Tokyo Electron Limited

Tokyo Electron Kyushu Limited

Tokyo Electron Saga Limited

Yoshiyuki Honda

Hirofumi Shiraishi

Eiichi Mukai

Kenji Yokomizo

Yuuji Kamikawa

Mitsuo Nishi

Yoshio Kumagai

Yasuhiro Chouno

Kazuyoshi Mizumoto

Shinya Murakami

Akira Koguchi

Kouki Kuroda

Chihaya Tashima

Naohiko Hamamura

Eiji Masuda

A substrate transporting device and method,transports a plurality of wafers W standing upright in a row, from a previous process, i.e., a cleaning process. A substrate holder,is carried by a transporting device,arranged outside a drying chamber,. The substrate holder,receives the wafers W from the substrate transporting device,while maintaining a posture of the wafers W. The transporting device,lowers the substrate holder,and sequentially moves it into the drying chamber,through an unloading and loading port,above the drying chamber,. Thereafter, the substrate holder,is fixed to a rotor,. After closing the unloading and loading port,with a lid body,, the rotor,is rotated. In this way, moisture sticking to surfaces of the wafers W is eliminated.

Method of drying substrates and drying apparatus

A spin dryer for centrifugally removing water droplets attached to a plurality of substrates comprises a rotor having a main shaft formed in a lower portion, substrate holding means for holding a plurality of substrates such that main surfaces of the substrates are perpendicular to the main shaft of the rotor, the holding means being positioned in symmetry with respect to the main shaft of the rotor and rotated together with the rotor, a treating vessel surrounding the rotor and the substrate holding means, an air inlet port formed in an upper portion of the treating vessel for introducing air into the treating vessel, and an exhaust port formed in a side portion of the treating vessel in a manner to extend upward from the bottom portion of the treating vessel to reach at least the height position of the rotor.

Spin dryer and substrate drying method

A transfer machine having a pair of holding members disposed opposite to each other to hold a plurality of objects arranged at their peripheral edges. A drive mechanism selectively moves the holding members toward and away from each other in order to selectively hold and release the objects by the holding members. A transfer mechanism transfers the objects and the holding members to a bath in order to process the objects in the bath. Each of the holding members has a plurality of holding notches for holding the peripheral edges of the objects, and the notches are disposed in upper and lower holders which are arranged parallel to each other. The holding notches of the upper holder have a first taper part positioned adjacent an opening of the notch and a second taper part positioned adjacent a notch bottom, and the first taper part has an opening angle larger than an opening angle of the second taper part.

Transfer machine, transfer method, cleaning machine, and cleaning method

A substrates-washing apparatus includes a process vessel in which washing solution is stored to wash a plurality of substrates, a boat for holding the substrates parallel to one another in the process vessel, solution supply openings formed in the bottom of the process vessel, a solution supply system communicated with the solution supply openings to supply washing solution into the process vessel through the solution supply openings, and a straightening plate arranged between the substrates held on the boat and the solution supply openings in the bottom of the process vessel and provided with a plurality of apertures through which washing solution passes. The apertures form plural lines in the longitudinal direction of the straightening plate, the apertures in each line are arranged to correspond to the substrates alternately, and the apertures in one line are shifted from those in the other adjacent line.

Substrates-washing apparatus

A spindrier comprises a box enclosing a plurality of wafers, a motor for rotating the wafers in the box, upper and lower clamp bars for holding the wafers face to face and substantially perpendicular to a rotating shaft of rotating means, and gas introducing and discharging mechanisms for generating a flow of clean gas in the box. A sectional area of an open bottom of the box is smaller than a sectional area of an open top of the box, and the gas flows from the open top to the open bottom.

Spindrier

A spindrier according to the present invention includes a box body enclosing a plurality of wafers, a rotor for holding the wafers in the box body and rotated by a motor, and upper and lower clamp bars for holding the wafers face to face with their faces directed perpendicular to rotating shafts of the rotor. The lower clamp bars are connected and fixed to the rotating shafts so as to hold lower rim portions of the wafers thereon when the wafers are set in the rotor. The upper clamp bars are connected to one of the rotating shafts at their base ends so that they can be swung vertically erect and also and horizontally relative to the rotating shaft and they are locked to the other rotating shaft at their front ends when they are swung horizontally. They include a mechanism for swinging them, a locking mechanism for locking their front ends to the other rotating shaft, and an unlocking mechanism for releasing their front ends from the other rotating shaft.

A washing system comprising a wafer washing section having plural chemical washing vessels, plural water washing vessels and a drier, a cassette washing section having a water washing device and a drier, a loader section for taking out the wafers from the cassettes and loading the wafers into the wafer washing section, an unloader section for returning the washed wafers in the washed cassette and unloading the wafers from the wafer washing section, a wafer transfer device the wafers in the wafer washing section, a cassette lifter for carrying the cassettes from the loader section to the cassette washing section, and a wire drive unit for carrying the cassettes in the cassette washing section.

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Kumamoto, Japan

Yoshiyuki Honda