Patents by Inventor Naohide ITO
Naohide ITO 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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Publication number: 20240093371Abstract: Provided is a method of supplying a liquid raw material to a gas supply device. The gas supply device includes: a storage tank that stores the liquid raw material; a heating unit that heats the liquid raw material to generate a raw material gas; a level detecting unit that detects a liquid surface level of the liquid raw material stored in the storage tank; a gas inlet and a gas outlet provided in the storage tank; and a raw material inlet provided in the storage tank. The method includes: determining whether the liquid surface level of the liquid raw material is equal to or lower than a supply target level; and repeating supply of a specified amount of liquid raw material to the storage tank a specified number of times when the liquid surface level of the liquid raw material is equal to or lower than the supply target level.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 11, 2023Publication date: March 21, 2024Inventors: Hiroaki DEWA, Satoshi MIZUNAGA, Naohide ITO
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Patent number: 11621185Abstract: A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes one or more process modules, a scheduler, and a transfer controller. A product wafer of a lot that is transferred from a load port to one of the one or more process modules is replenished such that a total number of wafers that are simultaneously processed in the one or more process modules becomes N. When an advance lot being processed and a post lot to be processed subsequent to the advance lot have a same processing condition, the scheduler creates the transfer plan to replenish with the product wafer of the post lot instead of a dummy wafer such that the transfer controller transfers the product wafer and the dummy wafer to the one or more process modules according to the created transfer plan.Type: GrantFiled: February 17, 2021Date of Patent: April 4, 2023Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Rintaro Takao, Naohide Ito, Hiroaki Dewa, Masayuki Kozawa
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Publication number: 20220372624Abstract: A control apparatus is included in a film forming apparatus that includes: a rotation table disposed in a vacuum container and configured to rotate around a central shaft of a table surface, thereby revolving a substrate on a disposing surface provided on a part of the table surface; a stage configured to rotate around the central shaft of the disposing surface, thereby rotating the substrate on the disposing surface; and a gas supply unit configured to supply a gas into the vacuum container. The control apparatus includes: a display control unit configured to display a setting screen for setting a first parameter that controls a rotation of the substrate; and a process execution unit configured to form a film on the substrate while controlling the rotation of the substrate based on the set first parameter.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 18, 2022Publication date: November 24, 2022Inventors: Yohei MATSUMOTO, Naohide ITO, Takehiro FUKADA, Shinji ASARI
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Publication number: 20210287920Abstract: A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes one or more process modules, a scheduler, and a transfer controller. A product wafer of a lot that is transferred from a load port to one of the one or more process modules is replenished such that a total number of wafers that are simultaneously processed in the one or more process modules becomes N. When an advance lot being processed and a post lot to be processed subsequent to the advance lot have a same processing condition, the scheduler creates the transfer plan to replenish with the product wafer of the post lot instead of a dummy wafer such that the transfer controller transfers the product wafer and the dummy wafer to the one or more process modules according to the created transfer plan.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 17, 2021Publication date: September 16, 2021Inventors: Rintaro TAKAO, Naohide ITO, Hiroaki DEWA, Masayuki KOZAWA
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Patent number: 11073851Abstract: A monitoring apparatus for monitoring a raw material tank monitors the temperature of the raw material tank when the temperature of the raw material tank storing a solid or liquid raw material is raised to a set temperature by a heating unit. The monitoring apparatus includes: a temperature determination unit configured to determine whether the temperature has reached a stable range including the set temperature, and determine whether the temperature has deviated from the stable range; and a setting unit configured to set the set temperature of the heating unit to 0° C. when a predetermined timeout time has elapsed from a time point at which the temperature determination unit determined that the temperature deviated from the stable range.Type: GrantFiled: November 26, 2019Date of Patent: July 27, 2021Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Kenta Horigome, Shinobu Kawamorita, Yosuke Matsumoto, Kosuke Takahashi, Naohide Ito
