Tokyo Electron Limited

Tokyo Electron Limi Ted

Kiichi Takahashi

Katsuyuki Hishiya

Yasushi Takeuchi

Katsuhiko Oyama

Satoshi Asari

Junya Sato

Yuya Sasaki

Yo Abe

Yoshinobu Motodate

Takeshi Kobayashi

Izumi Sato

Keiichi Tanaka

Hiroshi Kikuchi

Tadashi Enomoto

Katsuyoshi Aikawa

Kosuke Takahashi

Kaoru Sato

Naohide Ito

Mitsuru Obara

Yuichiro Sase

Katsuya Toba

Haruoki Nakamura

Kiyohiko Takahashi

Katsuaki Sugawara

Terumi Kamada

Ittetsu Oikawa

Toshihiro Abe

Yuji Takabatake

A substrate processing apparatus is provided to deposit a film including a reaction product on a substrate by repeating a supply cycle of sequentially supplying at least two kinds of reaction gases reactable with each other to a surface of the substrate in a chamber. The substrate processing apparatus includes a turntable provided in the chamber and having a concave portion for receiving the substrate formed in its surface and through-holes formed in the concave portion, a lifting mechanism including lift pins used when transferring the substrate placed on the concave portion, and a control unit configured to control the lifting mechanism. The control unit controls the lifting mechanism to carry the substrate out of the concave portion by moving the lifting pins upward in a vertical direction and inward in a radial direction of the turntable after the lifting pins contact the substrate through the through-holes.

Substrate processing apparatus and method for processing a substrate

A support structure for a suspended injector includes a suspended injector having a tubular vertical portion extending in a vertical direction, one or more chamfered portions formed by chamfering an outer peripheral surface near an upper end of the tubular vertical portion, a pair of holding members each having a flat surface formed on an inner peripheral surface of each of the pair of holding members to engage with each of the chamfered portions, each of the pair of holding members holding the tubular vertical portion of the suspended injector by sandwiching the tubular vertical portion of the suspended injector from both sides each of the pair of holding members, and a support structure part configured to fixedly support the pair of holding members, and configured to suspend and support the suspended injector.

Support structure for suspended injector and substrate processing apparatus using same

A film deposition apparatus for sequentially supplying reaction gases, which mutually react, into a chamber to deposit a film on a substrate includes a turntable rotatable and including a concave portion on an upper surface, a bottom portion of the concave portion having a through hole, a substrate supporting member attachable to and detachable from the concave portion, an upper surface of the substrate supporting member mounting the substrate, a lower surface of the substrate supporting member having a first protruding portion, a drive mechanism moving up and down the turntable and revolving the turntable, a lid member located lower than the turntable, an upper surface of the lid member having a second protruding portion, and a control unit revolving the turntable to cause the first protruding portion to contact the second protruding portion and cause the substrate supporting member to be spun a predetermined angle relative to the turntable.

Film deposition apparatus, method of depositing film, and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium

A substrate processing apparatus includes a first hole portion formed through a sidewall of the process chamber and horizontally extending outward and a second hole portion formed to be contiguous with the first hole portion and defining a supply channel for a process gas. The apparatus also includes a gas nozzle, a plurality of seal members and an annular spacer. A proximal end of the gas nozzle is inserted into the first hole portion. The plurality of seal members is spaced apart from each other between an outer circumferential surface of the gas nozzle and the first hole portion. The annular spacer is inserted into the first hole portion and is pressed against an annular surface of an opening periphery of the second hole portion by the gas nozzle in a state where the proximal end of the gas nozzle is engaged with the annular spacer.

Substrate processing apparatus

A ready for rotation state detection device is configured to detect a state in which a substrate, which is placed on a concave portion formed in a surface of a turntable, will not fly out of the concave portion when the turntable is rotated in a chamber. The ready for rotation state detection device includes a ready for rotation state detection unit configured to detect that a height of a surface of an end of the substrate is equal to or lower than a predetermined value indicating that the turntable is rotatable, upon receiving the substrate on the concave portion.

Ready for rotation state detection device, method of detecting ready for rotation state and substrate processing apparatus

A vacuum processing apparatus is configured to include a process chamber, a turntable provided in the process chamber, and a substrate receiving area provided in one surface of the turntable and including a regulation part formed therearound to regulate a position of a substrate. A transfer mechanism is provided outside the process chamber, and a lifting member is configured to support the substrate and to move up and down in order to transfer the substrate between the transfer mechanism and the turntable. An exhaust mechanism is configured to selectively evacuate a gap between the substrate receiving area and the substrate before the lifting member places the substrate on the substrate receiving area.

Vacuum processing apparatus and vacuum processing method

A heat treatment apparatus includes a vessel loading unit on which a substrate vessel configured to accommodate a plurality of substrates at a first interval is loaded, a substrate holder configured to hold the plurality of substrates at a second interval which is smaller than the first interval, a substrate transfer unit capable of supporting the substrates and configured to transfer the plurality of substrates between the substrate holder and the substrate vessel and includes at least two substrate supporting parts stacked with the first interval therebetween and configured to be simultaneously advanced and retreated relative to the substrate vessel and individually advanced and retreated relative to the substrate holder, and a control unit configured to control an upper one of the at least two substrate supporting parts to be in an inoperative state when a lower one is supporting the substrate.

