Abstract: According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an apparatus of inspecting an overlapped substrate obtained by bonding substrates together is provided. The apparatus includes a first holding unit configured to hold and rotate the overlapped substrate, and a displacement gauge configured to measure displacements of peripheral sides of a first substrate and a second substrate constituting the overlapped substrate while rotating the overlapped substrate held by the first holding unit.

Abstract: In accordance with a substrate processing method according to the present embodiment, ultrapure water is supplied to a surface of a substrate. A fluoroalcohol-containing solvent is supplied to the surface of the substrate, to which the ultrapure water has been attached. A first solvent, which has solubility in the fluoroalcohol-containing solvent and is different from the fluoroalcohol-containing solvent, is supplied to the surface of the substrate, to which the fluoroalcohol-containing solvent has been attached. The substrate, to which the first solvent has been attached, is introduced into a chamber, the first solvent on the surface of the substrate is substituted with a supercritical fluid, and then, a pressure within the chamber is reduced and the supercritical fluid is changed into gas. The substrate is brought out from the chamber.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, the manufacturing method of a functional element includes filling a solvent comprising hydrogen gas and having organic molecules dispersed therein into a gap between the first electrode and the second electrode formed facing the first electrode, and forming an organic layer containing the organic molecules mentioned above between the first electrode and the second electrode.

Abstract: Disclosed is a liquid processing apparatus capable of accurately determining a holding state of a substrate without being influenced by, for example, material or surface condition of a substrate. The liquid processing apparatus includes a substrate holding unit that holds a substrate, a camera that photographs a region where a peripheral edge portion of substrate is present when substrate is properly held by the substrate holding unit, and a control unit that determines a holding state of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit based on an image photographed by the camera.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a supercritical drying method for a semiconductor substrate comprises introducing a semiconductor substrate, a surface of the semiconductor substrate being wet with a water-soluble organic solvent, to the inside of a chamber, hermetically sealing the chamber and increasing a temperature inside the chamber to not lower than a critical temperature of the water-soluble organic solvent, thereby bringing the water-soluble organic solvent into a supercritical state, decreasing a pressure inside the chamber and changing the water-soluble organic solvent in the supercritical state to a gas, thereby discharging the water-soluble organic solvent from the chamber, starting a supply of an inert gas into the chamber as the pressure inside the chamber decreases to atmospheric pressure, and cooling the semiconductor substrate in a state where the inert gas exists inside the chamber.

Abstract: A potential trouble can be in advance suppressed by analyzing a defect of a wafer. A defect analyzing apparatus of analyzing a defect of a substrate includes an imaging unit configured to image target substrates; a defect feature value extracting unit configured to extract a defect feature value in a surface of the substrate based on the substrate image; a defect feature value accumulating unit configured to calculate an accumulated defect feature value with respect to the substrates to create an accumulation data AH; a defect determination unit configured to determine whether the accumulated defect feature value exceeds a preset critical value; and an output display unit configured to output a determination result from the defect determination unit.

Abstract: A coating and developing treatment apparatus includes a substrate transfer mechanism; and a defect inspection section. A transfer control part controls transfer of a substrate. A defect classification part classifies a defect based on the state of the defect. A storage part stores a transfer route of the substrate by the substrate transfer mechanism when the substrate has been treated by treatment sections. A defective treatment specification part specifies, based on a kind of the defect classified by the defect classification part and the transfer route of the substrate stored in the storage part, a treatment section which is a cause of occurrence of the classified defect, and judges presence or absence of an abnormality of the specified treatment section. The transfer control part controls the substrate transfer mechanism to transfer a substrate bypassing the treatment section which has been judged to be abnormal by the defective treatment specification part.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a substrate inspection apparatus performs, in its maintenance mode, operations including: guiding a light emitted from an illuminating unit to an imaging device via a light-guiding member disposed in a casing; judging whether or not a level of a brightness signal obtained by the imaging device falls within a predetermined allowable range when a light emitted from the illuminating unit falls on the imaging device via the light-guiding member; and alarming, if it is judged that the value of the brightness signal is out of the predetermined allowable range, that replacement of the illuminating unit is required.

Abstract: 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 M1 and M2 adapted for abnormality. In mode M1 the processing module that processed the abnormal substrate in the developing unit blocks is identified, and subsequent substrates are transported to the processing module or modules, of the same type as the identified processing module, other than the identified processing module. In mode M2, the developing unit block that processed the abnormal substrate is identified, and subsequent substrates are transported to the developing unit block other than the identified developing unit block.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a method for cleaning a semiconductor substrate comprises supplying water vapor to a surface of a semiconductor substrate on which a concave-convex pattern is formed while heating the semiconductor substrate at a predetermined temperature, cooling the semiconductor substrate after stopping the heating and the supply of the water vapor and freezing water on the semiconductor substrate, after freezing the water, supplying pure water onto the semiconductor substrate and melting a frozen film, and after melting the frozen film, drying the semiconductor substrate.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a supercritical drying method for a semiconductor substrate comprises introducing a semiconductor substrate, a surface of the semiconductor substrate being wet with a water-soluble organic solvent, to the inside of a chamber, hermetically sealing the chamber and increasing a temperature inside the chamber to not lower than a critical temperature of the water-soluble organic solvent, thereby bringing the water-soluble organic solvent into a supercritical state, decreasing a pressure inside the chamber and changing the water-soluble organic solvent in the supercritical state to a gas, thereby discharging the water-soluble organic solvent from the chamber, starting a supply of an inert gas into the chamber as the pressure inside the chamber decreases to atmospheric pressure, and cooling the semiconductor substrate in a state where the inert gas exists inside the chamber.

