Patents by Inventor Kenji Kodera

Kenji Kodera 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).

  • Publication number: 20240316600
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning apparatus and a substrate cleaning method for cleaning a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, and more particularly to a substrate cleaning apparatus and a substrate cleaning method for cleaning a periphery of a substrate. A substrate cleaning apparatus (1) includes: a substrate holder (10) configured to hold and rotate a substrate (W); a pressing structure (22) having an internal space (R) and configured to press a cleaning tape (19) against a periphery of the substrate (W); a pressing-structure moving mechanism (30) configured to regulate a position of the pressing structure (22) in a radial direction of the substrate (W); and a pressure regulator (44) configured to regulate pressure in the internal space (R). The pressing structure (22) includes: a hollow support member (24) having an opening (25); and an elastic element (27) configured to support the cleaning tape (19). The elastic element (27) is arranged to close the opening (25).
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2021
    Publication date: September 26, 2024
    Inventors: Kenji KODERA, Masayuki NAKANISHI
  • Patent number: 12030092
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning method and a substrate cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate, such as a wafer. The substrate cleaning method includes: holding a periphery of a substrate (W) with holding rollers (6); rotating the substrate (W) about its central axis by rotating the holding rollers (6) about their respective central axes; delivering a two-fluid jet from a two-fluid jet nozzle (2) to a surface of the substrate (W) while moving the two-fluid jet nozzle (2) in a radial direction of the substrate (W), the two-fluid jet (2) being composed of a mixture of a first liquid and a gas; and when the two-fluid jet is being delivered to the surface of the substrate (W), delivering a fan-shaped jet of a second liquid from a spray nozzle (3) to the surface of the substrate (W) to form a flow of the second liquid on the surface of the substrate (W). The fan-shaped jet is located away from the two-fluid jet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2024
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenji Kodera, Keisuke Uchiyama, Satoru Yamamoto, Hokuto Yamanobe
  • Publication number: 20220288650
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning method and a substrate cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate, such as a wafer. The substrate cleaning method includes: holding a periphery of a substrate (W) with holding rollers (6); rotating the substrate (W) about its central axis by rotating the holding rollers (6) about their respective central axes; delivering a two-fluid jet from a two-fluid jet nozzle (2) to a surface of the substrate (W) while moving the two-fluid jet nozzle (2) in a radial direction of the substrate (W), the two-fluid jet (2) being composed of a mixture of a first liquid and a gas; and when the two-fluid jet is being delivered to the surface of the substrate (W), delivering a fan-shaped jet of a second liquid from a spray nozzle (3) to the surface of the substrate (W) to form a flow of the second liquid on the surface of the substrate (W). The fan-shaped jet is located away from the two-fluid jet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2020
    Publication date: September 15, 2022
    Inventors: Kenji Kodera, Keisuke Uchiyama, Satoru Yamamoto, Hokuto Yamanobe
  • Patent number: 11331766
    Abstract: One object is to improve the uniformity of polishing of a substrate. The present application discloses, as one embodiment, a substrate polishing device for a quadrilateral-shaped substrate, the device including: a surface plate; a substrate support mechanism that is attached to the surface plate and that supports the substrate; a polishing head mechanism for attaching a polishing pad, the polishing head mechanism opposing the surface plate; and an orbital drive mechanism for orbitally driving the polishing head mechanism. The substrate support mechanism includes: a base plate; a plate flow passage provided to the base plate; and a plurality of substrate support chambers that are connected to the plate flow passage, wherein each substrate support chamber independently applies a vertical direction force to the substrate, and the vertical direction force applied to the substrate corresponds to an internal pressure of the substrate support chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masayuki Nakanishi, Kenji Kodera
  • Patent number: 10639727
    Abstract: A vacuum suction pad capable of making it more difficult to separate a substrate when the substrate is held by vacuum suction, the vacuum suction pad 8 including: a pad main body 37 having a lower surface adhered to a stage 5 of a substrate holder 2; and a plurality of circular arc-shaped substrate holding convexities 38, provided on a top surface of the pad main body 37, for holding a substrate W attracted by vacuum suction to the top surface of the pad main body 37, wherein the substrate holding convexities 38 are arranged concentrically with the circular pad main body 37, and width W1 in a radial direction of the substrate holding convexity 38 located on a radially outer side among the plurality of substrate holding convexities 38 is narrower than width W2 in the radial direction of the substrate holding convexity 38 on a radially inner side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoru Yamamoto, Masayuki Nakanishi, Kenji Kodera
