Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080241402 | COATING AND DEVELOPING SYSTEM, COATING AND DEVELOPING METHOD AND STORAGE MEDIUM - A coating and developing system includes processing blocks S | 10-02-2008 |
20080241403 | COATING AND DEVELOPING SYSTEM, COATING AND DEVELOPING METHOD AND STORAGE MEDIUM - A coating and developing system has a first processing block, a second processing block, and a transfer block interposed between the first and the second processing block. A first direct carrying means carries substrates from a carrier block to the transfer block. The transfer block distributes the substrates to respective film forming unit blocks of the first and the second processing block. Substrates on which films have been formed by the first and the second processing block are collected temporarily in the transfer block. A second direct carrying means carries the substrate collected in the transfer block from the transfer block to an interface block. Use of the first and the second processing block can improve the throughput of the coating and developing system. Since a carrying route from the carrier block to the first processing block, and a carrying route from the carrier block to the second processing block are the same, a carrying program is easy to create. | 10-02-2008 |
20080266532 | COATER/DEVELOPER, COATING/DEVELOPING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - A coater/developer is disclosed that includes a heating module having a pair of rotary bodies configured to rotate about respective horizontal axles, the rotary bodies being spaced apart from each other in a direction along the conveyance path of a substrate so that the rotational axles thereof are parallel to each other; a conveyance path member engaged with and extended between the rotary bodies so as to move along an orbit, the conveyance path member forming a part of the conveyance path of the substrate placed on the conveyance path member; a first transfer part provided at the upstream end of the conveyance path; a second transfer part provided at the downstream end of the conveyance path; and a heating part provided between the upstream end and the downstream end of the conveyance path and configured to heat the substrate. | 10-30-2008 |
20080267619 | DEVELOPING APPARATUS, DEVELOPING METHOD, COATING AND DEVELOPING SYSTEM AND STORAGE MEDIUM - A developing apparatus includes two rotating members 41 and 42 respectively having parallel horizontal axes of rotation and disposed longitudinally opposite to each other, a carrying passage forming mechanism 4 extended between the rotating members 41 and 42 to form a carrying passage, and capable of moving along an orbital path to carry a wafer W supported thereon along the carrying passage, a sending-in transfer unit 31 disposed at the upstream end of the carrying passage, a sending-out transfer unit 32 disposed at the downstream end of the carrying passage, a developer pouring nozzle 71 for pouring a developer onto the wafer W, a cleaning nozzle 72 for pouring a cleaning liquid onto the wafer W, and a gas nozzle 74 for blowing a gas against the wafer W. The developer pouring nozzle 71, the cleaning nozzle 72 and the gas nozzle 74 are arranged in that order in a direction in which the wafer W is carried along the carrying passage between the upstream and the downstream end of the carrying passage. | 10-30-2008 |
20080268383 | COATING AND DEVELOPING SYSTEM, COATING AND DEVELOPING METHOD AND STORAGE MEDIUM - A coating and developing system includes two rotating members | 10-30-2008 |
20100300353 | COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS - Provided is a coating and developing apparatus composed of an assembly of plural unit blocks. A first unit-block stack and a second unit-block stack are arranged at different positions with respect to front-and-rear direction. Unit blocks for development, each of which comprises plural processing units including a developing unit that performs developing process after exposure and a transfer device that transfers a substrate among the processing units, are arranged at the lowermost level. Unit blocks for application, or coating, each of which comprises plural processing units including a coating unit that performs application process before exposure and a transfer device that transfers a substrate among the processing units, are arranged above the unit blocks for development. Unit blocks for application are arranged in both the first and second unit-block stacks. Unit blocks for application which a wafer goes through are determined depending on the layering positional relationship between an antireflective film and a resist film. An exposed wafer goes only through the unit block for development without going through any one of the unit blocks for application. | 12-02-2010 |
20100326353 | COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS - Provided is a coating and developing apparatus composed of an assembly of plural unit blocks. A first unit-block stack and a second unit-block stack are arranged at different positions with respect to front-and-rear direction. Unit blocks for development, each of which comprises plural processing units including a developing unit that performs developing process after exposure and a transfer device that transfers a substrate among the processing units, are arranged at the lowermost level. Unit blocks for application, or coating, each of which comprises plural processing units including a coating unit that performs application process before exposure and a transfer device that transfers a substrate among the processing units, are arranged above the unit blocks for development. Unit blocks for application are arranged in both the first and second unit-block stacks. Unit blocks for application which a wafer goes through are determined depending on the layering positional relationship between an antireflective film and a resist film. An exposed wafer goes only through the unit block for development without going through any one of the unit blocks for application. | 12-30-2010 |