Abstract: A method of forming an embedded film comprises depositing a first layer on a second layer that is disposed on a substrate and includes a material different from materials included in the first layer, forming an aperture through the first layer and into the second layer, the aperture having a side surface that includes an exposed portion of the first layer and an exposed portion of the second layer, bringing a material that includes organic molecules into contact with the exposed portion of the first layer and the exposed portion of the second layer to form a monomolecular film that covers the side surface, and forming the embedded film in the aperture with a material having a high enough affinity to the monomolecular film to substantially fill the aperture.

Abstract: An image creation method of creating a filter image for removing a pseudo defect to inspect presence/absence of a defect on a substrate includes a filter image creation step of creating the filter image by replacing a picture element value of any one of picture elements located on a circumference of a circle about a center position of a registered image with a maximum value of picture element values of a plurality of picture elements selected from among the picture elements located on the circumference.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a supercritical drying method for a semiconductor substrate, comprises introducing the semiconductor substrate into a chamber in a state, a surface of the semiconductor substrate being wet with alcohol, substituting the alcohol on the semiconductor substrate with a supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide by impregnating the semiconductor substrate to the supercritical fluid in the chamber, and discharging the supercritical fluid and the alcohol from the chamber and reducing a pressure inside the chamber. The method further comprises performing a baking treatment by supplying an oxygen gas or an ozone gas to the chamber after the reduction of the pressure inside the chamber.

Abstract: Provided is an optical module capable of inhibiting both the displacement of an optical axis caused by thermal changes and property degradation in an optical functional circuit. The optical module includes: a planar lightwave circuit including a waveguide-type optical functional circuit and a waveguide region where only an optical waveguide is formed in contact with a side, wherein an emission end face where output light is emitted from the optical functional circuit, or an entrance end face where input light is entered to the optical functional circuit is formed in contact with the side; a fixing mount employed to hold the planar lightwave circuit only in the portion where the waveguide area is located; and an auxiliary mount employed to hold the planar lightwave circuit in contact with a side that is opposite the side where the emission end face or the entrance end face.

Abstract: Provided is a substrate processing apparatus that includes: a peripheral exposing unit that performs a peripheral exposing process by irradiating light to a peripheral portion of a substrate while rotating the substrate held by a substrate holding unit using a rotation driving unit; a substrate inspecting unit that performs a substrate inspecting process based on a picked up image of the substrate while moving the substrate using a movement driving unit; and a control unit. The control unit controls the predetermined substrate processing to be stopped when the peripheral exposing process is included in the predetermined substrate processing and an error occurs in the peripheral exposing unit, and controls the substrate inspecting process to be skipped when no error occurs in both of the peripheral exposing unit and a transport unit, the substrate inspecting process is included in the predetermined substrate processing and an error occurs in the substrate inspecting unit.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a supercritical drying method for a semiconductor substrate, comprises introducing the semiconductor substrate into a chamber in a state, a surface of the semiconductor substrate being wet with alcohol, substituting the alcohol on the semiconductor substrate with a supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide by impregnating the semiconductor substrate to the supercritical fluid in the chamber, and discharging the supercritical fluid and the alcohol from the chamber and reducing a pressure inside the chamber. The method further comprises performing a baking treatment by supplying an oxygen gas or an ozone gas to the chamber after the reduction of the pressure inside the chamber.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a method for forming an interconnection pattern includes forming an insulating pattern, forming a self-assembled film, and forming a conductive layer. The insulating pattern has a side surface on a major surface of a matrix. The self-assembled film has an affinity with a material of the insulating pattern on the side surface of the insulating pattern. The forming the conductive layer includes depositing a conductive material on a side surface of the self-assembled film.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a method is disclosed for chemical planarization. The method can include forming a surface layer on a to-be-processed film having irregularity. The surface layer binds to or adsorbs onto the to-be-processed film along the irregularity to suppress dissolution of the to-be-processed film. The method can include planarizing the to-be-processed film in a processing solution dissolving the to-be-processed film, by rotating the to-be-processed film and a processing body while the to-be-processed film contacting the processing body via the surface layer, removing the surface layer on convex portions of the irregularity while leaving the surface layer on concave portions of the irregularity and making dissolution degree of the convex portions larger than dissolution degree of the concave portions.

Abstract: In one embodiment, after rinsing a semiconductor substrate having a fine pattern formed thereon with pure water, the pure water staying on the semiconductor substrate is substituted with a water soluble organic solvent, and then, the semiconductor substrate is introduced into a chamber in a state wet with the water soluble organic solvent. Then, the water soluble organic solvent is turned into a supercritical state by increasing a temperature inside of the chamber. Thereafter, the inside of the chamber is reduced in pressure while keeping the inside of the chamber at a temperature enough not to liquefy the pure water (i.e., rinsing pure water mixed into the water soluble organic solvent), and further, the water soluble organic solvent in the supercritical state is changed into a gaseous state, to be discharged from the chamber, so that the semiconductor substrate is dried.