A vacuum substrate transport apparatus including a frame, a drive section having a drive axis, at least one arm, having an end effector for holding a substrate, having at least one degree of freedom axis effecting extension and retraction, and a bearing defining a guideway that defines the axis, the bearing including at least one rolling load bearing element disposed in a bearing case, interfacing between a bearing raceway and bearing rail to support arm loads, and effecting sliding of the case along the rail, and at least one rolling, substantially non-load bearing, spacer element disposed in the case, intervening between each of the load bearing elements, wherein the spacer element is a sacrificial buffer material compatible with sustained substantially unrestricted service commensurate with a predetermined service duty of the apparatus in a vacuum environment at temperatures over 260° C. for a specified predetermined service period.

An information processing apparatus for controlling a conveying apparatus to convey a substrate to be processed by a substrate processing apparatus includes a processor that performs operations including controlling the conveying apparatus, according to teaching data, to perform a first movement operation including putting the substrate into a container configured to carry the substrate and a second movement operation including getting the substrate from the container, acquiring image data including an image of a placement position for the substrate in the container during the first movement operation and the second movement operation, performing image processing on the image data to quantify a relationship between a position of the container and a position of the substrate, determining the quantified relationship to yield a determination result, and outputting correction data for correcting the conveying apparatus with respect to the first movement operation and the second movement operation, based on the determination result.

There is provided a configuration that includes: an intake damper and an intake fan configured to communicate with an intake port that sucks air to a transfer chamber connected to a process chamber; a valve of an inert gas introduction pipe configured to supply an inert gas to the transfer chamber; an exhaust fan and a first exhaust valve installed in the transfer chamber; a switch configured to select one of an atmospheric mode in which an atmosphere of the transfer chamber is an air atmosphere and a purge mode in which the atmosphere of the transfer chamber is an inert gas atmosphere; and a controller configured to control each of the intake damper, the intake fan, the valve of the inert gas introduction pipe, the exhaust fan, and the first exhaust valve to execute one of the atmospheric mode and the purge mode.

There is provided a technique that include: a process chamber configured to process a substrate at which at least one target film and a heat assist film are formed; and an electromagnetic wave generator configured to supply an electromagnetic wave into the process chamber, wherein when the substrate is irradiated with the electromagnetic wave, the heat assist film generates heat and the at least one target film is modified by the heat.

An information processing apparatus of a substrate processing apparatus including a transport device includes an image data acquisition unit that acquires image data of a disposing position of a processing target substrate, a first image processing unit that digitizes a positional relationship among the transport source object, the transport device, and the substrate, a second image processing unit that digitizes a positional relationship among the transport destination object, the transport device, and the substrate, a first transfer teaching unit that outputs first correction data of the moving operation of the transport device of receiving the substrate from the transport source object, and a second transfer teaching unit that outputs second correction data of the moving operation of the transport device of disposing the substrate in the transport destination object.

An aligner device includes a robot hand, a lifting mechanism, sensors, a misalignment calculating unit, an x-y misalignment correcting unit, and a θ misalignment correcting unit. The robot hand includes vertically aligned hand members each configured to hold a planar workpiece. The lifting mechanism moves planar workpieces transported by the robot hand up from and down to the hand members, respectively. Each of the sensors, vertically spaced apart from each other, has a downward sensor surface to capture the outline of a planar workpiece brought close to the sensor surface by the workpiece lifting mechanism. The misalignment calculating unit calculates, by using the images of the captured outline shapes of the planar workpieces, an amount of positional misalignment of each planar workpiece with a reference position in X, Y and θ directions. The X-Y misalignment correcting unit corrects the misalignment of each planar workpiece in the X and Y directions based on the amount of X-Y direction misalignment calculated by the misalignment calculating unit. The θ misalignment correcting unit corrects the misalignment of each planar workpiece in the θ direction based on the amount of θ misalignment of the planar workpiece.

There is provided a technique for easily adjusting the inner atmosphere of the transfer chamber as desired when forming the air flow in the transfer chamber by using different gases. According to one aspect thereof, there is provided a technique including: a transfer chamber including a transfer space; a first purge gas supplier; a second purge gas supplier; an exhauster; a circulation path connecting two ends of the transfer space; a fan provided on the circulation path or at an end portion of the circulation path to circulate the inner atmosphere of the transfer chamber; and a controller for controlling the fan such that a rotational speed of the fan varies between a first purge mode where the first purge gas is supplied through the first purge gas supplier and a second purge mode where the second purge gas is supplied through the second purge gas supplier.

An article transfer system includes a plurality of stage modules respectively provided at a plurality of layers, an interlayer transfer apparatus configured to transfer an article to each of the plurality of stage modules, and a plurality of loading and unloading apparatus respectively provided on each stage module of the plurality of stage modules, the plurality of loading and unloading apparatus configured to load an article onto respective stage modules of the plurality of stage modules. The interlayer transfer apparatus includes a mast frame extending so as to intersect each stage module of the plurality of stage modules, and a plurality of carriage units configured to move along a length direction of the mast frame, transfer articles, and move in a parallel manner with each other.

The application relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, and in particular relates to a front opening unified pod, a wafer transfer system and a wafer transfer method. The front opening unified pod includes a body, a wafer scanning device and a cover. The body is provided with an opening communicating with an interior of the body. The wafer scanning device includes a first wafer scanning device, is arranged on an inner wall of the body, and is configured to scan a storage condition of wafers in the body. The cover is fastened at the opening. The wafer scanning device is arranged on the inner wall of the body of the front opening unified pod, and the wafer scanning device scans and confirms the storage condition of the wafers in the front opening unified pod in real time.

According to one embodiment, a substrate processing apparatus includes a batch type cleaning unit, a holding unit, and a single-substrate type drying unit. The batch type cleaning unit simultaneously cleans a plurality of substrates in a batch process with a first liquid. The holding unit receives the cleaned substrates while still wet and then keeps a first surface of each of the substrates wet with the first liquid. The single-substrate type drying unit is configured to receive the substrates one by one from the holding unit and then dry off the substrates one by one.