Patents by Inventor Mitsumasa Kodama
Mitsumasa Kodama 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).
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Patent number: 7105074Abstract: A substrate treating apparatus is provided for eliminating wasteful consumption of a treating solution in a treating mode in which the treating solution is delivered in a strip form to a substrate from a treating solution delivery nozzle sweeping over the substrate. In a first aspect of the invention, collecting vessels are arranged around a developing cup surrounding a wafer supported by a wafer holder. The collecting vessels collect part of a developer delivered from a discharge opening of a developer delivery nozzle outwardly of a surface of the wafer. In a second aspect of the invention, collecting vessels are arranged below a developer delivery nozzle, with collecting openings of the collecting vessels opposed to a discharge opening or openings of the delivery nozzle. The collecting vessels are moved longitudinally of the discharge openings according to a position of the developer delivery nozzle relative to the wafer.Type: GrantFiled: July 22, 2002Date of Patent: September 12, 2006Assignee: Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.Inventors: Osamu Tamada, Tsuyoshi Mitsuhashi, Minobu Matsunaga, Katsushi Yoshioka, Kenji Sugimoto, Kaoru Aoki, Moritaka Yano, Satoshi Yamamoto, Masakazu Sanada, Takashi Nagao, Mitsumasa Kodama
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Patent number: 6832863Abstract: A series of substrate transport paths for transporting substrates is arranged on upper and lower stories. Substrates are transferable between the substrate transport path on the first story and the substrate transport path on the second story. The paths include a going-only path for transporting the substrates forward, and a return-only path for transporting the substrates in the opposite direction, these paths being arranged on the upper and lower stories. An indexer connects one end of the substrate transport path on one story to one end of the substrate transport path on the other story. An interface connects the other end of the substrate transport path on one story to the other end of the substrate transport path on the other story. This construction efficiently reduces a waiting time due to interference between the substrates transported along the going-only path and the substrates transported along the return-only path.Type: GrantFiled: June 9, 2003Date of Patent: December 21, 2004Assignee: Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.Inventors: Kenji Sugimoto, Minobu Matsunaga, Masakazu Sanada, Katsushi Yoshioka, Kaoru Aoki, Moritaka Yano, Satoshi Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi Mitsuhashi, Takashi Nagao, Mitsumasa Kodama
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Publication number: 20040005149Abstract: A series of substrate transport paths for transporting substrates is arranged on upper and lower stories. The substrates are transferable between the substrate transport path on the first story and the substrate transport path on the second story. The substrate transport paths define a going-only path for transporting the substrates forward, and a return-only path for transporting the substrates in the opposite direction, the going-only path and return-only path being arranged on the upper and lower stories. An indexer connects one end of the substrate transport path on one story to one end of the substrate transport path on the other story. An interface connects the other end of the substrate transport path on one story to the other end of the substrate transport path on the other story.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 9, 2003Publication date: January 8, 2004Applicant: Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co.,Ltd.Inventors: Kenji Sugimoto, Minobu Matsunaga, Masakazu Sanada, Katsushi Yoshioka, Kaoru Aoki, Moritaka Yano, Satoshi Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi Mitsuhashi, Takashi Nagao, Mitsumasa Kodama
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Patent number: 6558053Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes a coating section, a developing section, a heat-treating section and a transport mechanism. The coating section has first processing units each for performing a coverage process to supply a photoresist solution to a substrate and cover a surface of the substrate with the photoresist solution, a second processing unit for spinning the substrate, after the coverage process, at high speed to make the photoresist solution into a film, dry the photoresist film, and clean the substrate. All substrates are processed with the same coating conditions to suppress differences in quality among the substrates. The first and second processing units perform the respective processes concurrently to improve the throughput of substrate processing.Type: GrantFiled: April 18, 2002Date of Patent: May 6, 2003Assignee: Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.Inventors: Kazuhito Shigemori, Masakazu Sanada, Minobu Matsunaga, Katsushi Yoshioka, Kenji Sugimoto, Kaoru Aoki, Moritaka Yano, Satoshi Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi Mitsuhashi, Takashi Nagao, Mitsumasa Kodama, Yukihiko Inagaki, Yoshihisa Yamada
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Publication number: 20030017665Abstract: A substrate treating apparatus is provided for eliminating wasteful consumption of a treating solution in a treating mode in which the treating solution is delivered in a strip form to a substrate from a treating solution delivery nozzle sweeping over the substrate. In a first aspect of the invention, collecting vessels are arranged around a developing cup surrounding a wafer supported by a wafer holder. The collecting vessels collect part of a developer delivered from a discharge opening of a developer delivery nozzle outwardly of a surface of the wafer. In a second aspect of the invention, collecting vessels are arranged below a developer delivery nozzle, with collecting openings of the collecting vessels opposed to a discharge opening or openings of the delivery nozzle. The collecting vessels are moved longitudinally of the discharge openings according to a position of the developer delivery nozzle relative to the wafer.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 22, 2002Publication date: January 23, 2003Applicant: Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.Inventors: Osamu Tamada, Tsuyoshi Mitsuhashi, Minobu Matsunaga, Katsushi Yoshioka, Kenji Sugimoto, Kaoru Aoki, Moritaka Yano, Satoshi Yamamoto, Masakazu Sanada, Takashi Nagao, Mitsumasa Kodama
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Publication number: 20020152958Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes a coating section, a developing section, a heat-treating section and a transport mechanism. The coating section has first processing units each for performing a coverage process to supply a photoresist solution to a substrate and cover a surface of the substrate with the photoresist solution, a second processing unit for spinning the substrate, after the coverage process, at high speed to make the photoresist solution into a film, dry the photoresist film, and clean the substrate. All substrates are processed with the same coating conditions to suppress differences in quality among the substrates. The first and second processing units perform the respective processes concurrently to improve the throughput of substrate processing.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 18, 2002Publication date: October 24, 2002Applicant: Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.Inventors: Kazuhito Shigemori, Masakazu Sanada, Minobu Matsunaga, Katsushi Yoshioka, Kenji Sugimoto, Kaoru Aoki, Moritaka Yano, Satoshi Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi Mitsuhashi, Takashi Nagao, Mitsumasa Kodama, Yukihiko Inagaki, Yoshihisa Yamada
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Patent number: 5639301Abstract: An apparatus including a structure which separates a first transport robot (high temperature robot), which accesses a first processing part group including the thermal processing parts, from a second transport robot (low temperature robot) which accesses the only non-thermal processing parts. During circulating transportation of substrates to be processed, heat created at thermal processing parts is prevented from flowing into non-thermal processing parts. Semiconductor wafers are circulated one by one between the first processing part group which includes a hot plate and a second processing part group which does not include a hot plate and processed one at a time at each processing part. The high temperature robot accesses the first processing part group while the low temperature robot accesses the second processing part group. Transfer of a semiconductor wafer between the two robots is performed at a transfer part which is formed using a cool plate.Type: GrantFiled: June 5, 1995Date of Patent: June 17, 1997Assignee: Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.Inventors: Shigeru Sasada, Kaoru Aoki, Mitsumasa Kodama, Kenji Sugimoto, Yoshiteru Fukutomi, Hidekazu Inoue