Provided are cleaning methods and systems to remove unintended metallic deposits from electroplating apparatuses using reverse current deplating techniques. Such cleaning involves positioning a cleaning (deplating) disk in an electroplating cup similar to a regular processed substrate. The front surface of the cleaning disk includes a corrosion resistant conductive material to form electrical connections to deposits on the cup's surfaces. The disk is sealed in the cup and submerged into a plating solution. A reverse current is then applied to the front conductive surface of the disk to initiate deplating of the deposits. Sealing compression in the cup may change during cleaning to cause different deformation of the lip seal and to form new electrical connections to the deposits. The proposed cleaning may be applied to remove deposits formed during electroplating of alloys, in particular, tin-silver alloys widely used for semiconductor and wafer level packaging.

An apparatus includes first load ports 2A and 2B and second load ports 2C and 2D provided in a left-right direction; a processing unit D2; an inspection module 4 provided between the first load ports 2A and 2B and the second load ports 2C and 2D; a first substrate transfer mechanism 5A provided at one side of the inspection module 4 in the left-right direction, and configured to transfer a substrate W into the processing unit D2 and a transfer container C on the first load ports 2A and 2B; a second substrate transfer mechanism 5B provided at the other side thereof, and configured to transfer the substrate W into the inspection module 4 and a transfer container C on the second load ports 2C and 2D; and a transit unit 51 for transferring the substrate W between the first and the second substrate transfer mechanisms 5A and 5B.

A storage device includes a pair of supports each extending in an up-and-down direction and spaced apart in a first direction; a pair of attachments each attached to a side surface by a fixing member having a shaft part, the side surface being a surface of each of the pair of supports and facing the first direction; and a platform supported by the pair of attachments and on which an article is to be placed, wherein each of the pair of attachments has a hole through which the shaft part is disposed, and an area of the hole is larger than an area of a cross-section of the shaft part orthogonal to an axial direction of the shaft part to such an extent that the pair of attachments are rotatable along the side surfaces of the pair of supports.

A substrate housing container (1) includes (i) a container body (10) having one end that is provided with an opening (11) and another end that is provided with a mount element (12) on which substrates (W) are stacked, the mount element 12 facing the opening (11), and (ii) a cover (20) to cover the opening (11), wherein the cover (20) includes a lid portion (21) to cover the opening (11) and at least two holding members (22) disposed on the lid portion (21), the holding members (22) being configured to swing in a central direction of the lid portion (21) and to press outer sides of the substrates (W) accommodated in the container body (10) with the substrates (W) stacked, the container body (10) has guide grooves (13) to make tips (22a) of the holding members (22) move from an outer side of the mount element (12) to an inner sides of the mount element (12) to guide the tips (22a) of the holding members (22) to positions at which the holding members (22) press the outer sides of the substrates (W), and the guide grooves (13) are formed as a dent on surfaces of the mount element (12).

A storage apparatus that stores objects includes a housing; a fixed part disposed in the housing and fixed in a position against the housing; a rotating part connected to the fixed part through a rotating shaft extending in the vertical direction and rotates relative to the fixed part as a center of the rotating shaft; and a rotating shaft driving part that rotates the rotating shaft; wherein the fixed part includes a power-transmission unit that transmits electric power in noncontact state; and the rotating part includes a rotating shelf on which objects are disposed; a power drive device disposed to rotate integrally with the rotating shelf and driven by electric power; and a power-receiving unit that supplies the electric power transmitted from the power-transmission unit to the power drive device.

An alignment module for positioning a mask on a substrate comprises a mask stocker, an alignment stage, and a transfer robot. The mask stocker houses a mask cassette that stores a plurality of masks. The alignment stage is configured to support a carrier and a substrate. The transfer robot is configured to transfer one of the one or more masks from the mask stocker to the alignment stage and position the mask over the substrate. The alignment module may be part of an integrated platform having one or more transfer chambers, a factory interface having a substrate carrier chamber and one or more processing chambers. A carrier may be coupled to a substrate within the substrate carrier chamber and moved between the processing chambers to generate a semiconductor device.

A coupling structure includes an outer member attached over first and second column members, a first inner member between the first column member and the outer member, a second inner member between the second column member and the outer member, a first fixing member to fix the outer member to the first column member along with the first inner member, a second fixing member to fix the outer member to the second column member along with the second inner member, a third fixing member to fix the first inner member to the first column member, and a fourth fixing member to fix the second inner member to the second column member. The outer member and the first inner member are provided with a first positioner, and the outer member and the second inner member are provided with a second positioner.

A semiconductor wafer processing system includes a stocker having an interior surface, a wafer carrier disposed within the stocker, a wafer shelf disposed within the wafer carrier for storing a semiconductor wafer, and a discharge circuit including a first conductor electrically coupled to the wafer shelf and a first current controller electrically coupled to the first conductor and to the interior surface of the stocker.

A transport system includes a robot, sensors (an aligner sensor, a protrusion detecting sensor) and a controller. The robot having a hand which supports a wafer and transports the wafer to an aligner apparatus. The sensor detects the position of the wafer before the robot delivers the wafer to the aligner apparatus while supporting the wafer on the hand. The controller determines the positional deviation of the wafer based on a detection value of the sensor.

A cleaning assembly for cleaning one or more wafer edge handling contact surfaces of wafer handling equipment includes a substrate and a cleaning ring. The substrate includes an edge portion that extends about the body of the substrate. The cleaning ring is reversibly attachable to the edge portion of the substrate. The cleaning ring is formed from a deformable material. The substrate and cleaning ring are sized for compatibility with a front opening unified pod (FOUP) or a wafer cassette of a semiconductor fabrication facility.