Abstract: The disclosure provides a polishing apparatus capable of removing a polishing liquid or polishing debris from a light passing portion of a polishing pad. A polishing apparatus 1 includes a polishing table 3 supporting a polishing pad 2 that has a light passing portion 33; a polishing head 5 pressing a substrate W against a polishing surface 2a of the polishing pad 2; an optical sensor 21 disposed in the polishing table 3, irradiating light to the substrate W through the light passing portion 33, and receiving reflected light from the substrate W through the light passing portion 33; and a cleaning portion 12 forming a cleaning space CS that covers the light passing portion 33 above the light passing portion 33 and supplying a cleaning fluid to the light passing portion 33 through the cleaning space CS.

Abstract: A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including: a first device; a first calculation circuit that calculates one or more feature quantities of the first device from detected physical quantities; and a failure prediction circuit that determines a portion of model data with a minimum deviation between the measured feature quantities vector comprising the measured one or more feature quantities and a feature quantities vector comprising one or more feature quantities at each time in the plurality of pieces of model data, and calculates a predicted time until failure from a difference between the failure time point in the determined piece of model data and a point in time in the determined piece of model data at which the deviation between the measured feature quantities vector and the feature quantities vector at each time of the plurality of portions of model data is the minimum; and stops the receiving of a new substrate to prevent an introduction of defects on the new substrate.

Abstract: There is provided an apparatus for polishing, comprising a table configured to support a polishing pad; a polishing head configured to hold a substrate; and a polishing solution supply device configured to supply a polishing solution between the polishing pad and the substrate. The polishing solution supply device comprises a plurality of polishing solution supply ports arrayed in a direction intersecting with a rotating direction of the polishing pad in a state that the polishing solution supply device is placed on an upstream side in rotation of the polishing pad relative to the substrate. The polishing solution supply device supplies the polishing solution, such that the polishing solution supplied from the plurality of polishing solution supply ports has a predetermined flow rate distribution.

Abstract: An eddy current sensor has an exciting coil and a detection coil. A holding circuit holds reference data indicating a characteristic of an output signal output from the detection coil at a reference state and outputs the reference data at a state other than the reference state. A pseudo signal generating circuit generates and outputs a balance coil pseudo signal corresponding to the output signal output from the detection coil at the reference state from the reference data output from the holding circuit. A bridge circuit, at the state other than the reference state, receives the output signal output from the detection coil and the balance coil pseudo signal and outputs a bridge output signal corresponding to a difference between the output signal and the balance coil pseudo signal as a bridge output signal.

Abstract: A polishing method capable of accurately determining a polishing end point of a substrate is disclosed. The method is a film-thickness measuring method for a substrate W using a film-thickness measuring device, at least a part of which being mounted in a polishing table configured to support the polishing pad. The method includes measuring film thicknesses of the substrate W, while rotating the substrate W on a polishing surface of the polishing pad by a polishing head and controlling a position of the film-thickness measuring device relative to the polishing head.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and a system of automatically calibrating a radiation thermometer disposed in a polishing apparatus. This method includes: placing a heating device (61), to which a measurement body (68) is attached, below the radiation thermometer (48); and using a controller (40) of the polishing apparatus coupled to the heating device (61) to heat a temperature of the measurement body (68) to a plurality of target temperatures (Ta), to measure the temperatures of the measurement body (68) at each target temperature (Ta) with the radiation thermometer (48), to calculate temperature deviation amounts which are differences between each of the target temperatures (Ta) and temperature output values of the radiation thermometer (48) corresponding to each target temperature (Ta), and to calibrate the radiation thermometer (48) so that all the temperature deviation amounts are within a preset reference range.

Abstract: Provided is a technique that ensures suppressed invasion of particles generated at a bearing of a rotation mechanism into a plating tank. A plating apparatus 1000 includes a labyrinth seal member 50. The labyrinth seal member includes an inner labyrinth seal 53 arranged below a bearing 33 to seal the bearing, an outer labyrinth seal 54 arranged outside in a radial direction of the rotation shaft 32 with respect to the inner labyrinth seal, a delivery port 55 configured to supply air to an inner seal space 60 formed inside in the radial direction with respect to the inner labyrinth seal, and a suction port 56 configured to suction air in an outer seal space 65 formed outside in the radial direction with respect to the inner labyrinth seal and inside in the radial direction with respect to the outer labyrinth seal.

Abstract: A polishing method includes: detecting, by an acoustic sensor, an environmental sound including a sound arising from a polishing environment of a substrate to output an environmental sound signal representing the environmental sound from the acoustic sensor; generating an environmental sound spectrum indicating a relationship between a frequency and a sound pressure level from the environmental sound signal; detecting, by the acoustic sensor, a polishing sound of the substrate while pressing the substrate against a polishing pad to polish the substrate, to output a polishing sound signal representing the polishing sound from the acoustic sensor; generating a polishing sound spectrum indicating a relationship between a frequency and a sound pressure level from the polishing sound signal; calculating a difference between the polishing sound spectrum and the environmental sound spectrum to generate a differential spectrum; and monitoring a polishing progress of the substrate based on the differential spectrum.

