With nitrogen to higher yield

Semiconductor industry leading edge companies are developing and producing at process nodes of 28 nm and below. These smaller structures require a contamination and oxidation-free environment during production in order to exclude harmful influences like humiditiy, ambient oxygen or emission of molecules (airborne molecular contamination).These process related interactions may lead to surface defects and yield loss. Especially while wafers stored in FOUPs are waiting for the next process step, the danger of these unwanted side reactions is very high.The FOUP Purge System by Fabmatics avoids oxidation and other chemical reactions on the wafer surface by purging the FOUP with an inert gas (e.g. N2) during interim storage. The system can be easily retrofitted to existing storage modules (e.g. Zero Footprint Storage or Purge Stocker).

Features:

  • May be easily retrofitted with existing systems for FOUP storage (e.g. ZFS, Stocker) without having to change the fab structure during regular fab operations
  • Independent purge functionality for each nest, no gas spill / waste
  • Constant gas flow during the entire storage period
  • Every purge nest is individually monitored and controlled

Benefits:

  • Avoids AMC (Airborne Molecular Contamination) and other chemical reactions
  • Allows extended queue time between process steps
  • Improves overall process yield

Reference:

In a 300mm semiconductor factory, 600 existing zero footprint storage bins were retrofitted with the Ortner FOUP Purge System. The solution has contributed significantly to a higher yield and allows extended idle times. The retrofitting of additional storage areas is planned.

Possible adaptions:

  • for other wafer sizes , e.g. 450 mm FOUPs
  • for other wafer pods , e.g. SMIF Pods
  • Slim Purge Load Port as manual Input/Output Station for OHT systems