A circulating EFEM includes an introduction port for introducing a gas, a housing for circulating the introduced gas, and a discharge port for discharging the gas from the housing into a discharge pipe. The discharge port includes a box and a damper. The box is disposed to surround a discharge opening formed on the housing and connected to the discharge pipe. The damper is disposed inside the box to close and open the discharge port and adjusts a discharge amount of the gas via the discharge opening by at least partially moving in response to a differential pressure between the housing and the box.

There is provided a technique that includes forming a film on a substrate by performing a cycle a predetermined number of times, the cycle including: (a) supplying a precursor gas to the substrate in a process container of a substrate processing apparatus via a first pipe made of metal; (b) supplying an oxygen-containing gas to the substrate in the process container via a second pipe made of metal, wherein a fluorine-containing layer is continuously formed on an inner surface of the second pipe; and (c) supplying a nitrogen-and-hydrogen-containing gas to the substrate in the process container via the second pipe.

In a first aspect of a present inventive subject matter, a method of etching an object to be etched with an etching liquid that contains bromine, and the object contains at least gallium and/or aluminum.

Exemplary substrate processing systems may include chamber body defining a transfer region. The systems may include a lid plate seated on the chamber body. The lid plate may define a first plurality of apertures through the lid plate and a second plurality of apertures through the lid plate. The systems may include a plurality of lid stacks equal to a number of apertures of the first plurality of apertures defined through the lid plate. Each lid stack of the plurality of lid stacks may include a choke plate seated on the lid plate along a first surface of the choke plate. The choke plate may define a first aperture axially aligned with an associated aperture of the first plurality of apertures. The choke plate may define a second aperture axially aligned with an associated aperture of the second plurality of apertures.

A sub-fab area installation apparatus includes: a vacuum pump configured to evacuate a processing gas from a processing chamber of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment; a cooling unit configured to cool a first circulation liquid used in the processing chamber; a heating unit configured to heat a second circulation liquid used in the processing chamber; and a cooling-liquid line configured to pass a cooling liquid therethrough. The cooling liquid is supplied from a cooling source. The cooling-liquid line includes: a distribution line configured to supply the cooling liquid to the vacuum pump and the cooling unit; and a merging return line configured to merge the cooling liquid that has passed through the vacuum pump and the cooling unit and return the cooling liquid to the cooling source.

An object of the present invention is to provide a dry pump and an exhaust gas treatment method which can improve an effect of inhibiting a reaction product from adhering to the inside of a gas outlet port of the dry pump, a gas exhaust pipe, or the like and can also improve an energy saving effect. To attain the object, the present invention includes the gas exhaust pipe disposed to be connected to the gas outlet port of the dry pump and to a gas inlet port of a detoxification device, and a heat exchanger which heats a diluent gas introduced therein using a heat generated from the dry pump and introduces the heated diluent gas into the gas exhaust pipe to heat a used gas to a temperature of not less than a predetermined value.

An embodiment low contamination chamber includes a gas inlet, an adjustable top electrode, and an adjustable bottom electrode. The low contamination chamber is configured to adjust a distance between the adjustable top electrode and the adjustable bottom electrode in response to a desired density of plasma and a measured density of plasma measured between the adjustable top electrode and the adjustable bottom electrode during a surface activation process. The low contamination chamber further includes an outlet.

A method includes forming a film on a substrate by performing a cycle a predetermined number of times, the cycle including non-simultaneously performing: (a) forming a first layer by supplying a precursor to the substrate; and (b) forming a second layer by supplying a reactant to the substrate and modifying the first layer. The (a) includes: (a-1) supplying the precursor to the substrate from a first supply part while supplying an inert gas at a first flow rate, and supplying an inert gas at a second flow rate from a second supply part; and (a-2) supplying the precursor to the substrate while supplying the inert gas at a third flow rate from the first supply part, or supplying the precursor from the first supply part while stopping the supply of the inert gas, and supplying the inert gas at a fourth flow rate from the second supply part.

A method of preparing a self-aligned via on a semiconductor workpiece includes using an integrated sequence of processing steps executed on a common manufacturing platform hosting a plurality of processing modules including one or more film-forming modules, one or more etching modules, and one or more transfer modules. The integrated sequence of processing steps include receiving the workpiece into the common manufacturing platform, the workpiece having a pattern of metal features in a dielectric layer wherein exposed surfaces of the metal features and exposed surfaces of the dielectric layer together define an upper planar surface; selectively etching the metal features to form a recess pattern by recessing the exposed surfaces of the metal features beneath the exposed surfaces of the dielectric layer using one of the one or more etching modules; and depositing an etch stop layer over the recess pattern using one of the one or more film-forming modules.

A substrate processing apparatus, includes a sealed pressure vessel, such as an Atomic Layer Deposition, ALD, apparatus, a fluid inlet assembly attached to a wall of the sealed pressure vessel, the fluid inlet assembly having a fluid inlet pipe passing through the wall, and a resilient element in the fluid inlet assembly around the fluid inlet pipe coupling the inlet pipe to the wall, where one of an interior surface and an exterior surface of the resilient element sees pressure prevailing within the pressure vessel and the other sees ambient pressure, and where the fluid inlet pipe prevents fluid carried inside from being in contact with the resilient element, and a relating method.