Patents by Inventor Yudo Sugawara

Yudo Sugawara 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: 11869798
    Abstract: A deposition apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a vacuum vessel, a rotary table rotatably disposed in the vacuum vessel, a heating device provided below the rotary table, and a radiation adjusting member. The rotary table is configured such that multiple substrates can be placed on the rotary table along a circumferential direction of the rotary table. The heating device is configured to heat the multiple substrates by thermal radiation, and the radiation adjusting member is configured to adjust an amount of radiant heat from the heating device to the plurality of substrates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Manabu Honma, Yudo Sugawara, Noriko Sato
  • Publication number: 20230193464
    Abstract: A substrate-processing-apparatus includes a processing-vessel to accommodate a substrate and to process the substrate; a substrate-support that is provided inside the processing-vessel and has a mounting-surface on which the substrate is mounted; and a lift-pin-mechanism that includes a lift-pin that is movable relative to the substrate-support and a pin-housing-chamber in which the lift-pin is housed, the lift-pin-mechanism being to lift the substrate by raising the lift-pin, wherein the substrate-support has a hole through which the lift-pin is passable, the lift-pin mechanism includes a pressure-regulator that regulates the pressure in the hole by passing inert-gas through the pin-housing-chamber, and at a timing when the substrate is to be lifted, the pressure-regulator adjusts the pressure in the hole to a lifting pressure that is greater than or equal to the pressure in a processing space that is above the mounting-surface and at which the substrate remains continuously mounted on the mounting-surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2022
    Publication date: June 22, 2023
    Inventors: Akihiro KURIBAYASHI, Kentaro OSHIMO, Hyunyoung GO, Yudo SUGAWARA, Akashi FUJIO
  • Publication number: 20210242070
    Abstract: A deposition apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a vacuum vessel, a rotary table rotatably disposed in the vacuum vessel, a heating device provided below the rotary table, and a radiation adjusting member. The rotary table is configured such that multiple substrates can be placed on the rotary table along a circumferential direction of the rotary table. The heating device is configured to heat the multiple substrates by thermal radiation, and the radiation adjusting member is configured to adjust an amount of radiant heat from the heating device to the plurality of substrates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 21, 2021
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Inventors: Manabu HONMA, Yudo SUGAWARA, Noriko SATO
  • Publication number: 20200126829
    Abstract: There is provided a maintenance control method of controlling a processing device including determining whether a temperature of a component part of the processing device that processes a substrate changes at least 5° C. or a preset temperature is changed by at least 5° C., determining whether at least a predetermined number of a first vibration is included in vibration data detected by a vibration sensor provided in the processing device in response to a timing when the temperature of the component part of the processing device that processes the substrate is determined to change at least 5° C. or the preset temperature is determined to be changed by at least 5° C.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2017
    Publication date: April 23, 2020
    Inventors: Hidefumi MATSUI, Yudo SUGAWARA, Hiroshi NAGAIKE, Yasutoshi UMEHARA
  • Patent number: 9082807
    Abstract: A lid opening and closing device includes a table configured to mount a carrier thereon with a front surface of a carrier lid configured to face toward a conveying gateway, a gas injecting hole provided in an opposing surface portion and configured to supply a purge gas used in removing particles adhering to the carrier lid, an advancing/retreating mechanism configured to move the carrier placed on the table toward and away from the opposing surface portion, and a control unit configured to output a control signal such that a purge gas is supplied from the gas injecting hole to the carrier lid, wherein the carrier is positioned such that the distance between the opposing surface portion and the carrier lid is 5 mm or less and the carrier lid and the opposing surface portion are spaced apart from each other, and the carrier lid is subsequently removed from the carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Yudo Sugawara
  • Patent number: 8936050
    Abstract: A lid opening and closing device for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus having a partition wall configured to divide a carrier conveying region and a substrate conveying region, the partition wall having a conveying gateway with an edge portion, includes an exhaust port configured to discharge therethrough an atmospheric gas from a closed space formed between a carrier making contact with the edge portion of the conveying gateway and an opening/closing door, and a purge gas injecting part provided in the opening/closing door. The purge gas injecting part is configured to enter the internal space of a carrier lid through an opening formed on the front surface of the carrier lid, to inject a purge gas into the internal space of the carrier lid and to discharge an atmospheric gas existing in the internal space of the carrier lid into the closed space through another opening of the carrier lid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventor: Yudo Sugawara