Abstract: Provided are a plating method, an insoluble anode and a plating apparatus capable of reducing consumption of an additive in a plating solution, when plating a substrate including a via or a hole for forming a through electrode. The plating method includes the steps of preparing a substrate including a via or a hole for forming a through electrode, preparing a plating solution tank that is divided, by a diaphragm, into an anode tank in which an insoluble anode is disposed and a cathode tank in which the substrate is disposed, and electroplating the substrate with an anode current density when plating the substrate in the plating solution tank being equal to or more than 0.4 ASD and equal to or less than 1.4 ASD.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus (5) includes an information acquisition section (500) configured to acquire crack occurrence state information including crack state information indicating crack state of a substrate that has been cracked and device state information indicating a state of a polishing unit when the substrate processing process is performed on the cracked substrate; and a crack occurrence process identifying section (501) configured to identify a process that causes the crack in the substrate by inputting the crack occurrence state information acquired by the information acquisition section (500) to a learning model (11) in response to the occurrence of the crack in the substrate. The learning model (11) has been generated by machine learning that causes the learning model (11) to learn a correlation between the crack occurrence state information and crack occurrence process information indicating the process that causes the crack in the substrate.

Abstract: Provided is a wetting method for substrate that allows reducing an amount of air bubbles attached to a surface to be plated with a simple structure.

Abstract: Provided is a technique that ensures the suppressed deterioration of plating quality of a substrate due to air bubbles that remain on a surface to be plated of the substrate. A plating apparatus 1000 includes a plating tank 10, a substrate holder 30, a rotation mechanism 40, and an elevating mechanism 50. The plating tank 10 is configured to accumulate a plating solution and include an anode 11 arranged inside the plating tank. The substrate holder 30 is arranged above the anode and configured to hold a substrate as a cathode such that a surface to be plated of the substrate faces downward. The substrate holder includes a ring 31 projecting below an outer peripheral edge of the surface to be plated of the substrate. The rotation mechanism 40 is configured to rotate the substrate holder. The elevating mechanism 50 is configured to elevate the substrate holder. The ring has a lower surface, and at least one protrusion 35 projecting toward a lower side is arranged on a part of the lower surface.

Abstract: A substrate processing method capable of suppressing corrosion of a conductive material on a surface of a substrate by supplying a liquid having a reduced concentration of dissolved oxygen onto the substrate. The substrate processing method includes: dissolving an inert gas in a liquid at not less than a saturation solubility to replace oxygen dissolved in the liquid with the inert gas; generating bubbles of the inert gas in the liquid by depressurizing the liquid in which the inert gas is dissolved; and processing the substrate while supplying the liquid containing the bubbles to the surface of the substrate.

Abstract: A cleaning and transfer equipment includes cleaning modules disposed in series, a wafer transport mechanism transporting a wafer between the cleaning modules, and a control device controlling an operation of the wafer transport mechanism. The wafer transport mechanism includes a wafer gripping mechanism gripping the wafer, a vertical moving mechanism vertically moving the wafer gripping mechanism, and an arrangement direction moving mechanism moving the wafer gripping mechanism in an arrangement direction of the cleaning modules. The wafer gripping mechanism includes a pair of hands openable and closeable, a rotation mechanism rotating the hands about a rotation shaft parallel to an opening/closing direction, and a sensor measuring a value corresponding to a weight applied to the hands when the hands are in a closed state. The control device compares measurement data of the sensor with a predetermined threshold value to determine whether the wafer is held on the hands.

Abstract: There is provided an apparatus for supplying liquid, comprising a flow controller configured to measure a flow rate of a liquid and control the flow rate based on a measurement value; a first valve connected with the flow controller to control supply of a first liquid to the flow controller; a second valve connected with the flow controller to control supply of a second liquid to the flow controller; and a control device configured to control the first valve and the second valve, wherein the control device switches over the first valve and the second valve with providing a delay time between an open/closed switchover time of the first valve and an open/closed switchover time of the second valve.

Abstract: In a substrate polishing apparatus where a polishing liquid passes through inside a rotary joint, the rotary joint requires maintenance. There is provided a substrate polishing apparatus that includes: a polishing head for holding a substrate; a rotary table that has a surface to which a first opening portion is provided; a polishing liquid discharge mechanism disposed to the rotary table; and a controller configured to control at least the polishing liquid discharge mechanism. The polishing liquid discharge mechanism includes a first cylinder, a first piston, and a driving mechanism that drives the first piston. The first opening portion is communicated with a liquid holding space defined by the first cylinder and the first piston. The controller controls the driving of the first piston by the driving mechanism to increase and decrease a volume of the liquid holding space.

Abstract: A plating apparatus 1000 includes a plating tank, a substrate holder 20, a rotation mechanism, an elevating mechanism, a contact member 40, and a cleaning device 50 configured to clean the contact member 40. The cleaning device 50 includes a pivot shaft 51, a first arm 53, a second arm 54, and a nozzle 55 that includes at least one discharge port. Applying a cleaning fluid discharged from the discharge port to the contact member 40 cleans the contact member 40.