Methods and devices are provided wherein rotational gas-flow is generated by vortex generators to decontaminate dirty gas (e.g., gas contaminated by solid particles) in pumping lines of vacuum systems suitable for use at a semiconductor integrated circuit fabrication facility. The vacuum systems use filterless particle decontamination units wherein rotational gas-flow is applied to separate and trap solid particles from gas prior to the gas-flow entering a vacuum pump. Methods are also described whereby solid deposits along portions of pumping lines may be dislodged and removed and portions of pumping lines may be self-cleaning.

A plasma discharge detection system detects undesirable plasma discharge events within a semiconductor process chamber. The plasma discharge detection system includes one or more cameras positioned around the semiconductor process chamber. The cameras capture images from within the semiconductor process chamber. The plasma discharge detection system includes a control system that receives the images from the cameras. The control system analyzes the images and detects plasma discharge within the semiconductor process chamber based on the images. The control system can adjust a semiconductor process in real time responsive to detecting the plasma discharge.

A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate to be measured by a film thickness measurement device, includes: a heat treatment part configured to heat-treat a substrate coated with a coating film; and a fluid supply part configured to supply a fluid, which suppresses variations in a film thickness over time until the film thickness is measured by the film thickness measurement device, to the substrate during or after the heat-treatment by the heat treatment part.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a sensor assembly, methods of manufacturing the same, and methods of using the same. In one embodiment, a sensor assembly comprises a substrate comprising an outer region, an inner region, and a middle region positioned between the outer region and the inner region, the substrate further comprising electrical contact pads on at least the inner region. The sensor assembly further comprises a housing coupled to the substrate at the outer region or at the middle region to form a hermetic seal. The sensor assembly further comprises a sensor device coupled to the substrate, via the electrical contact pads, at the inner region. In certain embodiments, the sensor assembly further comprises a conformal coating deposited on at least a portion of the sensor assembly.

A substrate processing apparatus includes: a batch processor configured to collectively process a lot including plural substrates; a single-wafer processor configured to process the substrates included in the lot one by one; and a transport portion configured to deliver the substrates one by one between the batch processor and the single-wafer processor. The batch processor includes a processing tank configured to store a processing liquid including a rinsing liquid. The transport portion includes a fluid supplier configured to supply, after receiving the substrates included in the lot in the processing tank and until delivering the substrates to the single-wafer processor, a low surface tension fluid having a lower surface tension than the rinsing liquid to at least one of the processing tank and the substrates.

An apparatus for monitoring particles in a chemical solution includes a chemical solution supply device that stores a chemical solution and supplies the chemical solution according to a work start signal of a control unit, a first supply channel that is connected with the chemical solution supply device to supply the chemical solution, a filter that is connected with the first supply channel to purify the chemical solution, a branch channel and a main channel that are branched from the filter, a drain valve that is connected with the branch channel to open and close the branch channel, a particle monitor that is connected with the main channel to detect the amount of particles in the chemical solution, and a dispenser unit that receives the chemical solution from the particle monitor to supply the chemical solution to an object to be worked.

A substrate processing apparatus includes processing parts performing substrate processing on target substrates, respectively, substrate mounting tables mounting the target substrates thereon in the respective processing parts, gas introducing members introducing processing gases into processing spaces, a common exhaust mechanism evacuating the processing spaces at once and further performing pressure control for the processing spaces at once, and a pressure measuring part configured to selectively monitor a pressure in any one of the plurality of processing spaces by using a pressure gauge. The pressure measuring part includes pipelines having pressure-measuring pipelines configured to connect the processing spaces to the pressure gauge and dummy pipelines configured to communicate with the processing spaces, which adjust a difference between a volume of the pipelines communicating with a monitored processing space of the processing spaces and a volume of the pipelines communicating with each of non-monitored processing spaces.

A substrate processing apparatus includes: a processing unit including a holder that holds a substrate and rotates the substrate, a nozzle that ejects a processing liquid, and a conductive piping unit that supplies the processing liquid to the nozzle; a controller that causes the processing unit to execute a liquid processing in which the substrate is processed by supplying the processing liquid from the nozzle to the substrate that is held and rotated by the holder, and a measuring unit that measures a flowing current generated by the processing liquid flowing through the piping unit. The controller monitors the liquid processing based on a measurement result by the measuring unit.

A processing apparatus used in processing a workpiece having a device in each of a plurality of regions that includes a chuck table holding the workpiece, positioning means positioning the workpiece before grinding, resin coating means including a rotatable spinner table for coating the workpiece with a resin, cleaning means, a grinding unit, and a transfer unit. The transfer unit includes a first transfer unit transferring the workpiece from the positioning means to the spinner table and from the spinner table to the chuck table, a second transfer unit transferring the workpiece from the chuck table to the cleaning means, and a front/back surface inversion transfer unit taking over the workpiece from the cleaning means to the second transfer unit.

A method includes: supplying a processing liquid to a center position of a substrate surface; shifting a supply position of the processing liquid from the center position to a first eccentric position; holding the supply position of the processing liquid at the first eccentric position and supplying a substitute liquid to a second eccentric position; shifting the supply position of the processing liquid in a direction away from the center position, and shifting a supply position of the substitute liquid to the center position; and supplying the processing liquid to the first eccentric position at a first flow rate, and reducing the flow rate of the processing liquid to a second flow rate after the supply position of the processing liquid starts to be shifted from the first eccentric position in the direction and until the supply position of the substitute liquid reaches the center position.