Corrosion resistance of valves is enhanced, while ensuring the check valve function of the valves against an inflow of outside air. Disclosed is a substrate storage container that includes: a container body for storing at least one substrate; a lid for closing an opening of the container body; and at least one valve for controlling gas flow to the container body or from the container body. The at least one valve includes an elastic, non-metallic seal lip in a communication passage that extends in a first direction and communicates between an outside of the container body and an inside of the container body. The seal lip has an umbrella-like form which closes on one side in the first direction and opens on the other side in the first direction, the seal lip abutting an inner peripheral wall of the communication passage on the other side.

A lithographic apparatus comprising a substrate storage module having a controllable environment for protecting lithographically exposed substrates from ambient air. The substrate storage module is configured to store at least twenty substrates and the substrate storage module is an integral part of the lithographic apparatus. The substrate storage module may be used to protect substrates from ambient air during stitched lithographic exposures.

Disclosed are implementations for efficient purging of substrate carriers (and content held therein) and preventing external contaminants from entering a gas purge apparatus by coupling the gas purge apparatus to a substrate carrier, performing a first gas purging session of an environment of the substrate carrier, receiving a first signal of a first signal type, responsive to receiving the first signal, keeping the gas purge apparatus coupled to the substrate carrier, performing a second gas purging session of the environment of the substrate carrier, receiving a second signal of a second signal type, and, responsive to receiving the second signal, decoupling the purge apparatus from the substrate carrier.

A stocker includes a wall that separates an inside and an outside of the stocker, a storage area on an inner side of the wall and in which articles are stored, a fan on the wall to draw in outside air and introduce the outside air into the inside of the stocker, a control panel storage provided on the inner side of the wall and laterally to the storage area to store a control panel, a first thermal insulation layer on a wall side of the control panel storage, and a second thermal insulation layer on a storage area side of the control panel storage.

Provided are methods and systems for cleaning various semiconductor substrate storage articles, in particular, FOUP doors. The FOUP doors and other similar articles often have openings that may get contaminated with cleaning liquids if not covered. The described cleaning system includes contact points for engaging the article and covering these openings. The contact points may be also used for supporting the article and for pressurizing the openings in the article with a gas. The gas may be supplied through one or more contact points. It prevents liquids from getting into the openings if even the openings are not completely sealed. The pressurization may be maintained through the entire wet portion of the cleaning process. The article may be rotated within the cleaning system while cleaning and/or other liquids or gases are dispensed through a set of spraying nozzles. Spraying nozzles may move to enhance cleaning of the article.

In some embodiments, a side storage pod of an equipment front end module is provided that includes (1) an outer enclosure having a sealing surface configured to couple to the equipment front end module; (2) a side storage pod chamber having a body with a plurality of vertically-spaced storage members each configured to support a substrate; and (3) an indexer operable to vertically move the side storage pod chamber so that different subgroups of storage members are accessible by a load-unload robot in the equipment front end module. In other embodiments, a heated side storage pod is provided enabling degassing of substrates stored therein. Methods for processing substrates are described, as are numerous other aspects.

The present disclosure provides systems and methods for monitoring an environment of a front opening universal pod (FOUP). The systems and methods may include an environmental sensor disposed within the FOUP and configured to measure one or more environmental parameters of an interior environment of the FOUP; and a wireless transmitter disposed within the FOUP and in communication with the environmental sensor, wherein the wireless transmitter is configured to wirelessly transmit the one or more environmental parameters from the environmental sensor to a controller disposed outside of the FOUP to decide whether the one or more environmental parameters are within threshold limits and receive a message according to a decision of whether the one or more environmental parameters are within the threshold limits from the controller.

A transportation system for semiconductor substrates includes a tray, lid and packaging bag. The tray includes a bottom and circumferential sidewalls. The tray has an opening on a top side and is configured to receive semiconductor substrates through the opening, the substrates being stacked onto each other in the tray in parallel to the tray bottom. The lid includes a cover plate and at least two arms extending from the plate. The arms are configured to be inserted into the tray between the tray sidewalls and the semiconductor substrates. The cover plate is configured to cover the tray opening when the lid is fully mounted to the tray. The packaging bag is configured to enclose the tray with the substrates stacked therein and lid arranged thereon, and to be evacuated of air and sealed such that the tray and lid arranged in the bag are vacuum sealed inside the bag.

A load port of a factory interface of an electronic device manufacturing system can include a purge apparats, a docking tray configured to receive a substrate carrier including a substrate carrier door and a substrate carrier housing, a backplane located adjacent to the docking tray, and a carrier door configured to seal an opening in the backplane when the carrier door opener is closed. The carrier door opener can include an inlet gas line therethrough that is coupled to one or more components of the purge apparatus. The load port can also include a controller that is configured to detect that the substrate carrier is placed in a docking position on the docking tray. The substrate carrier placed in the docking position on the docking tray can form a gap between the substrate carrier housing and the backplane. The controller can also purge a space between the carrier door and the carrier housing and/or an area between the carrier door and the carrier door opener via the inlet gas line and the gap between the substrate carrier housing and the backplane. The controller can cause the purge apparatus to stop the purge and close the gap between the substrate carrier housing and the backplane.

Electronic device processing systems including an equipment front end module (EFEM) with at least one side storage pod are described. The side storage pod has a chamber including a storage container. The storage container includes at least a top substrate holder and a bottom substrate holder. In some embodiments, an exhaust port is located at a midpoint between the top substrate holder and the bottom substrate holder. A gas flow component is configured to provide a gas flow between the EFEM body and the storage container. A gas flow temperature component is configured to modify the temperature of the gas flow to a particular temperature.