| Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
|---|
| 438716000 | With substrate handling (e.g., conveying, etc.) | 26 |
| 20080286980 | Substrate Processing Apparatus and Semiconductor Device Producing Method - Disclosed is a substrate processing apparatus, including: a processing container; a gas supply section to supply a desired processing gas to the processing container; a gas exhaust section to exhaust a surplus of the processing gas from the processing container; a substrate placing member to place a plurality of substrates thereon in a stacked state in the processing container; and an electrode, to which high frequency electric power is applied, to generate plasma for exciting the processing gas, the electrode including two thin and long linear sections disposed in parallel and a short-circuit section to electrically short-circuit one ends of the linear sections, and the linear sections extending beside the substrates in a direction substantially perpendicular to main faces of the substrates. | 11-20-2008 |
| 20080305643 | Method For the Removal of Doped Surface Layers on the Back Faces of Crystalline Silicon Solar Wafers - The invention relates to a method for the one-sided removal of a doped surface layer on rear sides of crystalline silicon solar wafers. In accordance with the object set, doped surface layers should be able to be removed from rear sides of such solar wafers in a cost-effective manner and with a handling which is gentle on the substrate. In addition, the front side should not be modified. In accordance with the invention, an etching gas is directed onto the rear side surface of silicon solar wafers with a plasma atmospheric pressure. | 12-11-2008 |
| 20090011605 | Method of manufacturing semiconductor device - The present invention is an apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising: a process vessel including a stage on which a substrate is placed, the substrate having a low dielectric constant film with a resist pattern being formed in an upper layer of the low dielectric constant film; an etching-gas supply unit that supplies an etching gas into the process vessel so as to etch the low dielectric constant film; an ashing-gas unit means that supplies an ashing gas into the process vessel so as to ash the resist pattern formed in the upper layer of the low dielectric constant film after the low dielectric constant film has been subjected to an etching process; a plasma generating means that generates a plasma by supplying an energy to the etching gas and the ashing gas in the process vessel; a unit that supplies a dipivaloylmethane gas into the process vessel, after the low dielectric constant film has been subjected to an ashing process, in order to recover a damage layer of the low dielectric constant film which has been damaged by the plasma; and a heating unit that enables the dipivaloylmethane gas to come into contact with a surface of the substrate under a heated condition. | 01-08-2009 |
| 20090117747 | Method for Surface Treating Semiconductor - [Task] Native oxide film on a semiconductor silicon wafer(s) is dry etched at a temperature of 50° C. or less. Hydrogen treatment is then carried out a temperature of 100° C. or more to bond the dangling bonds with hydrogen. A jig | 05-07-2009 |
| 20090163033 | METHODS FOR EXTENDING CHAMBER COMPONENT LIFE TIME - Methods for extending service life of chamber components for semiconductor processing are provided. In one embodiment, the method includes maintaining a substrate support assembly disposed in a processing chamber at a first temperature, performing a first plasma process on a first substrate in the processing chamber while the substrate support is maintained at the first temperature, and raising the temperature of the substrate support assembly to a second temperature after completion of the first plasma process. | 06-25-2009 |
| 20090233450 | Plasma etchimg method and plasma etching apparatus - The present invention is a plasma etching method comprising: a cleaning step (a) in which a cleaning gas is supplied into a processing vessel and the cleaning gas is made plasma, so that a deposit adhering to an inside of the processing vessel is removed by means of the plasma; a film depositing step (b), succeeding the cleaning step (a), in which a film depositing gas containing carbon and fluorine is supplied into the processing vessel and the film depositing gas is made plasma, so that a film containing carbon and fluorine is deposited on the inside of the processing vessel by means of the plasma; an etching step (c), succeeding the film depositing step (b), in which a substrate is placed on a stage inside the processing vessel, and an etching gas is supplied into the processing vessel and the etching gas is made plasma, so that the substrate is etched by means of the plasma; and an unloading step (d), succeeding the etching step (c), in which the substrate is unloaded from the processing vessel; wherein, after the unloading step (d) has been finished, the cleaning step (a) to the unloading step (d) are repeated again. | 09-17-2009 |
