Tokyo Electron Limited

Tokyo Electron Kabushiki Kaisha

Tokyo Electron Kyushu Limited

Yoichi Deguchi

Masami Akimoto

Shinichi Hayashi

Issei Ueda

Naruaki Iida

Yuji Matsuyama

Satoru Kawakami

Kunie Ogata

Ryouichi Uemura

Yuji Yoshimoto

Kenji Ishikawa

Shori Mokuo

Mitsuo Nishi

Shiro Koyama

Tsuyoshi Suzuki

Masaaki Tsuruno

Hayashi Otsuki

Junichi Arami

Masayuki Nakano

Shinji Tadakuma

A processing apparatus comprises a process apparatus body equipped with a plurality of process sections for applying a predetermined processing to a target object and a transfer device for transferring the target object among the process sections, a first control section for controlling the entire process apparatus body including the transfer device, a second control section for controlling the plural process sections, an information storage section receiving the signal exchanged between the first control section and the second control section and storing a plurality of information including the information corresponding to the received signal, and an information storage selecting mechanism for selecting the storing frequency of the information to the information storage section in accordance with the kind of the information.

Processing apparatus and information storage apparatus and method

An object of the present invention is to grasp easily a process history of a target object such as a semiconductor wafer. The processing apparatus of the present invention includes: a processing apparatus body which includes a plurality of process units for executing a prescribed process to a target object, and transport mechanism for transporting said target object between the process units; a first controller for controlling the processing apparatus as a whole; a second controller for controlling the process units; an information storage section for taking in a signal transmitted and received between the first and second controllers; and a host computer for monitoring operation states of the process units. The present invention is extended to a processing system including a plurality of the processing apparatuses connected with a host computer which is further connected with a monitor computer through a communication network.

Substrate processing apparatus and information storage apparatus and method

A substrate processing apparatus including lift pins for lifting the substrate capable of moving up and down, a heating plate with holes through which the lift pins protrude and sink to a surface facing the substrate, a lid placed above the heating plate capable of moving up and down, a first inert gas introducing mechanism introducing a first inert gas to the inside portion of the lid and a second inert gas introducing mechanism introducing a second inert gas onto the surface of the heating plate through the holes. With such configuration, the inert gas can be introduced to both sides, the front side and the rear side, of the substrate, and oxygen is prevented from being forced to come around to the surface of the substrate from the rear side thereof. As a result, oxidation of the substrate can be prevented effectively.

Substrate processing apparatus

A developing process of the photo-resist coated on the wafer is performed, cleaning the developing solution by a cleaning solution then transferring the wafer to the electron beam radiation unit before the rinsing solution and the resist dries out. The radiation chamber is replaced with a helium gas to form a predetermined degree of vacuum or atmospheric pressure. An electron beam is radiated and the front face of the wafer is heated for a predetermined period of time. In this method, deformation and breaking of a pattern caused by drying after the development can be prevented.

Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus

Thermal processing unit sections each with ten tiers and coating processing unit sections each with five tiers are disposed around a first main wafer transfer section and a second main wafer transfer section, and in the thermal processing unit section, the influence of the time required for substrate temperature regulation processing on a drop in throughput can be reduced greatly by transferring the wafer W while the temperature of the wafer W is being regulated by a temperature regulation and transfer device.

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

A closed space is formed in a reduced pressure drying station, and the closed space is brought to a vacuum state. In this state, an EB unit irradiates a wafer mounted on a hot plate with an electron beam to foam an insulating film material. Subsequently, the hot plate is raised to a predetermined temperature, and drying processing is performed under a reduced pressure. As described above, since the foaming processing is performed in the reduced pressure drying station, bubbles remain in the insulating film, so that the existence of the bubbles can decrease the relative dielectric constant.

