Abstract: The method of forming a silicon oxycarbonitride film on a base includes stacking a silicon carbonitride film and a silicon oxynitride film on the base to form the silicon oxycarbonitride film.

Abstract: A transfer apparatus for mounting and transferring a transferred component on a driven means, the transfer apparatus includes: a driving means for rotating a driving side pulley by a rotational driving force of a motor to move a belt wound around the driving side pulley, thereby moving the driven means coupled to the belt in a predetermined direction; and a transfer monitoring means for monitoring a transfer state of the driven means, wherein the transfer monitoring means detects a torque value of the motor required to move the driven means, calculates a torque differential value of the torque value with respect to time based on the detected torque value, and detects the transfer state using the calculated torque differential value.

Abstract: Provided is a substrate processing apparatus including a substrate holding unit configured to hold a wafer W horizontally, a rotation driving unit configured to rotate the substrate holding unit, a first chemical liquid nozzle configured to discharge a first chemical liquid to a first chemical liquid supplying position on the peripheral portion of the wafer W, and a second chemical liquid nozzle configured to discharge a second chemical liquid to a second chemical liquid supplying position on the peripheral portion of the wafer W. The rotation driving unit rotates the substrate holding unit in a first rotation direction when the first chemical liquid nozzle discharges the first chemical liquid, and rotates the substrate holding unit in a second rotation direction when the second chemical liquid nozzle discharges the second chemical liquid.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes substrate holding unit that holds wafer W horizontally, rotation driving unit that rotates the substrate holding unit, first chemical liquid nozzle that discharges first chemical liquid toward the peripheral portion of wafer W, second chemical liquid nozzle that discharges second chemical liquid, which is different from the first chemical liquid, toward the peripheral portion of wafer, and first nozzle driving unit and second nozzle driving unit each moves the first chemical liquid nozzle and the second chemical liquid nozzle, respectively. Each chemical liquid nozzle is moved by each nozzle driving unit between processing position disposed when a chemical liquid is discharged toward the peripheral portion of wafer W, and stand-by position disposed when the chemical liquid is not discharged. Each stand-by position is disposed in the center side of wafer W compared to the processing position.

Abstract: A semiconductor device manufacturing method includes exciting plasma, applying RF power onto a target substrate to generate substrate bias and performing an ion implantation plural times by applying the RF power in the form of pulses.

Abstract: The present invention provides a substrate cleaning method capable of removing particles from the entire surface of a substrate to be processed at a high removing efficiency. In the substrate cleaning method according to the present invention, a substrate to be processed W is immersed in a cleaning liquid in a cleaning tank 12. Then, ultrasonic waves are generated in the cleaning liquid contained in the cleaning tank 12, so that the substrate to be processed W is subjected to an ultrasonic cleaning process. While the substrate to be processed is being cleaned, a dissolved gas concentration of a gas dissolved in the cleaning liquid contained in the cleaning tank is changed.

Abstract: A dechuck control method includes performing a discharge process by introducing an inert gas into a processing chamber and maintaining the pressure within the processing chamber at a first pressure; monitoring the pressure of a heat transmitting gas supplied to the processing object rear face and/or the leakage flow rate of the heat transmitting gas; obtaining the amount and polarity of the residual electric charge of the electrostatic chuck surface and applying a voltage for supplying an electric charge that is of the same amount as the residual electric charge but of the opposite polarity to a chuck electrode; evacuating the inert gas from the processing chamber while applying the voltage to the chuck electrode and reducing the pressure within the processing chamber to a second pressure; and turning off the voltage applied to the electrostatic chuck and dechucking the processing object from the electrostatic chuck.

