Described herein are architectures, platforms and methods for acquiring optical emission spectra from an optical emission spectroscopy system by flowing a dry cleaning gas into a plasma processing chamber of the plasma processing system and igniting a plasma in the plasma processing chamber to initiate the waferless dry cleaning process.

A substrate processing apparatus includes a holding device that includes a conductive member and holds a substrate, a conduction path structure that includes a conductive material and positioned such that the conduction path structure is in contact with the holding device, a supply device that supplies a processing liquid to the substrate held by the holding device, and a grounding structure including a variable resistance device that changes a resistance such that the grounding structure has a first end portion connected the conduction path structure and a second end portion connected to a ground potential.

Disclosed herein are an etching apparatus and method that are capable of performing an etching process in the state where a flexible film is wound around a drum-type jig, and a flexible film etched by the etching method. The etching apparatus includes a process tank containing an etchant therein, a drum-type jig rotatably provided in the process tank to be immersed into the etchant in a state where a flexible film on which a thin film is formed is wound around the drum-type jig, and a drum-type jig driver configured to rotate the drum-type jig. The etching apparatus has a compact structure to efficiently perform the etching process on the large area flexible film on which the thin film is formed.

A substrate processing method includes forming a liquid film of an alkaline processing liquid on a substrate by supplying the alkaline processing liquid having a reduced oxygen concentration onto the substrate; and etching the substrate by rotating the substrate while supplying the alkaline processing liquid in a state that the liquid film having a given thickness is formed on the substrate.

The present invention relates to a substrate processing heater device that heats a substrate to process the substrate and a substrate solution processing device including the same. The substrate processing heater device includes a heater part having an opposite surface with a size greater than that of a processing surface of the substrate to heat the substrate and a lamp part comprising a plurality of lamp units disposed adjacent to each other on the heater part. Thus, since the opposite surface of the heater part has the size greater than that of the processing surface of the substrate, and the plurality of lamp units are disposed adjacent to each other, a heating temperature may be uniformly maintained on the processing surface of the substrate to prevent the substrate processing surface from being non-uniformly processed, thereby improving substrate processing efficiency.

A method for forming a fully self-aligned via is provided. A workpiece having a pattern of features in a dielectric layer is received into a common manufacturing platform. Metal caps are deposited on the metal features, and a barrier layer is deposited on the metal caps. A first dielectric layer is added to exposed dielectric material. The barrier layer is removed and an etch stop layer is added on the exposed surfaces of the first dielectric layer and the metal caps. Additional dielectric material is added on top of the etch stop layer, then both the additional dielectric material and a portion of the etch stop layer are etched to form a feature to be filled with metal material. An integrated sequence of processing steps is executed within one or more common manufacturing platforms to provide controlled environments. Transfer modules transfer the workpiece between processing modules within and between controlled environments.

Disclosed are methods of preparing a semiconductor substrate having a metal seed layer for a subsequent electroplating operation. In some embodiments, the methods may include contacting the surface of the semiconductor substrate with a plasma to treat the surface by reducing metal oxides thereon and thereafter measuring a post-plasma-contact color signal from said surface, the color signal having one or more color components. The methods may then further include estimating the extent of the oxide reduction due to the plasma treatment based on the post-plasma contact color signal. In some embodiments, estimating the extent of the oxide reduction due to the plasma treatment is done based on the b* component of the post-plasma contact color signal. Also disclosed are plasma treatment apparatuses which may implement the foregoing methods.

A treating liquid vaporizing apparatus includes a buffer tank for storing a treating liquid, a vaporizing container connected to the buffer tank for vaporizing the treating liquid, a further vaporizing container connected to the buffer tank in parallel with the vaporizing container for vaporizing the treating liquid, a switch valve for opening and closing a flow path of the treating liquid between the buffer tank and the vaporizing container, and a switch valve for opening and closing a flow path of the treating liquid between the buffer tank and the further vaporizing container.

An apparatus for treating a substrate includes a support unit including a support plate that supports the substrate and a rotary drive member that rotates the support plate and a lower fluid dispensing unit that dispenses a fluid onto a lower surface of the substrate supported on the support plate. The rotary drive member includes a hollow shaft coupled with the support plate and an actuator that rotates the hollow shaft. The lower fluid dispensing unit includes a fixed shaft that has an interior space and that is provided in the hollow shaft and a fluid dispensing tube that dispenses the fluid and that is provided in the interior space. An air-flow generation part is formed on an outer surface of the fixed shaft to generate a downward air flow in a space between the hollow shaft and the fixed shaft when the hollow shaft rotates.

An apparatus and a method for processing one or more surfaces of a semiconductor wafer with one or more ozone-containing fluids are provided. The apparatus includes an ozone generator, a solvent flask, a gas-liquid mixing device, and a processing chamber capable of receiving the semiconductor wafer. The apparatus may also include one or more gas-liquid separation devices and switching valves. The processing chamber allows the ozone-containing fluids to enter the processing chamber for treating the wafer surface. The effectiveness of the treatment is ensured by enhancing the ozone concentration of the ozone-containing fluids inside the processing chamber, in either or both gas and liquid phases. The employment of a micro chamber as the processing chamber also helps to reduce the consumption of the treatment gas and liquid, as well as the resulted waste emission.