Ushio Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Ushio Denki

Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Incorporated

Usho Denki

Tetsuji Arai

Yoshiki Mimura

Shinji Suzuki

Hiroko Suzuki

Hiroshi Shimizu

Tatsushi Igarashi

Satoru Fukuda

Kazuyoshi Ueki

Mitsuru Ikeuchi

Shinji Sugioka

Kyohei Seki

Toshio Yokota

Kazuya Tanaka

Shinetsu Miura

Koutaro Moroishi

Nobutoshi Ebashi

Shouei Ebisawa

Kazuyeshi Ueki

Kuniharu Ohno

Nobutaka Kajiura

Kazumoto Tochihara

A process for determination of blackening of a lamp in which the blackening of a lamp can be determined without visual inspection in real time or during operation is achieved by the spectral radiant energy which is emitted by the lamp bulb being measured and evaluated based on the difference that exists between when blackening occurs as compared to when blackening does not occur. Therefore, blackening of a lamp can be determined by determining the change of the spectral radiant energy emitted by the bulb. Furthermore, in a lamp in which the bulb temperature changes, the spectral radiant energy emitted by the bulb can be measured at two different wavelengths and blackening of the lamp can be determined based on the change of the ratio relative to each other.

Process for determination of blackening of a lamp

Treating of a workpiece which frequently undergoes heat-induced changes such as deformation, color changes and the like without using a cooling means for the workpiece is achieved by the fact that, of the light which was incident from a rod-shaped lamp on a trough-shaped cold mirror, the ultraviolet light (including some of the visible rays and infrared light) is reflected by the trough-shaped cold mirror and by at least one other cold mirror which is preferably plate-shaped. Furthermore, of the light which was emitted from the rod-shaped lamp and which was incident on the other cold mirror(s), the ultraviolet light (including some of the visible rays and infrared light) is reflected by the other cold mirror(s). The light reflected by the other cold mirrors is incident on the plate-shaped heat refraction filter and some of the visible rays are reflected and are incident on a workpiece. The light emitted by the rod-shaped lamp is not directly radiated onto the workpiece via the heat refraction filter. Therefore, the IR component and the component of the visible rays which are emitted onto the workpiece can be reduced and overheating of the workpiece can be prevented.

Ultraviolet irradiation device

To cement UV radiation-transmitting substrates to one another without deformation and within a short time, and to cement them together with high efficiency without an aluminum film of an information recording layer melting, according to the invention, a device for bonding discs to one another is provided having a radiant light source which irradiates the discs with radiant light which contains ultraviolet radiation at least once in a flash; a wavelength selector which is placed in the optical path between the radiant light source and the discs at a distance from the discs, which transmits the ultraviolet rays and absorbs light in a range of wavelengths which are absorbed by the UV radiation-transmitting substrates of the discs; a cooling device which admits and discharges cooling air between the radiant light source and the wavelength selector.

Process and device for bonding discs to one another

The object of the invention is to provide an ashing method and an asher in order to avoid damage to semiconductor components occurring during ashing of a photoresist resin film by active oxygen plasma and to avoid a long treatment time occurring in an ashing method using a low pressure mercury discharge lamp. According to the invention, this object is achieved by a method and an apparatus for ashing a photoresist resin film. In the method, a wafer provided with a photoresist resin film is placed in an ozone-containing atmosphere. An activated oxygen is produced through the radiation light of a discharge lamp, which emits a continuous spectrum in a wavelength range of 200 to 300 nm. The photoresist resin film is ashed by the activated oxygen.

Method for ashing a photoresist resin film on a semiconductor wafer and

A method for exposing a peripheral part of a wafer according to the present invention is to expose the peripheral part, taking account of a correcting angle determined by calculating the amount of misalignment between a center of a wafer and a rotational center for the wafer from the amount of displacement of a sensor for detecting a peripheral edge. Therefore, any wafer-centering motion and mechanism are not required, and this method is higher in precision of exposing position.

Method for exposing predetermined area of peripheral part of wafer

A method of treating positive photoresist materials applied on a semiconductor wafer placed on a support, which meets the demand for high-speed treatment and improvement in heat-resistance and plasma-resistance of the developed positive photoresist image. The developed positive photoresist image is exposed to radiant lights including ultraviolet rays in an chamber filled with gas in which oxygen and/or moisture are reduced or not included.

Method of treating photoresists

Ultraviolet radiation process applies to manufacture semiconductor devices in order to enhance the thermal stability of the developed positive photoresist film on semiconductor wafers. A method, in ultraviolet radiation process, and an apparatus enabling the high-speed and effective treatment of the positive photoresist empolying ultraviolet irradiation by preventing the deformation of the developed positive photoresist image which is caused by the light radiated from a discharge lamp such as high pressure mercury vapor lamp. These method and apparatus employ ultraviolet irradiation, in which ultraviolet rays are applied to the developed positive photoresist image, placed in a chamber filled with gas of lower pressure than 1 atmospheric pressure using a means to intercept or reduce selectively all or part of the wavelengths in the spectral response region of the positive photoresist out of radiant lights obtained from the discharge lamp.

