Abstract: Provided is a semiconductor device which has excellent adhesiveness to a copper film and a base film thereof and has a small resistance between wirings. The semiconductor device includes a porous insulating layer (SIOC film 11) which absorbed water from the atmosphere, and a substrate (wafer W) having a trench 100 formed on such insulating film is placed in a processing chamber. The substrate is coated with a first base film (Ti film 13) made of a valve metal. The surface of the first film brought into contact with the insulating film is oxidized by the water discharged from the insulating layer, and a passivation film 13a is formed. The surface of the first base film is coated with a second base film made of nitride or carbide of the valve metal, and a copper film 15 is formed on the surface of the second base film by CVD by using a copper organic compound as a material.

Abstract: A cassette waiting block is connected to a transfer in/out block of a coating and developing treatment system, and in the cassette waiting block, a cassette transfer in/out unit, a cassette waiting unit, a cassette delivery unit, and a substrate processing unit are provided. In the cassette waiting block, a cassette transfer unit for transferring the cassette between the cassette transfer in/out unit, the cassette waiting unit, and the cassette deliver unit, and a transfer unit for transferring the substrate between the cassette in the cassette waiting unit and the substrate processing unit are provided. Each cassette waiting unit has an opening mechanism for opening a port of the cassette.

Abstract: A positive resist composition includes a base material component (A) which exhibits increased alkali solubility under an action of an acid, and an acid generator component (B) which generates an acid upon exposure, wherein the base material component (A) contains a compound (A1) in which phenolic hydroxyl groups in a polyhydric phenol compound (a) containing two or more phenolic hydroxyl groups and having a molecular weight of 300 to 2,500 are protected with acid dissociable, dissolution inhibiting groups, and the compound (A1) exhibits a standard deviation (sn) of the number of protective groups per molecule of less than 1, or exhibits a standard deviation (sp) of a protection ratio (mol %) per molecule of less than 16.7.

Abstract: [Task] In a power conversion system, a variation in PCS alternating current voltage is suppressed during a change operation to a self-contained run according to an instantaneous voltage drop-service interruption. [Means for solving the task] During an ordinary system voltage stabilization, with change switch 25 changed to the output side of APR control circuit 22 and change switch 400 changed to the output side of charge/discharge run PWM command value preparing section 200, the power conversion system is run in a charge/discharge run mode. If the instantaneous voltage drop or the service interruption occurs, change switch 25 is changed to the output side of the self-contained run change prior current command value preparing section 60 and the constant current discharge run is carried out in which the electric power is discharged for a predetermined time duration in response to the current command value of the self-contained run change prior current command value preparing section 60.

Abstract: A substrate holder for supporting a substrate in a processing system includes a temperature controlled support base having a first temperature, and a substrate support opposing the temperature controlled support base and configured to support the substrate. Also included is one or more heating elements coupled to the substrate support and configured to heat the substrate support to a second temperature above the first temperature, and a thermal insulator disposed between the temperature controlled support base and the substrate support. The thermal insulator includes a non-uniform spatial variation of the heat transfer coefficient (W/m2-K) through the thermal insulator between the temperature controlled support base and the substrate support.

Abstract: A wafer grinding machine and a wafer grinding method are disclosed. A barrier (60) is arranged around a holding unit (29) to hold at least a wafer (40) with a film (11) attached on the front surface (41) thereof and with the back surface (42) thereof directed upward. The upper surface (61) of the barrier unit is ground to the position between the back surface of the wafer held by the holding unit and the boundary between the wafer and the film. Then, the wafer is ground while being held with the back surface thereof up by the holding unit. As a result, the film is prevented from coming off from the wafer at the time of grinding the back surface of the wafer. Further, when the wafer is ground, a fluid may be supplied into the gap between the barrier unit and the outer peripheral portion of the wafer held by the holding unit.

Abstract: To clean an element in a vacuum chamber by causing particles sticking to the element to scatter, the present invention uses a means for applying a voltage to the element and causing the particles to scatter by utilizing Maxwell's stress, a means for electrically charging the particles and causing the particles to scatter by utilizing the Coulomb force, a means for introducing a gas into the vacuum chamber and causing the particles sticking to the element to scatter by causing a gas shock wave to hit the element, a means for heating the element and causing the particles to scatter by utilizing the thermal stress and thermophoretic force, or a means for causing the particles to scatter by applying mechanical vibrations to the element. The thus scattered particles are removed by carrying them in a gas flow in a relatively high pressure atmosphere.

Abstract: A cap metal forming method capable of obtaining a uniform film thickness on the entire surface of a substrate is provided. The method for forming a cap metal on a copper wiring formed on a processing target surface of a substrate includes: holding the substrate so as to be rotatable; rotating the substrate in a processing target surface direction of the substrate; locating an end portion of an agitation member so as to face the processing target surface of a periphery portion of the substrate with a preset gap maintained therebetween; supplying a plating processing solution onto the processing target surface; and stopping the supply of the plating processing solution and moving the agitation member such that the end portion of the agitation member is separated away from the processing target surface of the substrate.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: Provided is a process of forming a silicon nitride film having concentration of hydrogen atoms below or equal to 9.9×1020 atoms/cm3 in the silicon nitride film by using a plasma CVD device, which generates plasma by introducing microwaves into a process chamber by using a planar antenna having a plurality of apertures, by setting the pressure inside a process chamber within a range from 0.1 Pa to 6.7 Pa and by performing a plasma CVD by using a raw material gas for film formation including SiCl4 gas and nitrogen gas.

