Patents by Inventor Takashi Takekuma
Takashi Takekuma 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: 7485188Abstract: A coating process method in which a coating liquid is discharged onto the surface of a target substrate to be processed while rotating the target substrate so as to expand the coating liquid radially outward on the target substrate and, thus, to form a coated film comprises the step of detecting that the actual discharging of a coating liquid from a coating liquid discharging nozzle is started, and the step of controlling based on a signal of the detection at least one of the driving timing of a pump for allowing the coating liquid to be discharged from the coating liquid discharging nozzle, the operation timing of a valve mounted to a pipe for supplying the coating liquid into the coating liquid discharging nozzle, and the rotation starting or stopping timing of the target substrate.Type: GrantFiled: February 27, 2006Date of Patent: February 3, 2009Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Takashi Takekuma, Yasuyuki Kometani, Yoshiteru Fukuda, Junya Minamida
-
Publication number: 20060144330Abstract: A coating process method in which a coating liquid is discharged onto the surface of a target substrate to be processed while rotating the target substrate so as to expand the coating liquid radially outward on the target substrate and, thus, to form a coated film comprises the step of detecting that the actual discharging of a coating liquid from a coating liquid discharging nozzle is started, and the step of controlling based on a signal of the detection at least one of the driving timing of a pump for allowing the coating liquid to be discharged from the coating liquid discharging nozzle, the operation timing of a valve mounted to a pipe for supplying the coating liquid into the coating liquid discharging nozzle, and the rotation starting or stopping timing of the target substrate.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 27, 2006Publication date: July 6, 2006Inventors: Takashi Takekuma, Yasuyuki Kometani, Yoshiteru Fukuda, Junya Minamida
-
Patent number: 6848625Abstract: A process liquid supply mechanism for supplying a process liquid comprises a process liquid supply source for supplying a process liquid, a process liquid discharging nozzle for discharging the process liquid, a pipe connecting the process liquid supply source to the process liquid discharging nozzle, a pump mounted to the pipe for allowing the process liquid to be discharged from the process liquid discharging nozzle, a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure of the process liquid at a prescribed position intermediate between the pump and the process liquid discharging nozzle, and a controller for controlling the inner pressure of the pump based on the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor and the relationship obtained in advance between the pressure and the discharging rate of the process liquid such that the process liquid is discharged at a prescribed discharging rate.Type: GrantFiled: March 14, 2003Date of Patent: February 1, 2005Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Takashi Takekuma, Toshinobu Furusho, Takeshi Ohto, Hiroyuki Miyamoto, Kousuke Yoshihara, Shinya Hori, Hiroyuki Hara
-
Publication number: 20030180471Abstract: A process liquid supply mechanism for supplying a process liquid comprises a process liquid supply source for supplying a process liquid, a process liquid discharging nozzle for discharging the process liquid, a pipe connecting the process liquid supply source to the process liquid discharging nozzle, a pump mounted to the pipe for allowing the process liquid to be discharged from the process liquid discharging nozzle, a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure of the process liquid at a prescribed position intermediate between the pump and the process liquid discharging nozzle, and a controller for controlling the inner pressure of the pump based on the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor and the relationship obtained in advance between the pressure and the discharging rate of the process liquid such that the process liquid is discharged at a prescribed discharging rate.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 14, 2003Publication date: September 25, 2003Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Takashi Takekuma, Toshinobu Furusho, Takeshi Ohto, Hiroyuki Miyamoto, Kousuke Yoshihara, Shinya Hori, Hiroyuki Hara
-
Publication number: 20030180444Abstract: A coating process method in which a coating liquid is discharged onto the surface of a target substrate to be processed while rotating the target substrate so as to expand the coating liquid radially outward on the target substrate and, thus, to form a coated film comprises the step of detecting that the actual discharging of a coating liquid from a coating liquid discharging nozzle is started, and the step of controlling based on a signal of the detection at least one of the driving timing of a pump for allowing the coating liquid to be discharged from the coating liquid discharging nozzle, the operation timing of a valve mounted to a pipe for supplying the coating liquid into the coating liquid discharging nozzle, and the rotation starting or stopping timing of the target substrate.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 11, 2003Publication date: September 25, 2003Inventors: Takashi Takekuma, Yasuyuki Kometani, Yoshiteru Fukuda, Junya Minamida
