Integrated building and conveying structure for manufacturing under ultraclean conditions

• US 5,344,365 A
• Filed: 09/14/1993
• Issued: 09/06/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sematech, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sematech, Inc.
• Inventors: Scott, Richard G., Shackleton, Craig R., Ellis, Raymond W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yuen, Henry C.
• Application Number:
  US08/121,621
• Time in Patent Office: 357 Days
• Field of Search: 454/187, 454/193, 454/188, 454/189, 454/190
• US Class Current: 454/187
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67712 the substrate being handled substantially vertically
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67727 using a general scheme of a conveying path within a factory

Abstract

A building houses a semiconductor manufacturing facility, which is circular in shape and is of a multi-story structure. A silo is located at the center for use in storing and transferring wafers to clean rooms disposed radially around the silo at each floor. Human access is not permitted in the silo and in the clean rooms in order to prevent contamination of the wafers. Due to the modularity of the clean room structures, clean rooms can be reconfigured easily without significant impact on the on-going manufacturing operation. The modularity also permits portions of the facility to be deactivated when not needed.

Claims

1. A buildings for manufacturing microelectronic devices under an ultra-clean environment comprising:

a central enclosure disposed therein for providing a central control area for dispersing of a material upon which said microelectronic devices are fabricated;

a floor;

a ceiling disposed above said floor;

a plurality of partitioning walls radiating radially outward from said central enclosure and disposed to form a plurality of spines around said central enclosure, said partitioning walls coupled to said floor and said ceiling;

a first separating wall disposed concentrically around said central enclosure and coupled to said floor, ceiling and plurality of partitioning walls, such that a plurality of fully enclosed clean rooms are formed concentrically around said central enclosure, said clean rooms for containing processing equipment for processing said material;

each of said clean rooms being environmentally isolated from other of said clean rooms in order to form a minienvironment in each of said clean rooms, such that a breach of environmental integrity of one of said clean rooms does not disrupt environmental integrity of other of said clean rooms;

said central enclosure and said clean rooms having flow of ultra-pure air or gas in order to maintain ultra-clean minienvironments;

said central enclosure having an opening to each of said clean rooms for transferring said materials between said central enclosure and said clean rooms;

an automated material handler coupled to said central enclosure for transporting said material within said central enclosure and between said central enclosure and said clean rooms through said openings;

wherein said material is transported to various clean rooms for processing in said ultra-clean environment.

2. The building of claim 1 further comprising a second separating wall disposed concentrically around said first separating wall and coupled to said floor, ceiling and plurality of partitioning walls, such that a plurality of fully enclosed support rooms are formed outward and corresponding to each of said clean rooms in order to provide support areas for each of said clean rooms.

3. The building of claim 2 further comprising a third separating wall disposed concentrically around said second separating wall and coupled to said floor and ceiling in order to provide an access way around to said support areas.

4. The building of claim 3 wherein said clean rooms and support rooms include a suspended floor and ceiling for flow of laminated air or gas.

5. A building for manufacturing semiconductor devices under an ultra-clean environment comprising:

a central enclosure disposed therein for providing a central control area for dispersing of semiconductor wafers upon which said semiconductor devices are fabricated;

a floor;

a ceiling disposed above said floor;

a plurality of partitioning walls radiating radially outward from said central enclosure and disposed to form a plurality of spines around said central enclosure, said partitioning walls coupled to said floor and said ceiling;

a first separating wall disposed concentrically around said central enclosure and coupled to said floor, ceiling and plurality of partitioning walls, such that a plurality of fully enclosed clean rooms are formed concentrically around said central enclosure, said clean rooms for containing processing equipment for processing said semiconductor wafers;

each of said clean rooms being environmentally isolated from other of said clean rooms in order to form a minienvironment in each of said clean rooms, such that a breach of environmental integrity of one of said clean rooms does not disrupt environmental integrity of other of said clean rooms;

said central enclosure and said clean rooms having flow of ultra-pure air or gas in order to maintain ultra-clean minienvironments;

said central enclosure having an opening to each of said clean rooms for transferring said semiconductor wafers between said central enclosure and said clean rooms;

an automated wafer handler coupled to said central enclosure for transporting said semiconductor wafers within said central enclosure and between said central enclosure and said clean rooms through said openings;

wherein said semiconductor wafers are transported to various clean rooms for processing in said ultra-clean environment.

