Patents by Inventor Kentaro Yamamura
Kentaro Yamamura 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).
-
Patent number: 11809091Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus which processes includes a thermal processor that performs thermal processing on the substrate; an imager that images the substrate; and a controller that executes adjustment processing of adjusting conditions of processing on the substrate.Type: GrantFiled: July 10, 2020Date of Patent: November 7, 2023Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Masahide Tadokoro, Masashi Enomoto, Kentaro Yamamura
-
Publication number: 20220359243Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate to be measured by a film thickness measurement device, includes: a heat treatment part configured to heat-treat a substrate coated with a coating film; and a fluid supply part configured to supply a fluid, which suppresses variations in a film thickness over time until the film thickness is measured by the film thickness measurement device, to the substrate during or after the heat-treatment by the heat treatment part.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 29, 2022Publication date: November 10, 2022Inventors: Toshiki NAEKI, Kentaro YAMAMURA
-
Publication number: 20220252992Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus which processes a substrate, includes: a thermal processor configured to perform thermal processing on the substrate; an imager configured to image the substrate; and a controller, wherein: the controller is configured to execute adjustment processing of adjusting conditions of processing on the substrate; and the adjustment processing includes: a pre-exposure imaging step of controlling the imager to image an unexposed adjustment substrate on which a resist film is formed; a thermal processing step of controlling the thermal processor to perform the thermal processing on the adjustment substrate subjected to uniform exposure processing of exposing each region of a substrate surface with a fixed exposure amount after the pre-exposure imaging step; a post-heating imaging step of controlling the imager to image the adjustment substrate after the thermal processing step; a temperature distribution estimation step of estimating an in-plane temperature distribution of the adjustmenType: ApplicationFiled: July 10, 2020Publication date: August 11, 2022Inventors: Masahide TADOKORO, Masashi ENOMOTO, Kentaro YAMAMURA
-
Patent number: 8512478Abstract: A cleaning and drying-preventing method including: positioning a nozzle in a container such that a funnel-like inner circumferential surface of the container is located around a periphery of a distal end of the nozzle; sucking a liquid in the nozzle to retract a level of the liquid to a side of a supply passage; supplying a solvent into the container to form a swirl flow of the solvent turning around the distal end of the nozzle, and cleaning the nozzle by the swirl flow; supplying a solvent into the container to form a liquid pool of the solvent; and further retracting the level of the liquid in the nozzle to the side of the supply passage. A liquid layer, an air layer, and a solvent layer are formed in the nozzle in this order from the side of the supply passage, to prevent drying of the liquid in the nozzle.Type: GrantFiled: June 20, 2012Date of Patent: August 20, 2013Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Yasuyuki Kometani, Takeshi Hirao, Kentaro Yamamura, Kenichi Miyamoto
-
Publication number: 20120255581Abstract: A cleaning and drying-preventing method including: positioning a nozzle in a container such that a funnel-like inner circumferential surface of the container is located around a periphery of a distal end of the nozzle; sucking a liquid in the nozzle to retract a level of the liquid to a side of a supply passage; supplying a solvent into the container to form a swirl flow of the solvent turning around the distal end of the nozzle, and cleaning the nozzle by the swirl flow; supplying a solvent into the container to form a liquid pool of the solvent; and further retracting the level of the liquid in the nozzle to the side of the supply passage. A liquid layer, an air layer, and a solvent layer are formed in the nozzle in this order from the side of the supply passage, to prevent drying of the liquid in the nozzle.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 20, 2012Publication date: October 11, 2012Applicant: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Yasuyuki KOMETANI, Takeshi Hirao, Kentaro Yamamura, Kenichi Miyamoto
-
Patent number: 8216390Abstract: A cleaning and drying-preventing method including: positioning a nozzle in a container such that a funnel-like inner circumferential surface of the container is located around a periphery of a distal end of the nozzle; sucking a liquid in the nozzle to retract a level of the liquid to a side of a supply passage; supplying a solvent into the container to form a swirl flow of the solvent turning around the distal end of the nozzle, and cleaning the nozzle by the swirl flow; supplying a solvent into the container to form a liquid pool of the solvent; and further retracting the level of the liquid in the nozzle to the side of the supply passage. A liquid layer, an air layer, and a solvent layer are formed in the nozzle in this order from the side of the supply passage, to prevent drying of the liquid in the nozzle.Type: GrantFiled: August 28, 2009Date of Patent: July 10, 2012Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Yasuyuki Kometani, Takeshi Hirao, Kentaro Yamamura, Kenichi Miyamoto
