Patents by Inventor Suguru Hirokawa

Suguru Hirokawa 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).

  • Patent number: 10896843
    Abstract: A wafer holding device includes a wafer chuck that includes a wafer holding surface coming into contact with a wafer to be held and a plurality of attraction regions provided on the wafer holding surface, and a controller configured to independently control an attraction force of an at least one of the plurality of attraction regions. In a case where fixing of the wafer is released, the controller establishes a temporarily fixing state in which the attraction force of the at least one of the plurality of attraction regions is smaller than an attraction force in fixing the wafer, and thereafter, the controller sets attraction forces of all of the plurality of attraction regions to be smaller than the attraction force in fixing the wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: SUMITOMO HEAVY INDUSTRIES ION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Fumiaki Sato, Suguru Hirokawa, Masamitsu Shinozuka
  • Publication number: 20180277418
    Abstract: A wafer holding device includes a wafer chuck that includes a wafer holding surface coming into contact with a wafer to be held and a plurality of attraction regions provided on the wafer holding surface, and a controller configured to independently control an attraction force of an at least one of the plurality of attraction regions. In a case where fixing of the wafer is released, the controller establishes a temporarily fixing state in which the attraction force of the at least one of the plurality of attraction regions is smaller than an attraction force in fixing the wafer, and thereafter, the controller sets attraction forces of all of the plurality of attraction regions to be smaller than the attraction force in fixing the wafer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2018
    Publication date: September 27, 2018
    Inventors: Fumiaki Sato, Suguru Hirokawa, Masamitsu Shinozuka
  • Patent number: 9666413
    Abstract: Provided is an ion implantation apparatus including: a vacuum processing chamber in which an ion implantation process for a wafer is performed; one or more load lock chambers that are used for bringing the wafer into the vacuum processing chamber and taking out the wafer from the vacuum processing chamber; an intermediate conveyance chamber that is disposed to be adjacent to both the vacuum processing chamber and the load lock chamber; a load lock chamber-intermediate conveyance chamber communication mechanism including a gate valve capable of sealing a load lock chamber-intermediate conveyance chamber communication port; and an intermediate conveyance chamber-vacuum processing chamber communication mechanism including a movable shielding plate capable of shielding a part or the whole of the intermediate conveyance chamber-vacuum processing chamber communication port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: SUMITOMO HEAVY INDUSTRIES ION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshito Fujii, Tetsuya Kudo, Shinji Ebisu, Suguru Hirokawa, Keiji Okada
  • Publication number: 20150364299
    Abstract: Provided is an ion implantation apparatus including: a vacuum processing chamber in which an ion implantation process for a wafer is performed; one or more load lock chambers that are used for bringing the wafer into the vacuum processing chamber and taking out the wafer from the vacuum processing chamber; an intermediate conveyance chamber that is disposed to be adjacent to both the vacuum processing chamber and the load lock chamber; a load lock chamber-intermediate conveyance chamber communication mechanism including a gate valve capable of sealing a load lock chamber-intermediate conveyance chamber communication port; and an intermediate conveyance chamber-vacuum processing chamber communication mechanism including a movable shielding plate capable of shielding a part or the whole of the intermediate conveyance chamber-vacuum processing chamber communication port.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2015
    Publication date: December 17, 2015
    Inventors: Yoshito Fujii, Tetsuya Kudo, Shinji Ebisu, Suguru Hirokawa, Keiji Okada
  • Patent number: 7597531
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention are directed to a method of controlling a mover device The method includes generating a moving force from a moving force generating unit to move a processing base with respect to a movable base, thereby moving the processing base with respect to a fixed base as a result of the movement of the processing base with respect to the movable base; moving the movable base on the fixed base in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the processing base by virtue of a reaction force caused by the moving force generated from the moving force generating unit to move the processing base, so that the movable base moves in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the processing base on the fixed base. The method further includes controlling the moving velocity of the processing base with respect to the fixed base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2009
    Assignee: SEN Corporation, an SHI and Axcelis Company
