Tokyo Electron Limited

Mitsuhiro Sakai

Kiyohisa Tateyama

Kiyomitsu Yamaguchi

Yoichi Honda

Noriyuki Anai

Fumio Satou

Takeshi Tsukamoto

Tsutae Omori

Hideyuki Takamori

Tetsuya Sada

Kimio Motoda

Masafumi Nomura

Yoshitaka Matsuda

Masaaki Takizawa

Shinobu Tanaka

Kengo Mizosaki

Norio Uchihira

Yuji Shimomura

Tetsu Kawasaki

Hiroshi Hashimoto

Kazuaki Tsunoda

A method for a cleaning treatment including a step of forming, in a coating mechanism, a coating film on a substrate provided within a cup. The method further includes dissolving, in an edge cleaning mechanism, a portion of the coating film on the substrate using a cleaning liquid, and recovering at least a portion of used cleaning liquid from the edge cleaning mechanism. The recovered cleaning liquid is stored and a level of the stored cleaning liquid is detected. The method also includes supplementing a fresh cleaning liquid to the stored cleaning liquid when a detected level of the stored cleaning liquid is lower than a predetermined level, and using a mixture of the supplemented fresh cleaning liquid and the stored cleaning liquid to clean the cup of the coating mechanism.

Method and apparatus for cleaning treatment

A film forming apparatus comprising: a spin chuck; a cup; a lid; a first circular/tubular nozzle for supplying a resist solution to a first portion corresponding to the rotation center portion of a rectangular substrate; a plurality of second circular/tubular nozzles that supply the resist solution to a plurality of second portions of the rectangular substrate to which supply of the resist solution by centrifugal force is difficult, the distances between the rotation center portion and each of the second portions being greater than a half of a shorter side of the rectangular substrate; a rectangular nozzle holder that holds the first nozzle and the second nozzles; a mechanism that positions the nozzle holder; a controller that controls an amount of the resist solution from the first and second nozzles, attaches the lid to the cup, and rotates the substrate with the spin chuck; a resist solution tank; a supply tube provided between the resist solution tank and the first and second nozzles; a bellows pump for supplying the resist solution to the first and second nozzles; and an air operation valve for passing or stopping the resist solution in the supply tube.

Film forming apparatus

A coating process comprises the steps of (a) holding a-substrate using a spin chuck surrounded by inner and outer cups, such that the substrate can rotate, (b) rotating the substrate by rotating the spin chuck, and applying a coating liquid onto the substrate, thereby forming a coating on the substrate, (c) discharging, from the inner and outer cups, that part of the coating liquid which is scattered from the substrate while the substrate is rotated, (d) exhausting the inner and outer cups through a plurality of exhaust ports formed in outer peripheral portions of the outer cup, and (e) reducing, from a peripheral region of the substrate, the mist of the coating liquid which has occurred during the step (b), before the substrate stops rotation.

Spin coating apparatus

Just after resist solution is coated on a substrate, it is dried substantially in a non-heating state. In reality, inertia gas or the like is blown from a shower head to the substrate. Thus, the resist solution coated on the substrate is dried. Consequently, transfer marks that cause the film thickness of resist film to be unequal and the line width of a circuit pattern to fluctuate can be prevented.

Substrate process method and substrate process apparatus

An apparatus for a treatment is provided, the apparatus comprising a vessel for recovering a treatment liquid flowing out or flying out when the object is treated, cleaning means for cleaning an inner wall surface of the vessel by supplying a cleaning liquid into the vessel, and a circulation system for recovering a discharged liquid discharged from the vessel when the inner wall surface of the vessel is cleaned by the cleaning means and supplying the recovered liquid to the cleaning means.

A method of processing a substrate for removing a coating film from a substrate by dissolving the coating film with a solvent, comprising the steps of (a) supplying a solvent independently to each of peripheral portions of an upper surface side and a lower surface side of the substrate, and (b) supplying the solvent to the peripheral portion of the lower surface side of the substrate in an amount lower than the solvent supplied to the peripheral portion of the lower surface side in the step (a) or lower than that supplied to the peripheral portion of the upper surface side in this step (b), or terminating a supply of the solvent.

Method and apparatus for processing substrate

When an edge processing head is scanned in one direction, the discharge of a rinse solution from a rinse solution discharge nozzle at the front in a carrying direction is stopped, a developing solution is discharged from a developing solution discharge nozzle, and a rinse solution is discharged from a rinse solution discharge nozzle at the rear in the carrying direction. Specifically, with a developing solution being discharged to a glass substrate, the discharge of a rinse solution immediately follows the discharge of the developing solution. Thus, the edge processing of the substrate can be performed with minimal increases in the number of processes and in installation.

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

A substrate processing apparatus comprising a substrate mounting table, a cup having an upper opening and surrounding the substrate mounting table, a lid for opening/closing the upper opening of the cup, a support arm for supporting the lid, a first lifting mechanism having a first piston for supporting the support arm directly or indirectly and a first cylinder for guiding the first piston in an up-and-down motion, a second lifting mechanism having a second piston for supporting the support arm directly or indirectly and a second cylinder for guiding the second piston in up-and -down motion, a driving circuit for supplying the pressurized fluid to the first and second cylinders, independently and exhausting the pressurized fluid from the first and second cylinders, independently, and a control mechanism for controlling operations of the driving circuit.

Substrate processing apparatus

A film-forming method comprises the steps of: (a) holding a rectangular substrate by a spin chuck provided in a cup; (b) positioning a solvent supply nozzle above the rectangular substrate and supplying a solvent to the rectangular substrate, the solvent supply nozzle having a liquid discharge port which has a length at least corresponding to that of a peripheral portion of the rectangular substrate; (c) positioning a process liquid supply nozzle above the rectangular substrate and supplying a process liquid to a portion at a rotation center portion of the rectangular substrate, thereby to form a film; (d) rotating the rectangular substrate in the cup to adjust a film thickness of the film; and (e) thereafter positioning the solvent supply nozzle above one peripheral portion of the rectangular substrate and supplying the solvent to the one peripheral portion of the rectangular substrate, whereby the film is removed from the one peripheral portion of the rectangular substrate, the substrate being subsequently rotated by the spin chuck to position the solvent supply nozzle to another peripheral portion of the rectangular substrate, whereby the film is removed from the another peripheral portion of the rectangular substrate.

Film forming method

A coating process comprises the steps of (a) holding a substrate using a spin chuck surrounded by inner and outer cups, such that the substrate can rotate, (b) rotating the substrate by rotating the spin chuck, and applying a coating liquid onto the substrate, thereby forming a coating on the substrate, (c) discharging, from the inner and outer cups, that part of the coating liquid which is scattered from the substrate while the substrate is rotated, (d) exhausting the inner and outer cups through a plurality of exhaust ports formed in outer peripheral portions of the outer cup, and (e) reducing, from a peripheral region of the substrate, the mist of the coating liquid which has occurred during the step (b), before the substrate stops rotation.

Spin coating process

A method of processing a substrate having the steps of placing a substrate for forming an LCD on a support, mounting a cover on the substrate in such a manner that a clearance is formed from at least either surface of the substrate placed on the support, introducing developer or pure water into the clearance, bringing the developer or pure water into contact with at least either surface of the substrate, processing the substrate with the developer or pure water, removing the cover from the substrate, and discharging the substrate from the support.

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Kumamoto-ken, Japan

Mitsuhiro Sakai