Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.

Dainippon Screen Seizo Kabushiki-kaisha

Sokudo Co., Ltd.

Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Masami Ohtani

Joichi Nishimura

Akihiko Morita

Yoshiteru Fukutomi

Masao Tsuji

Yasuhiko Hashimoto

Masaki Iwami

Tadashi Sasaki

Yasuo Imanishi

Ryuji Kitakado

Minobu Matsunaga

Kenji Hashinoki

Mitsuhiro Fujita

Masami Nishida

Masahide Ikeda

Kaoru Aoki

Takeo Okamoto

Masayoshi Shiga

Takanori Kawamoto

Tutomu Ueyama

Koji Hashimoto

Kenji Sugimoto

Tetsuya Hamada

Kenya Morinishi

Yoshihiro Masuda

Kenji Kamei

Akihiro Hisai

Satoshi Yamamoto

Kazuhiro Nishimura

Hiroshi Kato

Nobuyasu Hiraoka

Norimasa Nomura

Yevgeniy Rabinovich

Tomiji Hotta

Svetlana Sherman

Eric Bramwell Britcher

Yasushi Nakamura

Yoshiji Oka

Kazuhisa Takamatsu

Yozi Dohi

An apparatus for dispensing fluid during semiconductor substrate processing operations comprises an enclosure having a first side and a second side. The enclosure comprises a first processing station and a second processing station. The second processing station is positioned adjacent to the first processing station. In addition, the substrate processing apparatus includes a first dispense arm configured to deliver a fluid to the first processing station wherein the first dispense arm is positioned between the first side and the first processing station and a second dispense arm configured to deliver the fluid to the second processing station wherein the second dispense arm is positioned between the second side and the second processing station. The substrate processing apparatus also comprises a first rinse arm configured to deliver a rinsing fluid to the first processing station and a second rinse arm configured to deliver the rinsing fluid to the second processing station.

Multi-channel developer system

In a substrate processing apparatus, an indexer block, a resist film processing block, a cleaning/drying processing block, a development processing block, and an interface block are provided side by side in this order. An exposure device is arranged adjacent to the interface block. The exposure device subjects a substrate to exposure processing by means of a liquid immersion method. Substrate platforms are provided in close proximity one above the other between the cleaning/drying processing block and the development processing block for receiving and transferring the substrate therebetween. Reversing units that reverse one surface and the other surface of the substrate are respectively stacked above and below the substrate platforms.

Substrate processing apparatus with integrated cleaning unit

A substrate processing apparatus includes a transport robot (TR) formed with a telescopic vertical movement mechanism of a so-called telescopially nestable multi-tier construction. A drive mechanism (D) is initially driven to move a support member () upwardly to simultaneously elevate a vertical movement member (). As the vertical movement member () rises, a pulley () simultaneously moves upwardly. As the pulley () moves upwardly, a vertical movement member () is lifted upwardly by a belt (L). Similar actions elevate a pair of transport arms () provided on the top of a vertical movement member (). The increase in the number of tiers of the nestable multi-tier structure precludes the increase in height of the transport robot (TR) in its retracted position. The substrate processing apparatus, if having an increased height, is capable of transporting a substrate to and from processing portions and eliminates the need to reassemble and adjust the transport robot (TR) for transportation of the apparatus.

Substrate processing apparatus

Substrate processing parts are stacked and arranged in a multistage manner around a transport robot arranged at the center of a processing area. Rotary application units are arranged on a second layer through an indexer and the transport robot. Rotary developing units are stacked above the rotary application units respectively on a fourth layer located above the second layer. Multistage thermal processing units and an edge exposure unit are horizontally arranged in line above the indexer. In place of the processing units, inspection units performing a macro defect inspection and pattern line width measurement may be arranged in the upside region of the indexer space.

An inspection unit is provided in a substrate processing apparatus performing resist coating processing and development processing on a substrate. In the inspection unit, a film thickness measuring device, a line width measuring device, an overlay measuring device and a macro defect inspection device are successively stacked and arranged from below. The inspection unit is provided on an intermediate portion of a substrate transport path formed in the substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processed in the substrate processing apparatus is selectively introduced into each inspection part. Therefore, the apparatus can properly inspect the substrate at need while suppressing reduction of the throughput. Thus provided are a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate inspection method capable of properly inspecting a substrate while suppressing reduction of the throughput.

Substrate processing apparatus, substrate inspection method and substrate processing system

Provided is a robot comprising a telescopic-drive mechanism which does not contaminate works in a purified environment such as a clean room, is easy to handle, and requires no cover for covering the telescopic-drive mechanism. A robot comprises: an up-down axis in which a plurality of hollow axis sectional elements telescopically continue; and a telescopic-drive mechanism for driving the up-down axis to be vertically extended or retracted between an extended state in which a tip end of the up-down axis extends with respect to a base end thereof and a retracted state in which the tip end is moved close to the base end, wherein the telescopic-drive mechanism is integrated on one side of the up-down axis without being exposed from the up-down axis.

