A transfer path is provided which is extended so as to be passed on a lateral side of a processing portion that processes a substrate. The substrate transferred between a container held by a holding unit and the processing portion passes through the transfer path. A first transfer robot carries the substrate into and out of the container held by the holding unit, and accesses a reception/delivery region arranged within the transfer path. A second transfer robot receives and delivers the substrate from and to the first transfer robot in the reception/delivery region, and carries the substrate into and out of the processing portion. A second transfer robot raising/lowering unit which raises and lowers the second transfer robot is arranged within the transfer path. The reception/delivery region and the second transfer robot raising/lowering unit are located between the first transfer robot and the second transfer robot.

A processing system and platform for improving both the microscopic and macroscopic uniformity of materials during etching is disclosed herein. These improvements may be accomplished through the formation and dissolution of thin, self-limiting layers on the material surface by the use of wet atomic layer etching (ALE) techniques. For etching of polycrystalline materials, these self-limiting reactions can be used to prevent this roughening of the surface during etching. Thus, as disclosed herein, a wet ALE process uses sequential, self-limiting reactions to first modify the surface layer of a material and then selectively remove the modified layer.

A printing apparatus for printing substrates, in particular solar cells, wafers, circuit boards or the like, has at least one printing device, which is assigned at least one movable printing table, having a conveyor track along which the substrates can be moved, and having a transport device for transporting the substrates from the conveyor track to the at least one printing device and back. The transport device has at least one transport pendulum which can be pivoted or rotated about a pendulum axis and which has the printing table at at least one end at a distance from the pendulum axis. The printing table can be pivoted by the transport pendulum into a first position assigned to the printing device for a printing operation and into a second position lying in the conveyor track. The printing table has a conveying device which also forms the conveyor track in the second position of the printing table.

An enclosure system includes walls including sidewalls and a bottom wall. The enclosure system further includes an enclosure lid configured to removably attach to one or more of the sidewalls. The walls and the enclosure lid at least partially enclose an interior volume of the enclosure system. The enclosure system further includes an upper window disposed in the enclosure lid. The upper window is configured for orientation verification of objects disposed in the interior volume. The enclosure system further includes a radio-frequency identification (RFID) holder coupled to a rear wall. The RFID holder is configured to secure an RFID component. The enclosure system further includes shelves disposed in the interior volume. Each of the shelves is configured to support a corresponding object of the objects.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an alignment mark evaluation method and an alignment mark evaluation system. The alignment mark evaluation method includes: setting a process step code of a wafer with an alignment mark to be evaluated as an evaluation code; obtaining a current process step code of the wafer; if it is detected that the current process step code is the evaluation code, switching a step to be executed to an alignment mark evaluation step; and executing the alignment mark evaluation step to evaluate the alignment mark to be evaluated.

A method includes: generating a contaminant distribution map by sampling an environment of a cleanroom; selecting a first fabrication tool of the cleanroom by comparing the contaminant distribution map with at least one diffusion image in a first database; comparing parameters of the first fabrication tool against process utility information in a second database; and when the parameters are consistent with the process utility information, taking at least one action. The one action may include moving a cleaning tool to a location associated with a contaminant concentration of the contaminant distribution map; turning on a fan of the cleaning tool; stopping pod transit to the first fabrication tool; or halting production by the first fabrication tool.

A method of producing packaged semiconductor devices includes providing a first packaging substrate panel, providing a second packaging substrate panel, and moving the first and second packaging substrate panels through an assembly line that comprises a plurality of package assembly tools using a control mechanism. First type packaged semiconductor devices are formed on the first packaging substrate panel and second type packaged semiconductor devices are formed on the second packaging substrate panel. The control mechanism moves both of the first and packaging substrate panels through the assembly line in a non-linear manner. The first and second packaged semiconductor devices differ with respect to at least one of: lead configuration, and encapsulant configuration.

A method is provided for area-selective deposition on a semiconductor workpiece using an integrated sequence of processing steps executed on a common manufacturing platform hosting one or more film-forming modules, one or more etching modules, and one or more transfer modules. A workpiece having a target surface of a first material and a non-target surface of a second material different than the first material is received into the common manufacturing platform. An additive material is deposited on the workpiece with selectivity that results in the additive material forming on the target surface at a higher deposition rate than on the non-target surface, followed by etching to expose the non-target surface. The integrated sequence of processing steps is executed within the common manufacturing platform without leaving the controlled environment and the transfer modules are used to transfer the workpiece between the processing modules while maintaining the workpiece within the controlled environment.

A poling apparatus for poling a polymer thin film formed on a workpiece carried by a workpiece carrier. The workpiece has grounding electrodes and grounding pads located at edges, and a thin film covering the grounding electrodes but exposing the grounding pads. The workpiece carrier has carrier electrodes located around the workpiece and inside grounding ports at the bottom. The poling apparatus includes, in a poling chamber, a poling source generating a plasma, a Z-elevator to raise the workpiece carrier toward the poling source using the grounding ports, and grounding mechanisms including downwardly biased electrical contacts which, when the workpiece carrier is raised by the Z-elevator, connect the grounding pads of the workpiece with the carrier electrodes, to ground the workpiece. The poling apparatus additionally includes preparation platform and transfer platform with conveyer systems with rollers and Z-elevators to move the workpiece carrier in and out of the poling chamber.

A substrate processing apparatus includes an indexer block and a processing block adjacent to the indexer block in a lateral direction of the indexer block. A plurality of processing block layers are stacked in an up-down direction in the processing block. The indexer block includes a container holding portion and a first transfer robot that transfers a substrate between the substrate container held by the container holding portion and the processing block. Each of the processing block layers includes a plurality of processing units, a substrate placing portion, a dummy-substrate housing portion, and a second transfer robot that transfers a substrate between the substrate placing portion and the plurality of processing units and that transfers a dummy substrate between the dummy-substrate housing portion and the plurality of processing units.