6. The building of claim 5 further comprising a second separating wall disposed concentrically around said first separating wall and coupled to said floor, ceiling and plurality of partitioning walls, such that a plurality of fully enclosed support rooms are formed outward and corresponding to each of said clean rooms in order to provide support areas for each of said clean rooms.

7. The building of claim 6 further comprising a third separating wall disposed concentrically around said second separating wall and coupled to said floor and ceiling in order to provide an access way around to said support areas.

8. The building of claim 7 wherein said clean rooms and support rooms include a suspended floor and ceiling for flow of laminar air or gas.

9. The building of claim 8 wherein said central enclosure further includes means for storing said semiconductor wafers.

10. The building of claim 9 wherein said central enclosure utilizes laminar flow of an ultra-pure non-reacting gas while said clean rooms and support rooms utilize laminar flow of ultra-pure air.

11. The building of claim 10 wherein said partitioning walls and said first separating wall are modular.

12. A multi-level building for manufacturing microelectronic devices under an ultra-clean environment comprising:

a central enclosure disposed therein and extending substantially the height of all levels for providing a central control area for dispersing of a material to all levels upon which said microelectronic devices are fabricated;

wherein each of said levels is comprised of;

a floor;

a ceiling disposed above said floor;

a plurality of partitioning walls radiating radially outward from said central enclosure and disposed to form a plurality of spines around said central enclosure, said partitioning walls coupled to said floor and said ceiling;

a first separating wall disposed concentrically around said central enclosure and coupled to said floor, ceiling and plurality of partitioning walls, such that a plurality of fully enclosed clean rooms are formed concentrically around said central enclosure, said clean rooms for containing processing equipment for processing said material;

each of said clean rooms being environmentally isolated from other of said clean rooms in order to form a minienvironment in each of said clean rooms, such that a breach of environmental integrity of one of said clean rooms does not disrupt environmental integrity of other of said clean rooms;

said central enclosure and said clean rooms having flow of ultra-pure air or gas in order to maintain ultra-clean minienvironments;

said central enclosure having an opening to each of said clean rooms for transferring said materials between said central enclosure and said clean rooms;

an automated material handler coupled to said central enclosure for transporting said material within said central enclosure and between said central enclosure and said clean rooms through said openings;

wherein said material is transported to various clean rooms for processing in said ultra-clean environment.

13. The multi-level building of claim 12 further comprising a second separating wall on each level disposed concentrically around said first separating wall and coupled to said floor, ceiling and plurality of partitioning walls, such that a plurality of fully enclosed support rooms are formed outward and corresponding to each of said clean rooms in order to provide support areas for each of said clean rooms on each level.

14. The multi-level building of claim 13 further comprising a third separating wall on each level disposed concentrically around said second separating wall and coupled to said floor and ceiling in order to provide an access way around to said support areas on each level.

15. The multi-level building of claim 14 wherein each of said clean rooms and support rooms include a suspended floor and ceiling for flow of laminar air or gas.

16. The multi-level building of claim 15 wherein said central enclosure further includes means for storing said material.

17. The multi-level building of claim 16 wherein said central enclosure utilizes laminar flow of an ultra-pure non-reacting gas while said clean rooms and support rooms utilize laminar flow of ultra-pure air.

18. The multi-level building of claim 16 wherein said material is a semiconductor wafer.

19. The multi-level building of claim 16 wherein its shape and the shape of said central enclosure are cylindrically shaped.

20. The building of claim 16 wherein said partitioning walls and said first separating wall are modular.

21. A method of fabricating microelectronic devices on a material under an ultra-clean environment in which processing steps for processing said material are conducted in separate and isolated minienvironments, comprising the steps of:

providing a manufacturing building having a central enclosure enclosed therein to function as a central control area for storing and dispersing of said material upon which said microelectronic devices are fabricated;

providing a plurality of clean rooms disposed concentrically around said central enclosure such that each of said clean rooms provides said isolated minienvironment, such that a break of environmental integrity of one of said clean rooms does not disrupt environmental integrity of other of said clean rooms;

providing ultra-pure air or gas flow in said central enclosure and said clean rooms in order to maintain an ultra-clean minienvironment;

providing an automated material handler coupled to said central enclosure for transporting said material within said central enclosure and between said central enclosure and said clean rooms;

wherein said material is transported and processed in various clean rooms under ultra-pure environment.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein said material is a semiconductor wafer and said microelectronics devices are semiconductor integrated circuits.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein said material is a glass substrate and said microelectronic devices are flat panel displays.