Abstract: The wafer inspection interface 18 includes a probe card 20 having a multiple number of probes 25; a fixing ring 21 configured to hold the probe card 20; a chuck top 23 disposed to face the probe card 20 with a wafer W therebetween; an outer seal ring 24 provided to hermetically seal an outer space 27 surrounded by the fixing ring 21, the probe card 20 and the chuck top 23; an outer depressurization path 29 through which the outer space 27 is depressurized; an inner seal ring 26 provided to hermetically seal an inner space 28 surrounded by the probe card 20 and the wafer W; and an inner depressurization path 30 through which the inner space 28 is depressurized. Further, the inner space 28 may be surrounded by the outer space 27, and the wafer W is disposed within the inner space 28.

Abstract: Performance of a manufacturing tool is optimized. Optimization relies on recipe drifting and generation of knowledge that capture relationships among product output metrics and input material measurement(s) and recipe parameters. Optimized recipe parameters are extracted from a basis of learned functions that predict output metrics for a current state of the manufacturing tool and measurements of input material(s). Drifting and learning are related and lead to dynamic optimization of tool performance, which enables optimized output from the manufacturing tool as the operation conditions of the tool changes. Features of recipe drifting and associated learning can be autonomously or externally configured through suitable user interfaces, which also can be drifted to optimize end-user interaction.

Abstract: An abnormality detection apparatus for a periodic driving system includes a detection unit; a data obtaining unit for time series data from the detected sound; a determinism derivation unit configured to derive a plurality of values representing determinism providing an indicator of whether the time series data is deterministic or stochastic or a plurality of intermediate variations in a calculation process of the values representing determinism at a predetermined interval from the time series data; a probability distribution calculation unit. The abnormality detection apparatus further includes a determination unit configured to determine existence or non-existence of abnormality in the periodic driving system based on the probability distribution of the values representing determinism or the intermediate variations.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a spin chuck (3) that holds a substrate (W) and rotates the same. A process liquid supply system (11, . . . ) is disposed to supply a process liquid to the substrate rotated by the spin chuck. There are disposed a fluid nozzle (12) that supplies to the substrate a drying fluid having a higher volatility than that of the process liquid, and an inert gas nozzle (13) that supplies an inert gas to the substrate. A nozzle moving mechanism (15, 52, . . . ) is disposed that moves the nozzles (12, 13) radially outward relative to a rotational center (Po) of the substrate, while maintaining the inert gas nozzle nearer to the rotational center of the substrate than the fluid nozzle.

Abstract: The present invention is to provide a technique for uniformly processing a substrate surface in the process of processing a substrate by supplying a gas. The inside of a shower head having gas-jetting pores for supplying a gas to a substrate is partitioned into a center section from which a gas is supplied to the center portion of a substrate, and a peripheral section from which a gas is supplied to the peripheral portion of the substrate, and the same process gas is supplied to the substrate from these two sections at flow rates separately regulated. The distance from the center of the center section of the gas supply unit to the outermost gas-jetting pores in the center section is set 53% or more of the radius of the substrate. Moreover, an additional gas is further supplied to the peripheral portion of the substrate.

Abstract: A separation apparatus for separating a superposed substrate in which a processing target substrate and a supporting substrate are joined together with an adhesive, into the processing target substrate and the supporting substrate, includes: a first holding unit which holds the processing target substrate; a second holding unit which holds the supporting substrate; a moving mechanism which relatively moves the first holding unit or the second holding unit in a horizontal direction; a load measurement unit which measures a load acting on the processing target substrate and the supporting substrate when the processing target substrate and the supporting substrate are separated; and a control unit which controls the moving mechanism based on the load measured by the load measurement unit.

Abstract: A chemical liquid process is performed on a substrate. Then, a rinse process that supplies a rinse liquid to the substrate is performed. Thereafter, a drying process that dries the substrate is performed while rotating the substrate. The drying process includes a first drying process that rotates the substrate at a first rotational speed; a second drying process that decreases the rotational speed of the substrate to a second rotational speed lower than the first rotational speed after the first drying process. In the second drying process, the rinse liquid and a drying solution are agitated and substituted while generating braking effect. In a third drying process, the rotational speed of the substrate is increased from the second rotational speed to a third rotational speed after the second drying process. Thereafter, in a fourth drying process, the drying solution on the substrate is scattered away by rotating the substrate.

