Tokyo Electron Limited

Mitsuhiro Tanoue

Tetsuya Oda

Toshichika Takei

Nobuaki Matsuoka

Suguru Enokida

Eiichi Shirakawa

Kouichirou Tanaka

Eiichi Sekimoto

Shinji Okada

Yasuhiro Kuga

The present invention provides a substrate carrying and processing apparatus which is intended to reduce the size of the space for storing substrates in each substrate storing section as much as possible so as to downsize the apparatus and increase the number of substrates to be stored therein as well as to enhance the throughput. The substrate carrying and processing apparatus comprises a carrier block Swhich is adapted to position carrierseach receiving wafers W therein, a processing block Sincluding processing units Uto Uused for processing each wafer, a main arms Aadapted to transfer each wafer to each processing unit, a rack unit Uwhich is disposed between the carrier block and the processing block and able to store wafers to be processed, and a transfer arm D adapted to transfer each wafer to the rack unit. The rack unit has openingsto which the main arm and the transfer arm can transfer each substrate along two directions crossing to each other, and includes a plurality of placing shelves with a space therebetween and adapted to support a wafer. The main arms and transfer arms are configured such that they can be advanced into and retracted from the substrate storing section and such that they can be overlapped to the corresponding placing shelf in the vertical direction, when viewed in the horizontal direction.

Substrate carrying and processing apparatus

A processing block Sincludes unit blocks, a BCT layer B, COT layer Band TCT layer B, for forming coating films, and further includes DEV layers B, Blayered with the unit blocks B, B, Band used as unit blocks for a developing process. Beside the unit blocks Bto B, a group G of transfer sections comprising transfer sections adapted to transfer each wafer W with each main arm Ato Aof the unit block Bto Band hydrophobicity rendering units adapted to provide a hydrophobicity rendering process to the wafer W is provided. The wafer W is transferred by a transfer arm D between the transfer sections and the hydrophobicity rendering units. In this case, since it is not necessary to transfer the wafer W to the hydrophobicity rendering unit by using, for example, a main arm Aof a COT layer B, the load on the arm Acan be reduced, thereby enhancing the carrying throughput.

Coating and developing apparatus, and coating and developing method

A heat treatment unit comprises a heat plate made of aluminum nitride which is excellent in heat conductivity and strength inside thereof. The entire circumference of the heat plate is supported by a supporting member which is excellent in thermal insulation. The heat treatment unit is equipped with a nozzle for blowing dry air against the reverse side of the heat plate. When a temperature of the heat plate is lowered, the dry air is blown from the nozzle, thereby quickly lowering the temperature of the heat plate.

Heat treatment unit and heat treatment method

Heat processing apparatus of substrate

In a heat processing apparatus structured to heat a wafer on a hot plate, a black plate at least the rear face of which practically has a color with a JIS lightness of 0V to 4V is positioned above the hot plate. Moreover, cooling air is blown out from nozzles onto the rear face of the hot plate. Thus, the temperature of the hot plate can be cooled rapidly.

Hot plate cooling method and heat processing apparatus

In a heat processing apparatus for heating a wafer on a hot plate, a black plate having at least a rear face practically having a color with a JIS lightness of 0V to 4V is positioned above the hot plate. Moreover, cooling air is blown out from nozzles onto the rear face of the hot plate so that the temperature of the hot plate can be cooled rapidly.

An exhaust hole has a size covering not only a first region above a hot plate but also a second region surrounding the first region. A plate ember with a plurality of openings is disposed at the mouth of the exhaust hole. The exhaust hole exhausts air from the first region and the second region, even when the heat processing is not performed. Therefore, a solvent volatilized in the first region is also exhausted from the second region and will not leak outside the apparatus.

Growing community of inventors

Kumamoto, Japan

Mitsuhiro Tanoue