-
Patent number: 7901514Abstract: A cleaning method of cleaning a surface of a substrate that is processed by a developing process. The method includes pouring a cleaning liquid onto a central part of the substrate. A dry area that is not wetted with the cleaning liquid is created in a central part of the substrate by stopping pouring the cleaning liquid or by shifting a cleaning liquid pouring position to which the cleaning liquid is poured from the central part while the substrate holding device is rotating. The dry area is expanded outward from the central part of the substrate by rotating the substrate holding device at a rotating speed not lower than 1500 rpm without pouring the cleaning liquid onto the dry area. The cleaning liquid is poured onto an outer area contiguously surrounding the dry area on the surface of the substrate.Type: GrantFiled: July 15, 2009Date of Patent: March 8, 2011Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Junji Nakamura, Kousuke Yoshihara, Kentaro Yamamura, Fumiko Iwao, Hirofumi Takeguchi
-
Publication number: 20100051059Abstract: A cleaning and drying-preventing method including: positioning a nozzle in a container such that a funnel-like inner circumferential surface of the container is located around a periphery of a distal end of the nozzle; sucking a liquid in the nozzle to retract a level of the liquid to a side of a supply passage; supplying a solvent into the container to form a swirl flow of the solvent turning around the distal end of the nozzle, and cleaning the nozzle by the swirl flow; supplying a solvent into the container to form a liquid pool of the solvent; and further retracting the level of the liquid in the nozzle to the side of the supply passage. A liquid layer, an air layer, and a solvent layer are formed in the nozzle in this order from the side of the supply passage, to prevent drying of the liquid in the nozzle.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 28, 2009Publication date: March 4, 2010Applicant: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Yasuyuki Kometani, Takeshi Hirao, Kentaro Yamamura, Kenichi Miyamoto
-
Publication number: 20090272407Abstract: A cleaning method of cleaning a surface of a substrate that is processed by a developing process. The method includes pouring a cleaning liquid onto a central part of the substrate. A dry area that is not wetted with the cleaning liquid is created in a central part of the substrate by stopping pouring the cleaning liquid or by shifting a cleaning liquid pouring position to which the cleaning liquid is poured from the central part while the substrate holding device is rotating. The dry area is expanded outward from the central part of the substrate by rotating the substrate holding device at a rotating speed not lower than 1500 rpm without pouring the cleaning liquid onto the dry area. The cleaning liquid is poured onto an outer area contiguously surrounding the dry area on the surface of the substrate.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 15, 2009Publication date: November 5, 2009Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Junji NAKAMURA, Kousuke Yoshihara, Kentaro Yamamura, Fumiko Iwao, Hirofumi Takeguchi
-
Patent number: 7604013Abstract: A cleaning method highly effectively cleans a surface of a semiconductor wafer by removing a dissolution product, produced when a surface of a semiconductor wafer is processed by a developing process that develops an exposed film formed on the semiconductor wafer by wetting the exposed film with a developer, from the surface of the semiconductor wafer. A cleaning liquid is poured through a cleaning liquid pouring nozzle onto a central part of a rotating wafer processed by a developing process to spread the cleaning liquid in a film over the surface of the wafer. Then, the cleaning liquid pouring nozzle is shifted to create a dry area in a central part of the wafer and the wafer is rotated at 1500 rpm to expand the dry area.Type: GrantFiled: March 9, 2005Date of Patent: October 20, 2009Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Junji Nakamura, Kousuke Yoshihara, Kentaro Yamamura, Fumiko Iwao, Hirofumi Takeguchi
-
Publication number: 20060048792Abstract: A cleaning method highly effectively cleans a surface of a semiconductor wafer by removing a dissolution product, produced when a surface of a semiconductor wafer is processed by a developing process that develops an exposed film formed on the semiconductor wafer by wetting the exposed film with a developer, from the surface of the semiconductor wafer. A cleaning liquid is poured through a cleaning liquid pouring nozzle onto a central part of a rotating wafer processed by a developing process to spread the cleaning liquid in a film over the surface of the wafer. Then, the cleaning liquid pouring nozzle is shifted to create a dry area in a central part of the wafer and the wafer is rotated at 1500 rpm to expand the dry area.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 9, 2005Publication date: March 9, 2006Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Junji Nakamura, Kousuke Yoshihara, Kentaro Yamamura, Fumiko Iwao, Hirofumi Takeguchi