Abstract: A substrate cleaning method includes removing a foreign material attached to a substrate while preventing deterioration of the substrate and any film formed on or above the substrate. A cleaning gas at a pressure between 0.3 MPa and 2.0 MPa is sprayed towards a wafer W with attached foreign material 22 placed in a near-vacuum, producing clusters 21 made up of a multitude of gas molecules 20, and the clusters 21 collide with the wafer W without undergoing ionization.

Abstract: In a substrate wiring method, copper is embedded all the way to the lowest parts of a wiring pattern formed on a substrate. The method is used to wire a substrate in a processing chamber kept in a vacuum state, the substrate having a wiring pattern formed thereon. The method includes a preprocessing step in which the wiring pattern on the substrate is cleaned using a desired cleaning gas and an embedding step in which, after the preprocessing step, metal nanoparticles are embedded in the wiring pattern using a clustered metal gas.

Abstract: A method for forming a porous low-k film having an Si—O structure includes irradiating infrared light upon a film including a material having an Si—O structure, and irradiating ultraviolet light upon the film including the material having the Si—O structure such that a porous low-k film including the material having the Si—O structure is formed. The irradiating of the infrared light has an irradiation period of infrared light which is set shorter than an irradiation period of ultraviolet light in the irradiating of the ultraviolet light.

Abstract: A cluster beam generating method that generates a cluster beam includes steps of mixing a gas source material and a liquid source material in a mixer; supplying a cluster beam including clusters originating from the gas source material and clusters originating from the liquid source material that are mixed in the mixer from a nozzle; and adjusting a temperature of the nozzle using a temperature adjusting portion that adjusts a temperature of the nozzle, thereby controlling a ratio of the clusters originating from the gas source material and the clusters originating from the liquid source material in the cluster beam.

Abstract: An input switching apparatus includes a plurality of AV signal input units; a communication unit that communicates with another AV device; an input selection unit that selects one of the plurality of AV signal input units; and a selection control unit that switches selection of the input selection unit in accordance with a switching request message for requesting switching of the input selection unit from an origin position to a destination position when the communication unit receives the switching request message. While the input position holding mode is activated, the selection control unit holds the selection of the input selection unit even when the switching request message is received, and transmits a message for causing another device to perform a switching from the destination position to the origin position.

Abstract: This thin film forming method for a solar cell forms a thin film that contains a plurality of elements on the surface of an object to be processed. A raw material solution that contains the elements is dispersed in a processing space and microparticles by an electric field, and the microparticles that are dispersed form a thin film that adheres to the surface of the object to be processed. Thus, a thin film for a solar cell element with preferable crystallinity can be formed even in an atmosphere at atmospheric pressure.

Abstract: An input switching apparatus includes a plurality of AV signal input units; a communication unit that communicates with another AV device; an input selection unit that selects one of the plurality of AV signal input units; and a selection control unit that switches selection of the input selection unit in accordance with a switching request message for requesting switching of the input selection unit from an origin position to a destination position when the communication unit receives the switching request message. While the input position holding mode is activated, the selection control unit holds the selection of the input selection unit even when the switching request message is received, and transmits a message for causing another device to perform a switching from the destination position to the origin position.

Abstract: A substrate cleaning method includes removing a foreign material attached to a substrate while preventing deterioration of the substrate and any film formed on or above the substrate. A cleaning gas at a pressure between 0.3 MPa and 2.0 MPa is sprayed towards a wafer W with attached foreign material 22 placed in a near-vacuum, producing clusters 21 made up of a multitude of gas molecules 20, and the clusters 21 collide with the wafer W without undergoing ionization.

Abstract: A substrate cleaning method for cleaning a substrate on which a film is formed with a pattern in a vacuum-state processing chamber includes a preprocessing step where the film formed on the substrate on which the pattern has been formed by an etching process is cleaned by using a cleaning gas; and a consecutive step including an oxidation step where residues attached on a surface of the pattern are oxidized by using an oxidizing gas and a reduction step where the oxidized residues are reduced by using a reducing gas, which are consecutively carried out posterior to the preprocessing step. The gases used in the preprocessing step and the consecutive step are clustered by ejecting the gases into the processing chamber from a gas nozzle whose internal pressure PS is maintained to be higher than an internal pressure PO of the processing chamber.

Abstract: In a substrate wiring method, copper is embedded all the way to the lowest parts of a wiring pattern formed on a substrate. The method is used to wire a substrate in a processing chamber kept in a vacuum state, the substrate having a wiring pattern formed thereon. The method includes a preprocessing step in which the wiring pattern on the substrate is cleaned using a desired cleaning gas and an embedding step in which, after the preprocessing step, metal nanoparticles are embedded in the wiring pattern using a clustered metal gas.

Abstract: A cluster beam generating apparatus that generates a cluster beam includes a mixer that mixes a gas source material and a liquid source material; a nozzle that supplies a cluster beam including clusters originating from the gas source material and the liquid source material that are mixed in the mixer; and a temperature adjusting portion that adjusts a temperature of the nozzle, thereby controlling a ratio of the clusters originating from the gas source material and the clusters originating from the liquid source material in the cluster beam.