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Publication number: 20200165720Abstract: A monitoring apparatus for monitoring a raw material tank monitors the temperature of the raw material tank when the temperature of the raw material tank storing a solid or liquid raw material is raised to a set temperature by a heating unit. The monitoring apparatus includes: a temperature determination unit configured to determine whether the temperature has reached a stable range including the set temperature, and determine whether the temperature has deviated from the stable range; and a setting unit configured to set the set temperature of the heating unit to 0° C. when a predetermined timeout time has elapsed from a time point at which the temperature determination unit determined that the temperature deviated from the stable range.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 26, 2019Publication date: May 28, 2020Inventors: Kenta Horigome, Shinobu Kawamorita, Yosuke Matsumoto, Kosuke Takahashi, Naohide Ito
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Patent number: 10186422Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus is provided with a process module including a processing container, a rotary table installed within the processing container, the rotary table having a plurality of placing regions to receive substrates, and a process gas supply unit supplying a process gas to the placing regions, a load port in which a transfer container is placed, a dummy substrate receiving unit, a transfer chamber including a transfer mechanism delivering the product substrates or the dummy substrates between the transfer container or the dummy substrate receiving unit and the rotary table, a setting unit setting a placing region to which one of the product substrates is to be transferred, and a control unit outputting a control signal such that the dummy substrates are carried into the remaining placing regions.Type: GrantFiled: October 22, 2013Date of Patent: January 22, 2019Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Naohide Ito, Keiji Osada, Daisuke Morisawa
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Patent number: 10002417Abstract: A ready for rotation state detection device is configured to detect a state in which a substrate, which is placed on a concave portion formed in a surface of a turntable, will not fly out of the concave portion when the turntable is rotated in a chamber. The ready for rotation state detection device includes a ready for rotation state detection unit configured to detect that a height of a surface of an end of the substrate is equal to or lower than a predetermined value indicating that the turntable is rotatable, upon receiving the substrate on the concave portion.Type: GrantFiled: May 20, 2014Date of Patent: June 19, 2018Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Kiichi Takahashi, Takeshi Kobayashi, Yuji Takabatake, Naohide Ito, Katsuaki Sugawara
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Patent number: 9828675Abstract: Disclosed is a processing apparatus. The processing apparatus includes: a load port in which a conveyance container accommodating a plurality of semiconductor wafers is placed; a dummy wafer storage area in which a conveyance container accommodating a plurality of dummy wafers is placed; a normal-pressure conveyance room in which a first conveyance arm is installed; an equipment that processes the plurality of semiconductor wafers in a state where the semiconductor wafers and the dummy wafers which are conveyed are placed in slots, respectively; and a controller that controls each component of the processing apparatus. The controller classifies the dummy wafers accommodated in the conveyance container into a plurality of groups, and controls the first conveyance arm to preferentially convey the dummy wafers within one of the classified groups to the equipment and, in replacing the dummy wafers, to perform replacement of the dummy wafers group to group as classified.Type: GrantFiled: September 21, 2015Date of Patent: November 28, 2017Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Naohide Ito, Daisuke Morisawa, Keiji Osada
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Patent number: 9583318Abstract: There is provided an apparatus of performing a plasma process on substrates mounted on an upper surface of a rotary table. The apparatus includes: a heater for heating the substrates; a process gas supply part for supplying a process gas toward the upper surface of the rotary table; an antenna for generating an inductively coupled plasma by converting the process gas to plasma; a light detection part for detecting respective light intensities of R, G and B component as light color components; a calculation part for obtaining an evaluation value corresponding to a change amount before and after supplying a high-frequency power to the antenna, with respect to at least one of the respective light intensities; and an ignition determination part for comparing the evaluation value with a threshold value and to determine that ignition of plasma is not generated if the evaluation value does not exceed the threshold value.Type: GrantFiled: March 25, 2016Date of Patent: February 28, 2017Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Shigehiro Miura, Takeshi Kobayashi, Katsuaki Sugawara, Naohide Ito
