Tokyo Electron Limited

Masahiro Numakura

Hiroaki Mochizuki

Seiichi Kaise

Toshiaki Toyomaki

Kiyohito Iijima

Noriaki Shimizu

Yuki Takeyama

Yoshikazu Ishikawa

Keiji Osada

Junya Sato

Toshiyuki Kobayashi

Shinobu Onodera

Shouichi Otake

Tomoyuki Ishii

Toshihiko Hamada

A system of processing a substrate includes an atmospheric-pressure transfer chamber, at least one vacuum processing chamber, at least two load-lock modules, a vacuum transfer chamber, a plurality of load ports, and a first transfer mechanism and a second transfer mechanism. The load ports are attached to the atmospheric-pressure transfer chamber and detachable containers are mounted on the load ports, respectively. A controller controls the first transfer mechanism and the second transfer mechanism to concurrently transfer a used consumable from the containers to the vacuum processing chamber through the atmospheric-pressure transfer chamber and one of the load-lock modules and to transfer a used consumable from the vacuum processing chamber through the vacuum transfer chamber and another one of the load-lock modules.

System of processing substrate, transfer method, transfer program, and holder

A container for consumables includes multiple holding portions, a partition plate and a fixer. The multiple holding portions are configured to respectively accommodate the consumables, each of which is loaded into and unloaded from one direction. The partition plate includes a first portion formed to be disposed between a light emitting part and a light receiving part of a detector, and the partition plate is accommodated in one of the multiple holding portions. The fixer is configured to fix the container so that the consumables are arranged on a transfer path to be loaded into and unloaded from the multiple holding portions.

Container, container partition plate, substrate processing system, and substrate transfer method

A substrate processing apparatus includes at least one process module configured to process first substrates. A position detector is configured to detect first positions of the first substrates. A control unit is configured to control the position detector so as to measure a second position of a second substrate selected from the first substrates to be processed in a same process module depending on a measurement interval set for the same process module.

Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing method and recording medium recording substrate processing program

A method of inspecting a substrate processing apparatus, which is capable of preventing product substrates from being supplied to a substrate processing chamber to be inspected, and inspecting the substrate processing chamber in desired timing. Product wafers W (product substrates) are inhibited from being conveyed into a processing unit to be inspected (substrate processing chamber) according to a selection of a menu option 'QC MODE' by an operator, or in response to instruction from a host computer. A QC wafer is permitted to be conveyed from a carrier connected to an associated load portinto the processing unit to be inspected, in response to a notification the fact that a wafer stored in the carrier connected to the associated load portis the QC wafer.

Method of inspecting substrate processing apparatus and storage medium storing inspection program for executing the method

A substrate receiving method in a substrate processing system includes: a processing process of transferring a plurality of unprocessed substrates accommodated in a first substrate storage container to a substrate processing chamber in sequence and performing a plasma process on the unprocessed substrates in the substrate processing chamber; a retreating process of retreating the plasma-processed substrates temporarily to a second substrate storage container by transferring the plasma-processed substrates to the second substrate storage container in sequence; a determining process of determining whether or not the last unprocessed substrate is unloaded from the first substrate storage container; and a re-accommodating process of transferring and re-accommodating the plurality of the processed substrates accommodated in the second substrate storage container into the first substrate storage container in sequence when a substrate decided as the last unprocessed substrate is unloaded in the determining process.

Substrate receiving method and controller

A processing system includes process modules, load lock modules, an equipment controller, and a machine controller. The equipment controller controls transfer and processing of wafers in the processing system. A transfer destination determining portion determines the transfer destination of each wafer such that each wafer is sequentially transferred to a normally operating process module. When an abnormality occurs in a process module, an evacuation portion temporarily evacuates to a cassette stage the wafer determined to be transferred to the abnormal process module and that has not yet been transferred to the abnormal process module. When an error of the abnormal process module is dealt with, a transfer destination change portion changes the transfer destination of a wafer scheduled to be first transferred from the cassette case, to the transfer inhibition-released process module. When the error of the transfer-inhibited processing chamber is released, the transfer route is optimized.

