Tokyo Electron Limited

Hiroki Taniyama

Takanori Miyazaki

Kinya Ueno

Satoshi Nakashima

Yoshinori Kato

Hiroyuki Ataka

Toshikazu Arihisa

Yuji Kamikawa

Takayuki Toshima

Wataru Okase

Osamu Kuroda

Yasushi Yagi

Takenobu Matsuo

Shigenori Kitahara

Akira Yonemizu

Mitsunori Nakamori

Hiroshi Sato

Hironobu Nishi

Kotaro Tsurusaki

Miyako Yamasaka

Hiroyuki Kudou

Yoshitsugu Tanaka

Toshihiko Takahashi

Youichi Tanaka

Yoshiyuki Harima

Kyungho Park

Tameyasu Hyakuzuka

Jun Yamauchi

A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate With a processing fluid is provided. The apparatus includes holding membersfor holding the substrate W, a chuck memberfor supporting the holding membersand a top-face memberapproaching the substrate W to cover its surface. In arrangement, since the top-face memberis supported by the chuck member, the holding members 60 can rotate together with the top-face memberin one body. With this structure, it is possible to reduce the influence of particles on the substrate W and also possible to provided a low-cost substrate processing apparatus occupied as little installation space as possible.

Processing apparatus and substrate processing method

An edge remover is provided in the vicinity of an edge portion of a wafer subjected to copper plating. An aqueous hydrogen peroxide is supplied to the edge portion of the wafer from a first nozzle provided at an inner side for a radial direction of the wafer. Next, diluted hydrofluoric acid is supplied to the edge portion of the wafer from a second nozzle provided at an outer side for the radial direction thereof.

Processing apparatus, processing system and processing method

Liquid treatment units are disposed in multi-tiers surrounding a main-arm . Among liquid treatment units, plating units M through M are disposed on a lower tier side, and a unit for post-treatment process such as a cleaning unit where a cleaner atmosphere is necessary is disposed on an upper tier side. Thereby, an improvement in an area efficiency and the formation and maintenance of a clean atmosphere can be simultaneously obtained.

Liquid treatment system and liquid treatment method

This substrate processing device is identical to a wafer cleaning device for cleaning a wafer W, which includes a supply nozzle for supplying APM and the pure water, a spin chuck for carrying the wafer W and a container for accommodating the spin chuck . The container includes an inner processing chamber and an outer processing chamber and is constructed so as to be movable up and down to the spin chuck . A first drainage line is connected to the inner processing chamber to discharge APM and the interior atmosphere, while a second drainage line is connected to the outer processing chamber to discharge pure water and the interior atmosphere. With the connection of the first drainage line , the wafer cleaning device is adapted so that the supply nozzle supplies APM to a surface of the wafer W again. Therefore, it is possible to reuse this processing liquid advantageously and additionally, an exhaust displacement can be reduced.

Device for processing substrate

A substrate transporting method including inputting process data and determining whether a number of units required for processing a wafer is an odd number or an even number. Depending on the number of units required for processing the wafer, steps of transporting the wafer, taking out the wafer from a cassette section, loading the wafer, unloading the wafer and loading the wafer into a cassette section are performed via predetermined arms and with predetermined processing units.

Substrate transport and apparatus

Disclosed is an apparatus for washing a substrate, comprising a spin chuck holding and rotating a substrate, a process solution supply mechanism having a solution discharge port through which a process solution is supplied onto the substrate rotated by the spin chuck so as to form a film of the process solution, an ultrasonic oscillator for applying an ultrasonic vibration to the film of the process solution, a relative moving mechanism for relatively moving the ultrasonic oscillator and the spin chuck so as to adjust the relative positions of the ultrasonic oscillator and the substrate, and controller for controlling each of the spin chuck, process solution supply mechanism, ultrasonic oscillator and relative moving mechanism so as to permit the ultrasonic oscillator, which extends to cover substantially a radius of the substrate, to be in contact with the film of the process solution but not to be in contact with the substrate and so as to make optimum the relationship among a gap G between the ultrasonic oscillator and the substrate, a supply amount Q of the process solution, and a rotating speed V of the substrate.

Apparatus and method for washing substrate

An apparatus for cleaning a substrate comprises a spin chuck for holding a substrate substantially horizontally a rotation driving mechanism for rotating the spin chuck, a lower nozzle having a plurality of liquid outlet ports facing both a peripheral portion and a center portion of a lower surface oaf the substrate held by the spin chuck, a process liquid supply mechanism for supplying a first process liquid to the lower nozzle, and a controller for controlling operations of the process liquid supply mechanism and the rotation driving mechanism, individually, in which the controller controls the rotation driving mechanism to rotate the spin chuck and controls the process liquid supply mechanism to supply a first process liquid to the lower nozzle, thereby outputting the first process liquid toward the peripheral portion and the center portion of the lower surface of the substrate.

