Patents by Inventor Tokutarou Hayashi
Tokutarou Hayashi has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Publication number: 20230207344Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus configured to process a combined substrate in which a first substrate and a second substrate are bonded to each other includes a holding member configured to hold the combined substrate; a removing member configured to separate at least a peripheral portion of the first substrate from the second substrate by being inserted between the first substrate and the second substrate; an elevating mechanism configured to adjust a relative height position of the removing member with respect to the holding member; and a controller configured to control an operation of the elevating mechanism. The controller controls the operation of the elevating mechanism such that the relative height position of the removing member with respect to a target insertion position of the removing member is adjusted in an entire circumference of the combined substrate.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 16, 2021Publication date: June 29, 2023Inventors: Yohei YAMAWAKI, Seiji NAKANO, Tokutarou HAYASHI
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Publication number: 20230086738Abstract: A bonding apparatus is configured to bond a first substrate and a second substrate to prepare a combined substrate. The first substrate includes a base substrate, and a device layer formed on a surface of the base substrate facing the second substrate. The bonding apparatus includes a first holder configured to hold the first substrate; a second holder configured to hold the second substrate; a moving unit configured to move the first holder and the second holder relative to each other; and a total thickness measurement controller configured to control a thickness detector, which is configured to measure a total thickness of the combined substrate, to measure the total thickness at multiple points.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 21, 2021Publication date: March 23, 2023Inventors: Tokutarou HAYASHI, Yoshitaka OTSUKA, Yasutaka MIZOMOTO, Kazuya IKEUE, Munehisa KODAMA
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Publication number: 20210384058Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a substrate processing unit, a substrate transfer unit, a first detection unit, a second detection unit, and a third detection unit. The substrate processing unit holds and processes a substrate. The substrate transfer unit has a rotational axis and carries the substrate in the substrate processing unit. The first detection unit detects a position of the substrate transfer unit relative to the substrate processing unit in a direction of travel thereof when the substrate is carried in the substrate processing unit in the direction of travel. The second detection unit detects a position of the substrate transfer unit relative to the substrate processing unit in a direction that is perpendicular to the direction of travel. The third detection unit detects an inclination of the rotational axis of the substrate transfer unit relative to the substrate processing unit.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 2, 2021Publication date: December 9, 2021Applicant: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Hiroki HARADA, Tatsuhiko TSUJIHASHI, Tokutarou HAYASHI, Tsuyoshi OTSUKA, Yuji KAWAGUCHI
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Patent number: 10879100Abstract: A device includes a substrate holding unit 25 configured to hold a substrate and be movable in a transversal direction to transfer the substrate from one module to another module; a first detecting unit 3 configured to detect a position of the substrate on the substrate holding unit 25 before the substrate holding unit 25 transfers the substrate into the another module after receiving the substrate from the one module; second detecting units 55 and 56 configured to detect a position deviation between a position of the substrate holding unit 25, which is located at a temporary position set to transfer the substrate into the another module, and the temporary position; and a position determining unit 10 configured to determine a transfer position where the substrate is transferred into the another module based on the position of the substrate on the substrate holding unit 25 and the position deviation.Type: GrantFiled: February 22, 2018Date of Patent: December 29, 2020Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Tokutarou Hayashi, Hiroki Harada, Akihiro Teramoto, Tooru Tokimatu, Masahiro Abe, Kazutoshi Ishimaru
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Patent number: 10256127Abstract: A substrate transfer apparatus to transfer a circular substrate provided with a cutout at an edge portion thereof, includes: a sensor part including three light source parts applying light to positions different from one another at the edge portion, and three light receiving parts paired with the light source parts; and a drive part for moving the substrate holding part, wherein the three light source parts apply light to the light receiving parts so that whether or not a detection range of the sensor part overlaps with the cutout of the substrate is determined on the basis of an amount of received light by each light receiving part, and when it is determined that there is an overlap at any position, positions of the edge portion of the substrate are further detected with the position of the substrate displaced with respect to the sensor part.Type: GrantFiled: September 28, 2016Date of Patent: April 9, 2019Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Tokutarou Hayashi, Yuichi Douki, Hiromitsu Maejima
