Tokyo Electron Kabushiki Kaisha

Tokyo Electron Sagami Limited

Tokyo Electron Tohoku Kabushiki Kaisha

Tokyo Electron Kabushiki

Tokyo Electron Tonoku Kabushiki Kaisha

Tokyo Electron Tohoku Kabushiki Kaisha, Both of

Yuji Ono

Katsuhiko Mihara

Takanobu Asano

Hiroyuki Iwai

A treatment system is disclosed, which has a treatment apparatus for performing a predetermined treatment for a planar workpiece contained in a carrier, and a first air-tight carrier storage chamber for storing the carrier. The treatment apparatus may also have an air-tight second carrier storage chamber. An inert gas supply pipe and an exhaust pipe are connected to each of the treatment apparatus, the first carrier storage chamber, and the second carrier storage chamber. A open/close valve device is provided for each of the inert gas supply pipes and the exhaust pipes.

Treatment system and treatment apparatus with multi-stage carrier

A treatment system is disclosed, which has a treatment apparatus for performing a predetermined treatment for a planar workpiece contained in a carrier, and an first air-tight carrier storage chamber for storing the carrier. The treatment apparatus may also have an air-tight second carrier storage chamber. An inert gas supply and exhaust are connected to each of the treatment apparatus, the first carrier storage chamber, and the second carrier storage chamber. A valve device is provided for the inert gas supply and exhaust.

Treatment system and treatment apparatus

A treatment system is disclosed, which has a treatment apparatus for performing a predetermined treatment for a planar workpiece contained in a carrier, and a first air-tight carrier storage chamber for storing the carrier. The treatment apparatus has an air-tight second carrier storage chamber. An inert gas supply pipe and an exhaust pipe are connected to each of the treatment apparatus, the first carrier storage chamber, and the second carrier storage chamber. An open/close valve and an open/close device are connected to each of the inert gas supply pipes and the exhaust pipes.

Treatment system including a plurality of treatment apparatus

A treatment system is disclosed, which has a treatment apparatus for performing a predetermined treatment for a planar workpiece contained in a carrier, and an first air-tight carrier storage chamber for storing the carrier. The treatment apparatus may also have an air-tight second carrier storage chamber. An inert gas supply and an exhaust means are connected to each of the treatment apparatus, the first carrier storage chamber, and the second carrier storage chamber. A valve device is provided for the inert gas supply and exhaust means.

A plate-like members conveying apparatus includes a rotating shaft and five support arms for supporting semiconductor wafers. The arms are vertically stacked at equal intervals and parallel to each other. The middle arm is fixed between two intermediate arms. Above and below the intermediate arms, two outer arms are located. The intermediate arms are coupled to an intermediate arm pinion coaxially fixed to the rotating shaft. The outer arms are coupled to an outer arm pinion coaxially fixed to the rotating shaft and having twice diameter of the intermediate arm pinion. These two pinions are rotated together upon the rotation of the rotating shaft. By the rotation of the intermediate arm pinion, the intermediate arms are moved to opposite direction each other. By the rotation of the outer arm pinion, the outer arms are moved to opposite direction each other by a distance twice a distance between the intermediate arms. Thus, the interval between the adjacent two arms is changed while keeping the five arms at equal intervals.

Plate-like member conveying apparatus

A wafer boats supporting wafers is loaded into and unloaded from a reaction tube with a lid therebelow in a vertical heat treatment apparatus, while holding the wafer boat vertical with respect to the lid. An arm is provided in a space below the reaction tube, for transferring wafer boats along a path, while holding the wafer boats vertical and in a substantially horizontal plane. Three stations are formed in the path. At the first station, unprocessed wafers are mounted on a first wafer boat located, while wafers mounted on a first wafer boat is being heat-treated in said reaction tube. Then, the first wafer boat is transferred from the first station to the third station, and is held at the third station. While the first wafer boat is held at the third station, the second wafer boat is lowered to the second station to unload the second wafer boat from the reaction tube, and then is transferred to the first station. Thereafter, the heat-treated wafers are removed from the second wafer boat located at the first station. Next, the first wafer boat is transferred from the third station to the second station, while the second wafer boat is located at the first station, and then is mounted onto the lid, thereby to load the first wafer boat into the reaction tube.

Growing community of inventors

Sagamihara, Japan

Yuji Ono