Plasma applications are disclosed that operate with argon and other molecular gases at atmospheric pressure, and at low temperatures, and with high concentrations of reactive species. The plasma apparatus and the enclosure that contains the plasma apparatus and the substrate are substantially free of particles, so that the substrate does not become contaminated with particles during processing. The plasma is developed through capacitive discharge without streamers or micro-arcs. The techniques can be employed to remove organic materials from a substrate, thereby cleaning the substrate; to activate the surfaces of materials, thereby enhancing bonding between the material and a second material; to etch thin films of materials from a substrate; and to deposit thin films and coatings onto a substrate; all of which processes are carried out without contaminating the surface of the substrate with substantial numbers of particles.

An apparatus for processing a substrate includes a process chamber; a support which is placed inside the process chamber and supports the substrate; a fluid supplier which supplies fluid into the process chamber; and a controller configured to perform a compressing step to bring the fluid into a supercritical phase inside the process chamber, in which the compressing step includes a continuous first section and second section, the fluid supplier includes a first portion and a second portion, and the controller supplies the fluid into the process chamber at a first speed during the first section using the first portion, and supplies the fluid into the process chamber at a second speed higher than the first speed during the second section using the second portion.

A substrate rotating apparatus may include a spin chuck supporting a substrate and a stage rotating the spin chuck about an axis parallel to a first direction. The spin chuck may include a first magnetic element and a substrate supporting member thereon. The stage may include a stage housing, a rotating part rotating about the axis, an inner control unit controlling rotation of the rotating part, a power supplying part supplying a power to the rotating part, and a wireless communication part receiving a control signal from an outside and transmitting the control signal to the inner control unit. The rotating part may include a second magnetic element spaced apart from the first magnetic element and a rotation driver rotating the second magnetic element. The rotating part, the inner control unit, the power supplying part, and the wireless communication part may be placed in the stage housing.

A supercritical fluid processing apparatus including a supercritical fluid supply module including a gas liquefier to liquefy a gas transferred from a gas supply and provide a liquefied fluid, a storage tank to change the liquefied fluid to a supercritical state and store a supercritical fluid, and an internal pipe connecting the gas liquefier to the storage tank; an exhaust fluid supply module including an exhaust fluid liquefier including a regeneration storage tank to collect a first exhaust fluid from the storage tank, and a refrigerant pipe to liquefy the first exhaust fluid in the regeneration storage tank and maintain the liquefied first exhaust fluid at a predetermined temperature/pressure; a first exhaust pipe to transfer the first exhaust fluid from the storage tank to the exhaust fluid liquefier; and a resupply pipe to resupply the first exhaust fluid collected and liquefied in the exhaust fluid liquefier to the storage tank.

An orientation chamber is provided. The orientation chamber includes a substrate holder, an orientation detector, and a purging system. The substrate holder is configured to hold a substrate. The orientation detector is configured to detect an orientation of the substrate. The purging system is configured to inject a cleaning gas into the orientation chamber and remove contaminants from the substrate. The purging system includes a gas regulator adjusting a volume of the cleaning gas supplied into the orientation chamber according to a detection signal output from a gas detector which indicates a content of a specific gas contaminant outgassed from the substrate.

A device is for drying disc-shaped substrates. The device has an elongated body, which tapers upwards to form a wedge having an angle α between two surfaces and an upper edge. The upper edge is suitable for holding the disc-shaped substrates. The two surfaces have more than one hole, each forming channels, which extend to a lower drainage part of the elongated body.

A substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a controller 61 configured to perform a first recipe and a second recipe in parallel. Each of the first recipe and the second recipe includes a first transfer processing of transferring a substrate from a transit unit 14 to a liquid processing unit 17, a liquid processing, a second transfer processing of transferring the substrate from the liquid processing unit 17 to a drying unit 18 and a drying processing. The controller 61 determines, while the first recipe on a first substrate in substrates is being performed, when the second recipe on a second substrate in the substrates is started, a start timing of the first transfer processing of the second substrate such that a time period of the second transfer processing of the first substrate does not overlap with a time period of the second transfer processing of the second substrate.

A cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate includes a lamp for emitting ultraviolet radiation in an irradiation region; a housing that houses the lamp; a water deflector spaced below the housing, the water deflector having a water inlet for receiving a supply of ozonated water and a water outlet for discharging ozonated water irradiated by the lamp into a substrate processing region beneath the water deflector, and defining a water flow path between the water inlet and the water outlet, the water flow path extending in the irradiation region; an upper reflector extending along and above the lamp; and a lower reflector extending along and below the water deflector, wherein the upper reflector and the lower reflector at least partially define the irradiation region and reflect ultraviolet radiation toward the water flow path, and wherein the lower reflector shields the substrate from ultraviolet radiation emitted by the lamp.

A throughput in processing a substrate can be improved and a running cost thereof can be reduced. A substrate processing apparatus 1 that processes a substrate 3 with a processing liquid and dries the substrate 3 includes a substrate rotating device 22 configured to rotate the substrate 3; a processing liquid discharging unit 13 configured to discharge the processing liquid toward the substrate 3; a substitution liquid discharging unit 14 configured to discharge a substitution liquid, which is substituted with the processing liquid on the substrate 3, toward the substrate 3 while relatively moving with respect to the substrate 3; and an inert gas discharging unit 15 configured to discharge an inert gas toward a peripheral portion of the substrate 3 in an inclined direction from above the substrate 3 while moving in a direction different from a direction in which the substitution liquid discharging unit 14 is moved.

Embodiments of a methods and cleaning systems for cleaning components for use in substrate processing equipment are provided herein. In some embodiments, a cleaning system includes a boiler having a heater configured to heat a fluid; a clean chamber fluidly coupled to the boiler via at least one of a gas line and a liquid line, wherein the clean chamber includes one or more fixtures in an interior volume therein for holding at least one component to be cleaned, and wherein the clean chamber includes a heater for heating the interior volume; and an expansion chamber fluidly coupled to the clean chamber via a release line for evacuating the clean chamber, wherein the release line includes a release valve to selectively open or close a flow path between the expansion chamber and the clean chamber, and wherein the expansion chamber includes a chiller and a vacuum port.