20110014562 | SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING METHOD - A substrate transfer system to reduce total processing time by transferring a substrate at a first delivery stage to a process block where processing can be carried out earliest. The substrate processing apparatus includes a first transfer device delivering a wafer with respect to a substrate carrier, and a second transfer device delivering a wafer between a plurality of process blocks and the first transfer device via a first delivery stage, to transfer the wafer with respect to the process blocks. The process block where there is no wafer or where processing of the last wafer within the relevant process block will be completed earliest is determined based on processing information of the wafers from the process blocks, and the wafer of the first delivery stage is transferred by the second transfer device to the relevant process block. This ensures smooth transfer of the wafer to the process block. | 01-20-2011 |
20110032494 | APPARATUS AND METHOD OF APPLICATION AND DEVELOPMENT - A block for coating film formation and a block for a development process are stacked. A delivery stage to effect delivery of a substrate with a transportation unit for use in a block is provided for each process block at the carrier block side to constitute a shelf-type delivery stage group. A vertical transportation unit is provided to transport a substrate between the delivery stages in the delivery stage group. A substrate inspection unit is disposed at an upper empty space of the carrier block. A substrate is input to the substrate inspection unit directly by the vertical transportation unit or via a delivery stage in the delivery stage group. The substrate inspection unit may be disposed in the delivery stage group. | 02-10-2011 |
20110143645 | LIQUID PROCESSING APPARATUS, LIQUID PROCESSING METHOD AND STORAGE MEDIUM - A liquid processing apparatus, includes an apparatus main body, a power room having an atmosphere separated from the clean room by a partition member, an air suction path configured to suction an air in the clean room and take the air into the power room, a temperature control part provided in the power room and configured to control at least a temperature of the air taken in via the air suction path, an air supplying path configured to supply the air from the temperature control part to the liquid processing unit, a ventilation part configured to take the air from the air suction path and supply the air via the air supplying path, and a cleaning filer configured to clean the air taken in from the air suction path. | 06-16-2011 |
20110211825 | COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS, SUBSTRATE PROCESSING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - A coating and developing apparatus is provided which requires a smaller occupation space even when it incorporates a substrate inspection unit, while eliminating a disadvantageous layout. A coating film forming part B | 09-01-2011 |
20120008936 | COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS - A coating and developing apparatus includes a processing block having at least one coating film-forming unit block stack and a vertically stacked developing unit block stack. Each unit block stack includes vertically stacked unit blocks, and each unit block includes processing modules containing liquid processing modules and heating modules. Each unit block includes a transport mechanism moveable along a transport passage from a carrier block side to an interface block side, to transport a substrate between the processing modules belonging to the unit block. Transfer units are provided on the carrier block sides of the coating film-forming unit blocks and the developing unit blocks respectively, for transferring a substrate to and from the transport mechanism of the associated coating film-forming or developing unit blocks. A first transfer mechanism transfers a substrate removed from a carrier to one of the transfer units associated with the coating film-forming unit blocks. | 01-12-2012 |
20120009528 | COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS AND METHOD - In one embodiment, a coating and developing apparatus includes a processing block including a vertical stack of early-stage processing unit blocks; a vertical stack of later-stage processing unit blocks disposed laterally adjacent to respective ones of the early-stage processing unit blocks; a vertical stack of developing unit blocks stacked on the early-stage processing unit blocks; a vertical stack of auxiliary processing unit blocks disposed laterally adjacent to respective ones of the developing unit blocks; first transfer units, each of which are disposed between the laterally adjacent early-stage processing unit and later-stage processing unit; second transfer units, each of which is disposed between the laterally adjacent developing unit block and auxiliary processing unit block; and a auxiliary transfer mechanism for transferring a substrate between the first transfer units and between the second transfer units. | 01-12-2012 |
20120013859 | COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS AND METHOD - In one embodiment, a coating and developing apparatus includes a processing block having two early-stage coating unit blocks, two later-stage coating unit blocks and two developing unit blocks, each unit blocks being vertically stacked on each other. The apparatus has at least two operation modes M | 01-19-2012 |
