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KR-20260063118-A - EFEM CHAMBER

KR20260063118AKR 20260063118 AKR20260063118 AKR 20260063118AKR-20260063118-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to an EFEM chamber for manufacturing semiconductors or display panels, and more specifically, to an EFEM chamber in which a dehumidification unit and a chemical filter can be installed in the narrow upper space of the EFEM chamber. The EFEM chamber according to the present invention comprises: a chamber body having a mounting portion formed on its upper side; a dehumidification unit mounted on the upper inner side of the chamber body through the mounting portion to adsorb moisture from the air and generate dehumidified air; a chemical filter provided in close proximity to one side of the dehumidification unit to remove acidic and basic gases; and a mounting jig positioning the chemical filter in close proximity to one side of the dehumidification unit and introducing air that has passed through the chemical filter into the upper part of the dehumidification unit.

Inventors

  • 김동권
  • 정지웅
  • 박세운
  • 전성현
  • 박철수
  • 강재호

Assignees

  • 주식회사 신성이엔지
  • 주식회사 싸이맥스

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241030

Claims (11)

  1. A chamber body with a mounting portion formed on the upper part; A dehumidification unit inserted into the above mounting part and mounted on the upper inner side of the chamber body to adsorb moisture from the air and generate dehumidified air; A chemical filter provided in close proximity to one side of the above dehumidification unit to remove acid and basic gases; and An EFEM chamber characterized by including a mounting jig that mounts the chemical filter in close proximity to one side of the dehumidification unit and introduces air passing through the chemical filter into the upper part of the dehumidification unit.
  2. In paragraph 1, The above dehumidification unit is, A housing having at least one opening formed in the upper part, and A blower fan provided at the lower part of the above opening, and An EFEM chamber characterized by including an adsorption part that adsorbs moisture from the air supplied by the above-mentioned blower fan.
  3. In paragraph 2, The above mounting jig is, A vertical part that is close to one side of the housing of the above dehumidification unit and has a fixing part formed so that the chemical filter can be attached and detached in an upright state, and An EFEM chamber characterized by including a horizontal section that is connected to the vertical section, enters and is installed into the upper part of the housing, and supplies air that has passed through the chemical filter to the upper part of the blower fan.
  4. In paragraph 3, An EFEM chamber characterized by having a ball mouth formed on the upper surface of the housing, which becomes lower towards the outside centered on the opening.
  5. In paragraph 4, An EFEM chamber characterized by further having a support member on the upper surface of the housing that protrudes at a height equal to or higher than the height of the bellmouth and supports the lower surface of the horizontal portion.
  6. In paragraph 5, An EFEM chamber characterized in that the support member is formed in a shape surrounding the bellmouth.
  7. In paragraph 2, The above mounting jig is, A vertical section coupled to one side of the housing of the above-mentioned dehumidification unit, with the center open excluding the rim, and An EFEM chamber characterized by including a horizontal section connected to the vertical section, coupled to the upper surface of the housing of the dehumidification unit, and supplying air that has passed through the chemical filter to the upper part of the blower fan.
  8. In Paragraph 7, An EFEM chamber characterized by the chemical filter being detachably coupled to the vertical portion.
  9. In paragraph 8, An EFEM chamber characterized by having a support member protruding from the lower side of one side of the housing of the above dehumidification unit to support the chemical filter.
  10. In paragraph 2, An EFEM chamber characterized by further including a filter unit provided inside the chamber body to filter airborne particles.
  11. In paragraph 2, The above adsorption part is, A rotor that adsorbs moisture from the air inside the chamber body while rotating; and An EFEM chamber characterized by including a heater for removing moisture adsorbed on the rotor.

Description

EFEM CHAMBER The present invention relates to an EFEM chamber for manufacturing semiconductors or display panels, and more specifically, to an EFEM chamber in which a dehumidification unit and a chemical filter can be installed in the narrow upper space of the EFEM chamber. Semiconductor devices or display panels are manufactured through a continuous process within manufacturing facilities, and this manufacturing process can be divided into front-end and back-end processes. The front-end process refers to the process of completing a chip by forming a circuit pattern on a substrate (e.g., a wafer or glass plate). This front-end process may include a deposition process for forming a thin film on a substrate, a photolithography process for transferring photoresist onto a thin film using a photomask, an etching process for selectively removing unnecessary parts using chemicals or reactive gases to form a desired circuit pattern on the substrate, an ashing process for removing photoresist remaining after etching, an ion implantation process for implanting ions into parts connected to the circuit pattern to give them the characteristics of an electronic device, and a cleaning process for removing contaminants from the substrate. The back-end process collectively refers to processes that further process or evaluate the performance of products completed through the front-end process. The back-end process may include a substrate inspection process that checks the functionality of each chip on a substrate to distinguish between good and defective products; a package process that cuts and separates individual chips to form the product shape through dicing, die bonding, wire bonding, molding, and marking; and a final inspection process that finally checks the characteristics and reliability of the product through electrical characteristic testing and burn-in testing. For example, a cluster system, which is equipment for manufacturing semiconductor devices, may be configured to include an index module, a load-lock chamber, a transfer chamber, and a process chamber. The index chamber is equipped with a load port on one side and a conveyor robot inside. A container holding a plurality of substrates, such as a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod), is placed on the load port. The index chamber exchanges substrates with the return chamber through the load lock chamber. The return chamber is also equipped with a return robot to load or unload substrates into the process chamber. The above process chamber is a component that performs a predetermined process (etching, deposition, etc.) on a substrate using plasma or the like. Recently, as semiconductor manufacturing processes become increasingly smaller in design rules and higher in integration density, the required specifications for managing particles and environmental contamination on wafers are becoming higher. Conventionally, to suppress particles and contamination inside the equipment during the manufacturing process, measures are taken such as maintaining a positive pressure airflow while supplying air with a temperature of 23°C and humidity of 40-45% of the FAB environment into an index chamber, such as an equipment front end module (EFEM), through a Fan Filter Unit (FFU) and Ultra Low Particulate Air (ULPA) filter at a flow rate of about 03-05 m/sec. In addition, equipment for specific processes is equipped with air filters to filter out hazardous process substances such as ammonia, hydrofluoric acid, and ozone gas. However, in such cases, high humidity can easily react with residual gases on the wafer after the process, leading to the generation of particles. Conventional environmental conditions inside the EFEM chamber do not control humidity, and air is supplied from inside the FAB through a fan filter unit; consequently, the humidity present in the air reacts easily with the residual gases on the wafer, which can readily generate particles or defects. Research and development have been conducted to solve these problems, and for example, Public Patent No. 10-2021-0079632 has been disclosed. Referring to FIG. 1, an FFU (141) and a ULPA (Ultra Low Particulate Air) filter (142) are provided inside the EFEM chamber, and a dehumidifying air supply device (100) that supplies dehumidifying air is separately provided outside the chamber. That is, dry air generated from the dehumidifying air supply device (100) is supplied into the chamber to continuously supply clean dehumidifying air through the FFU (141) and ULPA filter (142). Therefore, in semiconductor etching processes, thin film and metal film formation processes, cleaning processes, and processes using chemical gases or liquid chemicals, air with very low humidity (20% or less) is supplied into the buffer space for processing wafers, such as EFEM, so that no reaction occurs with residual gases and harmful chemical components, thereby preventing particles and defects on the wafer and improving yield. However, despite the