Coating method and coating apparatus

Disclosed is an apparatus for processing a substrate in which a processing consisting of a plurality of process steps is applied to a substrate to be processed. The apparatus comprises a transfer zone extending in a vertical direction, a plurality of process groups arranged to surround the transfer zone for processing the substrate, each process group consisting of a plurality of process units stacked one upon the other, and each process unit having an opening communicating with the transfer zone for transferring the substrate into and out of the process unit, a main arm mechanism movably mounted in the transfer zone for transferring the substrate into and out of the process unit through the opening, and down flow forming means for forming a down flow of a clean air within the transfer zone. At least one of the plural process groups includes a plurality of thermal units for heating or cooling the substrate, a transfer unit for transferring the substrate into and out of the transfer zone, and a gas process unit for processing the substrate with a gas, the opening of the gas process unit being positioned lower than the openings of the thermal units and the transfer unit.

Method and apparatus for processing substrate

A processing apparatus comprises a plurality of processing sets, each set including a transport path extending vertically, a plurality of processing sections which are provided around the transport path and each have a plurality of processing units laid one on top of another vertically, which each perform a specific process on objects, and a main transport mechanism which moves along the transport path, loads the objects on and unloads the objects from each processing unit in the plurality of processing sections, and an inter-set transport mechanism for transporting objects between the adjacent processing sets.

Processing apparatus

A resist processing method in which a substrate is successively transferred by an arm mechanism into a plurality of process units for successively processing the substrate, comprising the steps of (a) loading a substrate having a reference region which is aligned as desired relative to the process unit and the arm mechanism in a horizontal plane, into the process unit, the substrate being held substantially horizontal by a spin chuck surrounded by a drain cup, (b) rotating the spin chuck holding the substrate and supplying a process solution onto the substrate rotated together with the spin chuck, (c) stopping the supply of the process solution and also stopping rotation of the substrate, (d) detecting a position of the reference region in the horizontal plane of the substrate held on the spin chuck, (e) rotating the substrate together with the spin chuck based on the position detected in the step (d) to permit the reference region of the substrate to be aligned with an initial position in the step (a) of loading the substrate into the process unit, and (f) unloading the substrate out of the process unit when the substrate is rotated to a position at which the reference region of the substrate is aligned with the initial position.

Method and apparatus for processing resist

A static chuck and a workpiece push-up pin are disposed on a susceptor which is one of opposed electrodes generating plasma. The push-up pin and the susceptor are electrically connected. A grounding circuit which discharges electric charges remaining on the susceptor is disposed in parallel with an RF power supply circuit which supplies RF power to the susceptor. Thus, electric charges remaining in the power supply circuit can be discharged and an abnormal discharging between the push-up pin and the susceptor can be prevented.

Plasma treatment apparatus having a workpiece-side electrode grounding

In order to prevent any possible electrical discharge between a lower electrode and a grounded member through a backside gas supply conduit when performing a plasma treatment with a supply of a backside gas such as He gas to the backside of a semiconductor wafer being held by an electromagnetic chuck on the lower electrode for the generation of a plasma within a plasma treatment chamber, the gas supply conduit is fitted therein with cylindrical flowpath members made of two types of electrically insulating materials each having a multiplicity of axially extending small-diameter conduction holes, at a position within an electrically insulating body disposed between the lower electrode and a grounded member. The small diameter conduction holes in the backside gas flowpath serve to increase an electrical discharge start voltage for the prevention of electrical discharge. The formation of the multiplicity of conduction holes provides a large conductance. The backside gas is exhausted by way of the gas supply conduit after the completion of the plasma treatment. Consequently, water is prevented from remaining between the wafer and the electromagnetic chuck or within the treatment chamber, whereby it is possible to remove the electric charge the wafer and to shorten the time required for the exhausting of the treatment chamber.

Plasma treatment apparatus

The present invention relates to a processing chamber that processes an object to be processed in an atmosphere of a processing gas. The processing chamber is provided with a mounting stand having a holder mechanism that holds the object to be processed within the processing chamber. The mounting stand is connected to a rotational mechanism and is free to rotate, and the holder mechanism on the mounting stand is also provided with a separate, independent rotational mechanism whereby the front surface and rear surface of the object to be processed can be rotated (inverted) relative to the mounting stand. Thus the present invention provides a processing method and apparatus therefor in which the front surface and rear surface of the object to be processed can be processed under the same conditions, without having to change the atmospheric status of the object to be processed.

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Tokyo, Japan

Yoichi Deguchi