Methods, systems, and apparatus for a substrate transfer method, including positioning a tray handler device in a first position with i) cutouts of an aperture of the first tray in superimposition with respective pedestals of a pedestal platform and ii) a distal end of the pedestals extending away from a top surface of the first tray; increasing a distance between the top surface of the first tray and a top surface of the pedestal platform to transfer a first substrate from the pedestals to the tabs defined by the aperture of the first tray, while concurrently engaging the second tray handler with the second tray; and increasing a distance between the top surface of the second tray and the bottom surface of a chuck to transfer a second substrate from the chuck to the tabs defined by the second tray.

An Equipment Front End Module (EFEM) having a Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) dock and a tool access port, includes a robotic wafer handling system configured to transfer silicon wafers between a FOUP coupled to the FOUP dock and a process tool positioned for access via the tool access port. An air curtain system inside the EFEM is positioned to produce an air curtain across the tool access port while the port is open, acting to isolate the interior of the EFEM from the tool environment, and prevent passage of airborne contaminants into the EFEM via the access port.

There is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a light radiator configured to radiate a light for processing into an irradiation area which is smaller than a processing target area of a surface of a substrate; a driver configured to move the irradiation area in two directions that cross each other in a plane along the surface of the substrate; and a controller configured to control the driver to move an irradiation position in two directions according to a movement pattern which has been set to radiate the light to an entire area of the processing target area.

A carrier device that carries a substrate to a noncontact holder that is configured to support the substrate in a noncontact manner is equipped with: holding pads that hold a part of the substrate at a first position located above the noncontact holder; a drive section that moves downward the holding pads holding the substrate so that the substrate is supported in a noncontact manner by the noncontact holder; and adsorption pads that hold the substrate supported in a noncontact manner by the noncontact holder, after the substrate held by the holding pads is moved by the drive section, wherein the drive section moves the holding pads from the first position to a second position where the substrate can be delivered to the adsorption pads.

Apparatus and method for transferring a substrate are disclosed. The substrate transfer apparatus includes: a substrate conveyance assembly disposed between a mechanical arm and a wafer stage, the substrate conveyance assembly including a substrate loading conveyor and a substrate unloading conveyor parallelly arranged in a first direction, each of the substrate loading conveyor and the substrate unloading conveyor configured for transferring a substrate between the wafer stage and the mechanical arm along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; an integral frame; and a transition air suspension assembly fixed to the integral frame at the end thereof proximal to the wafer stage, the transition air suspension assembly being able to engage with either of the substrate loading conveyor and the substrate unloading conveyor for producing an air film to levitate the substrate during the conveyance of the substrate by the substrate loading conveyor or the substrate unloading conveyor.

A technique enabling a stable resist pattern forming process, when substrate processing apparatuses that perform a resist coating process separately from a developing process. A wafer having been heated after a resist coating process in a first substrate processing apparatus is also heated before an exposure process in a second substrate processing apparatus. Thus, even when amine in an atmosphere adheres to the wafer while it is being transported from the first substrate processing apparatus to the second substrate processing apparatus, the amine scatters by the heating process. At least one of a heating time and a heating temperature is adjusted based on a substrate rest time which includes a period of time between a time point at which a FOUP 10 is unloaded from the first substrate processing apparatus and a time point at which the FOUP 10 is loaded into the second substrate processing apparatus.

A substrate treatment system includes: a wet system having a wet treatment apparatus which performs in a wet mode one of substrate treatments from a formation treatment of a resist film to a developing treatment of the resist film after exposure, and coupled to an exposure apparatus; a dry system having a dry treatment apparatus which performs in a dry mode a same kind of substrate treatment by the wet treatment apparatus; and a relay transfer system which transfers the substrate between the wet system and the dry system, wherein: when viewed from a coupling direction, the wet system is arranged such that the exposure apparatus projects from one side in a depth direction perpendicular to the coupling direction in top view; and the dry system is arranged to be adjacent to the one side of the wet system in the depth direction.

A lithographic apparatus includes a substrate table, a post-exposure handling module, a substrate handling robot and a drying station. The substrate table is configured to support a substrate for an exposure process. The post-exposure handling module is configured to handle the substrate post-exposure. The substrate handling robot is configured to transfer the substrate from the substrate table along a substrate unloading path into the post-exposure handling module. The drying station is configured to actively remove liquid from a surface of the substrate. The drying station is located in the substrate unloading path. The drying station is located in the post-exposure handling module. The post-exposure handling module may be a substrate handler.

An apparatus for a semiconductor fabrication facility (FAB) is provided. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a maintenance tool and a transporting tool configured to transport at least one customized. The maintenance tool includes a first track at a first horizontal plane, at least one maintenance crane movably mounted on the first track, and a plurality of first sensors on the first track. The first sensors are configured to define at least a danger zone and to detect a location of the maintenance crane. The transporting tool includes a second track at a second horizontal plane, at least one overhead hoisting transporting (OHT) vehicle movably mounted on the second track, and at least one second sensor on the OHT vehicle. The second horizontal plane is different from the first horizontal planes. The first horizontal plane and the second horizontal plane at least partially overlap each other from a plane view.

Apparatus and methods are described for the automated transfer and storage of transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning/transmission electron microscope (STEM) lamella samples throughout a semiconductor manufacturing facility using existing automation infrastructure such as a Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP). Also provided are wafer facsimiles corresponding to outer dimensions of semiconductor, data storage or solar cell wafers, wherein the facsimiles adapted to store, carry and/or provide a testing platform for testing of samples taken from semiconductor, data storage or solar cell wafers.