Abstract: A disclosed surface processing method includes a first processing step, wherein a gas cluster beam is generated from a source material that does not contain nitrogen, and irradiated to a member to be processed, and a second processing step, wherein a nitrogen gas cluster beam is generated and irradiated to the member to be processed.

Abstract: A charged particle separation apparatus that separates ionized gas clusters is disclosed. The charged particle separation apparatus includes an electric field applying part including two electrodes across which electric voltage is applied in order to generate electric field between the two electrodes thereby deflecting a trajectory of the ionized gas cluster, the electrodes including one of an opening and a void; and a plate opening that allows the ionized gas cluster whose trajectory is deflected by the electric field applying part to go therethrough.

Abstract: A charged particle separation apparatus that separates ionized gas clusters is disclosed. The charged particle separation apparatus includes an electric field applying part including two electrodes across which electric voltage is applied in order to generate electric field between the two electrodes thereby deflecting a trajectory of the ionized gas cluster, the electrodes including one of an opening and a void; and a plate opening that allows the ionized gas cluster whose trajectory is deflected by the electric field applying part to go therethrough.

Abstract: A charged particle separation apparatus that separates ionized gas clusters is disclosed. The charged particle separation apparatus includes three or more electric field applying parts arranged in an incident direction of an ionized gas cluster, wherein each of the electric field applying parts includes a pair of electrodes; an electric power source configured to supply alternating-current electric voltages to the three or more electric field applying parts in such a manner that an alternating-current electric voltage applied across one pair of the electrodes of one of the three or more electric field applying parts is different in phase from an alternating-current voltage applied across another pair of the electrodes of an adjacent one of the three or more electric field applying parts; and a plate including an opening in an extension of the incident direction.

Abstract: A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, when a barrier film and a copper film are formed along a recess in an insulating film by using an alloy layer of copper and addictive metal, e.g., Mn, and copper wiring is embedded therein, reduces Mn in the copper film to suppress an increase in wiring resistance. A vacuum transfer module is connected, through a load lock chamber, to a loader module for transferring a wafer with respect to a carrier. A formic acid treatment module supplying formic acid vapor as an organic acid to the wafer and a module forming a film of Cu, e.g., by CVD are connected to the vacuum transfer module to configure an apparatus manufacturing a semiconductor. The wafer W subjected to alloy layer formation and then, e.g., to annealing is transferred into the apparatus, and treatment with formic acid is performed followed by Cu film formation.

Abstract: Disclosed is a heat treatment method including a step of placing a wafer W provided with a low-k film and a metal layer in a heat treatment furnace 41, a step of supplying gaseous acetic anhydride into the heat treatment furnace 41, while controlling the flow rate using a mass flow controller 44d, and a step of heating the wafer W in the heat treatment furnace 41 supplied with gaseous acetic anhydride by using a heater 41b provided in the heat treatment furnace 41.

Abstract: In a wafer transfer system wherein a wafer transfer robot linearly reciprocates by a linear motor, dust is prevented from adhering to a wafer. A fixed base 9, on which the secondary side 11 of a linear motor M for linearly reciprocating a wafer transfer robot R is mounted, is mounted on the system body 1 of a wafer transfer system A in lateral directions and in vertical directions, so that dust dropping in accordance with the flow of clean air K from a clean air supply system 4 is directly sucked into an exhaust fan 5, which is provided on the bottom portion 1c of the system body 1, to be exhausted without being deposited on the top face of the fixed base 9 and the secondary side 11.

Abstract: A vacuum process system comprises: a load port on which an object to be processed is set; a common transfer chamber disposed adjacent to the load port, having an internal space set at an atmospheric pressure level, and including a first transfer device that is movable and transfers the object into/from the load port, the first transfer device being disposed within the internal space; and a process unit having one process chamber for subjecting the object to a predetermined process, and a vacuum transfer chamber connected to the process chamber, having an internal space set at a vacuum pressure level, and including a second transfer device for transferring the object into/from the process chamber, the second transfer device being disposed within the internal space. The process units are individually connected to the common transfer chamber such that the process units are substantially parallel to each other. The vacuum chamber of each process unit is connected to the common transfer chamber.

Abstract: A vacuum process system comprises: a load port on which an object to be processed is set; a common transfer chamber disposed adjacent to the load port, having an internal space set at an atmospheric pressure level, and including a first transfer device that is movable and transfers the object into/from the load port, the first transfer device being disposed within the internal space; and a process unit having one process chamber for subjecting the object to a predetermined process, and a vacuum transfer chamber connected to the process chamber, having an internal space set at a vacuum pressure level, and including a second transfer device for transferring the object into/from the process chamber, the second transfer device being disposed within the internal space. The process units are individually connected to the common transfer chamber such that the process units are substantially parallel to each other. The vacuum chamber of each process unit is connected to the common transfer chamber.