Tokyo Electron Limited

Tokyo Electron Saga Limited

Osamu Tanaka

Takafumi Tsuchiya

Kenji Yokomizo

Tohru Iwabae

Shouri Mokuo

Kenji Todoroki

A substrate processing system includes a control section configured to control a series of transfer operations and preset to control operation of a container transfer apparatus, operation at a substrate access area, and operation of a substrate handling apparatus independently of each other. The control section includes a schedule creating portion configured to create a transfer schedule by individually adjusting operation timing of the container transfer apparatus, operation timing at the substrate access area, and operation timing of the substrate handling apparatus such that, in a state while a first lot of substrates are treated in the processing system, but the container transfer apparatus and the substrate access area are unoccupied, a container with a second lot of unprocessed substrates stored therein is transferred onto the substrate access area, thereby minimizing total transfer time.

Substrate processing system and substrate transfer method

The present invention is to provide a processing system and a processing method which do not require the selection of processing recipes by operators and can provide high throughputs. The processing system for processing an object group of one object-to-be-processed, or two or more objects-to-be-processed in a processing vessel with a processing liquid, comprises a plurality of processing vessel groups M, M, Meach of at least one or more processing vessels, which can perform the same processing; transportation apparatusfor transporting object groups WS to the plurality of processing vessel groups; and a control unitfor selecting the processing vessel groups M, M, Mfor the object groups WS to be transported to, the control unithaving an applying function of applying processing recipes for the respective object groups and a selecting function of selecting the processing vessel groups for executing the respective applied processing recipes in a prescribed sequence.

Processing system and processing method

A processing vessel suitable for use with a washing system intended to wash a plurality of wafers. The processing vessel includes a washing solution supply source, a circulation pump, a filter, a main vessel portion provided with inlets in the bottom thereof, a boat for holding the plurality of wafers in the center area of the main vessel portion and a flow control assembly arranged between the inlets and the wafers. The flow control assembly includes a scattering plate for scattering washing solution, which is introduced into the main vessel portion through the inlets, in the horizontal direction, and guiding passages through which the washing solution introduced through the inlets is made to have a substantially laminar flow and is guided into the center area of the main vessel portion. The guiding passages are formed by intervals between side plates and the scattering plate and by a plurality of apertures in the scattering plate. These guiding passages enable most of the washing solution to positively flow through spaces between the adjacent wafers. The flow control assembly also include a flow rate reducing section for reducing the amount of the washing solution which flows along the peripheral area of the wafers.

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Tosu, Japan

Osamu Tanaka