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Publication number: 20180240695Abstract: A device includes a substrate holding unit 25 configured to hold a substrate and be movable in a transversal direction to transfer the substrate from one module to another module; a first detecting unit 3 configured to detect a position of the substrate on the substrate holding unit 25 before the substrate holding unit 25 transfers the substrate into the another module after receiving the substrate from the one module; second detecting units 55 and 56 configured to detect a position deviation between a position of the substrate holding unit 25, which is located at a temporary position set to transfer the substrate into the another module, and the temporary position; and a position determining unit 10 configured to determine a transfer position where the substrate is transferred into the another module based on the position of the substrate on the substrate holding unit 25 and the position deviation.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 22, 2018Publication date: August 23, 2018Inventors: Tokutarou Hayashi, Hiroki Harada, Akihiro Teramoto, Tooru Tokimatu, Masahiro Abe, Kazutoshi Ishimaru
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Publication number: 20170018444Abstract: A substrate transfer apparatus to transfer a circular substrate provided with a cutout at an edge portion thereof, includes: a sensor part including three light source parts applying light to positions different from one another at the edge portion, and three light receiving parts paired with the light source parts; and a drive part for moving the substrate holding part, wherein the three light source parts apply light to the light receiving parts so that whether or not a detection range of the sensor part overlaps with the cutout of the substrate is determined on the basis of an amount of received light by each light receiving part, and when it is determined that there is an overlap at any position, positions of the edge portion of the substrate are further detected with the position of the substrate displaced with respect to the sensor part.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 28, 2016Publication date: January 19, 2017Inventors: Tokutarou HAYASHI, Yuichi DOUKI, Hiromitsu MAEJIMA
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Patent number: 9507349Abstract: A substrate transfer apparatus to transfer a circular substrate provided with a cutout at an edge portion thereof, includes: a sensor part including three light source parts applying light to positions different from one another at the edge portion, and three light receiving parts paired with the light source parts; and a drive part for moving the substrate holding part, wherein the three light source parts apply light to the light receiving parts so that whether or not a detection range of the sensor part overlaps with the cutout of the substrate is determined on the basis of an amount of received light by each light receiving part, and when it is determined that there is an overlap at any position, positions of the edge portion of the substrate are further detected with the position of the substrate displaced with respect to the sensor part.Type: GrantFiled: January 29, 2013Date of Patent: November 29, 2016Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Tokutarou Hayashi, Yuichi Douki, Hiromitsu Maejima
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Patent number: 9299599Abstract: A substrate holder positioning method, capable of positioning a substrate holder without using any positioning jig, includes: measuring a first position of a substrate held on a substrate holder included in a substrate carrying mechanism; carrying the substrate held on the substrate holder to a substrate rotating unit for holding and rotating the substrate; turning the substrate held by the substrate rotating unit through a predetermined angle by the substrate rotating unit; transferring the substrate turned by the substrate rotating unit from the substrate rotating unit to the substrate holder; measuring a second position of the substrate transferred from the substrate rotating unit to the substrate holder; determining the position of the center of rotation of the substrate rotating unit on the basis of the first and the second position; and positioning the substrate holder on the basis of the position of the center of rotation.Type: GrantFiled: April 9, 2014Date of Patent: March 29, 2016Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Yuichi Douki, Tokutarou Hayashi, Naruaki Iida, Suguru Enokida
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Patent number: 9268327Abstract: A technique which, when transporting a substrate from one module to another, detects a displacement of the substrate on a holding member and transfers the substrate to another module with the displacement within an acceptable range. Displacement of a wafer on a fork of a transport arm from a reference position is determined when the fork has received the wafer from one module and, when the displacement is within an acceptable range, the wafer is transported by the transport arm to another module. When the displacement is out of the acceptable range, the wafer is transported by the transport arm to a wafer stage module, and then the transport arm receives the wafer from the wafer stage module so that the displacement comes to fall within the acceptable range. The wafer can therefore be transferred to another module with the displacement within the acceptable range.Type: GrantFiled: February 5, 2013Date of Patent: February 23, 2016Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Akihiro Teramoto, Tokutarou Hayashi