20120015307 | COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS AND METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - In one embodiment, a coating and developing apparatus is provided with transfer units, provided between a stack of early-stage processing unit blocks and a stack of later-stage processing unit blocks to transfer a substrate between the transport mechanisms of laterally-adjacent unit blocks, and a vertically-movable auxiliary transfer mechanism for transporting a substrate between the transfer units. A stack of first developing unit blocks is stacked on the stack of early-stage processing unit blocks, and a stack of second developing unit blocks is stacked on the stack of later-stage processing unit blocks. | 01-19-2012 |
20120057861 | COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS AND METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - In one embodiment, a coating and developing apparatus is provided with a processing block including a liquid processing block disposed on the carrier block side and a heating processing block disposed on the interface block side. The liquid processing block includes a first unit block, a second unit block, and one or more of developing unit blocks overlying or underlying a stack of the first unit block and the second unit block. The first unit block includes antireflection film-forming modules and resist film-forming modules disposed on both sides of the transport passage thereof. The second unit block includes upper film-forming modules and hardening modules disposed on both sides of the transport passage thereof. | 03-08-2012 |
20120057862 | COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS, COATING AND DEVELOPING METHOD AND NON-TRANSITORY TANGIBLE MEDIUM - A process block is formed by arranging a heating-process related block on the side of a carrier block, a group of liquid-process related unit blocks, and a heating block on the side of an interface block, in this order from the side of the carrier block to the side of the interface block. The group of liquid-process related unit blocks is composed of: a group of unit blocks for coating films that is formed by stacking upward a unit block for an antireflection film, a unit block for a resist film, and a unit bock for an upper layer film, in this order; and unit blocks for developing that are stacked on one another in the up and down direction with respect to the group of unit blocks for coating films. Liquid process modules of each of the liquid-process related unit blocks are arranged on the right and left sides of a transfer path for a substrate. | 03-08-2012 |
20120063765 | COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS, COATING AND DEVELOPING METHOD AND NON-TRANSITORY TANGIBLE MEDIUM - A process block including a group of liquid-process related unit blocks, a first heating-process related block arranged on a carrier block side of the group of unit blocks, and a second heating-process related block arranged on an interface block side of the group of unit blocks. The group of liquid-process unit blocks includes doubled unit blocks for preprocessing for forming an antireflection film and a resist film, doubled unit blocks for post-processing for forming an upper layer film and performing a cleaning operation before exposure, and a unit block for developing. The first heating-process related block heats a substrate coated with a resist liquid and a substrate that has been developed. The second heating-process related block heats a substrate that has been exposed but is not yet developed, a substrate on which an antireflection film has been formed and a substrate on which an upper layer film has been formed. | 03-15-2012 |
20130329199 | COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS - A coating and developing apparatus includes a processing block having at least one coating film-forming unit block stack and a vertically stacked developing unit block stack. Each unit block stack includes vertically stacked unit blocks, and each unit block includes processing modules containing liquid processing modules and heating modules. Each unit block includes a transport mechanism moveable along a transport passage from a carrier block side to an interface block side, to transport a substrate between the processing modules belonging to the unit block. Transfer units are provided on the carrier block sides of the coating film-forming unit blocks and the developing unit blocks respectively, for transferring a substrate to and from the transport mechanism of the associated coating film-forming or developing unit blocks. A first transfer mechanism transfers a substrate removed from a carrier to one of the transfer units associated with the coating film-forming unit blocks. | 12-12-2013 |
20140327890 | COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS AND METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - In one embodiment, a coating and developing apparatus is provided with transfer units, provided between a stack of early-stage processing unit blocks and a stack of later-stage processing unit blocks to transfer a substrate between the transport mechanisms of laterally-adjacent unit blocks, and a vertically-movable auxiliary transfer mechanism for transporting a substrate between the transfer units. A stack of first developing unit blocks is stacked on the stack of early-stage processing unit blocks, and a stack of second developing unit blocks is stacked on the stack of later-stage processing unit blocks. | 11-06-2014 |