In the logistics chain of semiconductor factories, there is a group of special "material guardians" — some are responsible for long-distance transportation between factories, some handle short-distance transfers within the factory, some excel at space utilization, and some specialize in automated docking. Without any one of them, million-dollar wafers or chips might "get damaged" during circulation.

Today, "AMHS Encyclopedia" will introduce you to semiconductor carriers of various forms, and show you how they cooperate seamlessly to keep semiconductor materials "running safely".

01 FOSB

FOSB (Front-Opening Shipping Box) refers to a front-opening shipping box. It is specifically designed for the transportation of wafers between wafer fabs and chip manufacturing plants (Fab plants), and is also suitable for storage and transfer in backend packaging plants. Its core function is to protect wafers from damage during cross-factory transportation.

• It can hold 25 wafers, and the front-opening design facilitates rapid wafer picking and placing by automated equipment;
• It uses highly sealed and low-outgassing materials to protect wafers during transportation, preventing contamination and corrosion;
• It adopts special positioning sheets and anti-vibration design to effectively reduce wafer displacement and friction during transportation;
• It integrates an RFID tag to achieve full-process traceability.

02 FOUP

FOUP (Front Opening Universal Pod or Front Opening Unified Pod) is a front-opening wafer transfer pod, usually used in the internal transportation and manufacturing processes of factories to ensure that wafers are not contaminated by the outside world when transferred between production machines. It is a core transfer container in the automated transfer system of wafer fabs.

• It can usually hold 0–25 300mm wafers, with a front-opening door frame. When docking with equipment, the cover is automatically opened by a standard mechanism;
• The design strictly follows SEMI standards to ensure compatibility with equipment loading ports and AMHS;
• It uses materials with high sealing performance, low outgassing, wear resistance, and anti-static properties, and also provides an inflation function to create a low-humidity environment for wafers;
• It integrates an RFID tag to facilitate material information tracing.

03 Cassette

In semiconductor factories, a Cassette refers to an open carrier used in the processing/storage stage to transfer wafers to equipment.

• It is usually made of hard plastic or conductive materials, and can hold 25 wafers for transportation or storage. It has precisely designed slots inside to vertically fix wafers;
• The open sidewall design facilitates wafer handling operations;
• It is equipped with track grooves, as well as pins and holes on the top guide rail to cooperate with AMHS and process tools;
• Some high-end models can integrate an RFID tag for full-process tracing.

04 Coinstack

"Coinstack" is a horizontally stacked wafer carrier/transport box, which has advantages in space efficiency and design convenience in wafer transportation/delivery/short-term storage, and is especially suitable for scenarios of horizontal stacking of single or a small number of wafers.

• The horizontal stacking + spacer design prevents damage or contamination caused by friction or contact between wafers;
• Similar to other semiconductor carriers, the material of Coinstack carriers should achieve low particle generation, low outgassing, chemical stability, and necessary anti-static/conductive properties;
• To prevent dust, contamination, and vibration disturbance, sealing methods such as screw caps, snap caps, and hinge caps are usually adopted.

05 Magazine

"Magazine" refers to a multi-piece/multi-unit carrier structure used for storing, transporting, or transferring lead frames, substrate frames, carrier wafers, and chip carriers between equipment. It is used for batch loading, alignment, protection, and handling of these processed parts.

• It may be subjected to vibration, impact, or gravity load during handling/transportation/equipment loading/unloading, so it needs to be designed with high-rigidity materials and the structure should not be easily deformed;
• It is often used in automated production lines and needs to have interfaces for robot/equipment alignment/positioning/loading;
• Some integrate smart chips or RFID tags, which can monitor the position, quantity, and status of materials in real time.

06 Tray

A "Tray" is a planar-structured carrier used to carry bare dies, IC packages, components, substrates, semiconductor devices, etc. It is usually used for short-term storage/transportation/equipment docking/automated handling in a clean environment.

• The material has high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, and anti-static properties;
• The design needs to comply with SEMI standards, and the size should match the wafer size, with precisely positioned grooves or card slots to prevent wafer displacement or scratching;
• According to application scenarios, it can be divided into open type (used for cleaning and inspection) and closed type (used for transportation and storage). Some high-end models also integrate RFID tags to track wafer information.

Suitable carriers can prevent contamination such as debris and static electricity, ensuring the smooth progress of the manufacturing process.

After reading this article, do you have a clearer understanding of semiconductor carriers? Which type of carrier have you used in your work? Have you encountered any pitfalls in carrier selection? Feel free to leave a comment in the comment section to share your experiences!

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