Ultraviolet radiation process applies to manufacture to semiconductor devices in order to enhance the thermal stability of the developed positive photoresist film on semiconductor's wafers. A method, in ultraviolet radiation process, and an apparatus enabling the high-speed and effective treatmnent of the positive photoresist employing ultraviolet irradiation by preventing the deformation of the positive photoresist which is caused by the light radiated form the microwave-excited electrodeless discharge lamp. These method and apparatus employ ultraviolet irradiation, in which ultraviolet rays are applied to the developed positive photoresist image placed under lower or pressure than 1 atmospheric pressure, using a means to intercept or reduce selectively all or part of the wavelengths in the spectral response region of the positive photoresist out of radiant lights obtained from the microwave-excited electrodeless discharge lamp.

Ultraviolet radiation process applies to manufacture semiconductor devices in order to enhance the thermal stability of the photoresist film on semiconductors wafers. A method of treating photoresist materials applied in order to enhance the thermal stability of the photoresist film on semiconductor wafer employing heating and ultraviolet irradiation, which meets the demand for improvement in heat resistance and plasma resistance of the photoresists. The initial heating temperature of the photoresist is set to be a little higher than the initial flow temperature, and the temperature of the photoresist is raised in proportion as the flow temperature of the photoresist is increased by exposing the photoresist to ultraviolet radiation and/or heating.

Ultraviolet radiation process applicable in the manufacture of semiconductor devices to enhance the thermal stability of a photoresist film on a semiconductor wafer. A method, in ultraviolet radiation process, and an apparatus enabling the high-speed and effective treatment of a photoresist pattern employing ultraviolet irradiation by preventing the deformation of the photoresist which is caused by the light radiated from a discharge lamp such as high pressure mercury vapor lamp. This method and apparatus employ ultraviolet irradiation, in which ultraviolet rays are applied to the photoresist pattern, using a means to intercept or reduce selectively all or part of the wavelengths in the spectral response region of the photoresist out of radiant energy obtained from the discharge lamp.

Apparatus for treating photoresists

An ultraviolet radiation method of treating positive photoresist materials to enhance the thermal stability of positive photoresist film on a semiconductor wafer employing heating and ultraviolet irradiation. The process improves the heat-resistance and plasma-resistance of the photoresist image. The initial heating temperature of the photoresist is set to be a little higher than the initial flow temperature of the photoresist, and the temperature of the developed positive photoresist image is raised in proportion as the flow temperature of said photoresist image is increased by exposing the photoresist placed in gas of a lower atmospheric pressure to ultraviolet radiation and/or heating.

Disclosed herein is a process for forming a single crystal silicon layer by heating a wafer, which is made of a single crystal silicon substrate and a starting silicon layer made of amorphous or polycrystalline silicon and provided on the silicon substrate, in accordance with the epitaxial growth technique. The process comprises providing a heat source which is formed of a plurality of tubular lamps provided side by side with their longitudinal axes extending substantially in parallel with one another in a second plane lying above and substantially in parallel with a first plane--in which the wafer is placed--and a tubular melting-lamp provided at a position between the first and second planes and with its longitudinal axis substantially in parallel with the longitudinal axes of the tubular lamps in the second plane; and moving the wafer in the first plane and in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the plurality of tubular lamps and that of the tubular melting-lamp in a state that all the tubular lamps of the heat source, including the tubular melting-lamp, are lit on. The above process can convert the starting silicon layer in its entirety into a single crystal silicon layer in a relatively short period of time and without danger of damaging the wafer. The above process facilitates formation of single crystal silicon layers which make up SOI structures.

Method for forming a single crystal silicon layer

A method for heating a semiconductor wafer having a first region to be heated and a second region requiring no heating thereof, which method comprises forming a film over at least one of the first and second regions so as to make the reflectivity of the surface of the first region smaller than the reflectivity of the surface of the second region, and then exposing the semiconductor wafer to a flash of light to heat same. The above method permits selectively heating the region which is required to be heated, and, at the same time, to avoid any overheating of the region where no heating is required. The above heating method is particularly effective for annealing a semiconductor wafer which has a large surface area.

Heating method of semiconductor wafer

A flashlight-radiant apparatus is constructed of a housing defining an object-handling space and an irradiation space located adjacent to the object-handling space, a plurality of flash discharge lamps provided side by side in an upper part of the irradiation space, a gas-discharging member provided in the upper part of the irradiation space for controlling the atmosphere of the housing, and an object-supporting table movable reciprocally between the object-handling space and the irradiation space in the housing and equipped with built-in subsidiary heating. An object, for example, a silicon wafer is preheated on the object-supporting table while the object-supporting table is located in the object-handling space. The flashlight-radiant apparatus has a simple structure, enjoys a high level of handling safety, assures long service life for its flash discharge lamps, and is suitable particularly for annealing semiconductor wafers.

Flashlight-radiant apparatus

A light-radiant heating furnace including a box-shaped container, having a transparent wall portion, adapted to receive an object to be treated, for example, a large-sized semiconductor wafer, a reflector arranged in the proximity of outer surfaces of the transparent wall portion of the container, a space formed between the reflector and the outer surface of the transparent wall portion of the container, tubular lamps provided in the space and an air duct equipped with a cooling fan and arranged in communication with the spacing only. The lamps and their adjacent reflector and container wall can be efficiently cooled by causing cooling air to pass through the air duct and space, thereby avoiding overheating of the lamps and thus prolonging the service lives of the lamps. The reflector may be provided with water conduits through which cooling water flows.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Tetsuji Arai