Tokyo Electron Limited

Iwatani Corporation

Tokyo Electron Kabushiki Kaisha

Hyogo Prefecture

Tel-varian Limited

Masaki Narushima

Hiroaki Saeki

Masahito Ozawa

Itaru Takao

Jun Hirose

Jun Ozawa

Hidefumi Matsui

Masao Kubodera

Tsuyoshi Moriya

Teruo Asakawa

Kiyoshi Takekoshi

Yasushi Taniyama

Sumi Tanaka

Isao Yamada

Tetsu Osawa

Koichi Mori

Satohiko Hoshino

Keiichi Matsushima

Hiromi Kumagai

Tomihiro Yonenaga

Masami Mizukami

Hisashi Koike

Noriaki Toyoda

Shuuji Hagiwara

Masanobu Kanazashi

Toshihiko Takasoe

A substrate cleaning method includes removing a foreign material attached to a substrate while preventing deterioration of the substrate and any film formed on or above the substrate. A cleaning gas at a pressure between 0.3 MPa and 2.0 MPa is sprayed towards a wafer W with attached foreign materialplaced in a near-vacuum, producing clustersmade up of a multitude of gas molecules, and the clusterscollide with the wafer W without undergoing ionization.

Substrate cleaning method and substrate cleaning device

In a substrate wiring method, copper is embedded all the way to the lowest parts of a wiring pattern formed on a substrate. The method is used to wire a substrate in a processing chamber kept in a vacuum state, the substrate having a wiring pattern formed thereon. The method includes a preprocessing step in which the wiring pattern on the substrate is cleaned using a desired cleaning gas and an embedding step in which, after the preprocessing step, metal nanoparticles are embedded in the wiring pattern using a clustered metal gas.

Substrate wiring method and semiconductor manufacturing device

A charged particle separation apparatus that separates ionized gas clusters is disclosed. The charged particle separation apparatus includes an electric field applying part including two electrodes across which electric voltage is applied in order to generate electric field between the two electrodes thereby deflecting a trajectory of the ionized gas cluster, the electrodes including one of an opening and a void; and a plate opening that allows the ionized gas cluster whose trajectory is deflected by the electric field applying part to go therethrough.

Charged particle separation apparatus and charged particle bombardment apparatus

In a wafer transfer system wherein a wafer transfer robot linearly reciprocates by a linear motor, dust is prevented from adhering to a wafer. A fixed base, on which the secondary sideof a linear motor M for linearly reciprocating a wafer transfer robot R is mounted, is mounted on the system bodyof a wafer transfer system A in lateral directions and in vertical directions, so that dust dropping in accordance with the flow of clean air K from a clean air supply systemis directly sucked into an exhaust fan, which is provided on the bottom portionof the system body, to be exhausted without being deposited on the top face of the fixed baseand the secondary side

Untreated body transfer device and semiconductor manufacturing device with the untreated body transfer device

A vacuum process system comprises: a load port on which an object to be processed is set; a common transfer chamber disposed adjacent to the load port, having an internal space set at an atmospheric pressure level, and including a first transfer device that is movable and transfers the object into/from the load port, the first transfer device being disposed within the internal space; and a process unit having one process chamber for subjecting the object to a predetermined process, and a vacuum transfer chamber connected to the process chamber, having an internal space set at a vacuum pressure level, and including a second transfer device for transferring the object into/from the process chamber, the second transfer device being disposed within the internal space. The process units are individually connected to the common transfer chamber such that the process units are substantially parallel to each other. The vacuum chamber of each process unit is connected to the common transfer chamber. Each process unit extends linearly in a direction substantially perpendicular to the common transfer chamber. The object is transferred into/from the vacuum transfer chamber by means of the first transfer device.

Vacuum process system

A semiconductor processing system includes a common transfer chamber () having first and second compartments () partitioned by a partition wall (). First and second vacuum processing apparatuses (E,A) are respectively connected to the first and second compartments (). A pressure control section (PCS) controls the pressures inside the first and second compartments (). The pressure control section (PCS) includes first and second vacuum pumps () respectively connected to the first and second compartments (), and a line () connecting the delivery side of the second vacuum pump () to the suction side of the first vacuum pump (). The pressure control section (PCS) performs a setting such that a second ultimate pressure or lowest operational pressure of the second compartment () is lower than a first ultimate pressure or lowest operational pressure of the first compartment ().

