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.

Substrate Processing Apparatus

Provided is a substrate processing apparatus in which after a module is disabled, a substrate is provided to a carry-in module capable of placing the wafers most rapidly in the plurality of unit blocks and the substrates are sequentially transported to the module group by the transportation means to be delivered to the carry-out module according to a providing sequence of the substrate to the carry-in module in each of the plurality of unit blocks. In particular, the substrates are extracted from the carry-out module according to a providing sequence of the substrate to the carry-in module and transported to a rear module or a substrate placing part. Thereafter, the substrates are transported to the rear module from the carry-out module or the substrate placing part according to a predetermined sequence in which the substrate is provided to the carry-in module in a normal state.

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

A workpiece handler and alignment assembly. The assembly may include a first port coupled to a disk substrate manifold, a one or more gas jets disposed near a center portion defined by an inner diameter of the disk substrate manifold, and a second port attached to a plurality of jets. The gas jets blow gas into the center portion of a disk substrate.

Workpiece handler and alignment assembly

A liquid processing apparatus includes a substrate holding member configured to rotate along with a substrate held thereon in a horizontal state; a rotary cup configured to surround the substrate and to rotate along with the substrate; a liquid supply mechanism configured to supply a process liquid onto at least a front surface of the substrate; and an exhaust/drain section configured to perform gas-exhausting and liquid-draining out of the rotary cup; and a guide member disposed to surround the substrate, having an upper surface to be substantially continued to the front surface of the substrate, and configured to rotate along with the substrate holding member and the rotary cup, such that a process liquid supplied onto the front surface of the substrate and thrown off from the substrate is guided by the upper surface of the guide member from the rotary cup to the exhaust/drain section.

Liquid processing apparatus

A substrate treating apparatus and method can recover a substrate treating liquid such as a cleaning liquid in an efficient manner and positively avoid occurrences of treatment defects such as formation of cleaning spots, water marks and the like. A fixed upper plate and a fixed lower plate are disposed in opposition to each other so as to define a space therebetween. A substrate such as a semiconductor wafer is inserted into the space between the fixed upper and lower plates, supported there by a support and adapted to be rotated through rotation of the support. A substrate treating medium such as a cleaning liquid is introduced into the space to treat the substrate while the substrate is rotating. The treating medium after having treated the substrate is discharged from the space through a discharge passage which is defined between an outer peripheral surface of the support and an inner surface of a housing which covers the outer peripheral surface of the support. Rotary blades are disposed in the discharge passage and adapted to rotate in accordance with the rotation of the substrate, thereby enhancing discharging of the substrate treating medium from the space through the discharge passage.

Substrate treating apparatus

PURPOSE: To realize a fluid treating apparatus which has a small volume and the high cleanability by performing the stable holding in a simple apparatus structure in a Bernoulli's holder. CONSTITUTION: The shape of a sample holding surface is formed substantially the same as a sample or a holder 20 in which an area for generating Bernoulli's effect and an area for surrounding the area are formed by the combination of specific members is used, fluid supply sources 70, 71 are connected to the holder 20 to supply one or more fluids containing the treatment agent of the sample 10. Thus, since the force for suppressing the positional deviation is generated at the end face of the sample 10, the sample can be stably held, and treated. Since the space between the sample and the holder is narrow and the fluids are always externally fed from the treating space, the fluid treating apparatus which has the high treating efficiency, the small possibility of the recontamination of the sample 10 and small volume can be provided.

Sample-and-hold method, method for treating fluid on sample surface, and devices for those methods

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control the dislocation of a sample in the normal-line direction and the tangent- line direction of a sample holding face by a method wherein the sample is brought into contact with a sample guide so as to be held by the Bernoulli effect which is generated between the sample and the sample holding face. SOLUTION: A sample guide plate 9 on which a sample 1 is set in placed on a lower holding implement 4, solenoid valves 21-1, 21-2, 21-3 for an inert gas cylinder 20 are opened, an inert gas is jetted at a prescribed flow rate, the sample guide plate 9 is levitated from the lower holding implement 4, and the sample 1 is brought into contact with the lower holding implement 4 by the Bernoulli effect so as to be held. In addition, an upper holding implement 6 is set at a prescribed distance at the upper part of the sample 1, solenoid valves 21-4, 21-5 are opened, an inert gas is jetted at a prescribed flow rate, the Bernoulli effect is generated between the sample 1 and the upper holding implement 6, the upper holding implement 6 is retreated to the upper part when the rotation of the sample guide plate 9 is stopped, and the treated sample 1 is taken out. Consequently, the dislocation of the sample 1 in the normal-line direction and the tangent-line direction of a sample holding face can be suppressed. COPYRIGHT: (C)1997,JPO

Sample holding method, sample turning method and method and apparatus for treatment of fluid on surface of sample

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable manufacturing of semiconductor devices (semiconductor elements) with high throughput and high yield, while realizing chemical and mechanical polishing with high throughput and high accuracy. SOLUTION: In this method, change-over from chemical and mechanical high-speed polishing to low-speed polishing can be controlled according to the thickness of a measured film to be further polished. The method includes a polishing step of chemically and mechanically polishing a film formed on a substrate to flatten the film, and an inspection step of detecting a presence of a scratch or foreign matter different from surface roughness on the polished surface flattened by the polishing step. The presence of the scratch or foreign matters on the polished surface inspected by the inspection step is fed back to the polishing step to control its polishing conditions and reduce a scratch or foreign matter on the polished surface.

Method and system for manufacturing semiconductor devices

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To form an aggregate of crystal grain in priority orientation, whose grain diameter is small. SOLUTION: A semiconductor thin film is constituted of a plurality of crystal grains, and generation of projection in a boundary part of adjacent crystal grains is restrained by directing laser beam to an amorphous silicon film a plurality of times. Consequently, a polycrystalline silicon thin film element internally containing cluster crystal of an aggregate of at least two or more crystal grains is realized, and high mobility of 200 cm2/Vs or more is realized.

Thin film semiconductor element and its manufacturing method

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problems wherein the flaws or the like on a glass surface are enlarged and flatness is deteriorated in a chemical polishing step for reducing the thickness of a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device. SOLUTION: The enlargement of the flaws is suppressed and the liquid crystal display element having an excellent display surface quality is efficiently manufactured at a low cost by polishing a glass substrate surface by a chemical polishing liquid containing at a ratio of ≥25 wt.% mixture solution of hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride and ≤30 wt.% at least one kind acid solution among hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, nitric acid and acetic acid and using water as a solvent. COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

洋一高原

Papers

Sample-and-hold method, method for treating fluid on sample surface, and devices for those methods

Sample holding method, sample turning method and method and apparatus for treatment of fluid on surface of sample

Method and system for manufacturing semiconductor devices

Thin film semiconductor element and its manufacturing method

Chemical polishing fluid for glass substrate and manufacturing method of liquid crystal display device using the same

洋一 高原

Papers

Sample-and-hold method, method for treating fluid on sample surface, and devices for those methods

Sample holding method, sample turning method and method and apparatus for treatment of fluid on surface of sample

Method and system for manufacturing semiconductor devices

Thin film semiconductor element and its manufacturing method

Chemical polishing fluid for glass substrate and manufacturing method of liquid crystal display device using the same

洋一高原