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Publication number: 20160293390Abstract: There is provided an apparatus of performing a plasma process on substrates mounted on an upper surface of a rotary table. The apparatus includes: a heater for heating the substrates; a process gas supply part for supplying a process gas toward the upper surface of the rotary table; an antenna for generating an inductively coupled plasma by converting the process gas to plasma; a light detection part for detecting respective light intensities of R, G and B component as light color components; a calculation part for obtaining an evaluation value corresponding to a change amount before and after supplying a high-frequency power to the antenna, with respect to at least one of the respective light intensities; and an ignition determination part for comparing the evaluation value with a threshold value and to determine that ignition of plasma is not generated if the evaluation value does not exceed the threshold value.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 25, 2016Publication date: October 6, 2016Inventors: Shigehiro MIURA, Takeshi KOBAYASHI, Katsuaki SUGAWARA, Naohide ITO
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Publication number: 20160093520Abstract: Disclosed is a processing apparatus. The processing apparatus includes: a load port in which a conveyance container accommodating a plurality of semiconductor wafers is placed; a dummy wafer storage area in which a conveyance container accommodating a plurality of dummy wafers is placed; a normal-pressure conveyance room in which a first conveyance arm is installed; an equipment that processes the plurality of semiconductor wafers in a state where the semiconductor wafers and the dummy wafers which are conveyed are placed in slots, respectively; and a controller that controls each component of the processing apparatus. The controller classifies the dummy wafers accommodated in the conveyance container into a plurality of groups, and controls the first conveyance arm to preferentially convey the dummy wafers within one of the classified groups to the equipment and, in replacing the dummy wafers, to perform replacement of the dummy wafers group to group as classified.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 21, 2015Publication date: March 31, 2016Inventors: Naohide ITO, Daisuke MORISAWA, Keiji OSADA
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Publication number: 20140347465Abstract: A ready for rotation state detection device is configured to detect a state in which a substrate, which is placed on a concave portion formed in a surface of a turntable, will not fly out of the concave portion when the turntable is rotated in a chamber. The ready for rotation state detection device includes a ready for rotation state detection unit configured to detect that a height of a surface of an end of the substrate is equal to or lower than a predetermined value indicating that the turntable is rotatable, upon receiving the substrate on the concave portion.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 20, 2014Publication date: November 27, 2014Applicant: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Kiichi TAKAHASHI, Takeshi Kobayashi, Yuji Takabatake, Naohide Ito, Katsuaki Sugawara
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Publication number: 20140345523Abstract: A substrate ejection detection device is used for substrate processing apparatus configured to process a substrate by continuously rotating a turntable holding the substrate on a concave portion formed in a surface thereof to receive the substrate thereon. In the substrate processing device, the turntable is substantially horizontally provided in a chamber. The substrate ejection detection device includes a substrate ejection determination unit configured to determine whether the substrate is out of the concave portion by determining whether the substrate exists on the concave portion while rotating the turntable.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 22, 2014Publication date: November 27, 2014Applicant: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Hitoshi KIKUCHI, Takeshi Kobayashi, Mitsuhiro Yoshida, Yuta Haga, Yuji Takabatake, Naohide Ito, Katsuaki Sugawara, Masaaki Chiba, Hiroyuki Sato
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Publication number: 20140109833Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus is provided with a process module including a processing container, a rotary table installed within the processing container, the rotary table having a plurality of placing regions to receive substrates, and a process gas supply unit supplying a process gas to the placing regions, a load port in which a transfer container is placed, a dummy substrate receiving unit, a transfer chamber including a transfer mechanism delivering the product substrates or the dummy substrates between the transfer container or the dummy substrate receiving unit and the rotary table, a setting unit setting a placing region to which one of the product substrates is to be transferred, and a control unit outputting a control signal such that the dummy substrates are carried into the remaining placing regions.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 22, 2013Publication date: April 24, 2014Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Naohide ITO, Keiji OSADA, Daisuke MORISAWA