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Patent number: 9240337Abstract: A substrate transporting method includes: after a holding unit of a substrate holding apparatus receives a substrate from one placement location for a substrate and holds it, detecting a first positional deviation of the substrate from a reference position of the substrate on the holding unit; transporting the substrate held by the holding unit to a position facing another placement location; detecting a second positional deviation of the substrate from the reference position of the substrate on the holding unit, when the substrate is located at the position facing the another placement location; calculating, based on the first and second positional deviations, a positional displacement of the substrate relative to the holding unit that occurred during the transporting of the substrate to the position facing the another placement location; and determining whether or not the positional displacement thus calculated falls within a predetermined range.Type: GrantFiled: April 9, 2012Date of Patent: January 19, 2016Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventor: Tokutarou Hayashi
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Patent number: 9136150Abstract: There is provided a technique which can prevent poor processing of successive substrates in the event of a failure of a module or a transport mechanism for transporting a substrate between modules. A substrate processing apparatus includes: a plurality of modules from which a substrate holder of a substrate transport mechanism receives a substrate; a sensor section for detecting a displacement of the holding position of a substrate, held by the substrate holder, from a reference position preset in the substrate holder; and a storage section for storing the displacement, detected when the substrate holder receives a substrate from each of the modules, in a chronological manner for each module. A failure of one of the modules or the substrate transport mechanism is estimated based on the chronological data on the displacement for each module, stored in the storage section. This enables an early detection of a failure or abnormality.Type: GrantFiled: February 5, 2013Date of Patent: September 15, 2015Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Tokutarou Hayashi, Yuichi Douki, Hirotoshi Mori, Akihiro Teramoto
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Publication number: 20140234991Abstract: A substrate holder positioning method, capable of positioning a substrate holder without using any positioning jig, includes: measuring a first position of a substrate held on a substrate holder included in a substrate carrying mechanism; carrying the substrate held on the substrate holder to a substrate rotating unit for holding and rotating the substrate; turning the substrate held by the substrate rotating unit through a predetermined angle by the substrate rotating unit; transferring the substrate turned by the substrate rotating unit from the substrate rotating unit to the substrate holder; measuring a second position of the substrate transferred from the substrate rotating unit to the substrate holder; determining the position of the center of rotation of the substrate rotating unit on the basis of the first and the second position; and positioning the substrate holder on the basis of the position of the center of rotation.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 9, 2014Publication date: August 21, 2014Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Yuichi DOUKI, Tokutarou HAYASHI, Naruaki IIDA, Suguru ENOKIDA
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Patent number: 8781787Abstract: A substrate carrying mechanism includes: a base; a substrate holding member placed on the base and capable of holding a substrate and of being advanced and retracted relative to the base; four or more detecting units respectively for detecting different parts of the edge of a substrate held by the substrate holding member when the substrate holding member holding a substrate is retracted; and a controller that determines whether or not a notch formed in the edge of the substrate has been detected by one of the detecting units, on the basis of measurements measured by the four or more detecting units and corrects an error in a transfer position where the substrate is to be transferred to the succeeding processing unit on the basis of measurements measured by the detecting units excluding the one detecting unit that has detected the notch of the substrate.Type: GrantFiled: August 19, 2011Date of Patent: July 15, 2014Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Tokutarou Hayashi, Kiminari Sakaguchi
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Patent number: 8755935Abstract: A substrate holder positioning method, capable of positioning a substrate holder without using any positioning jig, includes: measuring a first position of a substrate held on a substrate holder included in a substrate carrying mechanism; carrying the substrate held on the substrate holder to a substrate rotating unit for holding and rotating the substrate; turning the substrate held by the substrate rotating unit through a predetermined angle by the substrate rotating unit; transferring the substrate turned by the substrate rotating unit from the substrate rotating unit to the substrate holder; measuring a second position of the substrate transferred from the substrate rotating unit to the substrate holder; determining the position of the center of rotation of the substrate rotating unit on the basis of the first and the second position; and positioning the substrate holder on the basis of the position of the center of rotation.Type: GrantFiled: February 27, 2012Date of Patent: June 17, 2014Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Yuichi Douki, Tokutarou Hayashi, Naruaki Iida, Suguru Enokida
