Vertical batch furnace assembly for processing wafers comprising a cassette handling space, a wafer handling space, and a first wall separating the cassette handling space from the wafer handling space. The first wall has at least one wafer transfer opening in front of which a wafer transfer position for a wafer cassette is provided. The cassette handling space comprises a cassette storage, and a cassette handling mechanism. The cassette storage has a plurality of cassette storage positions and is configured to store a plurality of wafer cassettes. The cassette handling mechanism comprises a first cassette handler which is configured to transfer wafer cassettes between a first set of the cassette storage positions and the wafer transfer position. The cassette handling mechanism is provided with a second cassette handler which is configured to transfer wafer cassettes between a second set of the cassette storage positions and the wafer transfer position.

A processing apparatus includes: a plurality of process modules concatenated with one another; and a loader module configured to receive a carrier accommodating a plurality of substrates to be processed by the plurality of process modules, wherein each of the plurality of process modules includes: a heat treatment unit including a processing container configured to accommodate the plurality of substrates and perform a heat treatment on the plurality of substrates; and a gas supply unit disposed on one side surface of the heat treatment unit and configured to supply a gas into the processing container.

A substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate transfer device that transfers a substrate accommodated in a substrate transfer container to a substrate holder; a substrate holder transfer stage that introduces the substrate holder into a reaction container; a substrate transfer controller that obtains a film thickness measurement result of the substrate, and determines a placing position of the substrate in the substrate holder by a model created in advance from the film thickness measurement result and a transfer position setting circuit; an information processing circuit that analyzes an eccentricity state from a film thickness variation state when a film thickness measurement result is newly obtained; a learning function circuit that updates the model from the eccentricity state; and an optimization function circuit that updates the placing position of the substrate by an updated model and the transfer position setting circuit.

A substrate processing apparatus includes a processing tank, a holder, an organic solvent supply, a drainage port, a gas supply, and an exhaust port. The processing tank stores an aqueous layer. The holder holds a substrate. The organic solvent supply supplies an organic solvent onto the aqueous layer to form a liquid layer of the organic solvent. The drainage port discharges the aqueous layer from a bottom wall of the processing tank and causes the liquid layer of the organic solvent to descend from above the substrate to below the substrate. The gas supply supplies a gas of a water repellent agent to the liquid layer from above the processing tank while the liquid layer descends. The exhaust port is exposed on a side wall of the processing tank by the descending of the liquid layer and discharges the gas of the water repellent gas.

A gas introduction structure extends in a longitudinal direction of a processing container having a substantially cylindrical shape to supply gas into the processing container. The gas introduction structure includes an introduction section that partitions an introduction chamber, an ejection section that partitions a plurality of ejection chambers each including a plurality of gas holes through which the gas is ejected into the processing container, and a branch section that partitions a branch chamber connected to the introduction chamber. The branch chamber is branched to correspond to the number of ejection chambers in a tournament manner and connected to the ejection chambers.

A wafer processing device and a wafer conveying method are provided. The wafer processing device includes: a bearing plate provided with a through hole and configured to bear a wafer; a drive base liftable relative to the bearing plate; a lifting rod arranged between the bearing plate and the drive base, an end of the lifting rod being in contact with the drive base, and the drive base driving the lifting rod to ascend and descend in the through hole, so that an another end of the lifting rod acts on a bottom surface of the wafer through the through hole to separate the wafer from the bearing plate; an electromagnetic conversion device arranged on the drive base, which may generate magnetic force after being powered on; and a magnetic element arranged at the end, close to the drive base, of the lifting rod.

There is provided a technique that includes: a boat including plural slots to hold at least one substrate; a process furnace that processes the at least one substrate held in the boat; a boat elevator that raises and lowers the boat; a transfer device that transfers the at least one substrate between plural carriers where the at least one substrate is stored and the boat; and a controller capable of controlling the boat elevator and the transfer device, wherein the controller sets plural positions where the transfer device transfers the at least one substrate to the boat elevator, and select the positions to minimize a number of shifts among the positions of the boat elevator or total time taken during the shifts.

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 vertical batch furnace assembly, comprising a core tube, an outer casing, a cooling chamber bounded and enclosed by the outer casing and the core tube, and at least one cooling gas supply emanating in the cooling chamber. The core tube has an elongated circumferential wall extending in a longitudinal direction, and is configured to accommodate wafers for processing in the vertical batch furnace. The outer casing extends around the core tube and comprises a heating element for applying a thermal treatment to wafers accommodated in the core tube. The at least one cooling gas supply comprises at least one cooling gas supply opening which is arranged such that the cooling gas enters the cooling chamber with a flow direction which is substantially tangent to the circumferential wall.

A substrate processing device includes a processing tank, a substrate holding unit, a fluid supply unit, and a control unit. The processing tank stores a processing liquid for processing a substrate. The substrate holding unit holds the substrate in the processing liquid in the processing tank. The fluid supply unit supplies a fluid to the processing tank. The control unit controls the fluid supply unit. The control unit controls the fluid supply unit such that the fluid supply unit changes supply of the fluid during a period from a start of supply of the fluid to the processing tank storing the processing liquid in which the substrate is immersed to an end of supply of the fluid to the processing tank storing the processing liquid in which the substrate is immersed.