| 20100003826 | CORROSION RESISTANT COMPONENT OF SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING EQUIPMENT AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE THEREOF - A corrosion resistant component of a plasma chamber includes a liquid crystalline polymer. In a preferred embodiment, the liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) is provided on an aluminum component having an anodized or non-anodized surface. The liquid crystalline polymer can also be provided on an alumina component. The liquid crystalline polymer can be deposited by a method such as plasma spraying. The liquid crystalline polymer may also be provided as a preformed sheet or other shape adapted to cover the exposed surfaces of the reaction chamber. Additionally, the reactor components may be made entirely from liquid crystalline polymer by machining the component from a solid block of liquid crystalline polymer or molding the component from the polymer. The liquid crystalline polymer may contain reinforcing fillers such as glass or mineral fillers. | 01-07-2010 |
| 20100022094 | ELEVATOR AND APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING SUBSTRATE USING THE SAME - In an apparatus and a method for processing a substrate, a plurality of chucks are disposed parallel with each other in a process chamber. The chucks fully support back surfaces of substrates and have a plurality of through-holes. Supports are disposed through the through-holes and movable in a vertical direction. The substrates are loaded on the chucks or unloaded from the chucks by relative movement between the chucks and the supports. Thus, an unwanted layer may be prevented from being formed on the back surfaces of the substrates while processing the substrates. | 01-28-2010 |
| 20100151688 | METHOD TO PREVENT THIN SPOT IN LARGE SIZE SYSTEM - Embodiments disclosed herein generally include methods of ensuring uniform deposition on a substrate. The smallest gap between a portion of the substrate and the substrate support upon which the substrate rests may lead to uneven deposition of material or ‘thin spots’ on the substrate. Large area substrates, due to their size, are susceptible to numerous gaps at random locations. By inducing an electrostatic charge on the substrate prior to placing the substrate onto the substrate support, the substrate may be placed generally flush against the substrate support. The electrostatic charge on the substrate creates an attraction between the substrate and substrate support to pull substantially the entire surface of the substrate into contact with the substrate support. Material may then be substantially uniformly deposited on the substrate while reducing ‘thin spots’. | 06-17-2010 |
| 20100248490 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REDUCTION OF VOLTAGE POTENTIAL SPIKE DURING DECHUCKING - Provided is a substrate dechucking system of a plasma processing chamber adapted to remove a substrate from an ESC with reduction in voltage potential spike during dechucking of the substrate. | 09-30-2010 |
| 20110092073 | PLASMA PROCESSING APPARATUS, PLASMA PROCESSING METHOD, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING ELECTRONIC DEVICE - A plasma processing apparatus includes: a processing container capable of maintaining an atmosphere having a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure; an evacuation unit reducing a pressure of an interior of the processing container; a gas introduction unit introducing a process gas to the interior of the processing container; a microwave introduction unit introducing a microwave to the interior of the processing container; and a lifter pin ascendably and descendably inserted through a placement platform provided in the interior of the processing container, an end surface of the lifter pin supporting an object to be processed, the object to be processed being supported by the lifter pin at a first position proximal to an upper surface of the placement platform when the microwave is introduced and plasma is ignited, the object to be processed being supported by the lifter pin at a second position after the plasma ignition, the second position being more distal to the placement platform than the first position. | 04-21-2011 |
| 20110104903 | MANUFACTURING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A manufacturing apparatus for a semiconductor device, comprising: a chamber configured to process a wafer; a wafer stage installed in the chamber and formed with a plurality of holes for supplying gas to a rear surface of the wafer; a gas detection mechanism configured to detect an amount of gas leak from each of the plurality of holes, independently; a wafer position detection mechanism configured to determine a direction and an amount of a deviation of the wafer from a predetermined position on the wafer stage based on the detected amounts of gas leak of a hole and positions of the hole; and a wafer position adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a position of the wafer based on the direction and the amount of the deviation of the wafer from the predetermined position on the wafer stage. | 05-05-2011 |
