Tokyo Electron Limited

Tokyo Electron Limi Ted

Seiichi Kaise

Hiroshi Nakamura

Akira Obi

Toshiaki Toyomaki

Masahiro Numakura

Takeshi Yokouchi

Noriyuki Iwabuchi

Shigeaki Kato

Genichi Nanasaki

Shigeki Amemiya

Mariko Shibata

Keiko Takahashi

Yuki Takeyama

Norihiko Amikura

Masaru Nishino

Masatomo Kita

Eiji Takahashi

Kiyohito Iijima

Shinichiro Hayasaka

Toshiyuki Kobayashi

Hideyuki Osada

Shinobu Onodera

Kiyohito Iljima

Hiroki Fujita

Atsushi Rikukawa

Takashi Takizawa

A system of processing a substrate includes an atmospheric-pressure transfer chamber, at least one vacuum processing chamber, at least two load-lock modules, a vacuum transfer chamber, a plurality of load ports, and a first transfer mechanism and a second transfer mechanism. The load ports are attached to the atmospheric-pressure transfer chamber and detachable containers are mounted on the load ports, respectively. A controller controls the first transfer mechanism and the second transfer mechanism to concurrently transfer a used consumable from the containers to the vacuum processing chamber through the atmospheric-pressure transfer chamber and one of the load-lock modules and to transfer a used consumable from the vacuum processing chamber through the vacuum transfer chamber and another one of the load-lock modules.

System of processing substrate, transfer method, transfer program, and holder

A substrate processing apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a vacuum transfer chamber including a top surface, a bottom surface, and side surfaces between the top and the bottom surfaces, including a first side surface and a second side surface opposite to the first side surface; a transfer robot, disposed in the vacuum transfer chamber, for transferring a substrate; a load lock module connected to the first side surface; a pipe, connected to a purge gas supply source, for supplying a purge gas into the vacuum transfer chamber; one or more gas ports provided in the top surface in the vicinity of the second side surface and connected to the pipe; and one or more exhaust ports, provided in the bottom surface in the vicinity of the first side surface, to which an exhaust pump for exhausting the purge gas supplied into the vacuum transfer chamber is connected.

Substrate processing apparatus, purge gas control method, and vacuum transfer chamber cleaning method

A container for consumables includes multiple holding portions, a partition plate and a fixer. The multiple holding portions are configured to respectively accommodate the consumables, each of which is loaded into and unloaded from one direction. The partition plate includes a first portion formed to be disposed between a light emitting part and a light receiving part of a detector, and the partition plate is accommodated in one of the multiple holding portions. The fixer is configured to fix the container so that the consumables are arranged on a transfer path to be loaded into and unloaded from the multiple holding portions.

Container, container partition plate, substrate processing system, and substrate transfer method

A carrier includes a jig and a case. The jig is configured to hold at least one consumable to be loaded into or unloaded from a container. The case is configured to store the jig and the consumable held by the jig.

Carrier and jig

Provided is a purging apparatus including an upper nozzle provided above an opening of a substrate storage container and configured to supply a dry gas obliquely downwardly to a side opposite to the opening of the substrate storage container and over the entire surface of the width of the opening of the substrate storage container; and a plurality of side nozzles provided at both left and right sides of the opening of the substrate storage container, respectively, and each configured to supply the dry gas towards the inside of the substrate storage container from an outside of the opening of the substrate storage container. Each of the side nozzles is longer than a height of the opening of the substrate storage container and is provided with a plurality of supply holes formed thereon at predetermined intervals in a vertical direction.

Purging apparatus and purging method for substrate storage container

A method for purging a substrate container which accommodates in multiple stages a plurality of substrates to be processed by a substrate processing apparatus, the method includes: mounting the substrate container on a mounting unit; connecting a gas supply port provided in the substrate container and a gas supply line provided in a mounting unit; starting supply of a dry gas into the substrate container from a gas supply line before opening a cover of the substrate container; opening the cover of the substrate container while keeping the supply of the dry gas; closing the cover of the substrate container upon completion of processing of the substrates in the substrate container; and stopping the supply of the dry gas after closing the cover of the substrate container.

Method for purging a substrate container

A substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a plurality of processing chambers, discharge systems each provided in conjunction with one of the processing chambers and a common discharge system connected with the discharge systems of at least two processing chambers among the discharge systems provided in conjunction with the individual processing chambers. The common discharge allows a switch-over between a scrubbing common discharge system that discharges discharge gas from each processing chamber after scrubbing the discharge gas at a scrubbing means and a non-scrubbing common discharge system that directly discharges the discharge gas from the discharge system of the processing chamber without scrubbing at the scrubbing means. In this substrate processing apparatus, switch-over control is executed to select either the scrubbing common discharge system of the non-scrubbing common discharge system in correspondence to the type of processing executed in the processing chamber.

Substrate processing apparatus, control method adopted in substrate processing apparatus and program

A substrate processing method is used for a substrate processing system having a substrate processing device and a substrate transfer device. The substrate processing method includes a substrate transfer step of transferring a substrate and a substrate processing step of performing a predetermined process on the substrate. The substrate transfer step and the substrate processing step include a plurality of operations, and at least two operations among the plurality of the operations are performed simultaneously. Preferably, the substrate processing device includes an accommodating chamber, a mounting table placed in the accommodating chamber to be mounted thereon the substrate, and a heat transfer gas supply line for supplying a heat transfer gas to a space between the substrate mounted on the mounting table and the mounting table.

Substrate processing method, system and program

A substrate processing apparatus includes a heat transfer gas supply mechanism to supply a heat transfer gas through a supply passage into a portion between a worktable and a substrate to improve thermal conductivity between therebetween. Under the control of a control section, the pressure inside the supply passage is measured to obtain a pressure measurement value while the substrate is placed on the worktable. Then, a preparatory flow rate of the heat transfer gas to be supplied through the supply passage into the portion between the worktable and substrate is determined, in accordance with the pressure difference between the pressure measurement value and a pressure reference value, prior to a main process to be performed on the substrate. Then, the heat transfer gas is supplied through the supply passage into the portion between the worktable and substrate at the preparatory flow rate, prior to the main process.

Substrate processing apparatus

At a time Tp when a wafer W is transferred into either a load lock chamber LLor LL, periods PSL for the load lock chambers LLand LLto get ready to permit a transfer of a next wafer W thereinto are calculated based on a timing for exchange of wafers W between the load lock chamber LLor LLand a loader module LM. When the periods PSL are calculated, a loader arm LAor LAselects a next wafer W having the shortest period to get ready to be transferable into the load lock chamber LLor LL, from load ports LPto LP. This improves transfer delay in a cluster tool provided with the load lock chambers.

Growing community of inventors

Nirasaki, Japan

Seiichi Kaise