A testing apparatus for measuring a strength of a chip includes: a cassette mounting base on which to mount a cassette capable of accommodating wafer units; a frame fixing mechanism that fixes an annular frame of the wafer unit; a conveying mechanism that conveys the wafer unit between the cassette and the frame fixing mechanism; a pushing-up mechanism that pushes up a predetermined chip included in the wafer supported by the annular frame fixed by the frame fixing mechanism; a pick-up mechanism having a collet picking up the chip pushed up by the pushing-up mechanism; a strength measuring mechanism having a support unit supporting the chip picked up by the collet; and a collet moving mechanism that moves the collect from a position facing the pushing-up mechanism to a position facing the support unit.

A substrate placing table according to an exemplary embodiment includes a base and an electrostatic chuck provided on the base. The electrostatic chuck includes a lamination layer portion, an intermediate layer, and a covering layer. The lamination layer portion is provided on the base. The intermediate layer is provided on the lamination layer portion. The covering layer is provided on the intermediate layer. The lamination layer portion includes a first layer, an electrode layer, and a second layer. The first layer is provided on the base. The electrode layer is provided on the first layer. The second layer is provided on the electrode layer. The intermediate layer is provided between the second layer and the covering layer and is in close contact with the second layer and the covering layer. The second layer is a resin layer. The covering layer is ceramics.

The present disclosure discloses a substrate heating apparatus for heating a substrate, wherein the substrate heating apparatus includes: a body including a substrate seating portion on which the substrate is seated, to support the substrate; a first heating element located in an inner region of the body; a second heating element located in an outer region surrounding the inner region; a third heating element configured to transmit current to the second heating element across the inner region of the body; and a connecting member electrically interconnecting the second heating element and the third heating element, wherein the connecting member is made of a molybdenum-tungsten alloy containing molybdenum and tungsten.

A method for processing a semiconductor wafer is provided. The method includes transferring the semiconductor wafer above a wafer placement device having a plate to align an edge of the semiconductor wafer with a first buffer member positioned in a peripheral region of the plate and to align a center of the semiconductor wafer with a second buffer member positioned in a central region of the plate. Each of the first buffer member and the second buffer member has a stiffness that is less than that of the plate. The method further includes lowering down the semiconductor wafer to place the semiconductor wafer over the plate.

A holding apparatus including a holding substrate having a first main face on one side in a thickness direction thereof, and a heat generation section which is disposed in the holding substrate and generates heat when energized. The heat generation section includes a plurality of first heating elements arrayed in a planar direction orthogonal to the thickness direction of the holding substrate, and a second heating element disposed on a side toward the first main face in the thickness direction with respect to the plurality of first heating elements. Any one of the plurality of first heating elements is electrically connected to the second heating element in series through a first via extending in the thickness direction within the holding substrate.

The heater component (1) has a substrate part (2), and a thin coating heater (4) which is equipped outside this substrate part (2) and generates heat by power supply. The thin coating heater (4) is formed of a thermal sprayed coating. The thin coating heater (4) has a heater body (10) and a heater extension part (11). The heater body (10) is arranged on a first end face (2a) of the substrate part (2). The heater extension part (11) is extended from the heater body (10) to a second end face (2b) of the substrate part (2) through a side surface (2c) of the substrate part (2). A tip part (11s) of the heater extension part (11) is a heater power supplying part (12) for supplying electric power to the heater body (10).

An electrostatic chuck for electrostatically attracting a substrate includes: a chuck body formed of first ceramic particles and having a substrate-facing surface facing the substrate attracted to the electrostatic chuck; and a plurality of convex portions formed on the substrate-facing surface of the chuck body, wherein each of the plurality of convex portions excluding at least a tip-side layer is formed of second ceramic particles having a major axis diameter of 20 μm or more and 2,000 μm or less and has a porosity of 0.1% or more and 1.0% or less.

The present disclosure generally relates to a substrate support for processing of semiconductor substrates. In one example, the substrate support has a body. The body has a top surface configured to support a substrate thereon. The body has a bottom surface opposite the top surface. The body has an upper portion disposed at the top surface and a lower portion disposed at the bottom surface. An IR blocking material is encased by the upper portion and the lower portion, wherein the IR blocking material is an optically opaque at IR wavelengths and the lower portion is optically transparent at IR wavelengths.

A substrate fixing device includes a baseplate, an insulating layer over the baseplate, and an electrostatic chuck on the insulating layer. The insulating layer includes a heating element and a metal layer. The metal layer has a higher thermal conductivity than the insulating layer and is positioned closer to the electrostatic chuck than the heating element.

A substrate support assembly suitable for use in a reactor including a common processing and substrate transfer region is disclosed. The substrate support assembly includes a susceptor and one or more lift pins that can be used to lower a substrate onto a surface of the susceptor and raise the substrate from the surface, to allow transfer of the substrate from the processing region, without raising or lowering the susceptor.