Abstract: A substrate liquid processing apparatus of the present invention includes a guide rotary cup configured to guide a process-liquid scattering from a substrate rotating and being held by a substrate holding table and a guide cup configured to guide downward the process-liquid guided by the guide rotary cup. The guide cup includes a downward extension portion extending downward from an inner peripheral end portion of a guide cup body and an inner peripheral extension portion extending inward from the inner peripheral end portion more than the downward extension portion. The inner peripheral extension portion is configured to form a gas guide space together with the guide rotary cup and the downward extension portion so that a gas turning by the rotation of the guide rotary cup can be guided downward.

Abstract: A position alignment of a transfer point of a transfer arm is performed by using a position detecting method. The method includes: detecting electrostatic capacitances in relation with a reference object for position alignment by a plurality of electrostatic capacitance detecting electrodes provided on a surface of the substrate body; communicating with each electrostatic capacitance detecting electrode and controlling a detection of each electrostatic capacitance detecting electrode; and calculating coordinates (x, y) of the reference object with respect to the substrate body based on a preset relationship between electrostatic capacitance values of multiple electrostatic capacitance detecting electrodes and a position of the reference object with respect to the substrate body.

Abstract: Disclosed is a film forming method of an amorphous carbon film, including: disposing a substrate in a processing chamber; supplying a processing gas containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen into the processing chamber; and decomposing the processing gas by heating the substrate in the processing chamber and depositing the amorphous carbon film on the substrate.

Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes: a process chamber which accommodates a substrate to be processed; a lower electrode disposed in the process chamber; an upper electrode including an electrode plate that is detachable and discharges a process gas inside the form of shower into the process chamber; a gas supply unit including a central pipe and a edge pipe for supplying the process gas to the upper electrode; a first high frequency power source which applies high frequency power for plasma generation to the lower electrode; pressure indicators which detect pressures inside gas supply pipes; and a controller which measures a degree of consumption of the electrode plate based on the pressures detected by the pressure indicators and calculates a variation in process rate resulting due to the consumption of the electrode plate to adjust process conditions to resolve the variation in process rate.

Abstract: A coating and developing system for forming a resist film on a substrate by coating the substrate with a liquid resist and developing the resist film after the resist film has been processed by immersion exposure that forms a liquid layer on the surface of the substrate is capable of reducing difference in property among resist films formed on substrates. The coating and developing system includes: a cleaning unit; a carrying means; and a controller. A set time interval is determined such that the substrate is subjected to the immersion exposure process after contact angle drop rate at which contact angle between the cleaning liquid and a surface of the substrate drops has dropped from an initial level at the wetting time point when the surface of the substrate is wetted with the cleaning liquid to a level far lower than the initial level.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for applying an application liquid between a template and a substrate, and transferring the transfer pattern onto the application liquid. The template is inclinedly arranged with respect to the substrate in a manner that a first distance between a first end portion of the template and the substrate is a distance that causes a capillary action of the application liquid to occur, and a second distance between a second end portion of the template that opposes the first end portion and the substrate is a distance that does not cause the capillary action of the application liquid to occur. Thereafter, the application liquid is supplied from an outer side of the first end portion to the first end portion. Thereafter, the second end portion and the substrate are relatively moved so that the second distance becomes equal to the first distance.

Abstract: A magnetically-levitated centrifugal pump, in which permanent magnets are not used for disposable sections, is provided with a pump head section and a pump section. The pump section comprises a stator, a torque transmission disc, a motor, a displacement sensor, and a pump housing. The stator has longer depth than protrusion length of a rotor accommodation section in which permanent magnets are not used, is equipped with a rotor insertion section, in which the rotor accommodation section is disposed so as to be able to be inserted and removed, on the side of one end section, and disposes three or more than three electromagnets for magnetic bearings, which magnetically couple with the rotor, at equal intervals.

Abstract: A method for processing a substrate including a processing target layer and an organic film, include: a deposition/trimming process of forming a reinforcement film on a surface of the organic film and, at the same time, trimming a line width of a line portion of the organic film constituting an opening pattern. The deposition/trimming process includes an adsorption process for allowing a silicon-containing gas to be adsorbed onto the surface of the organic film and an oxidation process in which the line width of the organic film is trimmed while the adsorbed silicon-containing gas is converted into a silicon oxide film. A monovalent aminosilane is employed as the silicon-containing gas.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus for evaluating a drug effect enabling on-chip evaluation of the effect of a drug while the drug is acting on hERG-expressing cells. The present invention also provides a myocardial toxicity test apparatus and method therefor enabling in vitro myocardial toxicity testing that has previously been performed in vivo. A pulsating cell population and hERG-expressing cells (target model cells) are suitably isolated and arranged on a transparent substrate so that the two form gap junctions. The hERG-expressing cells are arranged on transparent electrodes provided on the transparent substrate. The hERG-expressing cells are exposed to a flow of a liquid containing a drug such that the drug acts thereon. The difference between the normal pulsation of hERG-expressing cells and the pulsation when a drug is acting thereon is captured via electric signals obtained from electrodes, and the properties of the change in potential are evaluated.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: forming a resist layer on an underlayer, forming an exposed pattern in the resist layer, wherein the exposed pattern comprises a soluble layer and an insoluble layer, forming a resist pattern by removing the soluble layer from the resist layer in which the exposed pattern is formed, removing an intermediate exposed area from the resist pattern, forming a new soluble layer in a surface of the resist pattern from which the intermediate exposed area is removed by applying a reaction material to the resist pattern from which the intermediate exposed area is removed, wherein the reaction material generates a solubilization material that solubilizes the resist pattern, and removing the new soluble layer from the resist pattern.