Abstract: One object of the present disclosure is to improve the accuracy of detection of an abnormality of various devices, and/or to advance the timing of detection of an abnormality. There is provided an apparatus for plating a substrate, comprising: an anode placed to be opposed to the substrate; an electric field regulating member placed between the substrate and the anode, provided with an opening, and equipped with an opening adjustment member configured to change a dimension of the opening; a motor configured to drive the opening adjustment member; and a control device configured to obtain an electric current value or a load factor of the motor, to calculate an amount of change in the load factor of the motor per unit time from the obtained electric current value or the obtained load factor of the motor, and to detect an abnormality of the electric field regulating member when it is detected that the amount of change in the load factor of the motor per unit time exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

Abstract: There is provided a method of detecting a leakage of a substrate holder in an apparatus for plating. The method of detecting the leakage comprises: placing the substrate holder that holds a substrate, into a tank that is filled with a liquid; supplying a gas into an internal space of the substrate holder that seals an outer circumferential portion of the substrate; and taking an image of the liquid surrounding the substrate holder in a state that the internal space of the substrate holder is pressurized by the gas and analyzing one or a plurality of taken images to determine presence or absence of gas bubbles in the liquid and thereby detect a leakage of the substrate holder.

Abstract: An information processing device includes: an information acquiring part configured to acquire plating process information including operational motion information including target paddle motion information indicating an agitating motion of a target paddle corresponding to a paddle to be processed, plating solution motion information indicating a motion of supplying a plating solution to a plating tank, and carrier machine motion information indicating a motion of carrying a substrate and operational-motion paddle vibration information indicating vibration characteristics of the target paddle when an operational motion is performed, the motions being operational motions performed by a substrate plating device; and an information generating part configured to generate agitating-motion paddle vibration information in response to the plating process information by inputting the plating process information acquired by the information acquiring part to a learning model which has learned a correlation between the p

Abstract: Uniformity in plated film thickness in a plating apparatus is improved. A plating apparatus for plating a substrate by making electric current flow from an anode to the substrate is provided. The plating apparatus comprises: plural anode-side electric wires which are electrically connected to the anode via plural electric contacts on the anode; plural substrate-side electric wires which are electrically connected to the substrate via plural electric contacts on the substrate; plural variable resistors positioned, in at least one of the anode side and the substrate side, in middle positions in the plural anode-side electric wires or the plural substrate-side electric wires; and a controller constructed to adjust each of resistance values of the plural variable resistors.

Abstract: One object of the present disclosure is to improve the accuracy of detection of an abnormality of various devices, and/or to advance the timing of detection of an abnormality. There is provided an apparatus for plating a substrate, comprising: an anode placed to be opposed to the substrate; an electric field regulating member placed between the substrate and the anode, provided with an opening, and equipped with an opening adjustment member configured to change a dimension of the opening; a motor configured to drive the opening adjustment member; and a control device configured to obtain an electric current value or a load factor of the motor, to calculate an amount of change in the load factor of the motor per unit time from the obtained electric current value or the obtained load factor of the motor, and to detect an abnormality of the electric field regulating member when it is detected that the amount of change in the load factor of the motor per unit time exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

Abstract: A method of the present disclosure includes: plating a plurality of substrates using a substrate holder; determining a total number of substrates that have been plated using the substrate holder until a failure occurs in the substrate holder; determining a first processable number and a second processable number; generating a first data set constituted by a combination of first condition data and the first processable number, the first condition data representing a state of a component of the substrate holder; generating a second data set constituted by a combination of second condition data and the second processable number, the second condition data representing a state of a component of the substrate holder; and optimizing a parameter of a prediction model constituted by a neural network using training data including the first data set and the second data set.

Abstract: An optimal number of modules for use is accurately estimated in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. Provided is a method applied to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including one or a plurality of substrate processing modules each including a plurality of submodules. The present method includes a step of estimating the optimal number of the submodules for use, based on a target production amount and predicted production amount of substrates and a use rate of the substrate processing module, a step of preparing, based on the estimated optimal number for use, a schedule to process a substrate with the optimal number of the submodules for use, a step of updating, based on the prepared schedule, the predicted production amount and the use rate, and a step of repeating the estimating step by use of the updated predicted production amount and use rate, to update the optimal number of the submodules for use.

Abstract: A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including: a first device; one or more sensors; a first calculation circuit that calculates one or more feature quantities of the first device from the detected physical quantities; and a failure prediction circuit that compares the one or more feature quantities with a plurality of pieces of model data of a temporal change in one or more feature quantities until the first device fails, decides a piece of model data with the minimum difference from the calculated one or more feature quantities among the plurality of pieces of model data, calculates predicted failure time from a difference between a failure point in time and a point in time at which a difference from the calculated one or more feature quantities is the minimum in the piece of model data.

Abstract: A plating method capable of saving a substrate in an event of a failure of a transporter, a plating tank, or other component when the substrate is being plated is disclosed. The plating method includes: transporting a plurality of substrates to a plurality of plating tanks, respectively, with a transporter; immersing the plurality of substrates in a plating solution held in the plurality of plating tanks to plate the plurality of substrates; detecting a failure that has occurred in the transporter or a post-processing tank; and replacing the plating solution in the plurality of plating tanks with a preservative liquid to thereby immerse the plurality of substrates in the preservative liquid.

