Apparatus and methods for handling die carriers are disclosed. In one example, a disclosed apparatus includes: a load port configured to load a die carrier operable to hold a plurality of dies into a processing tool; and a lane changer coupled to the load port and configured to move at least one die in the die carrier to an input of the processing tool and transfer the at least one die into the processing tool for processing the at least one die.

In a vacuum processing device, a loading/unloading port, a normal pressure transfer chamber and a vacuum transfer chamber are arranged in that order from a front side toward a rear side, and load-lock chambers are connected to the normal pressure transfer chamber. The position in the front-rear direction in a movement range of a wafer W in the normal pressure transfer chamber overlaps with the positions in the front-rear direction of the load-lock chambers. Three vacuum processing modules are connected to each of the left and right sides of the vacuum transfer chamber. Vacuum processing units are arranged in each of the vacuum processing modules in a front-rear direction when viewed from the vacuum transfer chamber side. Wafer mounting shelves for holding wafers W in the load-lock chambers are arranged in the front-rear direction when viewed from the vacuum transfer chamber side.

A first robot arm places a calibration object into a load lock that separates a factory interface from a transfer chamber using a first taught position. A second robot arm retrieves the calibration object from the load lock using a second taught position. A controller determines, using a sensor, a first offset amount between a calibration object center of the calibration object and a pocket center of the second robot arm. The controller determines a characteristic error value that represents a misalignment between the first taught position of the first robot arm and the second taught position of the second robot arm based on the first offset amount. The first robot arm or the second robot arm uses the first characteristic error value to compensate for the misalignment for objects transferred between the first robot arm and the second robot arm via the load lock.

A substrate transport system for transporting a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere includes a vacuum chamber, inside of which is configured to be capable of being set to a vacuum atmosphere, a transport arm provided inside the vacuum chamber and configured to hold and transport the substrate, a horizontal movement mechanism configured to move the transport arm in a horizontal direction inside the vacuum chamber, a horizontal duct arm mechanism including therein an accommodation portion having a normal pressure atmosphere, the horizontal duct arm mechanism being configured to be extendable/contractible as the transport arm moves horizontally, a vertical movement mechanism configured to move the transport arm in a vertical direction inside the vacuum chamber, and a vertical duct arm mechanism including therein an accommodation portion having a normal pressure atmosphere, the vertical duct arm mechanism being configured to be extendable/contractible as the transport arm moves vertically.

A high-pressure processing system for processing a layer on a substrate includes a first chamber, a support to hold the substrate in the first chamber, a second chamber adjacent the first chamber, a foreline to remove gas from the second chamber, a vacuum processing system configured to lower a pressure within the second chamber to near vacuum, a valve assembly between the first chamber and the second chamber to isolate the pressure within the first chamber from the pressure within the second chamber, a gas delivery system configured to increase the pressure within the first chamber to at least 10 atmospheres while the first chamber is isolated from the second chamber, an exhaust system comprising an exhaust line to remove gas from the first chamber, and a common housing surrounding both the first gas delivery module and the second gas delivery module.

Described herein is a technique capable of optimizing a timing of a maintenance process. According to one aspect of the technique of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device including: (a) transferring a substrate to a process chamber, and performing a substrate processing; (b) receiving maintenance reservation information of the process chamber wherein a maintenance timing at which the process chamber enters into a maintenance enable state is determined by the maintenance reservation information; and (c) continuously performing the substrate processing after the maintenance reservation information is received in (b) until the substrate processing in the process chamber related to the maintenance reservation information is completed, stopping one or more substrates including the substrate from being transferred into the process chamber, and thereafter setting the process chamber to the maintenance enable state.

A wafer processing device may include a wafer exchanger including two or more blades, each of the two or more blades may be configured to receive a wafer, the two or more blades may be rotatable about an axis on a single horizontal plane, and the two or more blades may be movable between at least a load cup and a robot access location; wherein the load cup may include a wafer station that is vertically moveable relative a blade located in the load cup and may be configured to remove a wafer from a blade located in the load cup and place a wafer on a blade located in the load cup. Other devices, load cups and methods are also disclosed herein.

Disclosed is a substrate treating apparatus. The substrate treating apparatus includes an index unit including a load pot, in which a container is seated, and an index chamber connected to the load pot, and a process executing unit having a load lock chamber connected to the index chamber and a process chamber that treats a substrate transferred to the load lock chamber, the index unit further includes an alignment unit provided in the index chamber and that aligns a substrate type sensor transferred to the process chamber.

There is provided a substrate processing system comprising: a plurality of modules including a processing chamber in which a substrate is held and processing is performed on the substrate; a transfer chamber to which the plurality of modules are connected; a substrate transfer device provided inside the transfer chamber, for transferring the substrate to the plurality of modules and taking out the substrate from the plurality of modules; and a controller. The substrate transfer device includes a first transfer unit and a second transfer unit, each of which places thereon the substrate and is linearly movable and swivelable independently and freely over a surface of the transfer chamber, and the controller controls the substrate transfer device such that a substrate replacement operation is performed from one module to another module among the plurality of modules by moving the first transfer unit and the second transfer unit concurrently in parallel.

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to methods and apparatus for backside stress engineering of substrates to combat film stresses and bowing issues. In one embodiment, a method of depositing a film layer on a backside of a substrate is provided. The method includes flipping a substrate at a factory interface so that the backside of the substrate is facing up, and transferring the flipped substrate from the factory interface to a physical vapor deposition chamber to deposit a film layer on the backside of the substrate. In another embodiment, an apparatus for depositing a backside film layer on a backside of a substrate, which includes a substrate supporting surface configured to support the substrate at or near the periphery of the substrate supporting surface without contacting an active region on a front side of the substrate.