Semiconductor processing system

A ceramic heater system has a ceramic heater base having a substrate-mounting surface formed on the top surface thereof and a heater, buried in the heater base, for heating a substrate. A fluid passage is formed buried in the heater base below where the heater is buried. The heater base is cooled as a fluid whose temperature is lower than the temperature of the heater base is let flow in the fluid passage. A substrate processing apparatus has the ceramic heater system installed in a process chamber whose vacuum state can be maintained, a gas supply mechanism for feeding a gas into the process chamber, and a power supply. The substrate processing apparatus performs a heat treatment, etching and film deposition on a substrate placed in the process chamber.

Ceramic heater system and substrate processing apparatus having the same installed therein

Two load lock chambers and are arranged between a first transfer chamber and a second transfer chamber . Each of the load lock chambers is capable of accommodating a single wafer W. The first transfer chamber is provided with a first transfer unit having two substrate holders each capable of holding a single object to be processed, in order to transport the wafer W among a load port site , the first load lock chamber , the second load lock chamber and a positioning unit . The second transfer chamber is provided with a second transfer unit having two substrate holders each capable of holding the single object to be processed, in order to transport the wafer between the first load lock chamber , the second load lock chamber and respective vacuum processing chambers to . Since the volume of each load lock chamber can be minimized, it is possible to perform the prompt control of atmospheres in the load lock chambers. Additionally, it is possible to perform the delivery of the wafers promptly.

Processing apparatus

An alignment processing mechanism according to the present invention includes: a conveying mechanism for conveying a substrate W to be processed, an alignment mechanism for aligning the substrate W conveyed by the conveying mechanism to a predetermined direction, and a buffer mechanism for relaying the substrate W from the conveying mechanism to the alignment mechanism . The buffer mechanism is adapted to temporarily hold the substrate W conveyed by the conveying mechanism , and to pass the temporarily holding substrate W to the alignment mechanism based on a state of the alignment mechanism . According to the present invention, the alignment mechanism can be used with greater efficiency in order to achieve a high speed of an alignment process.

Alignment processing mechanism and semiconductor processing device using it

A cassette carrier unit for carrying a cassette, in which a plurality of substrates are housed, into and out of cassette chambers of the multi-chamber system including a hand on which the cassette is mounted. A multi-joined arm for supports the swingable hand, and a base supports the multi-joined swingable arm. The multi-joined arm includes a first shaft member rotatably attached to the hand, a second shaft member rotatably attached to the base, a third shaft member rotated associating with the first shaft member but in a direction reverse to the direction in which the first shaft member is rotated, and a fourth shaft member rotatably attached to the base and to which rotation drive force is transmitted. A first arm is rotatably attached to the first shaft member at the front end thereof and to the second shaft member at the base end thereof. A second arm is arranged substantially parallel to the first arm and fixed to the third shaft member at the front end thereof and to the fourth shaft member at the base end thereof. When the first and second arms are swung, the hand is swung in a direction reverse to the direction in which the first and second arms are swung.

Multi-chamber system provided with carrier units

The present invention relates to a surface processing apparatus which performs heating processing of an object of heating which is mounted on a mounting device provided inside a process container, and which includes a plural number of lamps provided so as to oppose a rear surface of a processing surface of an object of processing, a rotating unit which has the plural number of lamps mounted to it in a ring shape, and a drive unit which drives the rotating unit. Also, the present invention relates to a processing apparatus for leading a process gas from a gas supply tube to a gas chamber partitioned inside a process container, and which blows process gas from an outlet of the gas chamber and onto an object of processing which is mounted on a mounting device provided inside the process container, and which includes a plural number of partition plates each provided with a plural number of through holes, being provided at required intervals in a direction of gas flow and inside the gas chamber.

Surface processing apparatus

A semiconductor wafer receiving apparatus has a base, a table for supporting a wafer, a receiving member having at least three receiving pins which project from a supporting surface and are concealed under the supporting surface upon vertical movement of the table, and a driving unit for vertically moving the table. The wafer is transferred onto the receiving pins while the receiving pins project, and is held on the table while the receiving pins are concealed.

Method for holding a plate-like member

Plate-like member receiving apparatus

A transfer apparatus for carrying a semiconductor wafer into a wafer cassette comprising an arm to load a semiconductor wafer thereon, a moving mechanism to move the arm to a wafer cassette, a chucking device to have a wafer attracted to the arm, and an auxiliary mechanism to push a wafer and adjust the position of the wafer to the inlet of a wafer cassette when the wafer comes into contact with the side wall of the wafer cassette.

Growing community of inventors

Nirasaki, Japan

Masaki Narushima