US 12,487,519 B2
Reticle container
Pei-Cheng Hsu, Taipei (TW); Ta-Cheng Lien, Cyonglin Township (TW); Tzu Yi Wang, Hsinchu (TW); and Hsin-Chang Lee, Zhubei (TW)
Assigned to TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., Hsinchu (TW)
Filed by TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., Hsinchu (TW)
Filed on Jan. 31, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/589,368.
Application 17/589,368 is a division of application No. 16/012,253, filed on Jun. 19, 2018, granted, now 11,237,477.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/565,319, filed on Sep. 29, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2022/0155676 A1, May 19, 2022
Int. Cl. G03F 7/00 (2006.01); G03F 1/66 (2012.01)
CPC G03F 1/66 (2013.01) [G03F 7/70691 (2013.01); G03F 7/70825 (2013.01); G03F 7/70983 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A mask container for storing a mask for photolithography, comprising:
a base having a plurality of tapered corners, wherein the tapered corners taper outward and downward from corners of a top major surface of the base to corners of a bottom major surface;
a cover having a plurality of tapered corners extending downward that cover the tapered corners of the base when the cover is attached to the base, wherein the tapered corners of the cover are tapered so that a surface of the tapered corners of the cover faces a corresponding surface of the tapered corner of the base when the cover is attached to the base;
a ball-shaped member and a biasing member configured to press the ball-shaped member, which are located in the tapered corners of the base, respectively;
a recess located in the tapered corners of the cover, respectively; and
an opening in the cover above the tapered corners and extending further in the cover than the recess in a direction towards an outermost side surface of the cover as viewed in cross-section,
wherein an acute corner angle exists between a lower surface of the opening and an upper surface portion of the tapered corners of the cover as viewed in cross-section,
wherein an obtuse corner angle exists between a bottom surface of the tapered corners of the cover and a lower surface portion of the tapered corners of the cover as viewed in cross-section, and
wherein the ball-shaped member mates with the recess when the cover is attached to the base.