  • Patent number: 10632588
    Abstract: A polishing apparatus which can keep a width of a polishing tool constant when a peripheral portion of a substrate is polished by the polishing tool is disclosed. The polishing apparatus includes a substrate holder 3 configured to hold a substrate W and to rotate the substrate W, and a pressing pad 50 configured to press a polishing tool 23 against a peripheral portion of the substrate W held by the substrate holder 3. The pressing pad 50 includes an elastic member 55 having a pressing surface 55a configured to press the polishing tool 23 against the peripheral portion of the substrate W and a support member 56 configured to support the elastic member 55. The support member 56 has a recess 57 formed in a front surface 56a of the support member 56, the elastic member 55 being capable of entering the recess 57.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masayuki Nakanishi, Kenji Kodera, Yasuyuki Miyasawa
  • Patent number: 10632587
    Abstract: To provide a polishing apparatus capable of polishing bevel portions of varying shape by selecting a suitable polishing recipe, based on a state before polishing. The polishing apparatus 100 comprises: a holding/polishing unit 102 for holding and polishing a workpiece W1; and an identifying unit 104 for identifying data 104a associated with a state of the peripheral portion of the substrate W1 before polishing. The holding/polishing unit 102 comprises: a holder 106 for holding and rotating the substrate W1; and a polisher 108 for polishing the peripheral portion of the substrate W1 by pressing a polishing member against the peripheral portion. A polishing-condition determiner 110 determines a polishing condition, based on data 104a indicating to which type, of a plurality of shape-related types, the shape of a given peripheral portion belongs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masayuki Nakanishi, Toshifumi Watanabe, Kenji Kodera
  • Publication number: 20200023490
    Abstract: A polishing apparatus capable of accurately detecting a polishing end point of a periphery of a substrate, such as a wafer, is disclosed. The polishing apparatus includes a polishing head configured to press a polishing tool against the periphery of the substrate on a substrate holding surface. The polishing head includes a pressing member configured to press the polishing tool against the periphery of the substrate, and a shear-force detection sensor configured to detect a shear force acting on the pressing member and output an index value indicating a magnitude of the shear force. An operation controller has a memory storing a program configured to determine a polishing end point at which the index value reaches a threshold value, and a processer configured to execute the program.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2019
    Publication date: January 23, 2020
    Inventors: Masayuki Nakanishi, Kenji Kodera
  • Publication number: 20190385834
    Abstract: A substrate processing method capable of preventing an adherence of a foreign matter to a substrate is disclosed. The substrate processing method comprises: a substrate rotating step of rotating a substrate W while holding the substrate W; a first-liquid upper supply step of supplying a first liquid onto an upper surface of the substrate W while rotating the substrate W; a polishing step of pressing a polishing tape 23 to the substrate W while supplying the first liquid in a state of rotating the substrate W; a second-liquid upper supply step of supplying a second liquid onto the upper surface of the substrate W while rotating the substrate W; and a cleaning step of pressing a cleaning tape 29 to the substrate W while supplying the second liquid in a state of rotating the substrate W and terminating after the polishing step is terminated. The second liquid is either of a conducting water, a surfactant solution, or ozone water.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2019
    Publication date: December 19, 2019
    Inventors: Masayuki Nakanishi, Satoru Yamamoto, Kenji Kodera
  • Publication number: 20190134776
    Abstract: One object is to improve the uniformity of polishing of a substrate. The present application discloses, as one embodiment, a substrate polishing device for a quadrilateral-shaped substrate, the device including: a surface plate; a substrate support mechanism that is attached to the surface plate and that supports the substrate; a polishing head mechanism for attaching a polishing pad, the polishing head mechanism opposing the surface plate; and an orbital drive mechanism for orbitally driving the polishing head mechanism. The substrate support mechanism includes: a base plate; a plate flow passage provided to the base plate; and a plurality of substrate support chambers that are connected to the plate flow passage, wherein each substrate support chamber independently applies a vertical direction force to the substrate, and the vertical direction force applied to the substrate corresponds to an internal pressure of the substrate support chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2018
    Publication date: May 9, 2019
    Inventors: Masayuki NAKANISHI, Kenji KODERA
  • Publication number: 20180286772
