Abstract: According to one aspect of the technique of the present disclosure, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a heater heating a substrate in a reaction tube; a temperature controller controlling the heater; a valve controller adjusting an opening degree of a control valve to adjust a gas flow rate; and a main controller instructing a recipe including: (a) elevating an inner temperature of the reaction tube to a predetermined temperature at an elevating rate; (b) processing the substrate at the predetermined temperature; and (c) lowering the inner temperature of the reaction tube at a lowering rate. The main controller controls the temperature controller and the valve controller so that the inner temperature of the reaction tube changes in (a) or (c) at the elevating or lowering rate by heating in parallel with cooling by the gas supplied through the control valve.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the technique of the present disclosure, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a heater heating a substrate in a reaction tube; a temperature controller controlling the heater; a valve controller adjusting an opening degree of a control valve to adjust a gas flow rate; and a main controller instructing a recipe including: (a) elevating an inner temperature of the reaction tube to a predetermined temperature at an elevating rate; (b) processing the substrate at the predetermined temperature; and (c) lowering the inner temperature of the reaction tube at a lowering rate. The main controller controls the temperature controller and the valve controller so that the inner temperature of the reaction tube changes in (a) or (c) at the elevating or lowering rate by heating in parallel with cooling by the gas supplied through the control valve.

Abstract: There is provided a technique that includes: a reaction tube where a process chamber configured to process a substrate is formed; a heater structure including a heater heating the substrate; a cooler including a cooling valve supplying a cooling medium; an exhaust fan supplying the cooling medium to the cooler; and a cooling controller configured to: acquire a prediction model that includes information of the exhaust fan, final target temperature, and opening state of the cooling valve and estimates a predicted temperature predicting at least one selected from the group of a temperature of the heater and a temperature of the process chamber; acquire the at least one selected from the group of the temperature of the heater and the temperature of the process chamber, the opening state of the cooling valve, and the information of the exhaust fan; and regulate the opening state of the cooling valve.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the technique of the present disclosure, there is provided a temperature control method including: (a) controlling a current heater supply power such that a predicted temperature column calculated according to a prediction model stored in advance approaches a future target temperature column, wherein the future target temperature column is updated in accordance with a current temperature, a final target temperature and one of a temperature convergence ramp rate and a designated temperature convergence time.

Abstract: A checking method of a resin-framed membrane electrode assembly includes checking whether there is breakage in one of short sides of a first rectangular peripheral shape of a clearance provided in the resin-framed membrane electrode assembly without checking whether there is breakage in any other part of the clearance, the resin-framed membrane assembly including a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, a gas diffusion layer provided on the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, and a resin frame member that has a second rectangular peripheral shape and surrounds the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and the gas diffusion layer to provide the clearance between the resin frame member and the gas diffusion layer, the solid polymer electrolyte membrane being made from a solid polymer electrolyte membrane roll in which a solid polymer electrolyte membrane sheet is wound in a winding direction, long sides of the rectangular peripheral shape extending in the winding direction.

Abstract: There is provided a technique that includes (a) acquiring temperature data of at least one of a heater temperature defined by a temperature of a heater and a furnace temperature defined by an inner temperature of a process chamber, and acquiring a power supply value indicating an electric power supplied to the heater; (b) acquiring a reference temperature of the temperature data; (c) creating a predetermined equation using a prediction model of estimating a predicted temperature of the temperature data; (d) calculating a solution of minimizing a deviation between the reference temperature and the predicted temperature based on the predetermined equation; and (e) outputting a calculated power supply value calculated from the solution, and processing a substrate while controlling heating of the heater based on the calculated power supply value.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the technique, there is provided a configuration including: a furnace body covering a reaction chamber; a heating element divided into zones and provided in the furnace body; first temperature sensors provided for the zones such that its temperature measuring point is arranged near the heating element; second temperature sensors provided such that its temperature measuring point is provided close to a temperature measuring point of a first temperature sensor; and temperature meters provided at the zones to hold the temperature measuring points of the first and the second temperature sensors to be close to each other in a protection pipe. Each temperature meter penetrates an outer periphery of the furnace body perpendicular to a central axis of the reaction chamber such that a front end of the protection pipe is located outside the reaction tube and on a tube axis thereof.

Abstract: There is provided a technique that includes: a heat generator installed for each of control zones and configured to raise an internal temperature of a reaction tube by heat generation; a circuit configured to equalize resistance values in the respective control zones, wherein the circuit is a parallel circuit and is configured such that an output variable element is installed in one or more of output circuits constituting the parallel circuit.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a substrate processing apparatus, a substrate processing method, a semiconductor device manufacturing method, and a control program capable of controlling thickness uniformity of a film formed on a substrate. The substrate processing apparatus includes a process chamber into which a substrate is transferred; a heating device heating the substrate, transferred into the process chamber, from its periphery side; a cooling device cooling the substrate, transferred into the process chamber, from its periphery side; a process gas supply unit supplying a process gas into the process chamber; and a control unit controlling the heating device and the cooling device to generate temperature difference between a center and the periphery sides of the substrate and controls the process gas supply unit. The control unit operates the process gas supply unit to stop operation of the cooling device during supply of the process gas into the process chamber.