-
Patent number: 6527861Abstract: In a solution treatment apparatus, a nozzle for discharging a treatment solution toward a substrate held by a spin chuck includes a discharge opening for discharging the treatment solution on a surface of the substrate. A collision body against which the treatment solution discharged from the nozzle collides is disposed between the discharge opening of the nozzle and the substrate. Since the collision body is disposed between the discharge opening and the substrate, even when the discharge pressure of the treatment solution is high, the discharged treatment solution once collides against the collision body so that the discharge speed on reaching the substrate is reduced, damage to the substrate is eased, and the amount of air entering into the discharged treatment solution is decreased. Accordingly, no micro-bubble occurs.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 2001Date of Patent: March 4, 2003Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventor: Takashi Takekuma
-
Patent number: 6432199Abstract: An apparatus for processing a substrate by supplying a process liquid to a substrate to be processed in a photolithographic process, comprises a cup, a washing control plate for washing an inner surface of the cup, a spin chuck for rotating the washing control plate or the substrate while holding the washing control plate or the substrate substantially horizontally in the cup, a solvent supply mechanism for supplying a solvent capable of dissolving the process liquid, onto the washing control plate or the substrate held by the spin chuck, a process liquid supply mechanism for supplying the process liquid onto the substrate held by the spin chuck, and a control section for selecting either a solvent to be supplied to the substrate or a solvent to be supplied to the washing control plate and controlling the solvent supply mechanism in accordance with the solvent selected.Type: GrantFiled: April 20, 2000Date of Patent: August 13, 2002Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventor: Takashi Takekuma
-
Patent number: 6402400Abstract: A first processing unit group for performing solution processing and a second processing unit group including heat and cooling processing units each having a heat processing unit and a cooling processing unit are arranged adjacent to each other such that the cooling processing unit is located on the first processing unit group side. This makes it possible to conduct temperature control precisely in a solution processing unit for performing solution processing for a substrate at about room temperature.Type: GrantFiled: October 2, 2000Date of Patent: June 11, 2002Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Issei Ueda, Takashi Takekuma, Kenji Okumura
-
Patent number: 6377329Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus comprises a cassette section for loading/unloading plural cassettes, a first sub-arm mechanism provided in the cassette section, a first block having plural coating units, an interface section provided adjacent to a second block for exposing, a third block having plural developing units, a first main arm mechanism provided in the first block to allow the substrate to be passed to and from the first sub-arm mechanism and to be inserted into and taken out from the coating unit, a third main arm mechanism provided in the third block to allow the substrate to be passed to and from the first main arm mechanism and to be inserted into and taken out from the developing unit, a second sub-arm mechanism provided in the interface section to allow the substrate to be passed to and from the third main arm mechanism and to be passed to and from the second block, a forward bypath having one end extending toward the neighborhood of the cassette section and the other end extending toward theType: GrantFiled: May 22, 2000Date of Patent: April 23, 2002Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventor: Takashi Takekuma
-
Publication number: 20020026896Abstract: In a solution treatment apparatus, a nozzle for discharging a treatment solution toward a substrate held by a spin chuck includes a discharge opening for discharging the treatment solution on a surface of the substrate. A collision body against which the treatment solution discharged from the nozzle collides is disposed between the discharge opening of the nozzle and the substrate. Since the collision body is disposed between the discharge opening and the substrate, even when the discharge pressure of the treatment solution is high, the discharged treatment solution once collides against the collision body so that the discharge speed on reaching the substrate is reduced, damage to the substrate is eased, and the amount of air entering into the discharged treatment solution is decreased. Accordingly, no micro-bubble occurs.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 20, 2001Publication date: March 7, 2002Inventor: Takashi Takekuma
