective unit process tools for opening and closing a door of the closed type wafer carrier and for loading and unloading wafers, and an unmanned carrying apparatus for carrying the closed type wafer carrier to the respective unit process tools. The apparatus includes: an air-sampling carrier for sampling air inside the respective unit process tools having an external appearance similar to that of the closed type wafer carrier to facilitate being carried by the unmanned carrying apparatus; and an air analyzer for analyzing the air inside the air-sampling carrier in order to measure a pollution level of the air from inside the respective unit process tools sampled by the air-sampling carrier.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the air analyzer may include a support for supporting the air-sampling carrier; a sample port line connected to the discharging pipe of the air-sampling carrier placed on the support to introduce the sampled air therein; a purge gas supplying line connected to at least one inlet tube of the air-sampling carrier placed on the support to supply the purge gas; and an analyzer, which is connected to the sample port line, for analyzing a pollution level of the sampled air.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method of analyzing air in semiconductor fabricating facilities includes: transporting an air-sampling carrier by means of an unmanned carrying apparatus to a respective unit process tool in which the air is to be sampled; sampling the air in the respective unit process tool by introducing the air into an inner carrier of the air-sampling carrier after opening a door of the air-sampling carrier; transporting the air-sampling carrier to an air analyzer by means of the unmanned carrying apparatus; connecting a sample port line and a purge gas supplying tube of the air analyzer to the air-sampling carrier; analyzing a pollution level of the sampled air after introducing the sampled air and purge gas into the air analyzer through the sample port line while injecting the purge gas into an inner space of the air-sampling carrier through the purge gas supplying line; and providing the inner space of the air-sampling carrier with a purge gas having a pollution level of zero through the purge gas supplying line after disconnecting the sample port line from the air-sampling carrier when the analyzing is finished.
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Ham Dong-Seok
Kim Tae-Ho
Lee & Sterba, P.C.
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
Wiggins David J.
Williams Hezron
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