System, method and storage medium for controlling a processing system

In a control device of a plasma processing system, a communication unit is configured to receive processing information related to a carrier of a next processing lot. A determination unit is configured to determine whether the processing information received by the communication unit has pre-treatment information related to one of the plasma processing devices. When it is determined that the processing information has the pre-treatment information by the determination unit, a generation unit is configured to generate an object for declaring execution of the pre-treatment for the carrier of a next processing lot if a desired condition of transferring of the carrier is satisfied. In addition, if the object is generated by the generation unit, a process executing control unit is configured to start the pre-treatment for the target object in the carrier of a next processing lot without any notification that the carrier reaches a destination plasma processing device.

Control device and control method of plasma processing system, and storage medium storing control program

A cleaning method for a substrate processing system capable of appropriately cleaning a housing chamber. In the substrate processing system, the number of execution times of product processing is accumulated, if the product processing to be executed next corresponds to first product processing for a subsequent lot, a time interval between preceding and subsequent lots is not longer than a predetermined time period, and a type of the last product processing performed for the preceding lot is the same as that of the first product processing to be performed for the subsequent lot. When the accumulated number of execution times is not less than a predetermined number of times, a cleaning treatment is executed, which corresponds to a chamber indicated in a system recipe set for a lot including a wafer on which the product processing is performed immediately before execution of the cleaning treatment.

Cleaning method for substrate processing system, storage medium, and substrate processing system

As an interrupt start button is depressed while control, under which product wafers Wp and dummy wafers Wd are transferred in an order defined in a normal transfer pattern, is repeatedly executed, a decision is made based upon wafer transfer history as to whether or not the most recent transfer pattern cycle has ended. If the cycle is determined to have ended, the operation immediately proceeds to the subsequent cycle to transfer interrupt wafers Wf and Wd in an order defined in the interrupt transfer pattern achieved by replacing Wp in the normal transfer pattern with Wf, whereas if the cycle is determined to be incomplete, the wafer transfer based upon the normal transfer pattern is carried on until the cycle ends and then the operation proceeds to the next cycle to transfer Wf and Wd in the order defined in the interrupt transfer pattern.

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate transfer method adopted therein

A processing system includes process modules, load lock modules, an equipment controller, and a machine controller. The equipment controller controls transfer and processing of wafers in the processing system. A transfer destination determining portion determines the transfer destination of each wafer such that each wafer is sequentially transferred to a normally operating process module. When an abnormality occurs in a process module, an evacuation portion temporarily evacuates to a cassette stage the wafer determined is to be transferred to the abnormal process module and that has not yet been transferred to the abnormal process module. When a new transfer destination of the evacuated wafer is determined, if a process that is performed immediately before processing the evacuated wafer in the processing module as the new transfer destination satisfies a predetermined condition, a transfer inhibition portion inhibits the transfer of the evacuated wafer to the new transfer destination.

Device for controlling processing system, method for controlling processing system and computer-readable storage medium stored processing program

Depending on the degree of microfabrication requested for each wafer lot, transfer of wafers is controlled. A substrate processing apparatus includes a plurality of PMsand an LLMand is controlled by an ECThe ECincludes a selection unitand a transfer control unitThe unitselects the PM to which the next wafer is to be transferred, and selects, for each lot, whether the wafers are transferred to the same PM in one-lot units or in one-substrate units depending on the degree of the microfabrication requested for each lot. When the wafer transfer in lot units is selected, the unitsequentially transfers the wafers included in the lot to the selected PM. Otherwise the unitsequentially OR transfers the wafers included in the lot from the selected PM to a different PM one by one.

Device and method for controlling substrate processing apparatus

A substrate processing apparatus, according to which inspection of various devices in the substrate processing apparatus can be carried out with improved reliability, while reducing the burden on a user. A processing chamber processes semiconductor wafers therein. A transfer chamber transfers the semiconductor wafers. A FOUP (front opening unified pod) houses a plurality of dummy wafers for inspection of the processing chamber or the transfer chamber. A CPU causes an HDD (hard disk drive) to store a housing state relating to the arrangement of the dummy wafers in the FOUP before replacement of dummy wafers in the FOUP and that after the replacement as dummy wafer setup information.

Substrate processing apparatus, control method for the apparatus, and program for implementing the method

PS control sections MC, MCconfigured to independently control the operations in process ships PS, PSare provided respectively, and an LM control section MCconfigured to control the operation in a loader module LM is provided independently. With this structure, the operations of the process ships PS, PSand the loader module LM can be checked while the process ships PS, PSare not coupled to the loader module LM.

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Yamanashi, Japan

Masahiro Numakura