    Inventors: Keiji Okada, Michiro Sugitani, Yoshitomo Hidaka, Junichi Murakami, Fumiaki Sato, Mitsukuni Tsukihara, Suguru Hirokawa, Masamitsu Shinozuka
  • Patent number: 7187143
    Abstract: A mover device and an ion implanter apparatus having a processing base that reciprocates at a high speed without undesirable noise and vibration are provided. The mover device includes: a fixed base; a movable base that is linearly movable with respect to the fixed base; a processing base that is linearly movable with respect to the movable base; a main linear motor that generates a moving force to move the processing base with respect to the movable base, thereby moving the processing base with respect to the fixed base; and a velocity control unit that controls the moving velocity of the processing base with respect to the fixed base. In this mover device, the movable base is moved by virtue of a reaction force caused by the moving force to move the processing base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: Sumitomo Eaton Nova, Corporation
    Inventors: Keiji Okada, Yoshitomo Hidaka, Michiro Sugitani, Junichi Murakami, Fumiaki Sato, Mitsukuni Tsukihara, Suguru Hirokawa, Masamitsu Shinozuka
  • Publication number: 20050188924
    Abstract: A method of controlling a mover device that includes: a fixed base; a movable base that is moveable in a linear direction with respect to the fixed base; a processing base that is movable in a linear direction with respect to the movable base, the linear direction being in parallel with the linear moving direction of the movable base; and a moving force generating unit that is provided between the processing base and the movable base, and forms a main moving unit in cooperation with the processing base and the movable base, includes the steps of: generating a moving force from the moving force generating unit to move the processing base with respect to the movable base, thereby moving the processing base with respect to the fixed base as a result of the movement of the processing base with respect to the movable base; moving the movable base on the fixed base in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the processing base by virtue of a reaction force caused by the moving force generated from the mov
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 28, 2005
    Publication date: September 1, 2005
    Inventors: Keiji Okada, Michiro Sugitani, Yoshitomo Hidaka, Junichi Murakami, Fumiaki Sato, Mitsukuni Tsukihara, Suguru Hirokawa, Masamitsu Shinozuka
  • Publication number: 20040194565
    Abstract: A mover device and an ion implanter apparatus having a processing base that reciprocates at a high speed without undesirable noise and vibration are provided. The mover device includes: a fixed base; a movable base that is linearly movable with respect to the fixed base; a processing base that is linearly movable with respect to the movable base; a main linear motor that generates a moving force to move the processing base with respect to the movable base, thereby moving the processing base with respect to the fixed base; and a velocity control unit that controls the moving velocity of the processing base with respect to the fixed base. In this mover device, the movable base is moved by virtue of a reaction force caused by the moving force to move the processing base.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2004
    Publication date: October 7, 2004
    Applicant: Sumitomo Eaton Nova, Corporation
    Inventors: Keiji Okada, Yoshitomo Hidaka, Michiro Sugitani, Junichi Murakami, Fumiaki Sato, Mitsukuni Tsukihara, Suguru Hirokawa, Masamitsu Shinozuka
  • Patent number: 5608223
    Abstract: An ion implantation device is equipped with a high-speed driving device which causes rotation of a disk that supports semiconductor wafers around its outer periphery. A center position of the disk is the axis of the high-speed rotation. A low-speed driving device causes relative movement of the disk in a radial direction. The ion implantation device calculates the movement speed of the low-speed driving device with reference to different spacings between wafers about the outer periphery and the distance from the center of the disk to the ion implantation position and controls the low speed scan speed so that ions are uniformly implanted into the wafers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 4, 1997
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: Suguru Hirokawa, Frank Sinclair
  • Patent number: 5525807
    Abstract: An ion implantation device equipped with a high-speed driving device which causes rotation of the a disk that supports semiconductor wafers around it outer periphery. A center position of the disk is the axis of the rotation of the high speed rotation. A low-speed driving device causes relative movement of the disk in a radial direction. The ion implantation device further has a control circuit which calculates the movement speed of the aforementioned low-speed driving device with reference to different spacings between wafers about the outer periphery and the distance from the center of the disk to the ion implantation position, and controls said low speed scan speed so that ions are uniformly implanted into the aforementioned wafers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1996
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: Suguru Hirokawa, Frank Sinclair, Neil E. DeMario