Described is a technique capable of optimizing a timing of a maintenance process. According to one aspect, there is a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device including: (a) transferring a substrate to a process chamber, and performing substrate processing; (b) receiving maintenance reservation information of the process chamber; (c) continuously performing the substrate processing related to the received maintenance reservation information, stopping a next substrate from being transferred into the process chamber after the substrate processing is completed, and thereafter setting the process chamber to the maintenance enable state; (d-1) receiving an instruction of advancing or delaying the maintenance timing within a predetermined range; and (d-2) starting the next substrate processing without setting the process chamber to the maintenance enable state when the instruction of delaying the maintenance timing is received in (d-1), and terminating the substrate processing when the instruction of advancing the maintenance timing is received in (d-1).

A substrate treating apparatus includes a process module including a plurality of process units that perform a plurality of steps included in a substrate treating process and that perform the substrate treating process on substrates sequentially placed in the process units based on process recipes for the substrates, a scheduler that controls operations of the process module and the process units included in the process module, a storage that stores transfer paths information of the substrates, and a selection module that selects a process unit to proceed, by a result of feeding back the transfer paths information stored in the storage to the scheduler. The substrate treating apparatus may further include a measuring instrument that measures defect values of the transfer paths information along which the substrates are transferred. The storage may store the defect values measured by the measuring instrument according to the transfer paths information of the substrates.

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.

When processing of all the wafers accommodated in a first cassette mounted on a first cassette stage is ended, the last wafer is conveyed out from a holding surface of a chuck table, and the holding surface becomes vacant, the wafer accommodated in a second cassette mounted on a second cassette stage is immediately conveyed onto the holding surface, by control by a conveyance control section. When the wafer to be held by the holding surface is changed from the wafer conveyed out from the first cassette to the wafer conveyed out from the second cassette, processing conditions are changed over to the processing conditions corresponding to the second cassette stage, by changeover control by a changeover section.

A wafer processing apparatus of an embodiment of the present disclosure may include an equipment front end module (EFEM), a wafer transfer chamber, a wafer processing chamber, and a wafer transfer arm. In addition, the EFEM may include an atmosphere control chamber configured to store a wafer carrier accommodating wafers, an upper air supplier configured to supply air into the atmosphere control chamber, an EFEM chamber under the atmosphere control chamber, a load lock arranged to be vertically overlapped by at least a portion of the EFEM chamber, and an EFEM arm configured to transfer the wafer carrier.

A system for maintaining a device in a semiconductor manufacturing environment that includes a controller configured to determine a distance travelled by the device within the semiconductor manufacturing environment, where the device has a feature that selectively engages a carrier configured to carry a semiconductor wafer such that the device moves the semiconductor wafer to different processing stations within the semiconductor manufacturing environment. The system also includes an inspection component configured to inspect the device responsive to the distance traveled by the device exceeding a distance threshold, a repair component configured to repair the device responsive to a repair indication from at least one of the controller or the inspection component, and a cleaning component configured to clean the device responsive to a clean indication from at least one of the controller or the inspection component.

A substrate processing system includes manufacturing process equipment including a plurality of process chambers and a control server configured to control the manufacturing process equipment. When a transporting order of semiconductor substrates is transmitted from the control server to the manufacturing process equipment, the control server provides, to the manufacturing process equipment performing an Nth process cycle (where N is a natural number) in a first transporting order, a command to switch to a second transporting order from an N+1th process cycle immediately when a restriction on at least one process chamber, into which insertion of the semiconductor substrate is restricted, is lifted.

A method includes generating a queue of a plurality of operations in a sequence recipe, the plurality of operations being associated with substrate processing. The method further includes sorting the plurality of operations in the queue based on a plurality of completion times corresponding to the plurality of operations. The method further includes, for each operation of the plurality of operations in the queue, obtaining a next operation in the queue and setting a virtual time axis to time leap to a corresponding completion time of the next operation until each operation of the plurality of operations in the queue are completed to generate a schedule for the sequence recipe.

In accordance with some embodiments herein, apparatuses for deposition of thin films are provided. In some embodiments, a plurality of stations is provided, in which each station provides a different reactant or combination of reactants. The stations can be in gas isolation from each other so as to minimize or prevent undesired chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and/or atomic layer deposition (ALD) reactions between the different reactants or combinations of reactants.

A substrate processing system configured to process substrates includes a substrate transport assembly that encloses a controlled environment defined within a continuous transport volume and at least two process modules coupled to the substrate transport assembly. The substrate transport assembly is configured to transport substrates to and from the at least two process modules through the continuous transport volume. At least two gas boxes are configured to deliver gas mixtures to the at least two process modules. An exhaust duct configured to selectively evacuate the at least two process modules through the at least two gas boxes. Surfaces of the at least two gas boxes include perforations configured to allow gases to flow from the at least two gas boxes into the exhaust duct.