  • Patent number: 8692208
    Abstract: An ion supply device includes an ion generator for generating ions for removing static electricity, a carrier gas supply unit for supplying to the ion generator a carrier gas for carrying the ions generated in the ion generator, and an ion supply nozzle for blowing the ions and the carrier gas from the ion generator through a blow-off opening toward an electricity removal target from which static electricity is to be removed. A slit is provided at the blow-off opening and has an increased width as the slit gets distant from the electricity removal target. The ion supply nozzle includes an internal flow path and a plurality of internal fins provided at a portion of the internal flow path near the blow-off opening so that the ions and the carrier gas blown from the slit is uniformly distributed along a lengthwise direction of the slit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limted
    Inventor: Yudo Sugawara
  • Publication number: 20140020626
    Abstract: Provided is a film crack detecting apparatus capable of recognizing a possibility of occurrence of particles in real time by detecting film cracks of an unnecessary film adhered to a probe unit provided in a processing container. The film crack detecting apparatus is provided in a film forming apparatus, which includes a processing container configured to accommodate an object to be processed and forms a thin film on a surface of the object, to perform a film crack detection operation. The film crack detecting apparatus includes a probe unit installed within the processing container, an elastic wave detecting unit attached to an end of the probe unit to detect an elastic wave, and a determination unit configured to determine whether the maintenance of the processing container is necessary based on a detection result of the elastic wave detecting unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2013
    Publication date: January 23, 2014
    Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Yudo SUGAWARA, Kazuhide HASEBE
  • Publication number: 20130234035
    Abstract: An ion supply device includes an ion generator for generating ions for removing static electricity, a carrier gas supply unit for supplying to the ion generator a carrier gas for carrying the ions generated in the ion generator, and an ion supply nozzle for blowing the ions and the carrier gas from the ion generator through a blow-off opening toward an electricity removal target from which static electricity is to be removed. A slit is provided at the blow-off opening and has an increased width as the slit gets distant from the electricity removal target. The ion supply nozzle includes an internal flow path and a plurality of internal fins provided at a portion of the internal flow path near the blow-off opening so that the ions and the carrier gas blown from the slit is uniformly distributed along a lengthwise direction of the slit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2013
    Publication date: September 12, 2013
    Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Yudo SUGAWARA
  • Patent number: 8452540
    Abstract: An earthquake damage spread reducing method and an earthquake damage spread reducing system, for use in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, which can predict occurrence of an earthquake and prevent fall down of a boat, thus minimizing damage by the earthquake. An earthquake damage spread reducing system includes a receiving unit for receiving urgent earthquake information, based on preliminary tremors, distributed via a communication network, or alternatively, includes a preliminary tremors detection unit for directly detecting the preliminary tremors. A control unit performs a first step of stopping operation of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, based on the urgent earthquake information received or on the preliminary tremors detected, as well as performs a second step of holding a boat in order to prevent fall of the boat, in which objects to be processed are loaded in a multistage fashion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Yudo Sugawara, Hiroshi Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 8450700
    Abstract: An ion supply device includes an ion generator for generating ions for removing static electricity, a carrier gas supply unit for supplying to the ion generator a carrier gas for carrying the ions generated in the ion generator, and an ion supply nozzle for blowing the ions and the carrier gas from the ion generator through a blow-off opening toward an electricity removal target from which static electricity is to be removed. A slit is provided at the blow-off opening and has an increased width as the slit gets distant from the electricity removal target. The ion supply nozzle includes an internal flow path and a plurality of internal fins provided at a portion of the internal flow path near the blow-off opening so that the ions and the carrier gas blown from the slit is uniformly distributed along a lengthwise direction of the slit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventor: Yudo Sugawara
  • Publication number: 20130042808
    Abstract: A film crack detection apparatus for performing a film crack detection operation, which is mounted to a film forming apparatus having a processing vessel for receiving an object to be processed and forming a thin film on a surface of the object to be processed, includes an elastic wave detection unit mounted to the film forming apparatus to detect an elastic wave, and a determination unit to determine whether performing a cleaning process of the processing vessel is necessary based on a detection result of the elastic wave detection unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 14, 2012
