Patents by Inventor Manabu Honma

Manabu Honma 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: 20150211119
    Abstract: A film deposition apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, and a turntable having a substrate receiving area provided in the vacuum chamber. A heating unit is provided to heat the turntable so as to heat the substrate up to 600 degrees C. or higher. A process gas supply part is provided to supply a process gas having a decomposition temperature of 520 degrees C. or lower under 1 atmospheric pressure or lower, to the substrate. A gas shower head is provided in the process gas supply part and has a plurality of gas discharge holes provided in an opposed part facing a passing area of the substrate placed on the turntable. A cooling mechanism is provided in the process gas supply part and is configured to cool the opposed part in the gas shower head up to a temperature lower than the decomposition temperature of the process gas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2015
    Publication date: July 30, 2015
    Inventors: Yuji ONO, Mitsuhiro TACHIBANA, Manabu HONMA
  • Patent number: 9093490
    Abstract: A disclosed film deposition apparatus for depositing a film on a substrate by supplying a reaction gas to an upper surface of the substrate in a vacuum chamber includes a susceptor provided in the vacuum chamber, wherein substrate receiving areas are formed along a circle whose center lies in a center portion of the susceptor; a main gas supplying portion provided opposing the susceptor in order to supply the reaction gas to the substrate receiving areas of the susceptor; a compensation gas supplying portion configured to supply the reaction gas to an upper surface of the susceptor in order to compensate for concentration of the reaction gas supplied from the main gas supplying portion along a radius direction of the susceptor; and a rotation mechanism configured to rotate the susceptor relative to the main gas supplying portion and the compensation gas supplying portion around the center portion of the susceptor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Hitoshi Kato, Manabu Honma, Hiroyuki Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 9039837
    Abstract: A film deposition apparatus includes a processing chamber; a rotary table; process regions provided in the processing chamber and arranged apart from each other in the rotational direction of the rotary table; reaction gas supplying units configured to supply reaction gases of different types to the corresponding process regions; separation regions provided between the process regions; separation gas supplying units configured to supply a separation gas to the separation regions to separate the atmospheres of the process regions; and an exhaust path forming part having openings at positions corresponding to the process regions and configured to form exhaust paths for separately guiding the atmospheres of the process regions from the openings to the corresponding exhaust ports of the processing chamber for exhausting atmospheres of the process regions. The exhaust path forming part is configured such that positions of the openings in the rotational direction are changeable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventor: Manabu Honma
  • Patent number: 8992685
    Abstract: In a substrate processing apparatus, a film deposition device and a heat processing device to perform an anneal processing are airtightly connected to a vacuum conveying chamber, and a substrate rotating unit to cause a substrate to rotate around a vertical axis is provided in the vacuum conveying chamber. A control unit is arranged to stop a relative rotation of a plurality of reactive gas supplying units, a separating gas supplying unit and a table by a rotation device in the middle of a film deposition process of the substrate, cause a conveying unit to take out the substrate from a vacuum chamber, and output a control signal that causes a substrate rotating unit to change a direction of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hitoshi Kato, Manabu Honma, Hiroyuki Kikuchi, Yu Wamura, Jun Ogawa
  • Patent number: 8961691
    Abstract: A disclosed film deposition apparatus includes a susceptor having in one surface a substrate receiving portion provided rotatably in a chamber; a heating unit including plural independently controllable heating portions, thereby heating the susceptor; a first reaction gas supplying portion for supplying a first reaction gas; a second reaction gas supplying portion for supplying a second reaction gas; a separation area between a first process area where the first reaction gas is supplied and a second process area where the second reaction gas is supplied, the separation area including a separation gas supplying portion for supplying a first separation gas in the separation area, and a ceiling surface opposing the one surface to produce a thin space; a center area having an ejection hole for ejecting a second separation gas along the one surface; and an evacuation opening for evacuating the chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hitoshi Kato, Kazuteru Obara, Manabu Honma
  • Patent number: 8944077
    Abstract: A disclosed film deposition apparatus includes a susceptor provided rotatably in a chamber; a substrate receiving portion provided in one surface of the susceptor, for receiving a substrate; a reaction gas supplying member configured to supply a reaction gas to the one surface of the susceptor; a cleaning member including: a first concave member that is provided above the susceptor and open toward the one surface, thereby defining a space of an inverted concave shape, a second concave member provided over the first concave member to define a gas passage between the first concave member and the second concave member, a cleaning gas supplying portion configured to supply a cleaning gas to the space, and an evacuation pipe configured to be in gaseous communication with the gas passage and extend out from the chamber; and an evacuation opening provided in the chamber in order to evacuate the chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hitoshi Kato, Manabu Honma
  • Publication number: 20140366808