| 20110111601 | PLASMA PROCESSING APPARATUS AND PLASMA PROCESSING METHOD - In a plasma processing apparatus, thrust-up pins are elevated and a thrust-up force is detected when electrostatic attraction for a substrate by a substrate holding device is ceased after completion of plasma processing, the elevation of the thrust-up pins is ceased upon detection of a detection threshold, and a stepped elevating operation in which the elevation and stoppage of the thrust-up pins are repeated a plurality of times are thereafter commenced on condition that the detected thrust-up force falls to or below the detection threshold and that release of the substrate from a placement surface has not been completed. In the stepped elevating operation, operation timing of the thrust-up device is controlled so that the completion of the release of the substrate from the placement surface is detected when the thrust-up pins are stopped after being elevated and so that the stepped elevating operation is continued on condition that the release has not been completed. | 05-12-2011 |
| 20110287632 | MOVABLE CHAMBER LINER PLASMA CONFINEMENT SCREEN COMBINATION FOR PLASMA PROCESSING APPARATUSES - A movable symmetric chamber liner in a plasma reaction chamber, for protecting the plasma reaction chamber, enhancing the plasma density and uniformity, and reducing process gas consumption, comprising a cylindrical wall, a bottom wall with a plurality of openings, a raised inner rim with an embedded heater, heater contacts, and RF ground return contacts. The chamber liner is moved by actuators between an upper position at which substrates can be transferred into and out of the chamber, and a lower position at which substrate are processed in the chamber. The actuators also provide electrical connection to the heater and RF ground return contacts. | 11-24-2011 |
| 20120115332 | Method of Post Etch Polymer Residue Removal - A method for processing a substrate includes etching a surface of the substrate using an etching chemistry in a plasma chamber, the etching configured to define one or more features on the surface of the substrate. The features have some etch polymer residues as a result of the etching. The etching is terminated. A dry flash chemistry is applied into the plasma chamber. The plasma chamber is powered for a period of time between about 5 seconds and about 10 seconds to perform a dry flash etch. During the dry flash etch, the chamber is set to a low pressure of between about 5 mTorr and about 40 mTorr. The dry flash etch acts to weaken adhesion of the etch polymer residues to the features. The substrate is moved from plasma chamber and into a wet clean chamber for cleaning which removes the etch polymer residues during fluid cleaning. | 05-10-2012 |
| 20120156888 | SLIMMING METHOD OF CARBON-CONTAINING THIN FILM AND OXIDATION APPARATUS - A slimming method includes transferring an object to be processed on which a patterned carbon-containing thin film is formed into a process chamber in an oxidation apparatus; and oxidizing and removing the surface of the carbon-containing thin film by an oxidizing gas while supplying moisture into the process chamber, to reduce widths of the protruded portions on the pattern of the carbon-containing thin film. | 06-21-2012 |
| 20130023128 | METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING NITRIDE SEMICONDUCTOR SUBSTRATE - There is provided a method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor substrate, comprising: etching and flattening a surface of a nitride semiconductor substrate disposed facing a surface plate, by using the surface plate having a surface composed of any one of Ni, Ti, Cr, W, and Mo or nitride of any one of them, disposing the surface of the surface plate and a flattening surface of a nitride semiconductor substrate proximately so as to be faced each other, and supplying gas containing at least hydrogen and ammonia between the surface of the surface plate and the surface of the nitride semiconductor substrate, wherein the surface plate and the nitride semiconductor substrate facing each other are set in a high temperature state of 900° C. or more. | 01-24-2013 |
| 20140038418 | BEVEL ETCHER WITH VACUUM CHUCK - A bevel etcher incorporating a vacuum chuck used for cleaning the bevel edge and for reducing the bending curvature of a semiconductor substrate. The bevel etcher includes a vacuum chuck and a plasma generation unit which energizes process gas into a plasma state. The vacuum chuck includes a chuck body and a support ring. The top surface of the chuck body and inner periphery of the support ring form a vacuum region enclosed by the bottom surface of a substrate mounted on the support ring. A vacuum pump evacuates the vacuum region during operation. The vacuum chuck is operative to hold the substrate in place by the pressure difference between the top and bottom surfaces of the substrate. The pressure difference also generates a bending force to reduce the bending curvature of the substrate. | 02-06-2014 |
| 20140073138 | METHOD FOR PLASMA ETCHING AND PLASMA ETCHING APPARATUS THEREOF - A method for plasma etching is provided, wherein a substrate pre-defining a plurality of to-be-etched segments is secured on a movable stage, and a spray area of plasma from a plasma gun is limited to get a spray-area-limited plasma. Then, at least one of the to-be-etched segments is positioned in an etch position in turn by a step and repeat manner, to make the to-be-etched segments in the etch position to be etched by the spray-area-limited plasma. A plasma etching apparatus is also provided, so that the uniformity of the plasma etching process may be controlled precisely to raise the etching uniformity. | 03-13-2014 |
