A processing system for workpieces such as semiconductor wafers is disclosed which incorporates multiple, isolated vacuum stages between the cassette load lock station and the main vacuum processing chambers. A vacuum gradient is applied between the cassette load lock and the main processing chambers to facilitate the use of a very high degree of vacuum in the processing chambers without lengthy pump down times. Separate robot chambers are associated with the vacuum processing chambers and the load lock(s). In addition, separate transport paths are provided between the two robot chambers to facilitate loading and unloading of workpieces. Pre-treatment and post-treatment chambers may be incorporated in the two transport paths.

Staged-vacuum wafer processing system and method

A system for condition monitoring and fault diagnosis includes a data collection function that acquires time histories of selected variables for one or more of the components, a pre-processing function that calculates specified characteristics of the time histories, an analysis function for evaluating the characteristics to produce one or more hypotheses of a condition of the one or more components, and a reasoning function for determining the condition of the one or more components from the one or more hypotheses.

Intelligent condition monitoring and fault diagnostic system for preventative maintenance

A storage and retrieval system including a vertical array of storage levels, each storage level having storage locations, a multilevel vertical conveyor system configured to transport the uncontained case units to and from the vertical array of storage levels, each storage level being configured to receive uncontained case units from the multilevel vertical conveyor system, at least one autonomous transport confined to each storage level, the at least one autonomous transport being configured to transport the uncontained case units between respective storage locations and the multilevel vertical conveyor system, and a controller configured to effect operation of the multilevel vertical conveyor system and at least one autonomous transport for assembling orders of uncontained case units of different types without moving bundles of the same uncontained case unit type throughout the storage and retrieval system.

Storage and retrieval system

In a CVD processing system for depositing a blanket tungsten film, a distinct shadow is formed without causing any micro-peeling when the substrate fixture is separated from the substrate so as to prevent any blanket tungsten from being deposited on SiO2, thus reducing the occurrence of fine dust particles. A CVD processing system for depositing a blanket tungsten film, includes a susceptor (4); a ring chuck (9) for affixing the peripheral portion of a substrate (3) on the susceptor; reactive gas supply mechanisms (17, 18 and 19) for supplying reactive gas; and an exhaust mechanism (2) for exhausting unreacted gas and the like, wherein: the ring chuck has at least three point contact members (10) in contact with the peripheral portion of the substrate; the point contact members are provided at positions outside the inner periphery of the ring chuck; a gap (11) is formed at the point contact members between the ring chuck and the substrate; and purge gas supply mechanisms (20 and 21) are provided to blow off purge gas through the gap in order to prevent reactive gas from entering the gap (11). A ratio of the size of the gap to the flow rate of purge gas is set to such an optimum value as to satisfy a condition in which the position of the peripheral portion of the thin film coincides with the position of the inner periphery of the ring chuck.

Integrated module multi-chamber CVD processing system and its method for processing substrates

A sputter coating system (10) is disclosed comprising: a vacuum chamber; a movable substrate support mounted within said vacuum chamber (11) and adapted for mounting substrates (15) thereon for moving the substrates past at least first and second physically spaced work stations (30); a linear magnetron-enhanced sputter device positioned at said first work station (26) and including a target of selected material and means for generating an associated plasma within said device and adjacent said work station and substantially throughout an extended region of the chamber including the physically spaced second work station, for sputter depositing material on said substrates (15) traversing the first work station; and an ion source device positioned at said second work station (28) and adapted for using electrons from said plasma associated with said sputter device and applying reactive gas to form along a relatively narrow zone adjacent the substrate support a second plasma comprising ions of the reactive gas, the ion source device further comprising means for applying a directed potential between said ion source and said plasma associated with said sputter device for accelerating the reactive ions to the substrates for effecting a selected reaction with the sputter-deposited material.

Magnetron sputtering apparatus and process

Process gas discharged from a bypass pipe to a gas exhaust system can be prevented from diffusing back to the inside of a process chamber without having to install a dedicated vacuum pump at the downstream side of the bypass pipe. The substrate processing apparatus includes a process chamber accommodating a substrate, a gas supply system supplying process gas from a process gas source to the process chamber for processing the substrate, a gas exhaust system configured to exhaust the process chamber, two or more vacuum pumps installed in series at the gas exhaust system, and a bypass pipe connected between the gas supply system and the gas exhaust system. The most upstream one of the vacuum pumps is a mechanical booster pump, and the bypass pipe is connected between the mechanical booster pump and the rest vacuum pumps located at a downstream side of the mechanical booster pump.

Kenji Yamaguchi

Papers

Substrate Processing Apparatus