Robot

A substrate processing apparatus includes a transport robot (TR ) formed with a telescopic vertical movement mechanism of a so-called telescopically nestable multi-tier construction. A drive mechanism (D ) is initially driven to move a support member ( ) upwardly to simultaneously elevate a vertical movement member ( ). As the vertical movement member ( ) rises, a pulley ( ) simultaneously moves upwardly. As the pulley ( ) moves upwardly, a vertical movement member ( ) is lifted upwardly by a belt (L ). Similar actions elevate a pair of transport arms ( ) provided on the top of a vertical movement member ( ). The increase in the number of tiers of the nestable multi-tier structure precludes the increase in height of the transport robot (TR ) in its retracted position. The substrate processing apparatus, if having an increased height, is capable of transporting a substrate to and from processing portions and eliminates the need to reassemble and adjust the transport robot (TR ) for transportation of the apparatus.

A plurality of cleaning devices of the same type are attached to one support arm. The cleaning devices are simultaneously moved over a surface to be cleaned of a substrate supported and spun by a substrate supporting and spinning mechanism. Thus, the same type of cleaning devices share the task of cleaning the entire surface of the substrate, thereby to improve cleaning efficiency and shorten cleaning time. Different types of cleaning devices may be attached to the support arm for simultaneous cleaning of the entire surface of the substrate. Where different types of cleaning brushes are attached to the support arm, a cleaning operation may be carried out by simultaneously using cleaning brushes of optimal hardness for different regions on the substrate surface.

Substrate cleaning apparatus and method

A substrate cleaning apparatus includes a spin support for supporting and spinning a substrate, a nozzle for discharging a cleaning liquid with a given cleaning condition from a discharge opening, a moving mechanism for moving the nozzle at least between center and edge of the substrate, a cleaning condition adjuster for adjusting the cleaning condition, and a controller for controlling the cleaning condition adjuster to vary the cleaning condition according to a cleaning liquid supply position movable over the substrate surface.

A substrate treating apparatus for treating a substrate in a predetermined substrate treating region. Each holder arm is supported in a proximal end portion thereof by an arm support to be swingable about a pivotal axis. In time of substrate treatment, the arm support is raised by an air cylinder. With the ascent of the arm support, a cam follower attached to a proximal end of the holder arm is guided by a cam groove. The holder arm, while being raised, turns from a vertical standby posture to a horizontal posture for treating the substrate. As a result, a treating device attached to a distal end of the holder arm moves to a treating position. In the treating position, the treating device treats the substrate. The holder arms are maintained in the vertical standby posture when out of use in substrate treatment. Thus, the holder arms require a reduced standby space.

Substrate treating apparatus

A method of and apparatus for cleaning a substrate which require shorter processing time with high processing efficiency are disclosed. A cleaning brush pivots about a pivot axis between two positions. An ultrasonic cleaning nozzle pivots about a pivot axis between two positions. To perform a cleaning process, the cleaning brush and the ultrasonic cleaning nozzle are driven in accordance with a processing pattern previously produced by an operator. The processing pattern is produced so that the movement of the cleaning brush between two positions and the movement of the ultrasonic cleaning nozzle between two positions are not caused simultaneously. Any processing pattern desired by the operator may be produced if this requirement is satisfied. Execution of the cleaning process in accordance with the processing pattern allows cleaning of a substrate using the cleaning brush and the ultrasonic cleaning nozzle at the same time.

Method of and apparatus for cleaning substrate

An atmospheric conditioning unit for supplying temperature- and humidity-controlled air to a chemical processing part (spin coater) is arranged immediately above a chemical processing part, between this chemical processing part and a heat treatment part (including a hot plate and a cool plate). Namely, the chemical processing part, the atmospheric conditioning unit and the heat treatment part are vertically arranged in a stacked manner. The atmospheric conditioning unit receives external air from an opening. A closed partition is provided to block air flow between the atmospheric conditioning unit and a transport area. The temperature- and humidity-controlled air supplied from the atmospheric conditioning unit to the spin coater forms a downflow in the spin coater, and thereafter rises through an opening and joins with the air flowing from the opening, to be introduced into the atmospheric conditioning unit again and reused.

Apparatus for processing a substrate providing an efficient arrangement

A substrate heat-treating apparatus includes a heat-treating plate, and support pins extending through the heat-treating plate to be vertically movable relative thereto. The support pins support each substrate at a lower surface thereof such that edges of the substrate are at a higher level than a central region of the substrate. This construction facilitates air flows into and out of a space between the lower surface of the substrate and the upper surface of the heat-treating plate when the substrate is vertically moved.

Substrate heat-treating apparatus

A substrate processing apparatus reduces an instantaneous maximum power consumption at turn-on. Power receiving parts of a plurality of processing units are connected to one end of a turn-on switch respectively through switches. The other end of the turn-on switch is connected to an external power source through a breaker. Timer values are set in advance in the timers, respectively. When the turn-on switch is turned on, the timers turn on the associated switches respectively after times which are defined by the timer values, whereby the processing units are provided with electric power, each with a delay of a constant time.

Substrate processing apparatus having regulated power consumption and

A unit arrangement part comprises a chemical cabinet on its lowermost part, while coating units for forming a resist film on a substrate and developing units for developing the substrate after exposure are arranged on four corners of an apparatus above the chemical cabinet. Further, multistage thermal processing units for thermal-processing the substrate are arranged on front and rear portions of the apparatus above these wet processing units. A cleaning unit for supplying a cleaning liquid such as pure water and cleaning the substrate is arranged on a front side of the apparatus between the coating units as a substrate processing unit. Thus provided is a substrate processing apparatus having excellent workability in maintenance with a high degree of freedom in arrangement of processing units.

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Kyoto, Japan

Masami Ohtani