Abstract: A method for preparing a fuel cell membrane electrode assembly, where the membrane electrode assembly includes a solid polymer electrolyte membrane and a first electrode and a second electrode provided on both sides of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane. The first electrode and the second electrode each include an electrode catalyst layer and a gas diffusion layer. The method includes forming the first electrode and the second electrode on both sides of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, providing a preformed resin frame member around the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, overlapping an outer marginal portion of the first electrode and an inner marginal portion of the resin frame member with each other and applying heat and pressure to the overlapped portions of the first electrode and the resin frame member to join the resin frame member around the solid polymer electrolyte membrane.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the technique of the present disclosure, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a heater heating a substrate in a reaction tube; a temperature controller controlling the heater; a valve controller adjusting an opening degree of a control valve to adjust a gas flow rate; and a main controller instructing a recipe including: (a) elevating an inner temperature of the reaction tube to a predetermined temperature at an elevating rate; (b) processing the substrate at the predetermined temperature; and (c) lowering the inner temperature of the reaction tube at a lowering rate. The main controller controls the temperature controller and the valve controller so that the inner temperature of the reaction tube changes in (a) or (c) at the elevating or lowering rate by heating in parallel with cooling by the gas supplied through the control valve.

Abstract: A checking method of a resin-framed membrane electrode assembly includes checking whether there is breakage in one of short sides of a first rectangular peripheral shape of a clearance provided in the resin-framed membrane electrode assembly without checking whether there is breakage in any other part of the clearance, the resin-framed membrane assembly including a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, a gas diffusion layer provided on the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, and a resin frame member that has a second rectangular peripheral shape and surrounds the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and the gas diffusion layer to provide the clearance between the resin frame member and the gas diffusion layer, the solid polymer electrolyte membrane being made from a solid polymer electrolyte membrane roll in which a solid polymer electrolyte membrane sheet is wound in a winding direction, long sides of the rectangular peripheral shape extending in the winding direction.

Abstract: There is provided a technique that includes (a) acquiring temperature data of at least one of a heater temperature defined by a temperature of a heater and a furnace temperature defined by an inner temperature of a process chamber, and acquiring a power supply value indicating an electric power supplied to the heater; (b) acquiring a reference temperature of the temperature data; (c) creating a predetermined equation using a prediction model of estimating a predicted temperature of the temperature data; (d) calculating a solution of minimizing a deviation between the reference temperature and the predicted temperature based on the predetermined equation; and (e) outputting a calculated power supply value calculated from the solution, and processing a substrate while controlling heating of the heater based on the calculated power supply value.

Abstract: A resin frame equipped membrane electrode assembly includes an MEA having different sizes of components and a resin frame member. A clearance is formed between an outer end of a second gas diffusion layer and an inner expansion. The second electrode layer has a frame shaped outer marginal portion provided at the clearance. The crack density of cracks of the frame shaped outer marginal portion is 30 cracks/mm2 or less, and the interval between the cracks is 0.06 mm or more.

Abstract: A resin-framed membrane electrode assembly for a fuel cell includes a stepped membrane electrode assembly and a resin frame member. The stepped membrane electrode assembly includes a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, an anode electrode, and a cathode electrode. The resin frame member surrounds an outer periphery of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and includes an inner protruding portion that protrudes from an inner peripheral base portion toward the cathode electrode and that has a thickness. The inner protruding portion has an adhesive application portion to which an adhesive is applied so as to surround a part of the inner protruding portion. The part is in contact with the stepped membrane electrode assembly. A thickness of a cathode diffusion layer is larger than a thickness of an anode diffusion layer.

Abstract: A method for preparing a fuel cell membrane electrode assembly, where the membrane electrode assembly includes a solid polymer electrolyte membrane and a first electrode and a second electrode provided on both sides of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane. The first electrode and the second electrode each include an electrode catalyst layer and a gas diffusion layer. The method includes forming the first electrode and the second electrode on both sides of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, providing a preformed resin frame member around the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, overlapping an outer marginal portion of the first electrode and an inner marginal portion of the resin frame member with each other and applying heat and pressure to the overlapped portions of the first electrode and the resin frame member to join the resin frame member around the solid polymer electrolyte membrane.

Abstract: An electrolyte membrane-electrode structure with a resin frame is provided with: an electrolyte membrane-electrode structure that is provided with an anode-side electrode and a cathode-side electrode, with a solid polymer electrolyte membrane being held therebetween; and a resin frame member that is arranged around the outer periphery of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane. An intermediate layer is continuously arranged: between an outer peripheral end portion of the cathode-side electrode and a first inner peripheral end portion of the resin frame member; on an outer peripheral end portion of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, said outer peripheral end portion being exposed outside the outer peripheral end portion of the cathode-side electrode; and between an outer peripheral end portion of the anode-side electrode and a second inner peripheral end portion of the resin frame member.