Wafer carrier

DETAILED DESCRIPTION A moldable plastic carrier for predictably and steadfastly locating the carrier and wafers therein upon wafer transfer equipment has an open top for insertion and removal of the wafers, a pair of opposed upright sidewalls with inner opposed ribs and wafer pockets therebetween for spacing and supporting the axially aligned wafers in the carrier.
The carrier has a pair of opposed upright end walls with one upright end wall being indexable upon the transfer equipment.
The one end wall has opposing transfer equipment contact rails each with upper and lower portions.
An arch is between the upper and lower portions thereby forming a 4-point contact with the transfer equipment.
A principal object and advantage of the present invention is that the wafer carrier has a wider window of acceptable molding process parameters than heretofore.
Another object and advantage is that the present invention readily conforms to the SEMI standards, compensates for the occurrence of wafer tilt and is not easily subject to the deleterious effects of warpage and shrinkage as to interfere with its usage in storing, transporting and processing of silicon wafers.
Another object and advantage of the present invention is that it predictably and steadfastly permits location of the carrier and wafers therein upon the wafer transfer equipment without rocking to minimize wafer damage and loss and to maximize processed silicon wafer and integrated circuit chip yields.
All these objects and advantages are realized by strategically locating only a small amount of plastic material on the molded carrier.
It is important to note that a small amount of material is not as susceptible to warpage or shrinkage as is a large amount of plastic material.