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Patent number: 8433436Abstract: A substrate placing position adjusting method which acquires data on a substrate placing position where a substrate carrying unit is required to place a substrate on a substrate holding device capable of rotating about a vertical axis and included in a processing unit for processing a substrate substantially horizontally held by the substrate holding device, said substrate placing position adjusting method comprising the steps of: transferring a jig from the substrate carrying unit to the substrate holding device; measuring centrifugal acceleration imparted to a measuring position in the jig when the substrate holding device holding the jig is rotated at a fixed angular velocity; and calculating an eccentricity of the measuring position from a rotation center of the substrate holding device on the basis of a centrifugal acceleration.Type: GrantFiled: September 23, 2011Date of Patent: April 30, 2013Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Yuichi Doki, Tokutarou Hayashi
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Publication number: 20120257176Abstract: A substrate transporting method includes: after a holding unit of a substrate holding apparatus receives a substrate from one placement location for a substrate and holds it, detecting a first positional deviation of the substrate from a reference position of the substrate on the holding unit; transporting the substrate held by the holding unit to a position facing another placement location; detecting a second positional deviation of the substrate from the reference position of the substrate on the holding unit, when the substrate is located at the position facing the another placement location; calculating, based on the first and second positional deviations, a positional displacement of the substrate relative to the holding unit that occurred during the transporting of the substrate to the position facing the another placement location; and determining whether or not the positional displacement thus calculated falls within a predetermined range.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 9, 2012Publication date: October 11, 2012Applicant: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventor: Tokutarou HAYASHI
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Publication number: 20120224945Abstract: A substrate holder positioning method, capable of positioning a substrate holder without using any positioning jig, includes: measuring a first position of a substrate held on a substrate holder included in a substrate carrying mechanism; carrying the substrate held on the substrate holder to a substrate rotating unit for holding and rotating the substrate; turning the substrate held by the substrate rotating unit through a predetermined angle by the substrate rotating unit; transferring the substrate turned by the substrate rotating unit from the substrate rotating unit to the substrate holder; measuring a second position of the substrate transferred from the substrate rotating unit to the substrate holder; determining the position of the center of rotation of the substrate rotating unit on the basis of the first and the second position; and positioning the substrate holder on the basis of the position of the center of rotation.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 27, 2012Publication date: September 6, 2012Applicant: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Yuichi DOUKI, Tokutarou Hayashi, Naruaki Iida, Suguru Enokida
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Publication number: 20120072005Abstract: A substrate placing position adjusting method which acquires data on a substrate placing position where a substrate carrying unit is required to place a substrate on a substrate holding device capable of rotating about a vertical axis and included in a processing unit for processing a substrate substantially horizontally held by the substrate holding device, said substrate placing position adjusting method comprising the steps of: transferring a jig from the substrate carrying unit to the substrate holding device; measuring centrifugal acceleration imparted to a measuring position in the jig when the substrate holding device holding the jig is rotated at a fixed angular velocity; and calculating an eccentricity of the measuring position from a rotation center of the substrate holding device on the basis of a centrifugal acceleration.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 23, 2011Publication date: March 22, 2012Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Yuichi Doki, Tokutarou Hayashi
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Publication number: 20120046904Abstract: A substrate carrying mechanism includes: a base; a substrate holding member placed on the base and capable of holding a substrate and of being advanced and retracted relative to the base; four or more detecting units respectively for detecting different parts of the edge of a substrate held by the substrate holding member when the substrate holding member holding a substrate is retracted; and a controller that determines whether or not a notch formed in the edge of the substrate has been detected by one of the detecting units, on the basis of measurements measured by the four or more detecting units and corrects an error in a transfer position where the substrate is to be transferred to the succeeding processing unit on the basis of measurements measured by the detecting units excluding the one detecting unit that has detected the notch of the substrate.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 19, 2011Publication date: February 23, 2012Applicant: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Tokutarou HAYASHI, Kiminari Sakaguchi