Abstract: Provided is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a first device; one or more sensors that detect physical quantities indicating a state of the first device; a first calculation circuit that calculates one or more feature quantities of the first device from the detected physical quantities; and a failure prediction circuit that monitors a temporal change in the one or more feature quantities calculated in the first calculation circuit, and stops receiving a new substrate when a duration for which a degree of deviation of the one or more feature quantities from those at a normal time is increasing exceeds a first time, and/or when a number of increases and decreases per unit time in the degree of deviation of the one or more feature quantities from those at the normal time exceeds a first number.

Abstract: A plating method capable of saving a substrate in an event of a failure of a transporter, a plating tank, or other component when the substrate is being plated is disclosed. The plating method includes: transporting a plurality of substrates to a plurality of plating tanks, respectively, with a transporter; immersing the plurality of substrates in a plating solution held in the plurality of plating tanks to plate the plurality of substrates; detecting a failure that has occurred in the transporter or a post-processing tank; and replacing the plating solution in the plurality of plating tanks with a preservative liquid to thereby immerse the plurality of substrates in the preservative liquid.

Abstract: A plating system comprising a plating tank for applying plate processing to a substrate, a sensor configured to measure actual plating film thickness of the substrate, and a controller configured to control plating current supplied to the plating tank and plating time for the plate processing of the substrate within the plating tank. The controller is capable of setting target plating film thickness, plating current, and plating time as a plate processing recipe. At least one of the plating current and the plating time is automatically corrected so that the actual plating film thickness and the target plating film thickness become equal to each other, and the result is reflected in the plate processing for the subsequent substrate.

Abstract: A calculation amount and calculation time for a substrate conveyance schedule are reduced. A scheduler is provided which is incorporated in a control section of a substrate processing apparatus including a plurality of substrate processing sections that process a substrate, a conveyance section that conveys the substrate, and the control section that controls the conveyance section and the substrate processing sections, and calculates a substrate conveyance schedule. The scheduler includes: a modeling section that models processing conditions, processing time and constraints of the substrate processing apparatus into nodes and edges using a graph network theory, prepares a graph network, and calculates a longest route length to each node; and a calculation section that calculates the substrate conveyance schedule based on the longest route length.

Abstract: A calculation amount and calculation time for a substrate conveyance schedule are reduced. A scheduler is provided which is incorporated in a control section of a substrate processing apparatus including a plurality of substrate processing sections that process a substrate, a conveyance section that conveys the substrate, and the control section that controls the conveyance section and the substrate processing sections, and calculates a substrate conveyance schedule. The scheduler includes: a modeling section that models processing conditions, processing time and constraints of the substrate processing apparatus into nodes and edges using a graph network theory, prepares a graph network, and calculates a longest route length to each node; and a calculation section that calculates the substrate conveyance schedule based on the longest route length.

Abstract: A calculation amount and calculation time for a substrate conveyance schedule are reduced. A scheduler is provided which is incorporated in a control section of a substrate processing apparatus including a plurality of substrate processing sections that process a substrate, a conveyance section that conveys the substrate, and the control section that controls the conveyance section and the substrate processing sections, and calculates a substrate conveyance schedule. The scheduler includes: a modeling section that models processing conditions, processing time and constraints of the substrate processing apparatus into nodes and edges using a graph network theory, prepares a graph network, and calculates a longest route length to each node; and a calculation section that calculates the substrate conveyance schedule based on the longest route length.

Abstract: A calculation amount and calculation time for a substrate conveyance schedule are reduced. A scheduler is provided which is incorporated in a control section of a substrate processing apparatus including a plurality of substrate processing sections that process a substrate, a conveyance section that conveys the substrate, and the control section that controls the conveyance section and the substrate processing sections, and calculates a substrate conveyance schedule. The scheduler includes: a modeling section that models processing conditions, processing time and constraints of the substrate processing apparatus into nodes and edges using a graph network theory, prepares a graph network, and calculates a longest route length to each node; and a calculation section that calculates the substrate conveyance schedule based on the longest route length.

Abstract: The present invention provides a substrate holding member comprising: a first holding member; a second holding member that cooperates with the first holding member to hold the substrate therebetween; and a transparent portion provided in at least one of the first and second holding members.

Abstract: A plating method capable of saving a substrate in an event of a failure of a transporter, a plating tank, or other component when the substrate is being plated is disclosed. The plating method includes: transporting a plurality of substrates to a plurality of plating tanks, respectively, with a transporter; immersing the plurality of substrates in a plating solution held in the plurality of plating tanks to plate the plurality of substrates; detecting a failure that has occurred in the transporter or a post-processing tank; and replacing the plating solution in the plurality of plating tanks with a preservative liquid to thereby immerse the plurality of substrates in the preservative liquid.

Abstract: A method of the present disclosure includes: plating a plurality of substrates using a substrate holder; determining a total number of substrates that have been plated using the substrate holder until a failure occurs in the substrate holder; determining a first processable number and a second processable number; generating a first data set constituted by a combination of first condition data and the first processable number, the first condition data representing a state of a component of the substrate holder; generating a second data set constituted by a combination of second condition data and the second processable number, the second condition data representing a state of a component of the substrate holder; and optimizing a parameter of a prediction model constituted by a neural network using training data including the first data set and the second data set.

Abstract: A plating method capable of saving a substrate in an event of a failure of a transporter, a plating tank, or other component when the substrate is being plated is disclosed. The plating method includes: transporting a plurality of substrates to a plurality of plating tanks, respectively, with a transporter; immersing the plurality of substrates in a plating solution held in the plurality of plating tanks to plate the plurality of substrates; detecting a failure that has occurred in the transporter or a post-processing tank; and replacing the plating solution in the plurality of plating tanks with a preservative liquid to thereby immerse the plurality of substrates in the preservative liquid.