Tokyo Electron Limited

Tokyo Electron Yamanashi Limited

Tokyo Electron Sagami Limited

Covalent Materials Corporation

Kishikawa Special Valve Co., Ltd.

Teruo Iwata

Towl Ikeda

Nobuo Ishii

Kazuichi Hayashi

Manabu Amikura

Hiroaki Saeki

Mitsuaki Komino

Hiroo Kawasaki

Munehisa Futamura

Masasi Saito

Chishio Koshimizu

Shigeru Kasai

Junichi Arami

Issei Imahashi

Yoshifumi Tahara

Kenji Ishikawa

Kimihiro Higuchi

Yoshio Ishikawa

Izumi Arai

Takashi Horiuchi

Tomihiro Yonenaga

Kazuo Shibata

Yuichiro Fujikawa

Kenji Nebuka

Hisashi Hattori

Taro Komiya

Ryoichiro Koshi

Yoichi Kawauchi

Hiroshi Sekizuka

Hisao Fujisawa

Tadashi Mitui

To provide a plane heater, including a carbon wire heating element CW, in which surface arrangement density of the heating element CW in an outer area is denser than that in an inner area. A power supply terminal unit having connection wires for supplying electricity to the heating element CW is arranged in the center on the back side of a silica glass plate-like member. Connection wiresandconnected with the heating element CW in the inner area are connected with the heating element in the inner area in the center of the silica glass plate-like member. Connection wiresandconnected with the heating element in the outer area are extended from the center of the silica glass plate-like member toward the outer area and connected with the heating element CW in the outer area, without intersecting the heating element CW in the inner area.

Plane heater

The present invention relates to a showerhead that supplies a source gas and a supporting gas for depositing a film into a processing vessel of a film deposition apparatus. The showerhead includes a body which is provided with a gas jetting surface (). In the showerhead body, there are defined a first diffusion chamber () that receives the source gas and diffuses the same, and a second diffusion chamber () that receives the supporting gas and diffuses the same. The gas jetting surface has source-gas jetting orifices (A) that are in communication with the first diffusion chamber, and first supporting-gas jetting orifices (B) that are in communication with the second diffusion chamber. Each of the first supporting-gas jetting orifices (B) are formed into a ring shape that adjacently surrounds a corresponding one of the source-gas jetting orifices (A).

Shower head and film-forming device using the same

A deposition apparatus supplies a reactive gas obtained by vaporizing a liquid material at a vaporizerinto a chambervia a processing-gas pipeand forms a thin film on a semiconductor wafer W due to a thermal decomposition of the reactive gas. The deposition apparatus is provided, in the processing-gas pipe, with a crystal gaugedetecting a pressure Pq under the influence of mist in the reactive gas and a capacitance manometerdetecting a pressure Pg under no influence of the mist. The apparatus further includes a gasification monitordetecting a quantity of mist in the reactive gas on the basis of a difference &#x394;P between the pressure Pq and the pressure Pg measured by the crystal gaugeand the capacitance manometerin order to prevent deposition defects due to the mist in the reactive gas.

Gasification monitor, method for detecting mist, film forming method and film forming apparatus

A thermal processing system has a processing vessel, a support poststood on the bottom wall of the processing vessel, and a support tableinternally provided with a heating meansand supported on the support post. A workpiece W is placed on the upper surface of the support tableand is subjected to a predetermined thermal process. The upper, the side and the lower surface of the support tableare covered with heat-resistant covering membersandto prevent the thermal diffusion of metal atoms causative of contamination from the support table. thus, various types of contamination, such as metal and organic contamination, can be prevented.

Loading table and heat treating apparatus having the loading table

The valve includes a valve main body having an opening A and forming a space which creates a part of a gas flow path, a first valve member , provided in the valve main body, for opening/closing the opening A, and a drive mechanism for moving the first valve member between a close position where the opening A is closed and an open position where the opening A is opened, wherein the drive mechanism has a rod to be reciprocated, an end of the rod extends into the valve main body through a through hole B formed in the valve main body to be connected to the first valve member , the first valve member is moved between the close position and the open position as the rod is driven reciprocated, and the valve further comprising a sealing mechanism , which communicates into the valve main body via the through hole B, for isolating the drive mechanism side air-tightly from the valve main body, and a second valve member , provided on the rod to move together with the rod as it is reciprocated, which closes the through hole B when the first valve member is situated at the open or close position so as to isolate the sealing mechanism with respect to the valve main body

Valve and vacuum processing device with the valve

A resistance heating element for heating a wafer W is embedded within a ceramic heater that forms a susceptor for a semiconductor wafer W to be processed, and power lines from the resistance heating element extend out of the processing chamber A sheathing bellows that houses the power lines in an insulated state is interposed between the ceramic heater and a base plate of the processing chamber and an end piece of the sheathing bellows is connected by screws to the ceramic heater to provide a space therebetween. The screws are such as to permit the thermal expansion of the sheathing bellows This configuration makes it possible to make the temperature distribution in the surface of the semiconductor wafer uniform and thus improve the uniformity of film formation, and also prevent corrosion of components such as the power lines and terminals, and suppress the generation of particles.