Heat treatment apparatus and method of transferring substrates to the same

The present invention is a processing apparatus comprising a transfer mechanism including at least one transfer plate, the transfer mechanism being configured to cause, when a substrate to be processed is placed on an upper surface of the transfer plate, the transfer plate to move while maintaining the substrate to be processed placed horizontally thereon. The transfer plate has a cantilevered support structure horizontally extending from a proximal end thereof to a distal end thereof in a fore and aft direction. An upper surface of the transfer plate is provided with a plurality of support projections configured to horizontally support the substrate to be processed at a substantially central position thereof and a rear position thereof in the fore and aft direction. The substrate to be processed is not supported on the distal portion of the transfer plate.

Vertical thermal processing apparatus

When a substrate is transferred by a holding arm to a multiple tier wafer boat, contact between the holding arm and the substrate is prevented. When the wafer boat is not subjected to a thermal effect, a normal height position of a ring member is obtained by relatively elevating and lowering a transfer base member with respect to the wafer boat. Before a wafer, which is not yet thermally processed, is transferred to the wafer boat, a height position of the corresponding ring member is obtained. By comparing a difference between the normal height position of the ring member and the height position of the ring member before the wafer is transported, with a threshold value, whether to transfer the wafer by the wafer transfer mechanism to the wafer boat can be judged.

Thermal processing apparatus, thermal processing method, and storage medium

To provide a processing system for a process object capable of preventing a transport arm mechanism from being thermally damaged, so as to effectively perform a transport operation of the process object. A processing system, which takes out a process object W from a storage boxfor process object, and thermally process the process object, includes: a vertical processing unit; a process-object transport areadisposed below the processing unit; a plurality of process-object boatsconfigured to hold the process objects; a boat elevating meansconfigured to vertically move the process-object boat; a boat table for transport, on which the process-object boat can be placed; and a transport arm mechanism configured to transport the process objects between the storage boxand the process-object boatplaced on the boat table for transport. The transport arm mechanismis vertically moved by an arm elevating means. A temperature measuring meansis disposed in an upper part in the process-object transport area. The transport arm mechanismand the arm elevating meansare controlled by a transport control partbased on a measured value of the temperature measuring means, so that a transport operation of the transport arm mechanism is controlled.

Processing system for process object and thermal processing method for process object

A workpiece transfer mechanismtransfers workpieces W to a workpiece boathaving ringlike tables. The transfer mechanismincludes a fork main bodybeing movable forward and rearward with the workpiece W placed thereon; stopper membersprovided at the end portion of the fork main body; clamp meansprovided on the proximal end side of the fork main bodyand having a pressing portioncoming into contact with the circumferential edge of the workpiece W and pressing the workpiece W toward the stopper memberfor clamping; and fork elevating meansfor lifting and lowering the fork main body. When the workpieces W are transferred to a workpiece boat, the pressing portionof the clamp meansis controlled so as not to be inserted into a gap between tables. Thus, although the pitch between the tablesis small, the pressing portionof the clamp meansdoes not interfere with the workpiece boat

Workpiece transfer mechanism, workpiece transfer method and workpiece processing system

The present invention is a vertical-type heat processing apparatus comprising: a heat processing furnace; a holder capable of being loaded into the heat processing furnace and unloaded therefrom, with holding therein a plurality of objects to be processed at predetermined vertical intervals in a tier-like manner; a transfer mechanism including a base table capable of vertically moving and rotating, and a substrate supporter capable of horizontally moving on the base table; and a controller for controlling the transfer mechanism; wherein the transfer mechanism is adapted to transfer an object to be processed between a container containing a plurality of objects to be processed at predetermined intervals, and the holder; the substrate supporter includes a to-and-fro driving part for driving the substrate supporter in the horizontal direction, and a pitch-change driving part for changing a pitch at which the objects to be processed are supported; the controller is adapted to monitor at least one information of position, velocity and current fed back to a motor for driving the transfer mechanism; and the controller is adapted to judge, by comparing the monitored information with predetermined information corresponding to a normal drive, that the transfer mechanism is abnormally driven, and then is adapted to stop the drive of the transfer mechanism.

Vertical-type heat processing apparatus and method of controlling transfer mechanism in vertical-type heat processing apparatus

Disclosed is a heat treatment apparatus which includes a processing vessel having a furnace throat at its bottom and adapted to accommodate process objects therein to perform a heat treatment to the process objects under reduced pressure, the processing vessel having a vessel main body made of quartz, a metallic lid adapted to support thereon a holder for holding a plurality of process objects so as to load and unload the holder into and from the processing vessel and to close and open the furnace throat, and an annular sealing member disposed on the lid to seal a gap between the lid and the furnace throat. A contact-preventing member is disposed between the lid and the furnace throat to prevent contact of the lid with the furnace throat due to squashing of the sealing member that would otherwise occur when an internal pressure of the processing vessel is reduced.

Heat treatment apparatus

A vertical heat-processing apparatus () includes a vertical heat-processing furnace () having a furnace port (), a lid () movable up and down to open and close the furnace port, and a rotation mechanism () disposed on the lid to rotate a holder () that holds a number of target substrates (W). The rotation mechanism () includes a rotary shaft (), and a support unit () that supports the rotary shaft () rotatably through a bearing () and sealing member (). The rotary shaft () has a hollow structure with a thin wall, and is supplied with a cooling gas to flow inside and outside the rotary shaft. The support unit () has a cooling passage () surrounding an upper portion of the rotary shaft (), and is supplied with a coolant to flow through the cooling passage.

Growing community of inventors

Oshu, Japan

Kiichi Takahashi