-
Patent number: 6284043Abstract: In a solution treatment apparatus, a nozzle for discharging a treatment solution toward a substrate held by a spin chuck includes a discharge opening for discharging the treatment solution on a surface of the substrate. A collision body against which the treatment solution discharged from the nozzle collides is disposed between the discharge opening of the nozzle and the substrate. Since the collision body is disposed between the discharge opening and the substrate, even when the discharge pressure of the treatment solution is high, the discharged treatment solution once collides against the collision body so that the discharge speed on reaching the substrate is reduced, damage to the substrate is eased, and the amount of air entering into the discharged treatment solution is decreased. Accordingly, no micro-bubble occurs.Type: GrantFiled: July 2, 1998Date of Patent: September 4, 2001Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventor: Takashi Takekuma
-
Patent number: 6258167Abstract: An apparatus for forming a film of a process liquid, comprising a mounting table for supporting the substrate to be processed substantially horizontally, a process liquid supply device for supplying a process liquid for processing the substrate, a linear nozzle having a header space which has a length substantially corresponding to a diameter of the substrate and a liquid discharge portion, the header space mutually communicating with the liquid discharge portion, a liquid inlet port which communicates with the process liquid supply device and whose opening is formed above the header space, a moving device for relatively moving the linear nozzle and the mounting table while the liquid discharge portion faces the substrate on the mounting table, and a control device for controlling a viscosity of the photoresist solution within the header space or controlling a temperature of the developing liquid in the header space.Type: GrantFiled: June 16, 1999Date of Patent: July 10, 2001Assignee: Tokyo Electron LimitedInventors: Yukihiro Kawano, Takashi Takekuma
-
Patent number: 6054181Abstract: A method of subjecting a plurality of wafers to coating and beating treatments where a first boat is placed on a stage arranged in an interface section. The first boat is capable of containing the wafers stacked at intervals in a vertical direction. The stage is capable of moving in a horizontal direction, and has a plurality of positions for respectively placing a plurality of boats. The wafers are conveyed from a supply section to a coating section, and are subjected to a coating treatment one by one. The wafers, which have undergone the coating treatment, are conveyed to the interface section. The wafers, which have undergone the coating treatment, are loaded into the first boat placed on the stage, in the interface section. The first boat containing the wafers, which have undergone the coating treatment, is located at a transfer position by moving the stage. The first boat, located at a transfer position by moving the stage.Type: GrantFiled: August 5, 1996Date of Patent: April 25, 2000Assignees: Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo Electron Kyushu LimitedInventors: Mitsuhiro Nanbu, Naruaki Iida, Hideaki Gotou, Masanori Tateyama, Yuji Yoshimoto, Tomoko Ishimoto, Hidetami Yaegashi, Yasunori Kawakami, Takahide Fukuda, Akihiro Fujimoto, Takashi Takekuma, Hiroyuki Matsukawa
-
Patent number: 5964954Abstract: There is provided a double-sided substrate cleaning apparatus including a carrier station for loading/unloading a carrier in which objects to be processed are stored, a convey mechanism for conveying an object taken out from the carrier station, at least one cleaning mechanism, arranged along a convey path on which the convey mechanism conveys the object, for cleaning the object, and an object reversing mechanism, arranged along the convey path, for reversing the object.Type: GrantFiled: July 10, 1997Date of Patent: October 12, 1999Assignees: Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo Electron Kyushu LimitedInventors: Hiroyuki Matsukawa, Akira Yonemizu, Michiaki Matsushita, Akihiro Fujimoto, Takashi Takekuma, Hidetami Yaegashi, Takahide Fukuda
-
Patent number: 5725664Abstract: An apparatus for subjecting a plurality of wafers to coating and heating treatments, including a coating section for subjecting the wafers to a coating treatment one by one, a heating section for subjecting wafers which have undergone the coating treatment to a heating treatment all together, and an interface section arranged between the coating section and the heating section. The wafers are heat-treated in the heat treatment section while the wafers are stacked at intervals in a vertical direction in a boat. The wafers which have undergone the coating treatment are loaded into the boat by a conveying member in the interface section. The conveying member and the boat are surrounded by a surrounding space formed by a casing at the interface section. A circulation line is combined with an air supply and exhaust system, for circulating air in the surrounding space.Type: GrantFiled: August 5, 1996Date of Patent: March 10, 1998Assignees: Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo Electron Kyushu LimitedInventors: Mitsuhiro Nanbu, Naruaki Iida, Hideaki Gotou, Masanori Tateyama, Yuji Yoshimoto, Tomoko Ishimoto, Hidetami Yaegashi, Yasunori Kawakami, Takahide Fukuda, Akihiro Fujimoto, Takashi Takekuma, Hiroyuki Matsukawa