    Abstract: A gas processing apparatus includes a process chamber for installing a process target therein, a through-hole being air-tightly in communication with a gas supply pipe, an injector for supplying gas into the process chamber, a sleeve being engaged to an outer peripheral surface of the injector inside the through-hole, an annular sealing member engaged to the outer peripheral surface of the injector, an engagement surface facing the sealing member, and a pressing part for pressing the sleeve toward the outer side of the process chamber. The pressing part compresses the sealing member by exerting pressure to the engagement surface from an end surface of the sleeve toward the sealing member, so that an inside of the injector and an outside of the injector are air-tightly sealed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2014
    Publication date: December 18, 2014
    Inventor: Manabu HONMA
  • Patent number: 8882915
    Abstract: A rotation table on which a wafer is placed is rotated around a vertical axis in order to supply to an upper surface of the wafer a first reaction gas for allowing the first reaction gas to be adsorbed on the upper surface, an auxiliary gas that reacts with the first reaction gas to produce an intermediate product having reflowability, and a second reaction gas that is reacted with the intermediate product to produce a reaction product in this order; and the reaction product is heated by a heating lamp in order to densify the reaction product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hitoshi Kato, Manabu Honma, Hiroyuki Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 8854449
    Abstract: A substrate position detection method includes rotating the susceptor so that the substrate receiving portion is moved into an image taking area of a imaging apparatus; detecting first two position detection marks provided in the process chamber so that the first two position detection marks are within the image taking area, wherein a first perpendicular bisector of the first two position detection marks passes through a rotational center of the susceptor; detecting second two position detection marks provided in the susceptor so that the second two position detection marks can be within the image taking area, wherein a second perpendicular bisector of the second two position detection marks passes through the rotational center of the susceptor and a center of the substrate receiving portion; and determining whether the substrate receiving portion is positioned in a predetermined range in accordance with the detected first two and second two position detection marks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Katsuyoshi Aikawa, Manabu Honma
  • Patent number: 8845857
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes a vacuum container, a rotary table to rotate in the vacuum container, a substrate placement member mounted on the rotary table in a detachable manner, the substrate placement member and the rotary table together providing a recess in which a substrate is placed on an upper side of the rotary table, and the substrate placement member constituting a bottom surface in the recess on which the substrate is placed, a position regulating unit provided at least one of the rotary table and the substrate placement member to regulate a movement of the substrate caused by a centrifugal force during rotation of the rotary table, a reactant gas supply unit to supply reactant gas to the upper side of the rotary table, and a vacuum exhaust unit to exhaust the vacuum container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Yukio Ohizumi, Manabu Honma
  • Patent number: 8840727
    Abstract: A film deposition apparatus for depositing a thin film on a substrate by feeding at least two kinds of reaction gases in a vacuum chamber includes a turntable; a substrate placement part on the turntable; a first and a second reaction gas feed part provided apart from each other to feed a first and a second reaction gas into a first and a second process region, respectively, on the turntable; a separation region positioned between the first and second process regions and including a first separation gas feed part to feed a first separation gas and a ceiling surface; a center part region positioned inside the vacuum chamber and including an ejection opening for ejecting a second separation gas; an evacuation port; and a drive part to rotate the turntable so that the substrate passes through the first and second process regions at different angular velocities of the turntable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hitoshi Kato, Manabu Honma
  • Patent number: 8808456
    Abstract: A disclosed film deposition apparatus has a separation gas supplying nozzle between reaction gas nozzles arranged away from each other in a rotation direction of a turntable on which a substrate is placed, and a ceiling member providing a lower ceiling surface on both sides of the separation gas supplying nozzle. In this film deposition apparatus, the separation gas supplying nozzle and the reaction gas nozzles are removably arranged along a circumferential direction of a chamber, and the ceiling member is removably attached on a ceiling plate of the chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hitoshi Kato, Manabu Honma
  • Publication number: 20140213068
    Abstract: A film deposition apparatus includes a separation member that extends to cover a rotation center of the turntable and two different points on a circumference of the turntable above the turntable, thereby separating the inside of the chamber into a first area and a second area; a first reaction gas supplying portion that supplies a first reaction gas toward the turntable in the first area; a second reaction gas supplying portion that supplies a second reaction gas toward the turntable in the second area; a first evacuation port that evacuates the first reaction gas and the first separation gas that converges with the first reaction gas; and a second evacuation port that evacuates the second reaction gas and the first separation gas that converges with the second reaction gas. The separation member has a bent portion that substantially fills in a gap between the turntable and the chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2014
    Publication date: July 31, 2014
    Applicant: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hitoshi Kato, Manabu Honma, Yasushi Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 8746170