Substrate cleaning apparatus and method

An apparatus for cleaning both sides of a substrate, incorporating a spin chuck for holding a substrate such that contact with at least a central portion of the substrate is prevented, a motor having a hollow shaft connected to the spin chuck to transmit rotating force to the spin chuck, a front-side cleaning mechanism for cleaning a surface of the substrate held by the spin chuck, and a back-side cleaning mechanism for rinsing a back side of the substrate held by the spin chuck, wherein the back-side cleaning mechanism is disposed to face the back side of the substrate held by the spin chuck through hollow portions of the hollow shaft.

Apparatus for cleaning both sides of substrate

A washing/drying process apparatus comprises a spin chuck for holding a substrate such that a surface thereof to be processed faces upward and for rotating the substrate, a process fluid supply mechanism for selectively supplying one or two or more of a plurality of kinds of process fluids to the surface to be processed of the substrate rotated by the spin chuck, the process fluid supply mechanism having a first nozzle with a discharge port for discharging a process fluid which is in a liquid phase under conditions of room temperature and atmospheric pressure, and a second nozzle with a discharge port for discharging fluid which is in a gas phase under conditions of room temperature and atmospheric pressure, a driving mechanism for simultaneously moving the first and second nozzles to a location above the substrate held by the spin chuck, and a controller for controlling operations of the process liquid supply mechanism and the driving mechanism.

Washing/drying process apparatus and washing/drying process method

Substrate transporting method comprising (a) inputting process data, (b) determining whether a number of units required for processing the wafer is an odd number or an even number, (c1) when a determination result of the step (b) is an odd number, transporting the wafer, (d1) taking out the wafer by the second arm from a cassette section, (e1) loading the W by the second arm to an odd-numbered unit, (f1) unloading the W by the third arm from an odd-numbered unit, except for a final unit, (g1) loading the W by the third arm to an even-numbered unit, (h1) unloading the W by the second arm from an even-numbered unit, and (i1) unloading the W from the final unit by the first arm and loading the W by the first arm into the cassette section, and (c2) when a determination result of the step (b) is an even number, transporting the W (d2) taking out the W by the third arm from the cassette section, (e2) loading the W by the third arm into an odd-numbered unit, (f2) loading the W by the second arm from an odd-numbered unit, (g2) loading the W by the second arm into an even-numbered unit, (h2) unloading the W by the third arm from an even-numbered unit except for a final unit, and (i2) unloading the W by the first arm from the final unit and loading the W by the first arm into the cassette section.

Substrate transport method and apparatus, and substrate processing system

The present invention provides a wet etching method applied to a thin, including the steps of (a) setting in advance an etching rate of said thin film in view of a kind of the thin film to be etched, components of said etchant solution, and temperature, (b) loading the substrate on a spin chuck such that the surface having the thin film formed thereon faces upward and, (c) detecting a thickness of the thin film in at least a peripheral portion and a central portion of the substrate. The method also includes the steps (d) calculating moving speeds of a nozzle at predetermined passing points of said nozzle on the basis of the etching rate set in step (a) and a film thickness detected in the step (c), (e) rotating the substrate by driving the spin chuck, and (f) controlling the moving speed of the nozzle, while allowing the nozzle to supply the etchant solution to the thin film formed on the surface of the substrate which is being rotated, to conform with the moving speeds calculated in step (d) at the predetermined passing points of the nozzle so as to move the nozzle in a radial direction of the substrate.

Method for wet etching of thin film

A method for washing a group of semiconductor wafers in which a first support arrangement is provided for supporting the wafer group to be immersed in a solution, with a second support carrying the wafer group to the treatment vessel. The second support can be provided, for example, in the form of a fork arrangement, and the wafer group is transferred from the second support to the first support for treatment or washing in the treatment vessel. After the wafer group is pulled from the treatment solution, the wafer group is transferred from the first support to the second support and carried outside of the treatment vessel and transferred from the second support. Water is then sprayed onto the second support by moving a water washing nozzle along support rod(s) of the second support, and by blowing a drying gas along the second support while the second support is not carrying wafers thereon, and the next wafer group can then be supported by the clean second support.

Method for washing wafers

A washing apparatus includes plural washing vessels each containing a solution for cleaning or washing wafers, a boat housed in each washing vessel to support the wafers and immersed together with the wafers in the chemical solution, and a carrier for carrying the wafers into and out of its corresponding washing vessel. The carrier has a fork for supporting the wafers and loading and unloading them to and from the boat. It further has nozzles for washing and drying the fork.

Growing community of inventors

Tosu, Japan

Hiroki Taniyama