-
Patent number: 5686143Abstract: There is provided a double-sided substrate cleaning apparatus including a carrier station for loading/unloading a carrier in which objects to be processed are stored, a convey mechanism for conveying an object taken out from the carrier station, at least one cleaning mechanism, arranged along a convey path on which the convey mechanism conveys the object, for cleaning the object, and an object reversing mechanism, arranged along the convey path, for reversing the object.Type: GrantFiled: February 2, 1996Date of Patent: November 11, 1997Assignees: Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo Electron Kyushu LimitedInventors: Hiroyuki Matsukawa, Akira Yonemizu, Michiaki Matsushita, Akihiro Fujimoto, Takashi Takekuma, Hidetami Yaegashi, Takahide Fukuda
-
Patent number: 5665200Abstract: The present invention provides a substrate processing method including the coating step of coating a processing liquid on an object to be processed in a first processing unit of a processing chamber having first and second processing units, the step of conveying the object from the first processing unit to the second processing unit, the rinse step of rinsing an unnecessary processing liquid remaining on a peripheral portion of the object in the second processing unit to remove the unnecessary processing liquid, and the exposure step of conveying the rinsed object to an exposure apparatus to perform exposure processing for the object, wherein a time from the end of the rinse step for one object to be processed to the end of the rinse step for a next object to be processed is shorter than a time required for the exposure step for the one object.Type: GrantFiled: September 7, 1995Date of Patent: September 9, 1997Assignees: Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo Electron Kyushu Limited, Iwaki Co., Ltd.Inventors: Akihiro Fujimoto, Takashi Takekuma, Kiyomi Sonobe
-
Patent number: 5580607Abstract: A coating apparatus comprises a chuck on which a semiconductor wafer is adhered, a resist liquid supplying system for supplying a resist liquid to the semiconductor wafer, a motor for rotating the semiconductor wafer, thereby spreading the resist liquid over the semiconductor wafer, and a plate, on which the semiconductor wafer is placed, for creating a temperature distribution on the semiconductor wafer.Type: GrantFiled: January 26, 1994Date of Patent: December 3, 1996Assignees: Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo Electron Kyushu LimitedInventors: Takashi Takekuma, Masaaki Murakami, Masatoshi Deguchi, Akihiro Fujimoto
-
Patent number: 5565034Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus according to this invention includes an interface section having a first transfer member for transferring an object from a coating process section for applying a process solution to the object in accordance with a single sheet process to an object holding member, and a moving member for detachably supplying a plurality of object holding member and simultaneously moving the plurality of object holding member, and a heat-treatment section having a second transfer member for transferring the object placed on the object holding member to a heat-treatment section for heat-treating the plurality of objects, which have undergone the coating process, in accordance with a batch process.Type: GrantFiled: October 28, 1994Date of Patent: October 15, 1996Assignees: Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo Electron Kyushu LimitedInventors: Mitsuhiro Nanbu, Naruaki Iida, Hideaki Gotou, Masanori Tateyama, Yuji Yoshimoto, Tomoko Ishimoto, Hidetami Yaegashi, Yasunori Kawakami, Takahide Fukuda, Akihiro Fujimoto, Takashi Takekuma, Hiroyuki Matsukawa
-
Patent number: 5518542Abstract: There is provided a double-sided substrate cleaning apparatus including a carrier station for loading/unloading a carrier in which objects to be processed are stored, a convey mechanism for conveying an object taken out from the carrier station, at least one cleaning mechanism, arranged along a convey path on which the convey mechanism conveys the object, for cleaning the object, and an object reversing mechanism, arranged along the convey path, for reversing the object.Type: GrantFiled: November 4, 1994Date of Patent: May 21, 1996Assignees: Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo Electron Kyushu LimitedInventors: Hiroyuki Matsukawa, Akira Yonemizu, Michiaki Matsushita, Akihiro Fujimoto, Takashi Takekuma, Hidetami Yaegashi, Takahide Fukuda