| 20140235063 | HYBRID EDGE RING FOR PLASMA WAFER PROCESSING - An edge ring assembly is disclosed for use in a plasma processing chamber, which includes an RF conductive ring positioned on an annular surface of a base plate and configured to surround an upper portion of the baseplate and extend underneath an outer edge of a wafer positioned on the upper surface of the baseplate, and a wafer edge protection ring positioned above an upper surface of the RF conductive ring and configured to extend over the outer edge of the wafer. The protection ring has an inner edge portion with a uniform thickness, which extends over the outer edge of the wafer, a conical upper surface extending outward from the inner edge portion to a horizontal upper surface, an inner annular recess which is positioned on the upper surface of the RF conductive and configured to extend over the outer edge of the wafer. | 08-21-2014 |
| 20140273489 | PROCESSING SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR HALIDE SCAVENGING - Systems, chambers, and processes are provided for controlling process defects caused by moisture contamination. The systems may provide configurations for chambers to perform multiple operations in a vacuum or controlled environment. The chambers may include configurations to provide additional processing capabilities in combination chamber designs. The methods may provide for the limiting, prevention, and correction of aging defects that may be caused as a result of etching processes performed by system tools. | 09-18-2014 |
| 20140295672 | VACUUM PROCESSING APPARATUS AND OPERATING METHOD OF THE SAME - A vacuum processing apparatus including an atmospheric transfer chamber including on a front side a plurality of cassette stages on which cassettes having stored samples as processing objects are to be mounted, a first transfer chamber which is disposed via a lock chamber on a back side of the atmospheric transfer chamber and to which a sample decompressed to first pressure is transferred, a second transfer chamber which is disposed on a back side of the first transfer chamber and to which the sample is transferred via a relay chamber from the first transfer chamber, a first processing vessel which is coupled to the first transfer chamber and in which the sample is transferred under the first pressure, and a second processing vessel which is coupled to the second transfer chamber and in which the sample is transferred under the second pressure. | 10-02-2014 |
| 20150064923 | PLASMA PROCESSING DEVICE AND PLASMA PROCESSING METHOD - A plasma processing device includes a processing chamber defining a plasma processing space and a stage for mounting thereon a target substrate in the processing chamber. The plasma processing device further includes a gas supply mechanism for introducing a processing gas into the plasma processing space, a plasma generation mechanism for supplying electromagnetic energy into the plasma processing space, and a control unit configured to, if a command to start a plasma process for the target substrate mounted on a substrate carry-in stage is issued, perform a warm-up process for supplying the processing gas into the plasma processing space by the gas supply mechanism and supplying the electromagnetic energy by the plasma generation mechanism in a state where no target substrate is mounted on the stage. | 03-05-2015 |
| 20150364338 | Method to Improve Etch Selectivity During Silicon Nitride Spacer Etch - Techniques herein include methods to increase etching selectivity among materials. Techniques herein include a cyclical process of etching and oxidation of a silicon nitride (Sin) spacer and silicon (such as polycrystalline silicon). This technique can increase selectivity to the silicon so that silicon is less likely to be etched or damaged while silicon nitride is etched from sidewalls. Techniques and chemistries as disclosed herein can be more selective to silicon oxide and silicon as compared to silicon nitride. An oxidizing step creates an oxide protection film on silicon surfaces that is comparatively thicker to any oxide film formed on nitride surfaces. As such, techniques here enable better removal of silicon nitride and silicon nitride spacer materials. | 12-17-2015 |
| 20160064233 | PROCESSING SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR HALIDE SCAVENGING - Systems, chambers, and processes are provided for controlling process defects caused by moisture contamination. The systems may provide configurations for chambers to perform multiple operations in a vacuum or controlled environment. The chambers may include configurations to provide additional processing capabilities in combination chamber designs. The methods may provide for the limiting, prevention, and correction of aging defects that may be caused as a result of etching processes performed by system tools. | 03-03-2016 |
| 20160172212 | PLASMA PROCESSING METHOD | 06-16-2016 |
