An embodiment is a processing system for processing a substrate. The processing system includes a Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) load lock (FLL) and a vacuum system. The FLL has walls defining an interior space therein. The FLL includes load lock isolation and tunnel isolation doors. The load lock isolation door is operable to close a first opening in a first sidewall of the FLL. The first opening is sized so that a FOUP is capable of passing therethrough. The tunnel isolation door is operable to close a second opening in a second sidewall of the FLL. The second opening is sized so that a substrate is capable of passing therethrough. The vacuum system is fluidly connected to the interior space of the FLL and is operable to pump down a pressure of the interior space of the FLL.

Described herein is a technique capable of suppressing generation of particles and improving a throughput. According to one aspect of the technique, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a loading chamber accommodating a boat; an elevator configured to elevate and lower the boat; a boat exchanging device configured move the boat on the elevator to a first stand-by region and a second stand-by region; a first clean air supplier facing an unloading region in the loading chamber where the boat placed on the elevator is accommodated; a second clean air supplier facing the first stand-by region; and a third clean air supplier facing the second stand-by region, wherein a flow volume ejected from the clean air suppliers are individually controlled so as to form a predetermined air flow in a range of height in which the boat exchanging device in the loading chamber is provided.

A wafer processing apparatus includes a reaction tube extending in a vertical direction, a door plate configured to load a boat into the reaction tube and positioned under the reaction tube to seal the reaction tube, the boat supporting a plurality of wafers thereon, a gas injector extending in the vertical direction along the boat within the reaction tube and including a plurality of ejection holes formed therein, a rotary mechanism configured to rotate the gas injector about its center axis to adjust an angle of the ejection hole toward the wafer, and a lift mechanism configured to move the gas injector upward and downward to adjust a height of the ejection hole on the wafer.

The present inventive concept relates to a method for removing impurities in thin film and a substrate processing apparatus. The method for removing impurities in a thin film includes the steps of: providing a substrate having a thin film formed thereon in a process chamber; supplying a first gas reacting and coupling with impurities contained in the thin film, into the process chamber; exhausting a coupled product of the impurities and the first gas by depressurizing an interior of the process chamber after stopping the supply of the first gas; curing the thin film by supplying a second gas being different from the first gas into the process chamber; and stopping the supply of the second gas and exhausting the remaining second gas from the interior of the process chamber.

A wafer boat configured to be placed on a pedestal of a vertical batch furnace, the pedestal having a substantially flat support surface. The wafer boat comprises a support ring defining a substantially flat bottom end surface of the wafer boat, and an alignment ring substantially concentric with the support ring. Either the support surface of the pedestal, or a bottom side of the alignment ring is provided with a plurality of alignment elements respectively protruding upwards from the support surface or downwards from the alignment ring, while the other one is provided with a plurality of alignment openings configured to accommodate therein the plurality of alignment elements. The support ring downwardly protrudes beyond the alignment ring so that, when the wafer boat is placed on the pedestal, the support ring is supported on the support surface while the alignment ring is spaced from the support surface of the pedestal.

The present disclosure provides a substrate processing apparatus including at least one input/output chamber. The load lock device includes a base, a guide rail, a platform and an optical measuring module. The guide rail is connected to the base. The platform, carrying a cassette for holding a batch of spaced substrates, is movably disposed on the guide rail. The optical measuring module is configured to acquire an actual moving distance traveled by the platform along the guide rail based on at least one optical signal reflected from the platform.

There is provided a technique that includes a plurality of first coolers installed in or around a process furnace configured to process a substrate, and configured to perform cooling by a cooling fluid; a second cooler installed in or around the process furnace and configured to perform cooling by the cooling fluid, the second cooler being not included in the plurality of first coolers; a distributor configured to distribute the cooling fluid supplied from a cooling fluid supply port to the plurality of first coolers and an auxiliary system bypassing the plurality of first coolers; and a merging part configured to merge the cooling fluid passed through the plurality of first coolers and the cooling fluid passed through the auxiliary system, respectively, and supply the merged cooling fluid to the second cooler.

There is provided a technique capable of reducing a corrosion of a furnace opening shutter. According to one aspect thereof, a substrate processing apparatus includes: a process vessel provided with an opening and a first sealing surface around the opening; and a furnace opening shutter provided with a second sealing surface facing the first sealing surface, and capable of closing the opening. The furnace opening shutter includes: a protective cover provided corresponding to an inner surface of the furnace opening shutter, facing the process vessel and greater than the opening; and a lid provided corresponding to an outer surface of the furnace opening shutter and supporting the protective cover. The second sealing surface is configured by an outer peripheral portion of the protective cover and the lid, and a purge gas is supplied to a gap between the first sealing surface and the second sealing surface.

There is provided a technique that includes a substrate holder configured to arrange and hold substrates; and a reaction tube in which the substrate holder is accommodated. The substrate holder includes a plurality of pillars installed around the arranged substrates and extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the substrates, a top plate configured to fix one ends of the pillars to each other and having an opening at a center of the top plate, and a bottom plate configured to fix other ends of the pillars to each other. The reaction tube includes a protrusion protruding inward. The protrusion is installed to be inserted into the opening of the top plate in a state where the substrate holder is accommodated in the reaction tube, and is configured to be closer to a substrate arranged closest to the top plate of the substrate holder than the top plate.

An apparatus and method for loading a plurality of substrates into a substrate holder in a loading chamber of a deposition reactor to form a vertical stack of horizontally oriented substrates within said substrate holder, for turning the substrate holder to form a horizontal stack of vertically oriented substrates, and for lowering the substrate holder into a reaction chamber of the deposition reactor for deposition. The technical effects achieved are: a top loading system for a vertical flow deposition reactor in which the substrates can be loaded with horizontal orientation, eliminating the need for flipping each substrate separately by flipping the whole substrate holder and minimizing a loading distance in a reactor cluster.