    Abstract: A vacuum suction pad capable of making it more difficult to separate a substrate when the substrate is held by vacuum suction, the vacuum suction pad 8 including: a pad main body 37 having a lower surface adhered to a stage 5 of a substrate holder 2; and a plurality of circular arc-shaped substrate holding convexities 38, provided on a top surface of the pad main body 37, for holding a substrate W attracted by vacuum suction to the top surface of the pad main body 37, wherein the substrate holding convexities 38 are arranged concentrically with the circular pad main body 37, and width W1 in a radial direction of the substrate holding convexity 38 located on a radially outer side among the plurality of substrate holding convexities 38 is narrower than width W2 in the radial direction of the substrate holding convexity 38 on a radially inner side.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2018
    Publication date: October 4, 2018
    Inventors: Satoru YAMAMOTO, Masayuki NAKANISHI, Kenji KODERA
  • Publication number: 20180169820
    Abstract: A polishing apparatus which can keep a width of a polishing tool constant when a peripheral portion of a substrate is polished by the polishing tool is disclosed. The polishing apparatus includes a substrate holder 3 configured to hold a substrate W and to rotate the substrate W and a pressing pad 50 configured to press a polishing tool 23 against a peripheral portion of the substrate W held by the substrate holder 3. The pressing pad 50 includes an elastic member 55 having a pressing surface 55a configured to press the polishing tool 23 against the peripheral portion of the substrate W and a support member 56 configured to support the elastic member 55. The support member 56 has a recess 57 formed in a front surface 56a of the support member 56, the elastic member 55 being capable of entering the recess 57.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2017
    Publication date: June 21, 2018
    Inventors: Masayuki NAKANISHI, Kenji KODERA, Yasuyuki MIYASAWA
  • Publication number: 20180133861
    Abstract: To provide a polishing apparatus capable of polishing bevel portions of varying shape by selecting a suitable polishing recipe, based on a state before polishing. The polishing apparatus 100 comprises: a holding/polishing unit 102 for holding and polishing a workpiece W1; and an identifying unit 104 for identifying data 104a associated with a state of the peripheral portion of the substrate W1 before polishing. The holding/polishing unit 102 comprises: a holder 106 for holding and rotating the substrate W1; and a polisher 108 for polishing the peripheral portion of the substrate W1 by pressing a polishing member against the peripheral portion. A polishing-condition determiner 110 determines a polishing condition, based on data 104a indicating to which type, of a plurality of shape-related types, the shape of a given peripheral portion belongs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2017
    Publication date: May 17, 2018
    Inventors: Masayuki NAKANISHI, Toshifumi WATANABE, Kenji KODERA
  • Patent number: 9666440
    Abstract: A polishing apparatus 100 includes a holding stage 4 that holds a central portion of a back surface of a substrate W, a motor M1 that rotates the holding stage 4, a front surface nozzle 36 that feeds a rinse liquid to a front surface of the substrate W, a back surface nozzle 37 that feeds the rinse liquid to a back surface of the substrate W, a rinse liquid control section 110 that feeds the rinse liquid through the back surface nozzle 37 after a preset time elapses since the start of feeding of the rinse liquid through the front surface nozzle 36 and a polishing head assembly 1A that polishes a peripheral portion of the substrate installed on the holding stage 4 after the rinse liquid control section 110 feeds the rinse liquid to the substrate W.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: Ebara Corporation
    Inventors: Masayuki Nakanishi, Kenji Kodera, Nobuhiro Yanaka
  • Patent number: 9492910
    Abstract: There is disclosed a method of polishing a peripheral portion of a wafer having a hard film with use of an abrasive film while preventing damage to the abrasive film. The polishing method uses an abrasive film including a base film made of polyimide, a binder made of polyimide, and abrasive grains held by the binder. The polishing method includes: rotating a silicon substrate having a surface on which a silicon carbide film is formed; and removing the silicon carbide film from a peripheral portion of the silicon substrate by pressing the abrasive film at a low force against the silicon carbide film on the peripheral portion of the silicon substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: Ebara Corporation
    Inventors: Yu Ishii, Hiroyuki Kawasaki, Masayuki Nakanishi, Kenya Ito, Kenji Kodera, Michiyoshi Yamashita
  • Patent number: D834075
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenji Kamimura, Masayuki Nakanishi, Satoru Yamamoto, Yasuyuki Miyasawa, Kenji Kodera
  • Patent number: D851140
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenji Kamimura, Masayuki Nakanishi, Satoru Yamamoto, Yasuyuki Miyasawa, Kenji Kodera
  • Patent number: D851141
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenji Kamimura, Masayuki Nakanishi, Satoru Yamamoto, Yasuyuki Miyasawa, Kenji Kodera
  • Patent number: D851142
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenji Kamimura, Masayuki Nakanishi, Satoru Yamamoto, Yasuyuki Miyasawa, Kenji Kodera
  • Patent number: D859331
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoru Yamamoto, Masayuki Nakanishi, Kenji Kodera