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).

  • Publication number: 20240093371
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2023
    Publication date: March 21, 2024
    Inventors: Hiroaki DEWA, Satoshi MIZUNAGA, Naohide ITO
  • Patent number: 11621185
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Rintaro Takao, Naohide Ito, Hiroaki Dewa, Masayuki Kozawa
  • Publication number: 20220372624
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2022
    Publication date: November 24, 2022
    Inventors: Yohei MATSUMOTO, Naohide ITO, Takehiro FUKADA, Shinji ASARI
  • Publication number: 20210287920
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2021
    Publication date: September 16, 2021
    Inventors: Rintaro TAKAO, Naohide ITO, Hiroaki DEWA, Masayuki KOZAWA
  • Patent number: 11073851
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Kenta Horigome, Shinobu Kawamorita, Yosuke Matsumoto, Kosuke Takahashi, Naohide Ito
  • Publication number: 20200165720
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2019
    Publication date: May 28, 2020
    Inventors: Kenta Horigome, Shinobu Kawamorita, Yosuke Matsumoto, Kosuke Takahashi, Naohide Ito
  • Patent number: 10186422
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Naohide Ito, Keiji Osada, Daisuke Morisawa
  • Patent number: 10002417
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2018
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Kiichi Takahashi, Takeshi Kobayashi, Yuji Takabatake, Naohide Ito, Katsuaki Sugawara
  • Patent number: 9828675
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Naohide Ito, Daisuke Morisawa, Keiji Osada
  • Patent number: 9583318
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Shigehiro Miura, Takeshi Kobayashi, Katsuaki Sugawara, Naohide Ito
  • Publication number: 20160293390
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2016
    Publication date: October 6, 2016
    Inventors: Shigehiro MIURA, Takeshi KOBAYASHI, Katsuaki SUGAWARA, Naohide ITO
  • Publication number: 20160093520
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Publication date: March 31, 2016
    Inventors: Naohide ITO, Daisuke MORISAWA, Keiji OSADA
  • Publication number: 20140347465
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: May 20, 2014
    Publication date: November 27, 2014
    Applicant: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Kiichi TAKAHASHI, Takeshi Kobayashi, Yuji Takabatake, Naohide Ito, Katsuaki Sugawara
  • Publication number: 20140345523
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: May 22, 2014
    Publication date: November 27, 2014
    Applicant: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hitoshi KIKUCHI, Takeshi Kobayashi, Mitsuhiro Yoshida, Yuta Haga, Yuji Takabatake, Naohide Ito, Katsuaki Sugawara, Masaaki Chiba, Hiroyuki Sato
  • Publication number: 20140109833
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2013
    Publication date: April 24, 2014
    Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Naohide ITO, Keiji OSADA, Daisuke MORISAWA