    Abstract: A vacuum chamber is evacuated through a first evacuation passage provided with a first valve and a second evacuation passage provided with a second valve. An opening degree of the first valve is adjusted so that a pressure in the vacuum chamber becomes substantially equal to a process pressure P; an opening degree of a butterfly valve further provided in the second evacuation passage is adjusted to substantially equal to a set value determined by a table in order to set flow rates of gases to be evacuated through the first evacuation passage and the second evacuation passage to be substantially equal to corresponding set values determined by the recipe; and an opening degree of the second valve is adjusted so that a measurement value of a differential pressure gauge further provided in the second evacuation passage becomes substantially equal to a differential pressure written in the table.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Kohichi Orito, Manabu Honma, Tatsuya Tamura
  • Patent number: 8721790
    Abstract: A film deposition apparatus includes a turntable provided in the chamber and having on a first surface a substrate receiving area in which a substrate is placed; first and second reaction gas supplying portions supplying first and second reaction gases to the first surface, respectively; a separation gas supplying portion provided between the first reaction gas supplying portion and the second reaction gas supplying portion and supplying a separation gas that separates the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas; an evacuation port that evacuates the chamber; a space defining member provided for at least one of the first and second reaction gas supplying portions and defining a first space between the at least one of the first and second reaction gas supplying portions and the turntable and a second space so that the separation gas is likely to flow through the second space rather than the first space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hitoshi Kato, Manabu Honma, Kohichi Orito, Yasushi Takeuchi, Hiroyuki Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 8673079
    Abstract: A film deposition apparatus includes: a turntable; a first reaction gas supply part and a second reaction gas supply part extending from a circumferential edge toward a rotation center of the turntable; and a first separation gas supply part provided between the first and second reaction gas supply parts. A first space contains the first reaction gas supply part and has a first height. A second space contains the second reaction gas supply part and has a second height. A third space contains a first separation gas supply part and has a height lower than the first and second heights. A motor provided under the rotation center of the turntable rotates the turntable. A rotation shaft of the turntable and a drive shaft of the motor are coupled without generation of slip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hitoshi Kato, Manabu Honma, Tomoki Haneishi
  • Patent number: 8673395
    Abstract: A disclosed film deposition apparatus includes a turntable including a substrate receiving area; a first reaction gas supplier for supplying a first reaction gas to a surface of the turntable having the substrate receiving area; a second reaction gas supplier, arranged away from the first reaction gas supplier along a circumferential direction of the turntable, for supplying a second reaction gas to the surface; a separation area located along the circumferential direction between a first process area of the first reaction gas and a second process area of the second reaction gas; a separation gas supplier for supplying a first separation gas to both sides of the separation area; a first heating unit for heating the first separation gas to the separation gas supplier; an evacuation opening for evacuating the gases supplied to the turntable; and a driver for rotating the turntable in the circumferential direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hitoshi Kato, Manabu Honma
  • Publication number: 20130251904
    Abstract: A disclosed film deposition apparatus includes a turntable having in one surface a substrate receiving portion along a turntable rotation direction; a first reaction gas supplying portion for supplying a first reaction gas; a second reaction gas supplying portion for supplying a second reaction gas; a separation area between a first process area where the first reaction gas is supplied and a second process area where the second reaction gas is supplied, the separation area including a separation gas supplying portion for supplying a first separation gas in the separation area, and a ceiling surface opposing the one surface to produce a thin space; a center area having an ejection hole for ejecting a second separation gas along the one surface; and an evacuation opening for evacuating the chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 20, 2013
    Publication date: September 26, 2013
    Applicant: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hitoshi KATO, Manabu Honma, Anthony Dip
  • Patent number: 8518183
    Abstract: A film deposition apparatus is configured to deposit a film on a substrate by carrying out a cycle of alternately supplying at least two kinds of reaction gases that react with each other to the substrate to stack multiple layers of a reaction product in a vacuum chamber so that a thin film is formed. The film deposition apparatus includes a rotation table, a substrate providing area, a first reaction gas supplying part, a second reaction gas supplying part, a separation area, a center part area, an evacuation opening, and a substrate cooling part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2013
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventor: Manabu Honma
  • Patent number: 8465591
    Abstract: A disclosed film deposition apparatus includes a turntable having in one surface a substrate receiving portion along a turntable rotation direction; a first reaction gas supplying portion for supplying a first reaction gas; a second reaction gas supplying portion for supplying a second reaction gas; a separation area between a first process area where the first reaction gas is supplied and a second process area where the second reaction gas is supplied, the separation area including a separation gas supplying portion for supplying a first separation gas in the separation area, and a ceiling surface opposing the one surface to produce a thin space; a center area having an ejection hole for ejecting a second separation gas along the one surface; and an evacuation opening for evacuating the chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2013
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hitoshi Kato, Manabu Honma, Anthony Dip