Gas processing apparatus for object to be processed

A gas processing apparatus is disclosed, that comprises a processing chamber that is airtightly structured, a gas delivery pipe connected to the processing chamber, a gas supply source for supplying gas to the processing chamber through the gas delivery pipe, a holding table for holding a workpiece loaded to the processing chamber, a shower member disposed at a gas outlet of the gas delivery pipe connected to the processing chamber, a spray plate structured as a partition wall of the shower member that faces the holding plate, the spray plate having a plurality of spray holes, and a baffle member disposed between the spray plate in the shower member and the gas outlet and having a plurality of through-holes formed perpendicular to the surface of the baffle member, wherein each of the through-holes of the baffle member has a first opening portion and a second opening portion facing the gas outlet, the second opening portion facing the spray plate, the opening area of the second opening portion being larger than the opening portion of the first opening portion. Thus, a gas processing apparatus and a gas processing method that allow gas to be uniformly supplied to the entire surface of a workpiece are provided. In addition, a baffle member for use with the gas processing apparatus and the gas processing method is provided.

Gas processing apparatus baffle member, and gas processing method

The inside of a vacuum pump is heated by means of a first heating unit to a temperature higher than the temperature at which products of reaction discharged from a process chamber are separated, and the inner surface of an exhaust pipe is heated to a temperature higher than the separation temperature by means of a second heating unit. If a vacuum process is carried out in the process chamber in this state, exhaust gas discharged from the process chamber can pass in a gaseous phase through the exhaust pipe and the vacuum pump without separating its unwanted by-products. Since a trap unit is located on the downstream side of the vacuum pump, moreover, the reaction products and the like can be prevented from adhering to the inside of the vacuum pump so that the maintenance operation is easier, although the conductance of the exhaust pipe is lowered so that the trap unit and the vacuum pump can be reduced in size.

Vacuum processing apparatus

A film forming apparatus includes a chamber in which a thin film is formed on a semiconductor wafer by supplying a process gas, the interior of which is then cleaned by a cleaning gas, while the gas in the chamber is exhausted by a vacuum system. The vacuum system includes a main vacuum line connected to a vacuum port of the chamber, a high-vacuum pump arranged on an upstream side of the main vacuum line, a coarse control vacuum pump arranged on a downstream side of the main vacuum line, a bypass line which is connected to the main vacuum line so as to bypass the high-vacuum pump and has a first connection portion connected between the vacuum port and the high-vacuum pump and a second connection portion connected between the high-vacuum pump and the coarse control vacuum pump, a trap arranged on the bypass line, heater arranged between the first connection portion and the trap for heating gas flowing from the first connection portion to the trap, and valves for selectively opening/closing the main vacuum line and the bypass line to allow the gas in the chamber to flow through one of the lines.

Film forming apparatus and method

The inside of a vacuum pump is heated by means of a first heating unit to a temperature higher than the temperature at which products of reaction discharged from a process chamber are separated, and the inner surface of an exhaust pipe is heated to a temperature higher than the separation temperature by means of a second heating unit. If a vacuum process is carried out in the process chamber in this state, exhaust gas discharged from the process chamber can pass in a gaseous phase through the exhaust pipe and the vacuum pump without separating its unwanted by-products.

Vacuum pump with gas heating

A plasma processing method of performing plasma processing such as plasma film formation processing on a target object arranged in a processing vessel is disclosed. This method includes the first step of introducing an inert gas into the processing vessel, the second step of generating a plasma of the inert gas in the processing vessel, the third step of introducing a processing gas for processing the target object into the processing vessel, and the fourth step of generating a plasma of the processing gas in the processing vessel to process the target object.

Plasma processing method, plasma processing apparatus, and plasma

A treatment apparatus comprises a heater including an insulator carrying a to-be-treated object thereon and a resistance heating element therein for heating the to-be-treated object, an electrical supply mechanism including feeders extending into a treatment chamber from outside and terminals connecting the feeders and the resistance heating element, and a metallic pipe surrounding the terminals and those portions of the feeders which extend in the treatment chamber. A treatment apparatus for discharging an exhaust gas from the treatment chamber through an exhaust pipe by means of a suction unit comprises a first heater in the inner wall of the treatment chamber for heating the gas in the treatment chamber, and a second heater for independently heating the exhaust gas in the exhaust pipe at various portions of the exhaust pipe.

Treatment apparatus

A reduced pressure processing system includes a load lock chamber having an opening communicating with a process atmosphere in which a wafer is processed and/or the outer air atmosphere, a gate valve which is arranged at the opening to close/open the chamber with respect to the process atmosphere and/or the outer air atmosphere, a robot for loading/unloading the wafer into/from the chamber, an evacuation pump for evacuating the chamber, a heater for heating the wall of the chamber, and a controller for controlling the gate valve, the robot, the evacuation pump, and the heater.

Growing community of inventors

Nirasaki, Japan

Teruo Iwata