Abstract: A tungsten film forming method for forming a tungsten film on a surface of a substrate while heating the substrate in a depressurized atmosphere in a processing chamber includes forming an initial tungsten film for tungsten nucleation on the surface of the substrate by alternately repeating a supply of WF6 gas which is raw material of tungsten and a supply of H2 gas which is a reducing gas in the processing chamber while performing a purge in the processing chamber between the supplies of the WF6 gas and the H2 gas and adsorbing a gas containing a material for nucleation onto a surface of the initial tungsten film. The film forming method further includes depositing a crystallinity blocking tungsten film for blocking crystallinity of the initial tungsten film by supplying the WF6 gas and the H2 gas into the processing chamber.

Abstract: A droplet can be moved along a surface of a moving surface forming member in a simple method. At both sides of the moving surface forming member 1 configured to form a moving surface on which the droplet is moved and made of a nonmagnetic material, magnetic field forming members 4A and 4B configured to form a magnetic field gradient such that intensity of a magnetic field decreases as a distance from an area where the droplet is positioned on the surface of the moving surface forming member 1 increases along the surface is provided. By relatively moving the moving surface forming member 1 with respect to the magnetic field forming members 4A and 4B along the surface, the droplet is moved along the magnetic field gradient.

Abstract: A bonding apparatus for bonding a substrate to be processed and a support substrate including, a first holding unit which holds the substrate to be processed, a second holding unit disposed to face the first holding unit and configured to hold the support substrate, a pressurizing mechanism including a vertically-expansible pressure vessel which is installed to cover the substrate to be processed held by the first holding unit and the support substrate held by the second holding unit, the pressurizing mechanism being installed in any one of the first holding unit and the second holding unit and configured to flow air into the pressure vessel and press the second holding unit and the first holding unit towards each other, an internally-sealable processing vessel which receives the first holding unit, the second holding unit and the pressure vessel, and a depressurization mechanism which depressurizes an internal atmosphere of the processing vessel.

Abstract: A vaporized material supply apparatus includes: a storage tank for storing a liquid material; a first temperature controller for controlling the storage tank to be at a first temperature; a carrier gas inlet line for introducing a carrier gas into the storage tank; a processing gas outlet line for discharging a processing gas out of the storage tank; a container having an inlet port connecting to the processing gas outlet line and an outlet port via which the processing gas is discharged; an interference member to interfere with flow of the processing gas in the container; and a second temperature controller for controlling the container to be at a second temperature lower than the first temperature.

Abstract: The interference optical system includes a light source, a collimator, a light-receiving element, a tunable filter, and a calculation apparatus. The collimator emits measuring light from the light source to a first main surface of the object, and receives reflected light from the first main surface and a second main surface. The light-receiving element acquires an intensity of light from the collimator. The tunable filter sweeps a wavelength of the light incident to the light-receiving element. The calculation apparatus measures an interference intensity distribution that has wavelength dependence and is an intensity distribution of the reflected light from the first main surface and the second main surface, and measures the thickness or the temperature of the object based on a waveform obtained by Fourier transforming the interference intensity distribution.

Abstract: Prior to wafer processing, pressure ratio control is executed on a divided flow rate adjustment means so as to adjust the flow rates of divided flows to achieve a target pressure ratio with regard to the pressures in the individual branch passages. As the processing gas from a processing gas supply means is diverted into first and second branch pipings under the pressure ratio control and the pressures in the branch passages then stabilize, the control on the divided flow rate adjustment means is switched to steady pressure control for adjusting the flow rates of the divided flows so as to hold the pressure in the first branch passage at the level achieved in the stable pressure condition. Only after the control is switched to the steady pressure control, an additional gas is delivered into the second branch passage via an additional gas supply means.