    Publication date: February 21, 2013
    Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Yudo SUGAWARA
  • Publication number: 20120241032
    Abstract: A lid opening and closing device includes a table configured to mount a carrier thereon with a front surface of a carrier lid configured to face toward a conveying gateway, a gas injecting hole provided in an opposing surface portion and configured to supply a purge gas used in removing particles adhering to the carrier lid, an advancing/retreating mechanism configured to move the carrier placed on the table toward and away from the opposing surface portion, and a control unit configured to output a control signal such that a purge gas is supplied from the gas injecting hole to the carrier lid, wherein the carrier is positioned such that the distance between the opposing surface portion and the carrier lid is 5 mm or less and the carrier lid and the opposing surface portion are spaced apart from each other, and the carrier lid is subsequently removed from the carrier.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2012
    Publication date: September 27, 2012
    Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Yudo SUGAWARA
  • Publication number: 20120237323
    Abstract: A lid opening and closing device for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus having a partition wall configured to divide a carrier conveying region and a substrate conveying region, the partition wall having a conveying gateway with an edge portion, includes an exhaust port configured to discharge therethrough an atmospheric gas from a closed space formed between a carrier making contact with the edge portion of the conveying gateway and an opening/closing door, and a purge gas injecting part provided in the opening/closing door. The purge gas injecting part is configured to enter the internal space of a carrier lid through an opening formed on the front surface of the carrier lid, to inject a purge gas into the internal space of the carrier lid and to discharge an atmospheric gas existing in the internal space of the carrier lid into the closed space through another opening of the carrier lid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2012
    Publication date: September 20, 2012
    Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Yudo SUGAWARA
  • Patent number: 8190277
    Abstract: To predict occurrence of an earthquake so as to minimize damage by preventing an object to be processed from flying out of an opened container. An emergency earthquake notice, which is delivered based on a preliminary tremor through a communication line, is received by a reception part 28, or a preliminary tremor is directly detected by a preliminary-tremor detection part 60. A control part 29 carries out a first step in which an operation of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 is stopped based on the emergency earthquake notice received by the reception part 28 or the preliminary tremor detected by the preliminary-tremor detection part 60, and a second step in which, when the door mechanism is being opened, the door mechanism 15 is closed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Yudo Sugawara, Hiroshi Kikuchi
  • Publication number: 20120018649
    Abstract: An ion supply device includes an ion generator for generating ions for removing static electricity, a carrier gas supply unit for supplying to the ion generator a carrier gas for carrying the ions generated in the ion generator, and an ion supply nozzle for blowing the ions and the carrier gas from the ion generator through a blow-off opening toward an electricity removal target from which static electricity is to be removed. A slit is provided at the blow-off opening and has an increased width as the slit gets distant from the electricity removal target. The ion supply nozzle includes an internal flow path and a plurality of internal fins provided at a portion of the internal flow path near the blow-off opening so that the ions and the carrier gas blown from the slit is uniformly distributed along a lengthwise direction of the slit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 15, 2011
    Publication date: January 26, 2012
    Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Yudo SUGAWARA
  • Publication number: 20090143876
    Abstract: To predict occurrence of an earthquake so as to minimize damage by preventing an object to be processed from flying out of an opened container.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2008
    Publication date: June 4, 2009
    Inventors: Yudo Sugawara, Hiroshi Kikuchi
  • Publication number: 20080063994
    Abstract: The present invention provides an earthquake damage spread reducing method and an earthquake damage spread reducing system, for use in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, which can predict occurrence of an earthquake and prevent fall down of a boat, thus minimizing damage of the earthquake. An earthquake damage spread reducing system 27 includes a receiving unit 28 for receiving urgent earthquake information, based on preliminary tremors, to be distributed via a communication network 26, or alternatively, includes a preliminary tremors detection unit 60 for directly detecting the preliminary tremors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 12, 2007
    Publication date: March 13, 2008
    Inventors: Yudo Sugawara, Hiroshi Kikuchi